Bounty from the Sea.

Rimurimu: Valuable For Many Reasons on PhotoPeach

A Purakau: The Great Eel

Once there was only one great Eel and he lived in the waters of the land above the world. He was high in the sky living near Rangi, Sky Father. For aeons of time there was no rain in this land and the great Eel would look down at the land of Papatūānuku, the land of man and see not only the ngahere and the mountains but also the seas and rivers. He longed to be swimming in those cooling waters in the land of man. Magically, he came down from the sky and lived in a river which flowed beside the home of Maui and his wife Hine-a-te-repo. Unbeknown to them, when Hine went to the river to draw wai or wash, great Eel swished around her, splashing her and causing her to fall into the river and he pushed her under. When Hine went home and told Maui about her adventure he then realised that the great Eel was living in their river and that next time Hine-a-te-repo went to the awa and the same thing happened, she was to tell him. Next day while Hine-a-te-repo was at the river with her two children, who were to help her carry the wai home, great Eel splashed and swirled around them all, causing the children to fall down. He ate them. In great distress Hine-a-te-repo went home to tell Maui who then took his spear and shouted that he would catch that Eel and kill it! Maui’s first attempt at killing the great Eel did not work as the eel was quicker than Maui and managed to hide in a deep place in the awa. “Hah!” Thought Maui “I will use my magic to kill the Eel,” so he dug a huge hole beside the river, then he said a very tapu karakia to make the rains come until eventually there was a flood. The flood carried the great Eel to the hole. Maui then said another magical karakia to dry up the waters and there at the bottom of the hole lay the great Eel. Maui jumped in to the hole and chopped off the Eel’s head and threw it into the sea. He then chopped off its tail and threw that into the river. Finally he threw the middle part of the Eel far into the ngahere. That is how tuna (eel) came to the land of men. We have the conger eel in the sea, the tuna in the rivers and the vines in the ngahere. They all came from that one great Eel of long ago.

Makariri! (Winter) is coming!

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Lala: Kindling

The 'whanau' who go down to the Tītī Islands each year have a different Māori language to the rest of Mainland Murihiku / Te Waipounamu Ngai Tahu. They have kept the 'b' and the 'l' in their words. For example: a lala (kindling wood), a bubu (pupu shell or cats eye) and a shrub called bunui. Ka Rawe! (Great!)

Tangata Whenuatanga.

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In Māoridom (Māoritanga) the Tangata Whenua are the 'People of the Land'. For example: In Te Waipounamu Ngai Tahu are the Tangata Whenua. (They have Mana over their lands). In the Waikato Regions, the Tainui Tribe are the Tangata Whenua. (Of that area because thats where they live and / or come from). And so on around Aotearoa.
On a school level, you, the staff, the pupils, caretaker, parents, etc are the Tangata Whenua, but only of your school. So, the Rules that are made apply only to your school, your classroom, playground etc.
Rules or Kawa, & Tikanga, that are made for Iwi groups, apply for them on their Marae and at their special occasions. That is why it is very important to find out the Kawa of a Marae, for instance, before you go there for a visit.

Sticky Little Numbers

Have you any idea what these are? I had a close encounter with them over Easter. They are bidibidi. Found in long rough patches of vegetation. Invariably one ends up with them stuck to ones socks, shoe laces, trouser legs, backside (especially if one has sat down to rest!) jersy etc. Those walkers and trampers who have the right gear don't spend ages scraping or picking them off their socks, laces etc. Have done a little research! They are native to Aotearoa, are used as landscape plants in gardens, and have a Maori name - piripiri.