Aro-Mind

I question the interpretation of 'whakamā' to mean 'shame'. 'Whakamā' literally means 'to cleanse' and we can see that the use of shame as a translation of whakamā represents the use of a moral framework that does not belong to this story, to interpret this story. Instead, I think the theme of cleansing is about Hine seeking to establish her own integrity, identity and position in the world as connected but distinct from Tāne. She is fashioned by Tāne from the earth (Papatuanuku) but in time she makes a journey which is about establishing her own place in the world. If one looks at wisdom traditions throughout the world, one finds the feminine associated with two things - setting the boundaries (guardians of the threshold) and transformation. And so it is with Hine in our traditions. (remembering we are talking about qualities first, not gender.) Hine sits at the threshold between night and day, te kaitiaki o te tatau pounamu. She ushers in new life and ...

Prosperity is not just about maintaining income levels. The conventional view is that income at a certain level enables one to live a certain life style. For many New Zealanders life style is not just about the ability to secure a house, a car, clothes but also holidays, experiences with family and our natural environment and more. Prosperity is also about the ability to enjoy enriching experiences and to do so regularly. There is such a thing as the rich man who is poor in life experiences. This is a spiritually and emotionally impoverished person. Prosperity exists also when people enjoy meaningful experiences, share in the warmth of human community, experience wonder at the grandeur and detail of the natural world and the universe. Prosperity exists when people are able to realise their potential, to dream of possibilities for themselves and circumstances exist (including economic circumstances) whereby those possibilities, that potential may be realised. This might be called ...

'Indigenous Development' is a field of endeavour that is growing considerably in our world today. It builds upon efforts of the past century or more designed to achieve social justice and cultural revitalisation for 'indigenous peoples' throughout the world. These are peoples who have been colonised, usually, by European populations and exist often as a minority in their own country and in marginalised positions. Significant issues, needs and problems confront these peoples such as health disparities, educational underachievement, imprisonment rates, poverty, and much more. Hence, in the first instance, 'indigenous development' is concerned with overcoming these negative experiences of marginalised 'indigenous peoples'. A second and equally important theme of 'indigenous development' is the rediscovery and a reawakening of the creative and active heart and being of an indigenous people. As indigenous peoples advance cultural revitalisation - repa...

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.

I dont think the real purpose of whakapapa is to explain the world and its phenomena - although it could be used here, and there are good reasons to do so. Ultimately, I think the purpose of whakapapa is to bring us to an experience of the world, to bring us into some kind of accord or relationship with the world. An essential feature of 'indigenous' knowledge is the degree to which the natural world seems to speak into and influence human creativity and activity. Whakapapa, I think, is about bringing us to this experience - of kinship with the world.