Te Wiki o te Reo Māori — Kaimahi stories: Rose

Ngā mihi o te Wā

Ko Rose Haskell tōku ingoa, he Kaiwhakatairanga Hauora Hapori ahau kī Taranaki.

I want to talk about how Community Health Promoters incorporate Te Ao Māori into our mahi, delivering Relationships and Sexuality Education to our communities; and also, what weaving Te Ao Māori looks like, when I am working with Tamariki and Rangatahi Māori. I am excited for you to keep reading because I know it’s not what you’d expect!

In Health Promotion, the resource we use in the community is informed by Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Wha model of Wellbeing, so, for example, when Community Health Promoters facilitate activities around signs of puberty, we discuss how each sign impacts a specific dimension of Te Whare Tapa Wha; and how we can keep our Hauora, our wellbeing, healthy throughout these changes.

Our Navigating the Journey resource is based on a metaphor that encompasses various aspects of a landscape. That landscape represents our life’s journey, and the features within it represent the different components of our lives that will grow and change as we do. For example, the Maunga (mountain) represents the physical and human resources that will shape us. The healthier those resources are, the healthier we will be. The Ngahere (forest) represents a forest of knowledge and describes the key competencies we can gain as we progress through lessons, which include self-management, relating to others, participating, and contributing.

As a Wahine Māori (Māori woman) I have a passion for making sure my āhua Māori (Māori character) shines. For me, this means that my cultural values are consistent in both my personal (as a mother, a spouse and a friend) and professional (as a Health Promoter and Celebrant) identities. In other words, my thought processes are built on a foundation of cultural praxis. I spend a lot of my time in wananga (cultural learning), seeking the wealth of pūrakau (old Māori stories) and matauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) that enrich my identity as an indigenous person.

I am acutely aware of how leaning into an identity, whether it be a sport, a discipline, or a culture, can have a huge impact on someone’s sense of self and belonging to the world around them. For me, immersing myself in my indigenous identity reinforces my sense of self; and my belonging in this world.

There are several professional parameters that I need to follow in my mahi, that don’t include weaving Te Ao Māori as I see it through the work I do. I work within the scope set out for me by the resources and training we are provided. Therefore, it is unlikely for me to teach Tamariki or Rangatahi about the Ao Māori view of phuruhurutanga (puberty) or whanaunga (relationships) – and that’s okay!

What I want you all to know, is that there’s this concept in Te Ao Māori called Te Ira Tangata which can be likened to an unseen, spiritual, and physical inheritance. What this means, is that I find myself in spaces of Te Ira Tangata when I stand before classrooms full of Tamariki and Rangatahi Māori, quietly smiling to myself (my tīpuna standing behind me, smiling too). I do so, because these beautiful Māori kids may not even know it, but they have the tuku iho o ōna tīpuna (the inherited mana of their ancestors) running through their precious veins. They have pūmanawa (gifts and talents) that come so naturally to them: gifts passed down by their ancestors. Tuku iho, pūmanawa are just some examples of Te Ira Tangata. I don’t have to teach physically or verbally any of this stuff, because it’s already there surrounding our babies…living within them, ready to be unlocked when it is their time to explore it. It is my role to know that it’s there, and quietly send my strength and awhi (invisible cuddles) to them as they navigate their futures unlocking the stories and knowledge that’s out there waiting for them.

I look at our little kōtiro (girls) who were born with the mana of the whare tangata (the womb) to carry on their whakapapa (genealogy). Their reproductive parts are what keeps humanity going. They have a sacred bond with Papatuanuku, our Earth Mother, because like Papa, their bodies are among the first environments that new life grows and thrives.

I look at our little tama (boys), and know that they are uri (descendants), of great partners and fathers who provided the leadership, equality, and stability required to keep communities and relationships balanced and healthy. Their sacred bond with Ranginui, our Sky Father comes in the form of all the knowledge, thoughts, and wisdom that they will gain throughout their lives (and hopefully use well, most of the time).

I send love to those struggling with their identity and sexuality, and remind myself that in our culture, being takatāpui (gay) was celebrated. It meant that individuals inherited the wairua (spirit) and the mauri (essence) of takatāpui ancestors – and however they feel is natural and okay. It always has been.

I smile, because I know that these Māori kids come from a line of people who passed wisdom down the generations that said “think hard about who you choose to share your body with, because they will be the ones with whom you carry on your whakapapa” and “it doesn’t matter how this pregnancy ended, it only matters that this Pēpi was not meant for this world, so, we will Karakia to assist this little wairua from Te Ao Marama, the world of light to Te Po, the night”.

I could go on forever. What I’m trying to say, e Hoa mā (all my friends) is that sometimes, Te Ao Māori can be weaved throughout our identities without us even having to say a word. It’s definitely how I’ve chosen to navigate my role as a Health Promoter, and I feel it.

Always remember that you can live by whichever principles, customs and cultural elements you want to, ever building your own āhua.  

It is through that āhua, that we can all create the biggest influence and weave the most culture through all that we do and all that we are.