Te Ao Mārama

The way a particular culture views the world is expressed through the myths and traditions

concerning the creation of the world. It presents a perspective on how all phenomena have

come into existence, referring to both the tangible (natural phenomena) and intangible realities

(values, qualities and levels of consciousness). Royal (1998) explains that Māori epistemology,

and cosmology for that matter, are contained in the concept of Te Ao Mārama.

[The] Māori knowledge system, which includes whakapapa, karakia, technology and so on, in

their totality, can be referred to as the Te Ao Mārama worldview and philosophy. (p. 23)

Whakapapa

Whakapapa - which literally means ‘to create a base, a foundation’ - encapsulates two kinds of

knowledge: tātai (the word for genealogy) and kōrero (the stories and narratives that discuss

those items noted in the genealogy). Thus, whakapapa ‘refers to the act of creating a foundation

or base through the recitation of genealogies and stories’ (Royal 2010). It communicates both

the genealogy of phenomena and the genealogy of people. The genealogy of phenomena details

the order of the coming into existence, from the immaterial to the material aspects of our

reality, whereas the genealogy of people details the lineage of whānau (family), hapū (sub-

tribe) and iwi (tribe). The Māori whakapapa of phenomena is complex and specific. It develops

logically from the Root Cause (Io), the primordial beginnings of the Void (Te Kore) and the

Night (Te Po), to the more specialised objects of the natural world. Although it is beyond the

scope of this study to present a comprehensive overview of these causal relationships, it is

note-worthy to see, as an example, that in this whakapapa Te Wānanga (Learning) begets Te

Hauora (Well-being). Royal (1998) interprets this to mean ‘that well-being is the outcome of

learning and education […] and that a process cannot be called educative if well-being is not the

outcome’ (p. 55).

Of central importance to Māori cosmology is the separation of Ranginui (Sky Father) and

Papatūānuku (Mother Earth), which marked the emergence of Te Ao Mārama (pp. 47- 51). This

event symbolises the separation of male and female principles - giving space to each. It not only

created space but also introduced light, necessary for the development of their offspring and

Tool: Introduction to the Māori Worldview

the natural world. Light in this context refers to the natural phenomenon, as well as the

metaphorical sense of enlightenment or growing understanding of how things are. Royal

(1998) suggests that the carved ancestral meetinghouse (wharenui) is perhaps the best-known

symbol of Te Ao Mārama. The roof symbolises Ranginui, the floor Papatūānuku, and the pillars,

upholding the roof, represent the posts used by Tāne to lift his father, thus separating his

parents. Above the doorway is a carving of Hinenui-i-te-pō - the Māori goddess who guards the

passage between life and death - thus making the doorway the symbolical transition from Te Pō

to Te Ao Mārama (pp. 59-60).

In The Woven Universe - the selected writings of Rev. Māori Marsden (Royal, 2003) - Marsden

suggests that ‘the Māori had a three-world view, of potential being symbolised by Te Korekore,

the world of becoming portrayed by Te Pō, and the world of being, Te Ao Mārama’ (p. 20).

The word ‘kore’ means ‘not, negative, nothing’. When the root of a word is doubled in Māori, it

intensifies in meaning. […] How is it possible to intensify that which is already absolute? By

means of a thorough-going negativity, that which is negative proceeds beyond its limits and

assumes the characteristics of the positive. […] Thus Te Korekore is the realm between non-

being and being: that is, the realm of potential being. (p. 20)

One possible way of grasping this process is to compare it with the cultivation of a seed. The

seed (Te Korekore) contains the potential of a full-grown plant or tree, the process of cultivation

(Te Pō) is what brings out the potential, and the result of a successful process of cultivation is

the coming into existence of the plant or tree (Te Ao Mārama). This three-fold process of

creation - as we shall see later in this chapter - can be linked with the three stages of the

devising process, whereby the point of departure is the potential or the seed, the devising

process the becoming or the process of cultivation, and the performance the world of being or

the fruition.

Core Values

Of fundamental importance to the Te Ao Mārama philosophy are the six fundamental

values/concepts of: manaakitanga, rangatiratanga, whanaungatanga, tohungatanga, ūkaipō,

and kotahitanga (Royal 1998: pp. 215-216). In this section we will discuss the meaning and

interpretation of each of these six values, based on the keynote address by Dr Charles Royal

(2009) at a New Pacific Theatre wānanga on Matiu/Somes Island in preparation for the

performance Ex_isle of Strangers (Dir. Bert van Dijk, 2010).

Manaakitanga:

Mana is the core concept in manaakitanga - it is the essence or the reality of a being. It is not

the same as power, as so many people seem to think. Mana relates to the spiritual essence,

whereas mauri relates to the physical or body essence. Mana aki is ‘to uplift mana’. The word

tanga is ‘the art of’. Therefore, manaakitanga is the art of uplifting mana. It is the mutual

uplifting of one another’s spiritual essence.

Rangatiratanga:

Ranga means ‘to weave’ and tira refers to a group with a certain purpose. Therefore

rangatiratanga is the art of weaving together groups of people who share a certain purpose.

Charles used in this context the image of a school of fish, or a flock of birds. They are united by a

desire to act in unison. There is a strong sense of goodwill: they want to be together. Another

aspect of this image is that each member of the group can influence the direction the group

takes and as such there is a sense of shared leadership or collaboration. The value or concept of

rangatiratanga corresponds strongly with the collaborative nature of devising theatre, but

adds a poetic image and specific Māori dimension to it. Collaboration and the value of

rangatiratanga form one of the four core strands of a New Pacific Theatre (see chapter eight).

Whanaungatanga:

Whānau literally means birth. All life is birthed. Whānau then is a group of individuals who

share in the one life - facilitating one another. Whanaunga is a relative and it is important to

understand that for Māori the whole world is one whānau. Therefore, whanaungatanga is the

art of relating and relationship. In this context life is understood through relationships, and

everything is in a state of interconnectedness. We saw in chapter one, that Bishop (2005)

identified whanaungatanga as a core value of Kaupapa Māori Research. The concept of

interconnectedness is not uniquely Māori. It is, for example, also a core notion of Buddhist

philosophy, and expressed in the notion of the oneness of self and the environment.

Whanaungatanga became a core focus and strategy during the creative development of Ex_isle

of Strangers, and will be adopted as one of the supporting pillars of a New Pacific Theatre

practice.

Tohungatanga:

Tohu literally means symbol. Metaphorically speaking it describes the arrival of mana in a

physical vessel. The Māori proverb ‘Ka tohungia tēnei tangata’ refers to the circumstance that

this particular person is anointed. In other words mana (the spiritual essence) has arrived. A

tohunga then is a person who is a vessel of mana, and subsequently is able to see things in a

new way (illumination), and call to action. Therefore, tohungatanga is the art of bringing about

mana in physical vessels. In theatre this could be seen to correspond with the process of filling

the vessel of physical and vocal actions with feeling, intention or imagery. In other words, it is

the process of giving quality to the form, thus lifting the actions into an artistic realm.

Ūkaipō:

The word ū means ‘breast milk’, the word kai is ‘to consume’, and pō relates to darkness.

Therefore, ūkaipō is ‘breast-milk consuming the darkness’. It refers to physical places in which

we are renewed, healed, nourished, and brought back to life (Te Ao Mārama). These places are

different for everybody. Charles (2009) quoted the Māori proverb ‘E hoki koe ki tō ūkaipō; kia

purea koe i ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea’. This proverb, or whakataukī, means: return to your

ūkaipō, to be cleansed by the winds of Tāwhirimātea. Ūkaipō refers to a special place, or

activity, that nurtures the soul. This place or activity is unique and different for each one of us.

For some it could be walking down the beach, for others to be at home - listen to beautiful

music, or to go out to dance or sing, and so on. It is one of the central functions of the whare

tapere - and, I maintain, for all theatre - to provide spiritual nourishment to its participants

(performers and spectators).

Kotahitanga:

We live in a world of duality and separateness: good/bad, darkness/light, etc. Kotahitanga is

about overcoming separateness - building wholeness in a world of divisions. Although the

strong focus on division may disguise our connectedness, the reality is that we don’t live in

isolation, but instead are part of an interwoven web of being in the world. The value of

kotahitanga aims to foreground the equality and oneness of all being - a mission that is also at

the heart of Buddhist practice. Daisaku Ikeda (1982) explains that when Shakyamuni, the

original Buddha, attained enlightenment under the bodhi (fig) tree more than 2500 years ago,

he discovered ‘the wonderful truth that all phenomena and human lives are mutually related,

influential and permeating’ (p. 84). It is a delusion to regard our existence as separate and

independent from all phenomena and the laws of nature. This delusion causes us to experience

birth, old age, illness and death as sufferings. When this attitude ‘is abandoned in favour of the

belief that the individual life is closely connected with the great universal life-force’, our unity

in diversity becomes apparent (p. 85). Kotahitanga provides a strong and meaningful guide to

overcome separateness, supporting the mission of a New Pacific Theatre to connect.

Cited Resources:

Ex_isle of Strangers. Dir. Bert van Dijk. Site-specific performance, Matiu Somes Island, New

Zealand, April 2010. Performance.

Royal, Charles. Matiu Wānanga. Matiu Somes Island. January 31 2009. Keynote address.

Royal, Charles. Te Whare Tapere: Towards a Model for Māori Performing Arts. Wellington:

Department of Theatre and Film, VUW, 1998. PhD thesis. Print.

Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles (Ed.). The Woven Universe: Selected Writings of Rev. Māori

Marsden. Otaki: Estate of Rev, Māori Marsden, 2003. Print.

Royal, Charles. Exploring Indigenous Knowledge. Paper delivered for “The Indigenous

Kowledges Conference – Reconciling Academic Priorities with Indigenous Realities”,

Victoria University. Ōrotokare. 25 June 2005. Web. 13 March 2010.

http://www.orotokare.org.nz/Default.aspx?page=2668

Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles. “Why Methodology? Kaupapa Māori and Mātauranga Māori

Presentation”. Rangahau. 19 November 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.

http://www.rangahau.co.nz/methodology/59/.

Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles. “Ōrotokare: Towards a New Model for Indigenous Theatre and

Performing Arts.” Performing Aotearoa: New Zealand Theatre and Drama in an Age of

Transition. Ed. Marc Maufort and David O’Donnell. Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang S.A., 2007.

Print.