The whakapapa of water

In a recent article for website thespinoff.co.nz Tina Ngata (Nga¯ti Porou) described the whakapapa of water to help people understand the prevailing Ma¯ori perspective on the current freshwater debate.

Her discourse is too important to summarise, so I have taken the liberty of quoting her opening statements extensively:

“Our world, Te Ao Ma¯ori, is a whakapapa — one vast genealogical chart that connects us as siblings, mutually dependent upon all that surrounds us in this time, and across time.

“Water first manifests this genealogy as Wainuia¯tea — the great expanse of water, the gathering of all waters — who was the first partner of Ranginui, the Sky Father. Freshwater first appears as a consequence of the parting of Ranginui, Sky Father, from Papatu¯a¯nuku, Earth Mother. Their grief and yearning for each other presents as the tear drops (rain) of Ranginui and the sighs (mist) of Papatu¯ a¯ nuku.

“We can therefore see freshwater as the inevitable consequence of atmosphere, upon which all life depends. It is brought about through the separation of land and sky, held in place through the Atua Ta¯ne, in the form of trees.

“In this form, Ta¯ne is known as Ta¯ne-Toko-Rangi — Ta¯ne who holds up the sky. However, one of his multitude of other forms is Ta¯ne te Waiora — Ta¯ne of the life-giving waters, of light, wellbeing and prosperity. It was the union of Ta¯ne te Waiora and Hinetu¯parimaunga, the Atua of mountains, that brought about Parawhenuamea, personification of freshwater on land.

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“That first sacred teardrop became Te Ihorangi, Atua of Rain, parent of the hundreds of different forms of rain and snow that each had its own name, and also parent of Tuna, the freshwater eel. Once born, Tuna was given into the care of Parawhenuamea and Hinemoana, Atua of freshwater and saltwater.

“Hakapapa helped us to consider the consequences of our actions across multiple spaces and make sense of what was happening around us. Indeed, relationships — hakapapa — are regularly cited as a foundational principle of Te Ao

"Our world, Te Ao Ma¯ ori, is a whakapapa — one vast genealogical chart that connects us as siblings . . . "

Ma¯ori.

“Ma¯ori scholars have often reflected upon the severe impacts of the loss of Mana Atua upon our people’s well-being, upon our perception of the world around us and our place in it … What was once a relationship based upon connectedness and reciprocity between us and our non-human ancestors thereby shifts towards one of dominion over and ownership of assets.”

In closing, I note that the above shift is not only unhealthy and unhelpful, it is all too often matched by a shift in the longstanding relationships between wha¯nau, hapu¯ and iwi (humans related by whakapapa) from reciprocity towards rancour over who has rights and responsibilities over which wai. In the meantime, the wai itself is degrading and dying right before our eyes.

It is way past time that we remembered or relearnt all of our whakapapa to each other, including to water, because ultimately, all life depends on it.