He Whiringa Wainuku: A Weaving of Māori Genealogies in Land, Water, and Memory

Abstract

Māori conceptualisations of ancestral environs and its connections to memory often reside in the realm of whakapapa (genealogy) having originated from Papatūānuku and Ranginui (primordial ancestors and gods), their loving embrace, and their eventual separation that carved the space for nourishing lands and waters. These stories of whakapapa were passed down intergenerationally through many Māori creative expressions, including waiata (songs), haka (posture dance), pūrākau (stories), whakataukī (proverbial sayings), ruruku (sequence of incantations), and karakia (prayers). This has resulted in a genealogically and environmentally derived Māori music theory. The disruption of settler-colonialism aimed to sever whakapapa from the memory as being reflected in our ancestral environs and within the hearts of Māori. ‘He Whiringa Wainuku’ refers to the weaving of water elements on earth and sets the imagery for decolonising the interconnections of whakapapa, land, water, and memory through Kaupapa Māori methodologies and Māori creative expressions.