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Mythology of the Maori of Aotearoa / New Zealand ---------------------------------------- ===== xEXw



 
 
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Old October 15th 04, 12:36 PM
Cardinal Human Values
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Default Mythology of the Maori of Aotearoa / New Zealand ---------------------------------------- ===== xEXw

Greetings / Namaskar

According to the Maori people of New Zealand, Rangi was the Sky Father and his wife was the Mother Earth, Papa. In the mythology of the Maori of New Zealand / Aotearoa, Papa is the personification of the Earth and is a female goddess. The personification of the Sky - Rangi, a male god, fell in love with Papa and embraced her. There is complete oneness. And there is also no attributional qualifications or vibrations in the Universe. This was at a time when there was no light in the universe. At the beginning of time, Rangi, the male sky, and Papa, the female Earth, were entwined in a static embrace. Rangi wanted with this embrace to prevent the creation of the world. However, the Creative Principle
(Papa) was permitted to act on that Consciousness (Rangi). Papa and Rangi had many children. Creation personified, and expressed in multiplicities.

The journey is then back to the source. There is a spiritual essence in everything. While there is apparent heterogeneity, in essence all is homogenous. That is the theme of the piece below, which takes an approach of melding Maori spiritual mythology and Tantric meditation.

Dharma

ONE
---

Perhaps now is the opportunity to look at the beginning. Is Papa just another name for the Cosmic Consciousness in whom all things lie? Is Rangi just another name for the Cosmic Operative Force which has the ability to create everything? Sky Father and Earth Mother. Therefore were Papa and Rangi the parents of all creation? If so, then the universe is my homeland because I am a child and we are all children from the same never ending forces of creation, operation and destruction. We are all citizens of this Cosmos.

Rangi and Papa cannot bear to be separated. Nor can we people as expressions of those same forces be separated from each other. We may have different expressions - indeed we must all have different expressions. That is a fact of life in a world, rather a universe, of relativity. Everything is different. But Rangi and Papa are just like two sides of a piece of paper. They are one. Try to separate them and there will be immense pain. This universe is their creation.

This universe is within their imagination. Together this is the imagination of Io (the Macrocosmic Mind - GOD). The universe is created in the imagination of Io, the Supreme Entity, so the ownership of this universe lies with Io and not the microcosms (including us people) created out of Io's imagination.

All the property of this earth, moveable as well as immovable, animate and inanimate, does not belong to any particular individuals, but everything is the common property of us all. We all have a common source in the spiritual sense. Every living being should be able to utilise their rightful share of this property, just like the members of a joint family.

Like members of a joint family, living beings should safeguard this common property in a befitting manner, utilise it properly and make adequate arrangements so that everyone enjoys it with equal rights. The Treaty of Waitangi seems to be saying the same thing. So we in Aotearoa, in partnership together with each other, must share our resources (physical, mental and spiritual) and ensure that everyone lives with a sound body and a sound mind and with the basic necessities. Sharing resources of all types does not mean we all become the same. That is an impossibility. It just means there are so many different expressions in the web of life.

Maori tribal land perhaps had behind it the idea of joint property and that we should not forget even for a moment that this whole animate world is a large joint family. Nature has not assigned any property to any particular individual. Individual ownership has been created by opportunists and selfish motives. So it was with Russell as a land speculator in the 1860's.

Under the Native Lands Act 1862 he sponsored a system that was socially defective and that only provided opportunities for those who liked to grow fat in a parasitic way. This was just a step in the destruction of Maori cultural and spiritual values, which recognised the importance of the land.

A member of a partnership or joint family cannot be called a social being if they do not have a common heart with other members, or if they do not accept the high ideals and the self-evident truth of joint rights. Accordingly a system of individual ownership cannot be accepted as absolute and final. Individual versus collective life is the main difference between European and Maori cultures.

But "We are all one people" said Captain Hobson at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Why has the fashion been to take this phrase in a negative way. Papa and Rangi cannot bear to be separated. This is a recognition of oneness. The unity of the universe depends on oneness. Just because we are all one people does not mean that we cannot have different individual or collective expressions, eg Maori and Pakeha. Expressions may be different but that does not mean we cannot be in unison as one people. So the negative image created around this expression is just an exaggeration.

TWO
---

Everything is the joint property of all living beings. This has to be recognised as a matter of principle. After its recognition the ideas that this is national and that this is foreign, that a particular person is fit for the citizenship of a particular country while others are not, or have less claim or no rights at all, cannot stand. Such words are narrow expressions.

All persons are world citizens by birth. The ancient explorers taught us that. Papa and Rangi are still teaching us that. Every person has the right to go and settle anywhere and to live like a human being. Things are getting so mixed these days. At one time Maori people thought that the fantail was the portender of death. Upon intermixing of Christianity the perspective of the fantail changed to being one of the portender of life. See how things change through cultural intermixing. The same will in time happen with the current dogma that Maori women cannot speak on the marae.

Everything is always changing. That is a part of the process of evolution. Social Darwinism is however wrong in fact and in theory. Evolution is not a rat race of one group of persons trying to get there first. It is not just a competitive pursuit. That kind of evolution is in fact counter-evolution. This is because it implies genocide of one culture by the superior culture. How can that have anything to do with evolution in the human sense when it amounts to destruction.

Evolution means working together and also developing ourselves individually and collectively (from whatever collective identity we perceive we may have and which should be allowed to change and vary through time). Without individual good there cannot be collective good, and without collective good there cannot be individual good. The two must be in harmony and balance as envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi.

The absence of an integral outlook is the root of most problems today. The powerful British groups at the time perpetuated atrocities and injustices on others in the process of colonisation. The Treaty of Waitangi has been broken in this fashion so many times in the past.

An integral outlook means that Maori and Pakeha history is yet to unfold in a way not yet completely known. This is why the Waitangi Tribunal is not just concerned with righting past wrongs but also with finding new formulas to see that things do not go wrong in the future. It can perhaps shape history, and reshape the past also by it excellent efforts in finding the true history of this land since the 1840's.

With further mechanisation and transportation gradually the people of one part of the world will have to meet the people of various other parts more frequently, and for this definite attention will have to be made to create a better understanding between people. The Maori people as shipbuilders, navigators and sea traders expressed this as well. The Treaty of Waitangi tried to spell out this meeting of the minds. At the time of colonisation the British realised that they could no longer adopt the approach of claiming new territory by conquest. They had to settle and negotiate in a civilised way. The Maori visited England. They enjoyed this interaction and attention. This is natural.

THREE
-----

The human race has many languages. These are expressions of humanity. Every language is our language - every language is the language of all of us. Let us share these treasures. The dogmatists claim "This is my language, that is yours; this is a native language, that is foreign". These are defective ideas. Only this much can be said - that we have so many languages and each one of us can express ourselves in one or more languages from amongst them.

In spite of the fact that all languages of the world stand on an equal footing in respect of position, a common language for the convenient exchange of thoughts between people of different parts of the globe will have to be selected open heartedly as the world language. Governments in different parts of the world may at their convenience accept the world language and any other language as their official language or languages.

However no matter what language is accepted as the official language of the state by any particular government (eg English and Maori by the New Zealand government), there should not be any slackness in facilitating the study of the world language. In no case can anyone keep themselves aloof from the rest of the world like frogs in the well, and keep their heads in the darkness so as to keep themselves away from their brothers and sister in other parts of the world.

All languages are subject to birth and death. Although English is at present an international language, it may not enjoy the same status for an indefinite period. In any particular age only that language which will have the maximum use in different parts of the world will probably be the world language. This could be Japanese later on. So in New Zealand we can readily live with and accept both the Maori and English languages as being official languages. It is practical to recognise English as the world language.

English is the language of commerce. This is a popular saying. The Maori were quick in learning it and also reading and writing it when it was introduced into Aotearoa. So it can be seen that English was recognised as the language of commerce even back in the early 1800's. It still is today, but may not be for longer as the Asian economies expand and the English and American economies decline.

A world language helps human unity without affecting the development of different parts of the world or the people living there, eg Maori in New Zealand. This is because the local people still should retain their local identity and their own language. There is harmony in this way, as intended by the Treaty of Waitangi.

Unity among the members of any society or social structure is absolutely necessary otherwise the structure will start to disintegrate. Lack of unity among the members of society because of too much self interest and different levels of development along with the formation of different economic or social groupings is wrong. A lack of understanding of each other's acts not only brings about the downfall of social structure but can also wipe out groups of local indigenous people within society.

The problem, therefore is the preservation of unity in society. The common ideal here must be to create an economic system so that property is shared by all members of the society. For unity in society there should not be any small groupings within society claiming unjustifiable economic and social privileges. Love for all and the idea that humanity is one family should be the guiding principles. The Treaty of Waitangi can be made to work in this way.

At present lack of security of taonga, land, fisheries, and estates can lead to the disintegration of important taonga or treasures belonging to the tangata whenua of Aotearoa. If there is no security against injustice in New Zealand then the social structure may weaken. The most important requisites for social security therefore, are that there should be no injustice. Injustice in society has lead to the struggle for the Maori people to retain their identities and heritage. If security in society is to be maintained there should be no economic or racial injustice. The two are often found together (along with sexism). These injustices are often due to lack of appreciation of what other people can offer to society.

The British colonialists thought they were members of a particular race who were superior to others when they came to Aotearoa. This attitude frequently inflicts injustices on other sections of society. The expulsion of Jews from Germany by Hitler's so-called superior Aryan race is a glaring example of racial injustice in society. This should not happen even if the Jews where not tangata whenua of Germany. Oppression and hunting of the aboriginal people of Australia is another example.

To remove this type of injustice we must do away with racial distinctions in society. That is no race is superior or inferior. All members of all races should take part as equals.

Sentiments, traditions and customs which are innate or natural in human beings and which do not hamper their development should be encouraged. There may be many local and indigenous differences and these should be appreciated and encouraged for the indigenous development of society. But in no cases should there be a compromise in principle to the creation of a human society.

The human race is one family. There are different dances, songs, and ceremonial celebrations from different sections of the human race, that is there are different local variations. These local variations in customs and behaviour should not be considered separate from the human race.

Local indigenous variations of human beings cannot be removed by the force of the law as appears to have been intended by the British in breach of the Treaty during the wars that came to be known as the so called "Maori wars". If attempts are made to bring about the destruction of common practices, languages and various local manners and customs, it will result in violence and mutual distrust and will lead collective life to doom. Thus the education system should be ever vigilant of such attempts.

Social synthesis naturally arises as people come into intimate contact with one another and as the corners of the world become nearer. This means that the local variations of conduct will assume ever new forms as a result of frequent mixing. Maori and Pakeha intermixing is a somewhat naive analysis. There are so many variations in this so-called Pakeha categorisation. Thus Maori and Yugoslav mixtures, Maori and Pacific Island intermixture, etc has created a wonderful diversity.

There are some Pakeha guilt trippers still around who like to think they have to blame themselves for all the that has gone wrong. But this is just negative thinking. We all need to keep analysing our attitudes and this is an ongoing process. Just because we have done something wrong in the past as individuals or as a collective group does not mean we need to carry around these burdens forever, if we have rectified our past mistakes. We all have the scope to change and move on in a positive way.

FOUR
----

The flowers of different gardens will unite into a bouquet and this bouquet will be more beautiful than the individual flowers.

The melodies of the Pacific can be intermixed with Indian ragas while classical music can take the shape of Maori tunes and mixed harmonies. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is a living example of the intermixture of good things between the cultures. Although not living in New Zealand (except for a bach in Taupo) she is a world "citizen" in her activities. She mixes European music/opera with her cultural background. She lives sometimes in England and sometimes in the USA. She has proven that the world has come close together.

If different human communities make an effort in establishing social blending then social synthesis will continue to develop. To some extent we notice the reflections of this intermixing in cosmopolitan cities in Australia and USA. Active Maori communities exist in both Sydney and Melbourne. This is a good development in the spread and intermixing of cultures.

It would be wrong to preach an ideology (or rather a dogma) that there should be no further outside influences coming into Aotearoa. Aotearoa cannot live in isolation from the rest of the world. It is too small to shut itself off from the rest of the world. We cannot live like frogs in the well. Inevitably Aotearoa will have more cultural influences coming into its realms. However this should not detract from the development of indigenous cultures within Aotearoa. A strong culture can survive while parts of its also become parts of other cultures.

What has happened in the past is that the colonialists have set one group of people against another. They could do this because of political support and with the help of politicians indulging in tall talks from high posts. We as a society have not remained vigilant of such people.

Honest and benevolent people of society must adopt a feeling of co-operation. Politics is not a solution. We need to identity as human beings. Party politics has tended to create different negative sentiments amongst the people.

The greatest social welfare can be achieved by mobilising the living spirit of those people who are desirous of establishing service and constructive work to bring about social welfare. We as educationalists have to remain engaged in the task of social welfare with all sincerity without having any ulterior motive in mind.

Unity and good sense carry people forward towards success in life. Unity cannot rest on any geographical, racial and personal differences. That is why only a spiritual philosophy should be adopted as the pole-star of life. We are all children of God. There is only the same God. All humanity belongs to one race. Every human being has got equal rights.

FIVE
----

We cannot just think about the welfare of our own community or family in today's global world. It is necessary to act locally and think globally, however we cannot ever violate the interests and natural growth of other communities. We cannot these days think only of our own group in isolation. That would amount to what could perhaps be described as geo-sentiment. This is only thinking about one's own group in a particular area, while lacking a global or universal outlook.

The principle for the world today that can cure injustices is that of Social Equality. This must be understood from the core of one's heart. We have developed our conscience in understanding the issues of inequality in Aotearoa. This means that we as a group have begun to understand in fine detail how things have gone wrong in the past between the Maori and other races or "visitors" to New Zealand. Now we need to do more study on these matters.

Study is essential, knowledge is essential to come to an understanding. This requires the path of rationality. If we only follow a path of going by our sentiments then we could become caught in the current of sentiments and not be able to discriminate further and develop finer methods of understanding the impact, interaction and future of the Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa and cultural development in Aotearoa.

Parallel development of Maori and so-called Pakeha will not achieve anything on it own. Sure there can be development of local indigenous cultures, but to have two developments completely separated from each other is inconceivable in practice. It would create unnecessary distinctions, particularly where there is intermixing of Maori and Pakeha matrimonial and blood relations. A synergistic approach is what is happening. That is, all of the cultures can take things from each other in a sharing way (not an exploitative way) to develop for their people what is appropriate to their needs.

We need to eradicate all inequalities. If we compromise then there will only be disparities in collective life. The progress of all would be accelerated if the inequalities were uprooted. The Treaty of Waitangi can be interpreted in its spirit and intent as trying to achieve this objective. These are of course cardinal objectives which should exist in the human heart anyway.

The principle of Social Equality contains the seeds of wellbeing for all of us. We as educationalists need to cherish the ideal of forever promoting the welfare of all. This requires removing all superiority and inferiority complexes that have been supplanted in society due to social conditioning. If anyone feels that they are treated as a second class citizen in this country then it is the result of fear complexes created by social inequalities. This is a form of exploitation. That is why the encouragement of Maori language through the media and in communication in general is so important. The more it is used the more stature it acquires. The more influence and prestige it gives to the tangata whenua. This gives rise to control of one's destiny and removes all the influences of psychic exploitation.

Much of what we call Pakeha culture is actually pseudo-culture. It is ridiculous to think that going to MacDonald's for a hamburger or smoking Winfield cigarettes is culture. Addictions of this nature are a creation of pseudo-culture. Today it is obvious that large cigarette companies are aiming there advertising campaigns at women and the working classes.

In turn this form of exploitation has created high death rates in the Maori community from lung cancer and related diseases. We must set the example by overcoming the effects of this pseudo-culture. If the Pakeha culture can develop its core values based on human well being and co-operation, then the partnership in the Treaty will be enhanced.

SIX
---

We must keep our eyes open and be reflective and vigilant in how we approach things.

In my reflective journal I have attempted to place myself in a social context as if roaming around as part of a flow of consciousness and part of a collective mass or at times different parts of different collective masses. It is a method of saying, "Yes, I am a reflection of society and let that society have a look at itself". For this purpose the word "we" was used regularly. It signifies my position in society as if I were the society having a look at itself.

In a course on bicultural issues it is necessary to recognise that we are reflections of a society which is hopefully advancing forward. Unfortunately today a lot of humanity is in despair and people think too much about their imperfections. They think: "Can I do it?". It is better to think along the lines "Yes, we are human beings and each of us are destined to do great things - that is why we are here." This type of positive thinking is needed to remove the injustices of the past and the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Our underlying motive is surely to move in harmony with each other. There may be quarrels along the way. But there will always be clash and cohesion in anything we do. There will always be the need to struggle through the bad times and enjoy the good. So let us move together, let us sing together in karakia and let us come to know our minds together.

In this way we can share from our past so that all people together may enjoy the universe and the diversity of interaction in this world and this country. Let us unite our intentions for a united human race with maximum colourful expressions from our different cultural heritages and backgrounds. While doing so let our hearts be inseparable. Let our minds be as one mind but with so many different expressions like different flowers in a bouquet of flowers held in a hand of unity as we truly come to know one another.

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