Tihei Māuri Ora: Exploring The Threads of Whakapapa Through Kōrero Tuku Iho Within a Tikanga-Oriented Practice

Abstract

‘Tihei Māuri Ora’ pays homage to the Pūrākau of the creation of humankind and the origins of the cosmos. This phrase introduces the notion of this Wairua-guided painting project: by returning to our Pūrākau, we can further contextualise what it means to be Māori and pave the way towards an Indigenous future. But what does an Indigenous future look like? I engage with this question through a Tikanga-oriented art practice, setting boundaries and rules to ensure a sense of rightness within myself– affording my art and the concepts I am engaging with the respect they deserve. As a means of ‘storied memory’, painting becomes a form of processing and a learning of Kōrero tuku iho woven with my own lived experiences to stay connected to the culture I love so dearly.

At the heart of this project lies Te Whare Tupuna, the ancestral home; and the Mārae, which is the centre of Māoridom. Throughout this project, the Mārae has manifested in various ways: as a source of Mātauranga, as a grounding to Māori ways of being, and as a home. The concept of the Mārae establishes itself as a site of Whakapapa leads us to ideas around the interrelatedness of existence and toi as rongoā. These concepts build my own kaupapa Māori guided by Wairua and focussed on Indigenisation and sharing a message of hope for Indigenous futures.