Whakapapa Whakapapa Whakapapa was particularly well developed in Māori oral literature, where it served several functions in the recounting of tradition. Firstly it served to provide a kind of time scale which unified all Māori
mythMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
,
traditionThe word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:...
, and
historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
, from the distant past to the present. It linked living people to the gods and the legendary heroes. By quoting appropriate genealogical lines, a narrator emphasised his or her connection with the characters whose deeds were being described, and that connection also proved that the narrator had the right to speak of them. "In the cosmogonic genealogies, to be described later, genealogical recital is revealed as a true literary form. What appears at first sight to be a mere listing of names is in fact a cryptic account of the evolution of the universe"' (Biggs 1966:447).
Poetry
Māori poetry was always sung or chanted; musical rhythms rather than linguistic devices served to distinguish it from prose.
RhymeA rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
or
assonanceAssonance is refrain of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as one of the building blocks of verse. For example, in the phrase "Do you like blue?", the is repeated within the sentence and is assonant.Assonance...
were not devices used by the Māori; only when a given text is sung or chanted will the metre become apparent. The lines are indicated by features of the music. The language of poetry tends to differ stylistically from prose. Typical features of poetic diction are the use of synonyms or contrastive opposites, and the repetition of key words. "Archaic words are common, including many which have lost any specific meaning and acquired a religious mystique. Abbreviated, sometimes cryptic utterances and the use of certain grammatical constructions not found in prose are also common" (Biggs 1966:447-448).
Prose narrative
Prose narrative forms the great bulk of Māori legendary material. Some appears to have been sacred or esoteric, but many of the legends were well-known stories told as entertainment in the long nights of winter. "Nevertheless, they should not be regarded simply as fairy tales to be enjoyed only as stories. The Māui myth, for example, was important not only as entertainment but also because it embodied the beliefs of the people concerning such things as the origin of fire, of death, and of the land in which they lived. The ritual chants concerning firemaking, fishing, death, and so on made reference to Māui and derived their power from such reference" (Biggs 1966:448).
Myths
Myths are set in the remote past and their content often has to do with the supernatural. They present Māori ideas about the creation of the universe and the origins of gods and of people. The mythology accounts for natural phenomena, the weather, the stars and the moon, the fish of the sea, the birds of the forest, and the forests themselves. Much of the culturally institutioned behaviour of the people finds its sanctions in myth. "Perhaps the most distinctive feature of myth, as distinct from tradition, is its universality. Each of the major myths is known in some version not only throughout New Zealand but also over much of Polynesia as well" (Biggs 1966:448).
The Māori understanding of the development of the universe was expressed in genealogical form. These genealogies appear in many versions, in which several symbolic themes constantly recur. "Evolution may be likened to a series of periods of darkness (pō) or voids (kore), each numbered in sequence or qualified by some descriptive term. In some cases the periods of darkness are succeeded by periods of light (ao). In other versions the evolution of the universe is likened to a tree, with its base, tap roots, branching roots, and root hairs. Another theme likens evolution to the development of a child in the womb, as in the sequence “the seeking, the searching, the conception, the growth, the feeling, the thought, the mind, the desire, the knowledge, the form, the quickening”. Some, or all, of these themes may appear in the same genealogy" (Biggs 1966:448).
The cosmogonic genealogies are usually brought to a close by the two names Rangi and Papa (father sky and mother earth). The marriage of this celestial pair produced the gods and, in due course, all the living things of the earth (Biggs 1966:448).
The earliest full account of the origins of gods and the first human beings is contained in a manuscript entitled
Nga Tama a Rangi (The Sons of Heaven), written in 1849 by Wī Maihi Te Rangikāheke, of the
Ngāti Rangiwewehi tribe of
RotoruaRotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
. The manuscript "gives a clear and systematic account of Māori religious beliefs and beliefs about the origin of many natural phenomena, the creation of woman, the origin of death, and the fishing up of lands. No other version of this myth is presented in such a connected and systematic way, but all early accounts, from whatever area or tribe, confirm the general validity of the Rangikāheke version. It begins as follows: 'My friends, listen to me. The Māori people stem from only one source, namely the Great-heaven-which-stands-above, and the Earth-which-lies-below. According to Europeans, God made heaven and earth and all things. According to the Māori, Heaven (Rangi) and Earth (Papa) are themselves the source' " (Biggs 1966:448).
The corpus of Māori myths
According to Biggs (1966:448), the main corpus of Māori mythology unfolds in three story complexes or cycles, which are:
- The cosmogonic genealogies relating the origins of gods and people
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- Rangi and Papa
In Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world...
- Hine-nui-te-pō
Hine-nui-te-pō is a goddess of night and death, and the ruler of the underworld. She is a daughter of Tāne. She fled to the underworld because she discovered that Tāne, whom she had married, was also her father. Red colour of sunset coming from her.All of the children of Rangi and Papa were male...
- The Māui complex of myths
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- Māui
In Māori mythology, Māui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery.-Māui's birth:The offspring of Tū increased and multiplied and did not know death until the generation of Māui-tikitiki . Māui is the son of Taranga, the wife of Makeatutara...
- Irawaru
In Māori mythology, Irawaru is the origin of the dog. He is the husband of Hinauri, the sister of Māui. Māui becomes annoyed with Irawaru and stretches out his limbs, turning him into a dog. In some stories, Irawaru as a dog eats faeces...
- Tinirau and Kae
In Māori mythology, Tinirau is a guardian of fishes. He is a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea. His home at Motutapu is surrounded with pools for breeding fish. He also has several pet whales....
- The Tāwhaki complex of myths
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- Tāwhaki
In Māori mythology, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder. While he has some god-like attributes, in the legends he is described as 'a man from this world' .-Genealogy:...
- Wahieroa
In Māori mythology, Wahieroa is a son of Tāwhaki, and father of Rātā.Tāwhaki was attacked and left for dead by two of his brothers-in-law, jealous that their wives preferred the handsome Tāwhaki to them. He was nursed back to health by his wife Hinepiripiri. She helped him back to their house, and...
- Rātā
In Māori mythology, accounts vary somewhat as to the ancestry of Rātā. Usually he is a grandson of Tāwhaki and son of Wahieroa. Wahieroa is treacherously killed by Matuku-tangotango, an ogre...
- Matuku-tangotango
In Māori mythology, Matuku-tangotango is an ogre who kills Wahieroa the son of Tāwhaki. In some versions, Matuku lives in a cave called Putawarenuku. Rātā, the son of Wahieroa, sets off to avenge his murdered father, and arrives at last at Matuku's village. He hears from Matuku's servant that at...
- Tūwhakararo
In Māori mythology, Tūwhakararo is a chief in Hawaiki. Tūwhakararo went on a visit to the Āti Hāpai people, whose chief, Poporokewa, had married Tūwhakararo's sister Mairatea. In a wrestling match he was treated unfairly, and was killed in a treacherous manner...
- Whakatau
In Māori mythology, Whakatau is a son of Tūwhakararo and Apakura. One day Apakura throws her apron into the sea, and a sea deity named Rongotakawhiu takes it and works it into human form, and Whakatau is born. The sea deity teaches him the arts of enchantment. As the child grows older, people see...
Traditions
"Every Māori social group had its own body of traditional belief which validated its claims to the territory it occupied, gave authority to those of high rank, and justified the group's external relationships with other groups. These purposes were served because the members of the groups concerned believed that the traditions were true records of past events, and they acted accordingly. Alliances between groups were facilitated if it was believed that they shared a common heritage, and the commoner's respect for and fear of his chief were based, in part at least, on his belief in the semi-divine ancestry of those of high rank" (Biggs 1966:450).
"Traditions, as opposed to myths, tell of incidents which are for the most part humanly possible. Genealogical links with the present place them within the past millennium. They are geographically located in New Zealand and knowledge of them is confined to this country" (Biggs 1966:448).
The corpus of Māori tradition
According to Biggs (1966:451), tradition may be divided into three types:
1. Discovery or origin traditions
- Kupe
In the Māori mythology of some tribes, Kupe was involved in the Polynesian discovery of New Zealand.-Contention:There is contention concerning the status of Kupe. The contention turns on the authenticity of later versions of the legends, the so-called 'orthodox' versions closely associated with S....
. There were two major discovery or origin traditions. One of these traditions names KupeIn the Māori mythology of some tribes, Kupe was involved in the Polynesian discovery of New Zealand.-Contention:There is contention concerning the status of Kupe. The contention turns on the authenticity of later versions of the legends, the so-called 'orthodox' versions closely associated with S....
as the discoverer of New Zealand. The second group of traditions regards ToiToi can mean:* Toi, a contestent in Akademi Fantasia, Season 6* Toi, the Japanese name for a group of barbarian pirates responsible for the Toi invasion* "You", in French* Toi , Biblical king of Hamath...
as the first important origin ancestor. "Both traditions were current over wide but apparently complementary areas of the North Island. Attempts to place the two in a single chronological sequence are misguided, since there is no reliable evidence that they ever formed part of the same body of traditional lore" (Biggs 1966:451). According to the tribes of North AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest...
and the west coast of the North Island, KupeIn the Māori mythology of some tribes, Kupe was involved in the Polynesian discovery of New Zealand.-Contention:There is contention concerning the status of Kupe. The contention turns on the authenticity of later versions of the legends, the so-called 'orthodox' versions closely associated with S....
sailed to New Zealand from HawaikiThe Māori name Hawaiki refers to the mythical land to which some Polynesian cultures trace their origins. It may also refer to an underworld in many Māori stories, and in Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Tregear records that the Cook Islands Maori word Avaiki means "underworld"...
, after murdering a man called HoturapaIn Māori tradition, Hoturapa was a chief of Hawaiki. His wife Kuramarotini owned the canoe Matahourua. One day, Hoturapa and his wife went out fishing in the Matahourua with their friend Kupe. Kupe tricked Hoturapa to dive into the water to free one of the lines. Once Hoturapa was overboard, Kupe...
, and making off with his wife, KuramarotiniIn Māori mythology, Kuramarotini was the daughter of Toto, a chief of Hawaiki. Toto made a gift to her of the canoe Matahourua, in which she went out fishing with her husband Hoturapa and their friend Kupe. Kupe tricked Hoturapa to dive into the water to free one of the lines...
. Traditional songs recount Kupe's travels along the coast of New Zealand. Kupe sailed back to Hawaiki and never came back to the land he discovered. However, others came to New Zealand according to his directions (Biggs 1966:451).
- Toi
Toi, a fairly common man's name in Māori and other Polynesian languages.The best known men named Toi are the following from Māori legendary history, who are sometimes confused with one another:...
(Toi-kai-rākau, or Toi-the-wood-eater) is the traditional origin ancestor of the tribes of the East Coast of the North Island. Their traditions make no mention of his coming to New Zealand, and the inference is that he was born there. The TūhoeNgāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
tribe of the inland Bay of PlentyThe Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
, say that Toi's 'ancestor' Tiwakawaka was the first to settle the country, "but only his name is remembered" (Biggs 1966:451). Tiwakawaka is actually the name of a bird, the fantailThe New Zealand Fantail is a small insectivorous bird. A common fantail found in the South Island of New Zealand, also in the North Island as subspecies Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis, the Chatham Islands as Rhipidura fuliginosa penita and formerly the Lord Howe Island as Rhipidura fuliginosa...
.
2. Migration and settlement traditions
- Māori migration canoes
Various Māori traditions recount how their ancestors set out from a mythical homeland in great ocean-going canoes . Some of these traditions name the homeland as Hawaiki....
Migration traditions are numerous, and pertain to small areas and to small groups of tribes. "Certain tribes appear to have emphasised their canoe migration tradition and descent from crew members more than the others. In particular, the HaurakiHauraki is an suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the North Shore City Council.The population was 5,631 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 261 from 2001.-Education:...
, WaikatoWaikato is a Region of New Zealand. With coasts on the western and north-eastern sides of the North Island, it stretches from Lake Taupo and northern King Country in the south, north to the Coromandel Peninsula. It is bounded by Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east, Hawke's Bay on...
, and King CountryThe King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman...
tribes (TainuiTainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato...
canoe) and the RotoruaRotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
and TaupoTaupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....
tribes (Te ArawaTe Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty areas of New Zealand, with a population of around 40,000. The history of the Te Arawa people is inextricably linked to the Arawa canoe...
canoe) appear to have placed special emphasis on their descent from a particular canoe migration" (Biggs 1966:451).
3. Local traditions
Each tribal group, whether tribe or subtribe, maintained its discrete traditional record, which generally concerned "great battles and great men"; these stories were linked together by genealogy, which in Māori tradition is an elaborate art. "In some cases the story is continuous and internally consistent from the migration down to the present. In other cases it is fragmentary and discontinuous earlier than about 1600" (Biggs 1966:453).
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