There are no winners in war.
We’ve observed some of Tūmātauenga’s expressions in our tinana (bodies): muscles and strength; hinengaro: strategy and mindset; and how to let his energy (anger, frustration etc.) within us have its haka, without buying into the hype.
Whiro (new moon) is coming up soon and so to wrap up this coverage on Tū, we’re gonna look at the relationship between Tūmātauenga and his mother; the mother to us all, te ūkaipō and our next atua for the series:
Papatuanuku.
To understand this aspect of their relationship better, we have to go back.. waaaaay back.*
To avenge himself, Tū went to town on his brothers for not having his back during his battle with Tāwhiri.. He fashioned nets to catch Tangaroa’s children, traps and snares to trap the descendants of Tāne Māhuta, pulled and dug up Rongomātāne and Haumiatiketike from Papatuanuku (Mother Earth).
As whakapapa would have it, we embody Tūmātauenga and continue te pakanga atua (war of the gods) by eating and drinking, today. If we didn't eat we'd die. Yep, got it. But remember in this post when I wrote that there are no winners in war?
Papatuanuku is dying, as a result of this war.
She does nothing but love us and regenerate the earth; she's the embodiment of unconditional love. No matter what we put into her (chemicals, drills, explosives etc.), no matter what we take away from her (minerals, metals etc.), she still remains, as the life giver and nurturer for us.
“If we didn't eat we'd die. Yep, got it.”
But a thousand years ago when it was Tū vs his brothers, it was māori! It was all natural and unprocessed methods of hunting and gathering. Ruthless but clean. Where do you even start today? Look in your pantry, your fridge or even think of what you've eaten today - can you really call it food? Really......
The way we're growing and gathering our kai, the way we're wasting our kai and mass producing something to make it look and taste like kai - it's unsustainable and it's killing Papatuanuku - which means it's killing us. That's our blessing by understanding whakapapa - we're all connected.
This war we're apart of; our relationship with fast food, with cheap and easy, with the whakaaro (idea) that food has to taste nice all the time to be eaten, is killing us. There are no winners in war, e hoa mā (my friends), just look at Papatuanuku..
So what? Do't eat?! Hooh at ease soldier, let's take it slow. While fasting is beneficial and I highly recommend it, try making small changes:
- Look at natural, māori kai 'alternatives' to snacks, then breakfast, lunch and dinner or whatever order works for you.
- Maybe do a little research on food companies and how they look after Papatuanuku - Monsanto is a good one to look up and avoid.
- Start planting your own veggies or hit up the council about your own community garden.
- Follow the bro Raniera for plant based inspo.
While we might have to eat to survive and live well, if we keep continuing on the path we're on - embodying Tūmātauenga and waging war on Papatuanuku - we'll soon realise how we cannot survive without her.
Make more sustainable choices e te iwi. Start small, at home with you/and your whānau, ‘for even the smallest drop of water makes ripples across the entire pond.‘
Ngā mihi e te iwi,
Hana
*Looking back to provide answers for our present ad future… what a surprise, who would’ve thought.
Māori with the capital 'M' is to describe the native people to Aotearoa; māori with a lowercase 'm' means 'natural, native, of the land.'