different levels of conflict and how to navigate them

When we think of Te Pakanga Atua, the war of the elements, the war between tupuna “the gods,” there are a few dynamics going on that we can unpack to help us with the wars and conflicts we face in our own lives.

You probably resonate with different atua and their reasoning or execution for different reasons.

You might agree with Rangi and Papa (primordial parents, Sky Father and Mother Earth) and think they should have been able to stay together and their kids were ungrateful little brats. Or maybe with Tūmātauenga, atua of man and war, in that they should’ve killed their parents for keeping their children trapped between them.

Perhaps you see things from Tāwhirimātea’s, atua of the air and winds, perspective and that he was justified in waging war on his siblings for how they had separated and devastated the very elements who’d created them. Or Tū again for standing up to Tāwhiri and making it known to his siblings how upset he was they didn’t have his back…

Each of the atua (elements/gods) had their own internal problem they wanted to fix or solve.

Much like how we have our own personal, intimate conflicts we face on the daily.

Then there was the external and collective conflict of lack of space and the seed of curiosity growing within te ira atua and wanting to explore beyond the only world they’d ever known… which caused the dilemma of how to go about it.

Then on another level, there’s an almost philosophical conflict of weighing up right and wrong. What is the right thing to do?

Is there a clear cut, black and white, “good” and “evil” in this pūrākau?

I’d say no, but I guess it depends on your perspective.

I’ll ask you to reflect on your own conflicts and the different layers there are to them. You could go probably go about solving them in 1ooo’s of different ways and make another thousand interpretations of why you did things like this and not like that.

And with the beauty of hindsight, you’ll find a deeper appreciation (or more intense level of cringe lol) when you reflect on that decision making process.

But what’s most important to keep in mind and what this and other pūrākau highlight, is that we relate to the decisions and

why they were made at specific points in our own journey through life.

I don’t think Rangi and Papa were evil or bad for wanting to embrace and keep close to each other. But I reckon they could have been more generous with the space they provided their tamariki…. but thennnnnnnn, on the other hand…….

I’m like, did they choose to stay that close together, knowing it would provide the catalyst for their tamariki to develop and grow in the ways they needed to so they would survive post-separation??!

I mean, Ranginui and Papatuanuku have nourished, sheltered and embraced their tamariki and been accessory to them thriving in Te Ao Mārama (the world of light, the phase after separation) so….. haha I dunno, just my thoughts.

I also used to think Tū was the worst for wanting to kill and attack his whānau, and not saying I’ve ever got to that point, but I’ve wanted to sever connections with people before (like Tū did to fully, absolutely separate Ranginui and Papatuanuku). So I can appreciate his perspective as I encounter my own expressions of those conflicts in my own life.

There are different levels of conflicts and some we face alone while some are intertwined or shared with others. Not only is this pūrākau about conflict but also what comes from it — collaboration, perspective, compassion, understanding, expansion and more.

Let it guide you as you navigate the many layers and levels to the pūrākau of your life.

Tēnā tātou,

Hana.