Whakapapa: Connecting whenua, whānau, past, present & future

Singing histories across generations of melody through oriori, their bedtime lullabies that are heard by our babies at the breast. We enrich our whānau by chanting mōteatea, the old songs from long ago. Carving our whakapapa into whakairo that uphold the mana and the ribs of our wharenui. Immortalizing ancestors by sculpting them out of rākau.

Waiata and whaikōrero which are our traditional methods of transferring whakapapa. Whakapapa is what binds us together as a people, being Māori it is an essential source of connection to all things. I am tangata whenua: from and of the earth. Modern, urban, colonial oppression has removed us from our marae, our cultural center. The roots of Tāne Mahuta (God of the forest) are grounded into our whenua (land), whakapapa (genealogy), Awa (rivers) and Maunga (Mountains).

Atua (Gods) and Ariki are embedded into our creation stories. . it is the ties to bind me to the Hoturoa Chief of Tainui Waka and Porourangi Chief of Horouta Waka, the original navigators and voyagers of te moana nui-a-kiwa. These tupuna occupied the whenua of Aotearoa long before Abel Tasman mapped out “New Zealand”. Whakapapa is my connection to the land as tangata whenua. As a Māori, I directly descend from Hoturoa the great ancestral Chief of Tainui Waka. I directly descend from Porourangi the ancestral Chief of Horouta waka, Ngāti Porou.

Hiruharama marae

Porourangi is known to communicate with whales and had these creatures as his companions on his voyage to the shores of Aotearoa from Hawaiki nui. My whakapapa beholds a history of men and women interacting with all that is natural, and not in the modern context of power and exploitation but in the indigenous context of harmony and respect.

These Rangatira are where I have come from. My Mother calls this link between our original waka tupuna “Māuitanga” (Keelan, 2019), she told me we are the descendants of Māui-tikitiki-a-taranga who pulled up the North Island with his legendary fish hook. Māui the mischievous demi-god who faced death when entering the womb of hine-nui-te-pō. What we have now, is the gift of their teachings that enabled our ancestors to survive and flourish.

Knowing where we come from is essential part of human growth and development as proven by a number of psychological researchers (Burrows & Wright, 2004; Veenstra, 2009; Mossakowski, 2003). Lack of self perceived identity and sense of belonging has been linked such behaviors as drug/alcohol abuse and domestic violence (De Visser & Smith, 2006). From previous studies surrounding identity we can see how important having a sense of self is for good health.

Our identities are molded over time, from our environments and experiences (Kelleher & Leavey, 2004). Māori arts are an integral building block towards sustaining Māori heritage and culture. Thus, contributing to instilling and reaffirming Māori identities through supporting a sense of connection through ancestral practices and community social connections. We are connected through whakapapa, regardless of where we are. Discussing generational relationships and the ways that they have been expressed in the arts. Māori histories have always been expressed through art as a form of visual communication, notably our visual language in pre-colonial society.

My tupuna were known as Ariki, sacred tohunga descended from Hawaiki. The sails of our waka were woven by hand, combined with a deep and direct relationship with nature, they traversed the oceans and came further than anyone before them. These wooden waka were carved by the hands of my tupuna. Woven baskets carrying kai to nourish the ones travelling by sea. They wove nets to fish and stay sustained by the waters of tangaroa for the longest journeys. By using these skills and knowledge that surpassed any other of the time, my tupuna were able to arrive in Aotearoa. In te ao Māori, whakapapa is the interwoven essence of connection that we share with each other as tangata whenua.