A Contemporary Pepeha? ContinuedâŚ..
Continuing our research on the Pepeha and how it might be applied to our project, we reached out to Herewini Easton, a Teacher and Learning Advisor from AUT. He helped answered our questions and gave us some material to consider.
The pepeha is a framework to introduce yourselves in terms of who am I, where am I, and where do I come from?
It isnât about me, itâs about who is behind me and in me.
Uses three spatial metaphors: connectedness, inside-outside, and grounding. (Penetito, 2009)
By reciting oneâs pepeha, you become kaitiaki, a guardian, of those entities. Each entity (mountain, river, land and ancestor) is a living entity and carries a narrative history.
What aspects of the pepeha could be updated into a contemporary pepeha?
Can the pepeha be applied to a group/collective context?
What would New Zealandâs pepeha be?
In the meeting, we discussed what national entities could be used in a New Zealand pepeha. For example, the whenua could be Waitangi as that is where the national marae is. The longest river in New Zealand is Waikato, so that could be considered the national body of water. However, we realised that the problem with creating a generic pepeha is that there is no entity that will personally connect to everyone. Once again raising the question: how do we go about reconciling personal and collective identity?
Can the pepeha play a role in forging a multicultural identity?
Are there any other relevant concepts related to the pepeha?
Can the Treaty of Waitangi play a role in forging a multicultural identity?
In answer to these questions, Herewini suggested we look at the Treaty of Waitangi as a related framework with a national application. He encouraged us to focus on its three principles: partnership, protection and participation, and how these could be applied to other contexts. From doing a quick research of this afterwards, it was interesting to see how itâs the values, principles and intentions of the Treaty that are considered more than what is written. Thus, the treaty can adapt to meet new circumstances. (Hayward, n.d.)
Another relevant concept he showed us was the wÄnanga which situates au (me/myself/I) within the different levels of connectedness:
WhÄnau â family; whÄnaunga â relative; whÄnaungatanga - sense of family connection and belonging; whakawhÄnaungatanga - process of establishing relationships which connects all three preceding components. (TKI & Ministry of Education, n.d.)
We really liked this framework because of how it reconciles the individual with the collective.
Overall, from this, we have created a list of areas we want to focus on moving forward:
We showed this to Donna and she suggested we map what the entities referred to in the pepeha signify in other cultures i.e. what those are (not necessarily literally) and why. One way to do that was to look at different mythologies to see how they portray them. This might help us adapt the pepeha to a multicultural context.
Hayward, J. (n.d.). Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi â ngÄ mÄtÄpono o te tiriti - What are the treaty principles?', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Retrieved on March 28, 2019 from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-nga-matapono-o-te-tiriti/page-1
Penetito, W. (2009). Place-Baed Education: Catering for Curriculum, Culture and Community. New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 18, 5-29
TKI & Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Outside-school wananga. Retrieved on March, 28, 2019, from http://hekakano.tki.org.nz/The-programme/Outside-school-wananga