Master weaver Veranoa Hetet, a descendent of some of Aotearoa’s greatest weavers and carvers, sheds some light on common misconceptions around kākahu. I te taha o taku matua, nō ngā hapū o Ngāti Kinohaku, Ngāti Rora (Ngāti Maniapoto) me Ngāti Turangitukua (Ngāti Tuwharetoa) ahau. Ko Rangi Hetet tōku matua. I te taha o tōku whaea, … Read more
Grief is tough to navigate, wherever you come from. An incident involving the public sprinkling of ashes started a conversation this week on cultural belief versus the freedom to mourn however you need to. Spinoff Ātea editor Leonie Hayden talks to funeral director Francis Tipene about the tikanga around ashes and cremation. On Tuesday night … Read more
Every two years Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe invites Ngāi Tūhoe descendents to come together and celebrate their unique reo and culture. But how do urban Tūhoe express their Tūhoetanga when they live away from the lands of their tīpuna? Jason Renes attended this year’s festival to find out. There is mist around Rotorua on … Read more
There’s a lot of confusion from media and commentators this week about the cultural identity of newly minted National Party leader Simon Bridges and deputy Paula Bennett. Here’s a handy guide to tell if you, or some you know, might have a touch of the Māori. Do you have a Māori ancestor? Yes? Congratulations, you’re … Read more
On some scores, the National Party is streets ahead on Māori representation. But, asks Morgan Godfery, is it progress? Every politician keeps a list of regrets, and Labour politicians keep lists longer than most: they were the neoliberals, the foreshore and seabed thieves, and the slowpokes. If things were right and proper Simon Bridges would … Read more
Yesterday Auckland Council voted unanimously to endorse the rāhui placed by local iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki on the Waitākere Regional Park, and close all walking tracks to help fight the spread of the deadly kauri dieback disease. Edward Ashby, the executive manager of Te Kawerau ā Maki, explains what it’s all for. New Zealand … Read more
For many Waitangi Day is an opportunity to talk about tino rangatiratanga – Māori sovereignty and self-determination. But does sovereignty mean the same thing to all of us? Waitangi Day means many different things to many different people. To some it is a time of reflection on where we are as a country; for others … Read more
How the Hec Busby did we get here? Leonie Hayden looks at ocean voyaging and the badass ancestors that brought us across Moana-nui-a-Kiwa to Aotearoa. What do we mean when we give our pepha and talk about “our” waka? I’ve seen a waka, you can’t sail overseas in that! Check out the awesome Waka Odyssey, … Read more
Māori are continually over-represented in Aotearoa’s drowning statistics. Simon Day spoke to University of Otago’s Dr Anne-Marie Jackson about using traditional techniques to help teach water safety and reconnect Māori with their awa. In te ao Māori water is considered the source of all life. We are descended from the water, and it provides a … Read more
Joshua Hitchcock looks ahead to 2018 and hopes that the thriving Māori economy doesn’t overshadow other important areas of development. Two years ago I packed my bags, said goodbye to Mum, and boarded the plane to Heathrow. Following in the footsteps of millions of New Zealanders before me, I set out on the traditional OE … Read more
Inspired by Jonah Lomu and the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Churchill High School in Harare, Zimbabwe, has adopted and adapted ‘Ka Mate’, the haka made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks. Photojournalist Cornell Tukiri travelled to Harare see for himself and to ask: is this OK? Words and images by Cornell Tukiri. When a … Read more
The exhumed skull of a 3,000-year-old Welshwomen. Nazi submarines. Ancient Spanish shipwrecks. The pre-Māori white civilisation theories of Noel Hilliam and his friends have a lot going for them. Except any plausible evidence, writes Scott Hamilton. This post was first published May 22, 2017. I spent part of last week at an art gallery in Manurewa, helping to … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Michael Moka talks Māori entrepreneurship and bringing the whānau (values) to … Read more
It has been a landmark week for two prominent Māori lawyers – cause for much celebration among the Māori legal profession this Christmas. Last Friday Moana Jackson was awarded an honorary doctorate in law from Victoria University of Wellington, and yesterday long-serving high court justice, and former chief judge of the Māori Land Court, Justice … Read more
Kawakawa is said to have the healing properties of all the other plants in the ngahere combined. Donna Kerridge explains how to use this versatile plant. Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum) is one of the most easily recognised plants in the New Zealand bush with its heart shaped leaves, knobbly joints along its trunk, its holey leaves … Read more
Te Papa’s eighth iwi exhibition Ko Rongowhakaata is currently showing at the national museum in Wellington – showcasing taonga, contemporary art, and powerful stories of survival and tenacity. In this essay, Rongowhakaata kaumatua-in-residence Thelma Karaitiana speaks of the journey from Te Kore to Te Papa. Te Kore From the nothingness of Te Kore and through … Read more
The forthcoming inquiry into state care abuse must remember that women were victims, too, writes Paora Moyle, herself a former ward of the state. Last week on The Spinoff, Aaron Smale shared personal stories of state abuse of indigenous people in New Zealand, Australia and Canada, and asked what we can learn as New Zealand … Read more
Buddy Mikaere finds bias and misrepresentation in Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds, an otherwise acclaimed history of early New Zealand by Anne Salmond. Anne Salmond’s new book Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds is broadly divided into two parts. Part one revisits the already well traversed history of the early contact years between Māori and … Read more
In a powerful and acclaimed first parliamentary speech, the new Labour MP pledges to give a voice to the voiceless Kiri Allan was elected to parliament via the Labour list. She wrote a candidate’s diary for the Spinoff during the recent campaign. Read her entries, and those of fellow new MPs Erica Stanford and Chlöe … Read more
Graham Cameron uses his background in public service to look at how the dominant model in health and education is selling us all short. The Minister of Social Development announced this week that they will repeal the part of the Social Security Act that requires sole parents to identify the other parent or face benefit … Read more
In opposition, Kelvin Davis was a vocal advocate for an overhaul of the lock-’em-up approach. In government, will he walk the talk, or cow to the reactionaries, asks criminologist Liam Martin Construction is set to begin next year on the biggest prison New Zealand has ever seen. A facility for 2000 prisoners is to be … Read more
Leonie Hayden presents Kaupapa On The Couch, a six-part webseries looking at interesting issues and events in te ao Māori. What do we mean when we refer to our mountains and rivers as ancestors? Episode three looks at the world-leading legislation in Aotearoa that recognises Te Urewera National Park and the Whanganui River as people. … Read more
As Treaty commentator Joshua Hitchcock prepares to return home from London, he is optimistic for the new Labour government, but argues that reflecting on past mistakes will help them regain Māori trust. Ka mua, ka muri. This rather elegant Māori proverb reminds us that to move forward, we must keep one eye on our past. … Read more
Health campaigner Te Miri Rangi looks at what we can learn from our ancestors about the ancient art of a good night’s rest. When it comes to adopting a healthy lifestyle, the first two things that we turn to are eating healthy kai and exercising more often. But there are a number of pillars that … Read more
Playwright Miria George talks to Leonie Hayden about her new satire of Māori ‘one-percenters’, and challenging assumptions about what Māori art should be. The Vultures is a curious departure from most Māori theatre I’ve seen. It’s not explicitly about post-colonial disenfranchisement or violence, although it can be argued these underpin all Māori existence. It’s about … Read more
Practitioner Donna Kerridge introduces the core philosophy behind Aotearoa’s oldest medical practice. “If modern society is to have a future, what we need above all is a renewed respect for nature and reverences for the life of all created things” – Jurger Moltmann The essence of rongoā Māori and many other indigenous health practices is … Read more
The tohutō (macron) is an important and powerful part of te reo Māori. Simon Day explains how to use it. The macron matters. The use of the tohutō is essential for the pronunciation, meaning, and status of te reo Māori. When you see a vowel with its hat on it means the sound is held … Read more
Joshua Hitchcock looks at the Māori Party initiatives most at risk from a new government: the Whānau Ora health programme and the Māori land law reforms. The votes are in, negotiations are underway, and while we enjoy the peaceful interregnum between the election and the formation of a new government, the election results have sent … Read more
Filmmaker Kath Akuhata-Brown looks at the unique challenges of making Waru, a film directed by eight Māori women. Beneath the yelling and screaming of our recent general election, as child poverty was being turned into a political platform, a group of Māori filmmakers quietly went about the task of drawing attention to the issue in … Read more