Whānau transformation through education

My tauira and I had the great privilege of listening to Whaea Shelley Hoani this morning. Such a mesmerising and inspiring wāhine toa she is. Her story will bring chills to your spine and make you want to 'live your best life because you can'. Whaea Shelley is the epitome of the mission statement of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa which is "Whānau transformation through education".

There were so many key points that struck me so deeply and inspire me to do more each and every day.

• A piece of paper is important but it cannot replace lived experience
• If we don't tell our stories others will continue to tell them for us.
• Being otherised in my own country
• Whose voices are being privileged
• Mātauranga and Knowledge (different worldviews)
• I am an expert in my way of living, being and knowing

Whakapapa Korero for Rangahau

Ranga = Weave

Hau = Winds

Reclaiming our narratives and making them visible

“The Whare-wananga of the Heavens. The house named Matangi-reia was that of the Supreme God IO. It was to this house that the god Tane went to secure from the Wananga-a-Rangi (heavenly knowledge), the knowledge of the wananga of Papa (knowledge of earthly things, laws, etc.).” p275

And here Walker (2004) explains in more detail, “According to Maori epistemology, humans have no knowledge of their own. All knowledge emanates from the celestial realm of the gods. Rangiatea, the storehouse of occult knowledge and prototype of the whare wananga, was situated in the uppermost realm of the heavens. Tanenuiarangi ascended to the uppermost heaven where he obtained the three baskets of knowledge from the Supreme Being. Tane brought the three baskets of knowledge – te kete tuauri, te kete tuatea and te kete aronui – down from the heavens for dissemination on earth. These baskets contained spiritual knowledge, celestial knowledge and knowledge of all the good things that men need to know for life on earth.” Pp344-345

Excerpt from Maginess, M. (2015, August 6). Rangahau, Research and Kaupapa Rangahau (as a Wananga response). Io-Maru-Taniwha Financial Freedom agent: GillionaireG. https://iomarutaniwha.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/rangahau-research-and-kaupapa-rangahau-as-a-wananga-response/

TWoA searched for a Māori concept and Rangahau was the term they adopted. As TWoA was founded in the tribal area of Tainui (one of the major Māori groups in New Zealand), it is no wonder that they sought a concept to underpin the institution’s Rangahau Strategy with Tainui traditions. This was found in the pūrākau (creation narrative) of Hani and Puna. Hani and Puna created Tiki-āhua, a male figure. When Tiki-āhua was completed, a heart was given unto it which was called Ranga-hau (The Questing Breath of Life). When this heart was implanted, Io [the Supreme God and creator of all things] purified it with these words: “This is Ranga-hau (The Questing Breath of Life). This is Manawa-tina (The Beating Heart). It is Manawa-toka (The Throbbing Heart).”

Then Hani and Puni created a female figure and named her Tiki-apoa. It is said that Tiki-āhua and Tiki-apoa’s descendants married those of Rangi and Papa (Sky and Earth) and humankind descends from these inter-marriages. The Tainui tradition also states that “it is the blood of Tiki-āhua and Tiki-apoa in us all that inspires the soul of man and urges him on to aspire to and acquire the knowledge of the gods.”

Excerpt from Hawkins, H. (2018). The Indwelling Spirit of Rangahau. Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, 7(4), 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1525/dcqr.2018.7.4.87