Written by Robbie Atatoa, Mangaian Ancient Knowledge Researcher and Educator
“Putunga kai
Na Ruanuku
Na Tangaroa
Na te anau Atea
E Tini
E Mano
Mareva, Mareva
Ru tokotoko ite rangi tuatini
Mangaia Enua e kai ra
The gathering of food
For Ruanuku the god of the land
For Tangaroa the god of the sea
To be blessed and shared to the hundreds and thousands of the children of Atea
Allow the space to grow for the next season
Ru who supports the learning and the growth of new knowledge of the many heavens
Mangaia our Motherland offered the first share ”
We discussed in our virtual Retreat Two: VA FENUA of The Mana Moana Experience how karakia was used by our ancestors as a communication tool to their many Atua and across Moana-Nui-a-Kiva. I commence my reflection with this old karakia that is normally recited during our Takurua Mataiti tradition on my island Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Takurua means food and Mataiti is our term for the year. This tradition is a harvest celebration where food is gathered then shared equally to every family on the Island. This is also an important meeting time for our Pava (representatives of our tribal leaders), to plan, to Ra’ui (preserve) and prepare for the next season.
Today, this karakia is rarely used as it has been largely replaced by Christian prayer. For me, this karakia is an important reminder of how our ancestors organised their own ecosystems, planting the land or fishing from the ocean and preparing for the future seasons. These teachings and the akapapa’anga of the ecosystem are all interconnected.
When the land is fertile, productive, healthy and looked after, the takurua is abundant for the many children of Atea, and the people are healthy as well. When natural disasters such as hurricanes, erosion, flooding and drought happened, or an epidemic infectious disease arrived, our history tells us that our people learnt to adapt and work together to survive and even flourish during these disasters. For them, their connections to the environment – the moon, land, and ecosystem – were the foundations to their survival.
Va fonua, fenua, enua means the land or place of belonging and this was our theme for this Retreat. For me, enua is land and placenta, the linking of a person or people back to their place of origin or place of belonging. My identity connects me through my akapapa’anga (genealogy) and to my ancestors that hold my knowledge, traditions, wisdom and culture all linked to the enua, Mangaia.
Our Retreat occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic which presented challenges, change, as well as potential opportunities for our relationship with our foundation, enua. For Pacific Leadership, how we support the communities that we serve was also challenged and changed with new opportunities arising.
When questioning the foundation of Pacific Leadership today, I was encouraged by our guest speakers sharing their stories about the power of our ancestral systems to adapt and thrive. The foundation for Pacific Leadership in Aotearoa/New Zealand is articulated by our ancestors’ tara matakite (ways of knowing), and korero taito that re-connects us to our original Va Tupuna (culture, language and heritage) and Va Enua.
When looking to the future, we must be strategic and strengths-based. Seeds of leadership and seeds that are planted in the enua require nurturing, akono, manaaki (caring) and protection to grow and flourish.
Sometimes we get caught up in blaming our past, and ‘the system’, and others, and focusing on negativity. We need to be matakite, or mindful, of how this negativity can act as a toxin to the enua – poisoning the environment in which our leadership, and our future, develops. Instead, our karakia, our ancestoral survival kits, our tangata whenua and their enua, and our collective strengths will move us forward.
Ka ‘ai te karakia
Tuku enua kite rangi
E ta’i ka’a, i te maro itiki
Tangi ke.
Did Robbie’s story resonate with you? This is one of many courageous, enriching and impactful journeys on The Mana Moana Experience.
Are you a mid-career Pasifika leader who cares for the future of New Zealand? Do you know someone who is? Applications for our 2021 Experience are OPEN NOW. https://www.leadershipnz.co.nz/applications-faqs