Aro-Mind

Okay, here is a draft list of the top 'icons' (using the term loosely) of the Māori world, things, cultural items, practices, objects well known in popular culture and consciousness. Here goes: Haka (for many, haka represents an echo the unleashed, unbridled, uncultured 'primitive energy', its a bit dangerous and those completely unfamiliar with it, love it) Tangi - funerals Objects of various kinds - carvings, tiki, meeting houses, waka Pōwhiri - ritual of encounter, karanga, wero The Māori language , te reo Māori Hongi - act of peace, intimacy, mixture of breath Marae Moko Toa - the warrior, prowess Waka ama - outrigger canoes Taonga Pūoro - musical instruments This list is entirely debatable. The idea is to understand what are those things emanating from the Māori world which are known popularly, in general culture. It doesn't mean that people understand them necessarily, just that they exist and have some kind of presence in popular culture.

Recently, in my theatre work I've begun to notice more clearly those people for whom the 'work' is most important and those for whom the welfare of the group is equally important. When I was younger, at music school, I was fond of the model of the empowered auteur artist, who by some very special ability, the rarefied atmosphere of their spectacular talent, they are able to say what goes. Invariably this meant that the individual became at the least impolite, at worst a bully. And on most occasions their talent didn't warrant this kind of special treatment. Now, I think the welfare of the group (in collaborative artmaking like theatre and music) is as important as the work and that when the group feels unified, cohesive then this tends leads to better work. The unity shines in the work. And a friend of mine said, you can bully people into quality work perhaps only once.

So that we may be moved, so that depth may feel revealed to us. We do not create explanations so as to numb ourselves but rather through the experience of creating the explanations and the explanations themselves, we are somehow inspired, taken, awoken, impacted upon, stirred, shaken. The best research questions are those that we are inspired by, have fallen in love with. We can pursue ngā pae o te māramatanga, yes, but we ought to also live and experience, ngā kitenga o te aroha, what love draws us to see, understand, experience. So what are my research questions, those that I have fallen in love with? They are something to do with love, something like, what is it like to live passionately and creatively, participating in kinship based relationship with the world? How do we overcome a sense of estrangement from life, from the course of life? How do we live passionately, alive, engaged, animated? Gee, much more to be said here.