What's the human equivalent of plundering and polluting Papatuanuku?
I've covered a lot of ground over the last few days and to say the people, kōrero (conversations) and kaupapa (projects/causes) I've been able to engage with have been incredible and mind-blowing - is an understatement. But man......
Papatuanuku takes the cake. #sorrylance.
How beautiful is she?! Her korowai (cloak) of lush, green, richness and life covering our beautiful island we call home. If you haven't realised Aotearoa is paradise, get with the programme already and get outside to experience her.
But while some of us acknowledge her beauty and realise how blessed we are to be from this beautiful place, we all agree that Papatuanuku, the earth, is a woman, right? Papatuanuku is a badass, goddess who gives and nurtures life in all different forms.
Yup, sounds like pretty much every woman I know and have in my life.
Sweet, park that up for a second and walk with me for a while, it might be unpleasant and uncomfortable, but I got you. What do we do to Papatuanuku? How do we treat her?
We plunder, pillage, pollute and cut down trees to print papers that say “save the planet”... The human condition is truly amazing.. all these things aren't acceptable but people still do it.. for instance, people still litter and dump their rubbish wherever they please, coz 'as long as it's not their problem' or whatever goes through their head. Dicks.
Anyway, let's take a look at how we treat Papatuanuku, the grandest personification of a woman in our lives, and think about how that translates to how we treat our wahine today...
What would be the human equivalent of plundering and polluting our whāea (mother), Papatuanuku?
From where I'm standing, that looks like abuse in all its forms, including; rape, assault, violence, suppression and then some. And just like with Papatuanuku, it's not acceptable - but people still do it... and again, like Papatuanuku, as long as it doesn't affect us directly - it's not our problem.
It shouldn't be a surprise then, that if we can treat Papatuanuku so despicably, and look the other way.. we do the same thing with domestic violence?
Kia āta whakaaro, have a think about it and let me know your thoughts,
Ngā mihi aroha,
Hana