In conversation with the atua:

INTRODUCTION

The following excerpts over the next few weeks comes from an essay/ article I wrote with the help of a writers scholarship from Te Atawhai o te Ao and is around ‘atuatanga.’ I’d love to hear your thoughts as to how purakau have added to your own healing if you feel like sharing.

In relation to how pūrākau are being utilised in different sectors, this essay needs updating. For example in the arts field, the film Moana has showcased the exploits of Maui. And more recently Tumatauenga, god of warfare got a mention in the recent Marvel film - Thor: Love and Thunder.

But perhaps most significantly within the health arena is the growth, development and movement of Mahi a Atua in indigenising our own spaces, addressing institutional racism and effecting systemic change all with the power of pūrākau. Have a read of their recent publications.

I’d welcome any other updates readers might know of or other examples they are aware of. Slowly but surely, we are returning to a space where the actions of our ancestors are observed, acknowledged and channeled on a daily basis: In covnersation with the atua.

In conversation with the atua: The use of pūrākau as a therapeutic medium for healing and recovery[1],[2]

Lisa Cherrington (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Clinical Psychologist/ Writer)

Introduction

Whether we are aware of it or not, we are forever in conversation with the atua. When the mist rises off the land, it is Papatūānuku reminding us that she still mourns for the loss of Ranginui, her lover and father of their children. When the skies open up with rain, it is Ranginui expressing his longing for Papatūānuku. When the southerly storms and winds beats at the land, trees and our homes, it is Tāwhirimatea, god of the winds, telling us he did not agree to the separation of his parents, Ranginui and Papatūānuku. When we are at the beach on a hot summer’s day and our children run into the water and out again as a wave gives chase, there in itself is a two way conversation with Tangaroa. When we attend a tangihanga, it is Hine-nui-te-pō we acknowledge in karanga and whaikōrero and ask that she be there to embrace our loved one. 

Our tears. Our breath. Our thoughts. Our actions. Our kōrero. All are conversations with the atua. For many of us, we simply do not take in what is around us. For some of us, we don’t know the stories that are connected with the atua. For others, we are too busy to acknowledge these conversations. However, it these conversations with the atua in their many and varied forms that is an essential part of our identity and well-being as Māori. Reclaiming and reconnecting these stories back into our everyday lives as once our tupuna did is essential for our well-being, and for others is integral to a journey of healing and recovery. From an indigenous perspective, it has been noted that indigenous people around the world still tell ancestral stories to evoke healing spirits and inspire change (Meade, 1995, cited in Sunwolf, 2013). In addition, Sunwolf (2013) refers to the therapeutic value of both story-telling and story listening within indigenous populations.

The use of pūrākau as a therapeutic medium has been an area of interest in my professional career as both a clinical psychologist and creative writer. Christopher Volger (1993), author of the infamous screenwriters guide, The Writers Journey – Mythic Structure for Writers, identified through his exploration of mythic stories worldwide and the work of renowned mythologist, Joseph Campbell, a common mythic structure that could be found across all cultures. In short, myths typically involved a hero who embarked on a staged journey beginning with ‘the call’ to engage in a particular quest and ending in the hero returning from this quest somehow changed. The hero’s quest could be linked across cultures to story-telling, writing and well-being:

…I found many others were exploring the intertwined pathways of myth, story and psychology (Volger, 1993: 20).

As a psychologist and creative writer, this statement resounded deeply within me. I felt at long last someone else understood the connections between my own need to write and re-tell stories (aka creative writing), my search for stories belonging uniquely to me as a Māori woman (aka pūrākau) and my own quest towards developing a kaupapa Māori psychology informed by both traditional and contemporary understandings. Whilst the ideas of both Campbell and Volger struck a chord within me, I felt that despite these commonalities, there was still a need to explore all of these facets - mythology, the narrative form and psychology from a uniquely indigenous perspective.

In conversation with the atua, is both a personal reflection and acknowledgement of influences in my quest to bring these three areas (mythology, story and psychology) together. Examples of the different types of conversations people are engaging in with the atua in are provided (i.e. theatre, poetry, drama, film, short story) in addition to overviewing the different contexts with which they are being utilised (i.e. mental health, education). From this overview, which is in no way exhaustive, some examples of and explanations of how pūrākau could be used in a therapeutic context are provided. However, whether we are a client, a therapist or merely an interested reader, telling and hearing the stories of our ancestors and the incorporation of pūrākau back into our daily lives as a people is healing and recovery in itself. We are back in conversation with the atua.

Reflections on running

by Ross Himiona

On a warm sunny day, I run through sun filled valley,
bathed in the healing glow of Ranginui,
ancestral Sky Father.

In a southerly storm I run the hills:
gale rain lashed, Thunder growled, lightning flash-warned;
at play with Tāwhirimatea, ancestral cousin,
God of the Winds.

I run the sea shore serene in calm stillness,
powerful in mighty display;
in all the moods of Tangaroa,
Cousin God of the Oceans.

I run with all the children of Tane, procreator of humankind
God of the mighty forests,
ancestral shelter, provider.

My feet caress the soft gentle skin of Papatūānuku, Earth Mother;
and I am enfolded by Her,
in love.

I run in an Inner World led there by Tane-te-wānanga;
he who ascended the upper realms
to Tikitiki-o-rangi the Uppermost,
gained there for all mankind three baskets of knowledge
from Io-Matua,
Parent of all that there is in this and in every realm

I run with Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga,
Trickster Shaman.
We play, adventure, seek challenge;
pit ourselves against ourselves,
and all who would play with us.
With Māui I laugh at the World.

I run the hills and valleys and shores
where once the Earthly ancestors ran,
bathed in the spiritual fire that once bathed them;
and still does.

I run from Te Korekore, Potential,
Womb of all Creation
whence Universe birthed itself,
through Te Po, long darkness of Unfolding,
to Te Whai-ao, first glimmer of dawn,
into Te Ao Marama, bright light of day;
Universe revealed.

I discover the Universe
of Io-Matua-Kore the Parentless
And I discover myself.[3]

Pūrākau: what are they?

In mainstream society, pūrākau have often been translated as traditional stories akin to mythology and folklore. The lay definitions of mythology, and indeed folklore suggest a different interpretation to traditional understandings of pūrākau. For example, consider this discussion around the difference between mythology and folklore:

Mythology is typically considered to have a much larger scale than folklore, and to involve titanic events and characters. A story told about the creation of the universe or how the world was made is usually referred to as mythology. Similarly, the characters in mythology are often larger and more impossible figures than characters commonly found in folklore. Both mythology and folklore involve fictional stories and characters, but the people in myths are often divine or immortal beings who fight fantastical monsters and are involved in events that shape the very nature of the world.[4]

Pūrākau refer to the stories about the creation of the world and the trials and tribulations of the many and varied atua that then came into existence. Pūrākau can be aligned with kōrero tawhito[5] and Māori cosmology (Pitama, Ririnui & Mikaere, 2002). In addition, Māori can trace back their whakapapa (genealogy) back to these atua and it is in this sense that the atua are regarded as ancestors or kawai tipuna (revered ancestors).[6] From this perspective, pūrākau were never regarded as ‘fictional stories and characters.’

In considering a definition of pūrākau, Dr Charles Royal (2000) breaks the word down, where the word pū stands for the first shoot that appears and from which an entire tree grows, rākau. He then equates this with the activities of Tāne Māhuta, god of the forests and mankind. It was Tāne Māhuta who succeeded in separating Ranginui and Papatūānuku and as such then led us from the world of darkness to the world of light. Royal asserts then that any activity that can be:

conceptualised into the growth of the tree and therefore into Tāne’s paradigmatic act is an enterprise, in traditional thinking, of the deepest significance. It is for this reason that I have used pūrākau to stand for those stories which contain the Māori world’s deepest and most importance perspectives of the world and the human condition.

Because pūrākau refer to, indeed conjure up, the spirits of illustrious forbears, pūrākau are therefore sacred texts. They are kawa in themselves whose express purpose is to manifest divinities, familiars and ancestors in the consciousness of the storyteller and the listener (Royal, 2000:3).

In essence, Royal’s conceptualisation of pūrākau incorporates a genre of storytelling that incorporates a very spiritual element and significance that goes beyond contemporary definitions of mythology. The content of pūrākau, the very nature of re-telling the stories of our atua and the influence of this on both story-teller and listener is in fact a conversation with the atua that taps into an essential part of Māori well-being: te taha wairua (spiritual well-being). 

The essential role of the story-teller of pūrākau is also considered as paramount in the transmission of intergenerational knowledge:

Myths mean different things at different times. Originating in ancient pre-literate societies, traditional oral story telling was an entertainment, utilised in ritual performances and, perhaps more crucially, was a means of transmitting significant information between the generations. The people who shared oral narratives were simultaneously and without doubt, the living repositories of their society’s preceding and contemporary histories. They were, in effect, living breathing encyclopaedias, dictionaries, interpreters, entertainers and educationalists. Ancient oral narratives were infused with the orators’ and performers own life force, and so the stories were transmitted with the authority of multi-generational transmission (Malcom-Buchanan, 2008:9).

Pūrākau influenced traditional society immensely. If we were to travel back in time to 1350 when The Great Fleet migration occurred from Hawaiki to Aotearoa, we would see a people whose knowledge, understanding and integration of pūrākau infiltrated every aspect of life. Knowledge and belief in pūrākau provided the context and background to kawa and tikanga. Specific activities required specific karakia (incantations) to acknowledge the atua and the specific realm within which our ancestors were interacting in. In essence our ancestors were, back in this time, in constant conversations with the atua. These pūrākau or kōrero tawhito have been passed on from generation to generation in order that each generation would then learn the teachings of their tipuna and are one of the origins of tikanga Māori.[7]

During the process of assimilation and colonisation, the extent to which pūrākau were a part of everyday life changed significantly. As noted by Dr Ranginui Walker, the dominant culture relegated pūrākau.

The validity of myths was not questioned by the Māori until the post-Christian era when they were displaced by the mythology of a new culture. Today ‘kōrero pūrākau’ has the same negative connotation of untruth as it is only a myth (Walker, 1978:10).

It is argued the pūrākau showcase the creative activities of the atua or kawai tipuna and the activities of human beings which all have underlying themes and influence the way Māori society operated.[8] In contemporary society, Walker (1978) refers to the ‘myth-messages’ embedded in Māori mythology, and how these myth-messages need to be more clearly stated for understanding:

In a culture that lives and grows, there needs to be nothing outmoded or discredited about mythology. Properly understood, Māori mythology and traditions provide myth-messages to which the Māori can people can respond today. All that is needed is that these myth-messages be more clearly sign posted. The myth-messages now need to be spelled out to the modern Māori (Walker, 1978: 20).

In essence, pūrākau are an intergenerational transmission of knowledge; they showcase origins of tikanga Māori and the activities of our tupuna and ancestors. An understanding of pūrākau goes much deeper beyond a translation of ‘mythology’ and incorporates a spiritual interaction with our ancestors as highlighted in the earlier poem and the following karakia:

Tēnā Koutou e nga Atua

Tēnā Koutou e ngā Atua ki a Io matua te kore, ki a Io o te wānanga, kei te mihi

Ki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku te aio me te whenua, kei te mihi

Ki a Tāne-nui-a-rangi nāna i hora te mātauranga, kei te mihi

Ki a Mahuika nana te mura ahi kia mahana ai i tōku tinana, kei te mihi

Ki a Tāne Māhuta te whare whakaruruhau mōku, kei te mihi

Ki a Mahuika, Nāna te mura ahi kia mahana ai i tōku tinana, kei te mihi

Ki a Tama-nui-te-ra ki a Tāne-ā-rore rāua i papapaka ai i tōku kiri, kei te mihi

Ki a Tāwhirimatea nāna i pupuhi te hau ora ki te tangata, kei te mihi

Ki a Hine-te-Ihorangi nāna te ua hei whakamāku i tōku tinana, kei te mihi

Ki a Tangaroa ki a Hinemoana ki a Maru ki a Haumietiketike koutou i whāngai i tōku tinana, kei te mihi

Ki a koutou katoa i te ao, i te pō, Haumi e, hui e, taiki e

(by Tipi Wehipeihana)

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[1] Reference: Cherrington, L. (2017). In conversation with the Atua: The use of pūrākau as a therapeutic medium for healing and recovery. Article to support presentation ‘Clinical Psychology in Aotearoa: The way forward’ at Symposium Te Kūwatawata, Hauora Tairāwhiti, Gisborne Hospital, New Zealand May, 2017.

[2]  Acknowledgement for the Writer’s scholarship Kokonga Whare  from Te Atawhai o te Ao – Independent Māori Research Institute for Environment and Health, Whanganui

[3] Retrieved from http://maaori.com/misc/running.htm

[4] http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-mythology-and-folklore.htm

[5] http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/publications-archived/2001/he-hinatore-ki-te-ao-Māori-a-glimpse-into-the-Māori-world/part-1-traditional-Māori-concepts/te-ao-Māori-tawhito

[6] ibid