we need to reinterpret our stories, 'coz who do you think documented them?

Alright e te whānau, we’re onto Mahuika (atua of fire) for the #atuablogseries and the wānanga (reflections) between last week and now have been crazy. I ended the previous post talking about the reckless, uncontrolled flame I felt myself becoming as anxiety and fear grew with some of our crew lost in the forest.

But then I started to think — why do I think of fire as uncontrolled, wild and dangerous?

This line of thought came from a collection of streams: the beautiful body of work by Ngahuia Murphy, current read Women Who Run With Wolves, previous read Outliers and also beautiful conversations with Erika Larsen last week. Basically, I feel like I’m waking up.

Or maybe, I’m starting to remember.

For example, when I think about fire, Mahuika comes to mind. When I think about Mahuika, I think of the pūrākau (story, myth) depicting her and Māui. When I think about how Mahuika is portrayed, it’s as an old cranky, unkept, witch of a woman. And if we think about how storytelling is the most effective way to transfer knowledge and information…………… What does this subconsciously reinforce to us about wahine, their power and mana?

This portrayal of Mahuika, of wahine, of the feminine element makes her out to be the villain. The outsider, weird, *do not approach* character of the story, while Māui is portrayed as the hero, of sorts, who made fire accessible to all.

Then I think of other pūrākau about the atua-wahine (goddesses) — which are extremely difficult to come by — and I continue to ask more questions... Why are there so few pūrākau about atua wahine? Why are the atua wahine portrayed a certain way?

And with the writings I mentioned earlier in this post, it didn’t take me too long to remember that

the people responsible for observing, documenting and preserving a lot (if not all) of our pūrākau, mātauranga (knowledge) and cultural practices — did not understand our way of life.

Colonial settlers came from a worldview that elevated the masculine and suppressed the feminine, one that considered men superior to women and women subject to the will of men.

And it was through that lens, that they interpreted our pūrākau, mātauranga (knowledge) and cultural practices, which meant that narrow focus is how the kōrero was documented and distributed as well.

There is a masculine and feminine energy in all things — how come we have 70+ atua with masculine characteristics like Tāne (atua of the forest), Tāwhirimātea (atua of the winds) etc. but only so few feminine, atua wahine? Why are atua wahine so typically portrayed in a negative light? With the exception of Papatuanuku and a few others.. but even then, there’s a strong masculine presence in the stories.. but anyway… more posts to come on these haha

We must reinterpret our stories.

They’re the most effective way to transfer knowledge and information, and we must ensure that knowledge and info is accurate and truthful.

Let the fun begin, tēnā tātou,

Hana.