POU: manifesting paradigm shifts for engaging in kaupapa, tikanga and kawa
Before reading on, please note my disclaimer. This is my interpretation of a body of work that my husband, Hone (John) Wikitera has spent many hours thinking about. In comparison, my time spent on this kaupapa has been glaringly minimal, which I fully acknowledge. By profiling kaupapa such as this one, it spurs me on to these lofty heights where I attempt to make sense of what has evolved, and I get to do that from a very privileged front row seat. This is a work in progress, as all good kaupapa should be. It is also an extension of my deep, abiding admiration for my husband’s passion and rangahau. Nei rā te mihi aroha, e te tau.
Mid-way through 2018, as part of his work in exercise and nutrition for tamariki/mokopuna in Te Tai Tokerau, my husband John set about developing ideas that re-imagined te ao Māori concepts as a means to engage whānau Māori in hauora-related kaupapa. The mainstream approach has not always been an effective way to work with our whānau, many tired of the rhetoric being told about them — and even when the messages of exercise and nutrition for tamariki/mokopuna are positive and educative, the daily reality of just putting kai on the table tended to trump any aspiration to eat healthier. My sense is there needs to be more buy-in from whānau, and unfortunately, the messages alone have not been enough. What whānau appear to want more of though, relates to te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori that then have become an ideal vehicle from which to promote these kaupapa. These were fashioned into the innovative use of whakataukī about healthy nutrition and exercise, profiles of people talking about kai Māori, and short video clips highlighting important, historic landmarks throughout Te Tai Tokerau and how the associated stories related to exercise and nutrition.
The latest iteration in that series of ideas utilises the concept of pou, as a physical and symbolic representation of a particular kaupapa, and the tikanga and kawa related to that. Professor Meihana Durie, (who John had the immense good fortune to be taught by through his Te Kawa Oranga studies at Te Wānanga o Raukawa), impressed on my husband how seamless kaupapa, tikanga and kawa were to each other — each aspect informing the next. Traditionally, pou are carved pieces of wood that embody tūpuna or kaupapa kōrero. How John conceptualised the use of pou in his mahi was through the carved rākau or something symbolic of pou being a visual reminder of a particular kaupapa, for instance, a pou might be used to remind everyone that enters the area that they have a kaupapa there that is impacting whānau and community, such as easy access to foods and drinks that are sugary or have a high fat content. The tikanga in response to the kaupapa of that pou could be embedding practices around serving healthy kai/restricting unhealthy kai, or providing water only. Kaitiaki might help tamariki to grow and harvest huawhenua and huārakau, or provide whānau wānanga around establishing māra kai. The kawa underpinning the pou, (it could even be what the pou is named) might be ‘kai oranga’.
The significance of the pou can also be realised through its potential as a platform for collective decision-making, by kaimahi and whānau who have the opportunity to develop and build the kaupapa, tikanga and kawa themselves. Accordingly, the collective is given kaitiaki roles for what that pou becomes a physical and symbolic embodiment of. The collective is then tasked with the responsibilities and obligations of ensuring that the kaupapa, tikanga and kawa are maintained, as long as that pou is active. What I find innovative about this kaupapa, is the use of takutaku to activate the pou, and pure to bring the kaupapa to a close. How I have imagined this is likening it to entering a room and switching on the light — the room being the kaupapa, and turning the light on being the takutaku, so that the tikanga and kawa can be enabled. If there is no one in the room or if the collective leave (say to go home), then the pure switches the light off, because if there is no one about who has an obligation and responsibility to look after the kaupapa, then closing it ensures its integrity, even if it is just for the day or weekend, and thus activated again when the collective comes back.
This koha of pou has been extended to the kaupapa Māori organisation I manage, Te Korowai Aroha Whānau Services, with it currently benefitting the ā-wairua/rongoā aspect of our mahi, and also in the supervision services that we provide through Ūkaipō Associates. The rongoā mahi is championed by my sister Awhina Mitchell, who works alongside our other sister Pania Mitchell, Mike Whaanga and the founder of our kaupapa, Kahuwaero Katene (who all also champion various other kaupapa, such things as bereaved parents and mahi toi). Together, we have sustained the kaupapa of ‘manaakitangata’ at Te Korowai Aroha Whānau Services, throughout its 26 years of existence. In regards to rongoā, the conceptualisation of pou has allowed us to think about the type of rākau used to create them, for instance, pātete is rongoā for curbing a sweet tooth, and would be helpful with kaupapa associated with diabetes. Kohekohe is rongoā for suppressing hunger, and supports weight-loss. The type and potency of the rākau in relation to its benefits as rongoā can only enhance specific kaupapa and tikanga/kawa. With the supervision mahi, pou create a paradigm shift for kaimahi Māori who are wanting to engage in te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori. Instead of laying down the kawa at the initial assessment/first session, a pou might be crafted that embodies the kaupapa, with tikanga and kawa required for respectful kōrero that everyone is then obligated to follow, once the takutaku has been given. The pure provides the ideal opportunity to close the session. If other kaupapa emerge, then there is potential to create a variety of pou, with their own tikanga and kawa as a means of processing these issues.
Pou are a visual reminder to all that tikanga is present, and that if one is unsure of the kawa associated with that tikanga, that kaitiaki will make you aware of what those are. The ultimate goal is that pou are not needed as a reminder, as people normalise tikanga into kawa that happens without having to think about it. Pou signify a living mauri generated through activating kaupapa, and through specific practices. The importance of kawa and ‘practices’ became clearly evident to me while reading an article through which a story was shared about an African village who were constantly having to re-paint their huts after the wet season, and a person not from that village remarking ‘why don’t you just use permanent paint that can withstand the weather?’, to which a villager responded ‘you want to create forever, we want to forever create’. This highlights for Māori the devastation of colonisation that has kept us from being able to ‘forever create’, including the practices, rituals, ceremonies, karakia, waiata, and ways of doing that are indelibly connected to te ao Māori, but which are being consistently pegged back through such things as the revitalisation of te reo me ona tikanga, and through actively engaging in kaupapa such as these.
NB: www.maoridictionary.co.nz or www.learningmedia.co.nz/ngata are two good sources for accessing definitions for the Māori terms used here. Kia kaha!
