reflecting on the past to navigate the present and determine our future
This weeks post is a little different to anything I’ve shared before. It’s heaps different, let’s be real. I’ve been trying to practice different forms of writing and expressing myself and last night I sat down, let my fingers go pao-pao-pao, tap away on the keys, and this is the result. I think it’s a poem? Let me know what you reckon at the end of it.
We’ve been exploring Urutengangana (eldest of the gods, atua of light), and ohhh I’ve transcended, I enjoy him, enjoy this wānanga so much. The thought processes over the last three weeks have been so insightful, well for me definitely, and hopefully for you too. This post will expand on
how he represents that duality: uru (entering into/out of, west/sun setting/endings of a cycle) and ngangana (light/glow/enlightenment, beginnings of cycles).
There’s also another example of this dual nature with Urutengangana being the mātāmua (eldest, the face in front) and how he’s expressed within us; his association to the back of the skull.. but we’ll explore this more next week. I don’t think I could handle diving deep into that while also trying to launch my new career as a poet. Ha anyway, more on that another time too, today we’re looking at how reflection provides insights and māramatanga, it gives context to why things are the way they are.
Last things before the poem — you know I don’t like telling you what to do. I share my thoughts and feels, I lay it down and leave it for you to do what you will with it. We’re still doing that, but I had a vision for how I wanted this piece to be read… so for maximum effectiveness and impact, could you please grab one wrist with the other*, or place a few fingers on your neck or chest and find your pulse. Find that internal drum, tune into it and when you’re ready, start on the beat.
Oh and last, last thing.. ‘pao’ means to strike, pound, hit, beat (of the rhythm) or an onomatopoeia like bam. Ok, I think that’s everything.. check that heart beat again, get in rhythm..
Pao, pao, pao..
the heavens ripped away from the earth, the old gave way to the new
Pao, pao, pao.. footsteps pounded and entered into the unknown
Pao, pao, pao.. Tāne dropped baskets one, two and three.. tīhei, mauri ora!
Pao, pao, pao.. winds slapped against our sails as our canoes danced up and down, criss cross and around the Pacific, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa
Pao, pao, pao.. a new unknown felt familiar footsteps
Pao, pao, pao.. the mountains kissed our feet as we climbed to the altars
Pao, pao, pao.. our weapons clashed with one another
Pao, pao, pao.. our rituals reinstated balance
Pao, pao, pao.. the west came and set up shop. on our lands, in our minds, in our hearts and in our souls
Pao, pao, pao.. whips cracked against our skin, for speaking how we’d always spoke, being who we’d always been, living how we’d always lived. the heavens ripped away from the earth, the old gave way to the new.
Pao, pao, pao.. footsteps sounded and voices echoed across the lands. for injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere and it would not go unnoticed, or unchallenged.
Pao, pao, pao.. the new regime deliberately and systematically distorted our futures, present and past. what price would we pay for citizenship?
Pao, pao, pao.. knives pierced our hearts for uplifted tamariki, for my brothers and sisters who couldn’t breathe, who are punished for being who they are, for promises and agreements that continue to be broken
Pao, pao, pao.. footsteps multiplied and voices amplified, cries for justice and peace were getting harder to ignore
Pao, pao, pao.. seeds of uprising did what seeds do. they grew — fracturing the system’s psyche of concrete floors, ever so slightly, inch by inch..
Pao, pao, pao.. our family grew and more footsteps followed those familiar paths
Pao, pao, pao.. the heavens are tearing away from the earth, the old must give way to the new.
A new kind of thinking and being. A new earth.
Pao, pao, pao..
Tēnā tātou,
Hana.
*I read that wahine (women) should grab their left wrist with their right hand and tāne (men) should grab their right wrist with their left hand because of how the body is attuned to feminine and masculine energies and left and right sides of the body.. but you do you.
°finding the pulse was not only to set the rhythm for how you read the post, but also to slow you down. Life’s pace has picked up a lot since lockdown levels have eased up, haven’t they? And in my opinion, any opportunity to slow down, to take notice of what our hearts, wairua and minds are up to is a good one.
**if you know the wahine in the photograph, can you let me know so I can tag her? I asked persmission to take her photo up at the March in Solidarity for #BlackLivesMatter in Tāmaki, she agreed lol but didn’t get her name.