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Mahitahi Group Piece

Our main focal piece.

Our group achieved Mahitahi and all its principles of teamwork through this one blog. Together we discussed and shaped the blog to be as it is today, we had larger discussions on the formatting, chose the colour palette and coded it together- adding everyones input into the blog equally through co-operation and teamwork. We decided that this blog would be home to all of our stories from our cultures that have themes of teamwork, persistence and problem solving. individually we wrote about our stories and how they encapsulate what Mahitahi is all about, we then came together and peer reviewed each others pieces and made individual art in various formats to summarise our stories as best as possible.

This piece is the key to all of our stories intertwined, each representing an important cultural aspect to us. This really ties in all of our stories through one diverse character. This represents the importance of unity and co-operation and signifies that even though we are all vastly different individuals we can still come together and use the principles of Mahitahi to make a great piece of work.

[mahitahiaut]

The tale of the Stone Soup

The story of the stone soup takes place during a time of great famine in Europe. A traveler comes to a village with an empty pot. The traveler lights a fire, fills the pot with water and place a large stone in the water. Curious as to what was going on, a villager approached the traveler and asked him what he was doing. The traveler spoke of an amazing dish known as stone soup and that it was even more delicious with potatoes. The villager returned home and scrounged up some potatoes, returning to place them in the soup. This caught the attention of more villagers who then approached the traveler and asked him what he was doing. Upon hearing of the delicious stone soup these villagers went back to their homes and returned with more ingredients, this cycle continued until eventually the whole village was gathered round celebrating the delicious stone soup that they all shared together.

Relation to Mahitahi

I believe this story shares ideals with the Maori concept of Mahitahi as it focuses on the idea of a group of people working together and collaborating. Alone during the famine these villagers barely have enough food to feed themselves but when they work together they are able to create a dish that feeds the whole village and brings them together. This furthers a concept of teamwork and that by coming together as a community the village is able to create something that is bigger and better than the sum of it's parts.

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How Maui Slowed The Sun

MAHITAHI STORY

A story from my culture which encapsulates the spirit and essence of Mahitahi is the story of how Maui and his brothers slowed the sun.

The story begins with a Dilemma, this being that the sun moved too fast throughout the day causing chaos among the people as they had no way of getting their work done , not enough time to eat, fish, or have their crops flourish with such little sunlight. Maui constructed the Idea of taming and slowing the sun in order to give them enough time to accomplish their tasks throughout the day. He told his brothers about his idea as they laughed however they remembered the feats Maui had accomplished before such as catching the largest fish in the sea, that being the South Island, so they chose to believe in Maui even though the task at hand seemed impossible.

The day after Maui advised the people of his village of his plan, they all participated and did things such as collect flax and water. They plaited long ropes of flax in order to make ropes to tame the sun which they chanted a karakia over to give the ropes protection. That night with ropes and supplies at hand Maui and his brothers set off on the long journey and found the sun resting in its setting place. Maui and his brothers made clay huts to protect themselves from the scorching heat. But Maui had a trick up his sleeve – he had the magical jawbone of his ancestor, Murirangawhenua. He convinced the others that it would allow him to catch the sun.

Soon morning came – the sun woke and started to rise. The heat was so great the brothers screamed in fear and tried to run away, but Maui commanded them to stay. It was a matter of staying to fight the sun or being killed by the sun’s fireballs as they tried to escape. So the brothers pulled on the ropes and trapped the sun as it rose, which grew angry when it realised what was happening. Maui then pulled out the jawbone and, braving the heat, struck the sun powerfully. The sun roared and thrashed in anger. Maui commanded the sun to slow down – “No longer will you dictate the length of our days – from now on you will travel slowly across the sky!” After a long and violent fight, and a few more jawbone strikes, the sun finally gave up – and agreed to slow down. The brothers let go of the ropes, and the tired sun drifted slowly to the sky.

From then on, Maui and his people had more than enough time to fish, work and gather food, and the sun continued to travel slowly across the sky. And that is the story of how Maui slowed the sun.

This story encapsulates the meaning of teamwork as without each others help the task would’ve been made impossible, and even though Maui’s brothers were scared, they believed in him enough to be able to complete their task and make the world better for everyone affected.

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The Rabbit and the Dragon King

The Dragon King was the ruler of the Kingdom beneath the Southern Sea. One day he caught a disease which he believed could only be cured by rabbit’s liver. The Dragon King summoned his followers and asked who would go fetch the rabbit’s liver. The lowly turtle volunteered to go as he could breathe air and had his shell for protection. 

At first he did not know what a rabbit looked like but he found one and lured him to come with him telling him of the luxurious life he would live there. He marveled at the colourful coral reefs, fishes and the forests of seaweed. He grew great respect for the Dragon King whose power allowed him to see such wonders. But as soon as they arrived at the palace he knew he had been deceived.

“Thank you for coming, good sir” said the Dragon King. “You see I am very sick and I have to eat your liver or else I won’t recover. Please accept my gratitude and go with my doctors”

The rabbit was terrified but he was cunning and said to the Dragon King “I would be honored to sacrifice my life for yours. Since my liver is valuable to me I keep it hidden in the forest. Let me go to the surface to get it for you” The Dragon King let the rabbit return home to get the liver. Once the turtle and the tortoise made it to the surface the rabbit immediately ran away. While running away the rabbit ridicules the turtle and the dragon king

Relating to Mahitahi

The overarching themes of this story teaches us the consequences of being naive. The kingdom of the Southern Sea and the animals at the land can be seen as different races/ societies. They are both foriegn to each other's land and do not have an understanding towards each other. Because of this rabbit is fooled by the Dragon King and the lowly turtle by failing to recognize that they may have ulterior motives. In the second instance the Dragon King is tricked, having failed to recognize the rabbits perspective and seeing why the rabbit might not agree to give him his liver. I believe this teaches us the importance of taking the time to understand others perspectives. While Mahitahi was not demonstrated by the characters in this story, knowledge and understanding about different perspectives can be seen as an important factor of working together as one and the consequences of not doing so is dire.

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In the Beginning

The Story:  

In the beginning there were four beings, and they lived on an island no larger than a hat. On this island there were no trees or grass or any other living thing besides these four people and one bird. One day they sent this bird out across the waters to see what he could find, and when he returned he brought some earth, a piece of rattan, and some fruit. 

Melu, the greatest of the four, took the soil and shaped it and beat it with a paddle in the same manner in which a woman shapes pots of clay, and when he finished he had made the earth. Then he planted the seeds from the fruit, and they grew until there was much rattan and many trees bearing fruit. 

The four beings watched the growth for a long time and were well pleased with the work, but finally Melu said: 

“Of what use is this earth and all the rattan and fruit if there are no people?” 

And the others replied, “Let us make some people out of wax.” 

So they took some wax and worked long, fashioning it into forms, but when they brought them to the fire the wax melted, and they saw that men could not be made in that way. 

Next they decided to try to use dirt in making people, and Melu and one of his companions began working on that. All went well till they were ready to make the noses. The companion, who was working on that part, put them on upside down. Melu told him that the people would drown if he left them that way, but he refused to change them. 

When his back was turned, however, Melu seized the noses, one by one, and turned them as they now are. But he was in such a hurry that he pressed his finger at the root, and it left a mark in the soft clay which you can still see on the faces of people. 

In this story we can see Mahitahi by the way they worked together to make humans and problem solve the fact that humans melted when made from wax. However, they could have made it better by talking and trying to convince the being that made the noses instead of correcting the noses behind his back.  

Source: https://fairytalez.com/in-the-beginning/ 

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The Story of Ranginui and Papatuanuku

The development of the world unfolds in phases. At first, there is a phase of nothingness. This is known as Te Kore (the void), a vacum where nothing exists. Within Te Kore are several periods, for example Te Kore-tē-whiwhia (the void in which nothing can be obtained) and Te Kore-tē-rawea (the void in which nothing can be done). 

The next phase that unfolds is Te Pō (the night), a phase of darkness and unknowing. Again, there are several periods in this phase, for example, Te Pō-roa (the long night) and Te Pō-tē-kitea (the night in which nothing can be seen). 

Te Pō gives birth to the earth, a female called Papatūānuku, and the sky, a male called Ranginui. Te Pō, as a phase, comes to an end with the union of Papatūānuku and Ranginui. However, the time of darkness doesn't end with Te Pō, as the Earth and Sky are locked in a tight embrace. Their children are born into this dark space, confined between the bodies of their parents.  

The children begin to resent their cramped position and the darkness in which they live. They soon realise that they can change this situation and talk emerges of separating Rangi and Papa to create space and light. The conversation among the children includes a suggestion by Tūmatauenga (deity of war, politics, and humans) of killing their parents. This is dismissed by Tānemahuta (deity of the forests and birds), who proposes that Rangi be pushed away into the distance, leaving the children with their mother, Papatūānuku.   

All, except one, of the children agree to this plan. Tāwhirimātea (deity of the winds and storms) is angry at the thought of separating his parents and refuses to take part in the plan.  

The revolt of the children begins with an attempt by Rongomātāne (deity of the kūmara and cultivated crops) to stand up and push his parents apart. He struggles and is unable to part them. He is followed by Tangaroa (deity of fish and the oceans), Haumiatiketike (deity of the fern root and uncultivated food), and Tūmatauenga, but to no avail. 

Finally, Tānemahuta attempts to stand and push his father up with his arms, but he also fails. He considers the situation for a moment before switching positions and placing his back, shoulders and head against his mother and pushing his father away with his legs. With this new technique, Rangi and Papa are torn from each other as Rangi is thrust upward. The separation is violent. Through time, Rangi and Papa have become intertwined and molded together, so the separation causes their shared flesh to be torn apart. They both scream out in pain as the first light fills the space between them.

To this day, Ranginui and Papatūānuku continue to mourn their separation. The falling rain from Rangi and the rising mist from Papa symbolise this perpetual grief. In one version of the story, Rangi and Papa flood the earth with the physical expression of their sadness immediately after the separation, and so the children roll Papa turning her away from Ranginui to ease the intense grief felt by their parents and put an end to the floods.

Within this story, Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the six brothers Tane Mahuta, Tawhirimatea, Tangaroa, Tumatauenga, Haumia Tikitiki and Rongomatane came together to talk about separating their mother and father. Tawhirimatea did not approve but they went through with it anyway. The five brothers worked together in unison to try push their father and mother apart. Mahitahi was demonstrated when all the brothers came together to talk about their problem and worked together to separate their parents.

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The Stolen Mountain

Raemaru, which means "in the shade of the sun", was the tallest mountain in the village of Puaikura, Rarotonga.

The mountain was so tall that it would shade the villagers from the sun rising at dawn so that they could sleep in.

The story of Raemaru travelled throughout all the other villages on the island who wished to have a mountain as useful as Raemaru. The story travelled across the sea to the other islands.

When Aitutaki heard about the tallest mountain in Rarotonga, they became envious as their island was flat. They wanted the mountain for themselves, so they devised a plan to steal Raemaru.

They prepared their canoes and made special tools that would help them cut down the mountain. In the night, the Aitutakian warriors set a course for Rarotonga. When they arrived, they set to work quickly on cutting down Raemaru. They made so much noise during the process that the people of Puaikura began to wake.

As they awoke, the Puaikura warriors went to see what was making so much noise. They saw the Aitutakian warriors fleeing with their beloved mountain and chased them down to the beach. As the Aitutakian warriors fled with the mountain, pieces began to fall off and the mountain began to shrink. They made it back to their canoes and sailed away with their prize.

Once they landed back in Aitutaki, in the village of Amuri, they realized they had lost so much of the mountain that it was now only a hill. They decided to rename the hill Maunga Pa, which means "top of the mountain".

The next day the villagers awoke early. As the Puaikura warriors prepared their war canoes to retrieve the mountain, they discovered that being awake earlier had some advantages. They were able to catch bigger fish to feed the people of their village.

They decided that they could adjust to life without their mountain and were able to overcome a difficult challenge.

Relation to Mahitahi:

The Puaikura warriors exhibited problem solving, collaboration and resilience. Since life was not the same without their mountain they wanted to retrieve it. As they all worked together to prepare their war canoes, they discovered the advantages of not having their mountain now was they could catch better fish. They abandoned the mission and were able to overcome this problem and find a peaceful resolution.

References:

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CORE OF MAHITAHI

Mahitahi means we are working together as one. The Mahitahi Better Together programme is guided by the concept of Motu Rākau Mānuka, which translates to a grove of tea tree. Our Pae Ora team has provided this guiding concept based on the mānuka tree, which is known to many as a healing tree. This unassuming shrub might well be considered the backbone of Te Wao Nui a Tāne. Mānuka is the hardworking healer, tenacious yet humble, quietly supporting the land and the people in the background. Māori traditionally used mānuka for a variety of reasons. Kia aho matuahia te taketake, kia tūwaerea te tau – when intuition replaces intellect, knowledge turns to wisdom.