#Maori cultural practices

[thisisgraeme]

Transform Your Teaching: Implementing Whanaungatanga in Adult Education - A Must-Read eBook + Exclusive Bundle Offer

Implementing Whanaungatanga In the heart of every educator and trainer lies the desire to make a difference, to transform learning environments into spaces where connections thrive, respect is mutual, and a sense of belonging is cultivated. This mission, though noble, often encounters numerous challenges, especially in adult education settings across New Zealand. What’s needed are strategies…

[caninemotiff]

The hostility of the wilderness as a theme, the idea of conflict as man vs wild or civilisation vs wilderness, is a very white/western idea and it almost always stems from human hostility toward nature being misconstrued as nature's inherent hostility toward humans

[haechanhues]

The simping comment 😭 no no no c’mon now

[wildissylupus]

You know what I think is wasted potential? The Junkers and Junkertown. Specifically in the fact of them being the foil group to Vishkar. Cause in my opinion the way Australia and Junkertown were implemented into Overwatch's story is the weakest to me, especially since I myself am Australian and actually know how Australians act.

The biggest thing to me is the wishy washy attitude the writers have with Roadhog being Maori, he has a skin and his name, that's it. The thing is though, I have never met a Maori or Aboriginal person that didn't show a significant amount of pride in their heritage. Now this also comes into my favorite part of Junkertown and the Junkers implementation, and that is the history.

Part of the reason why Junkertown exists is because of the fact that the Australian government did consult the Aboriginal people in the area about giving the Omnium to the Omnics. Inherently Junkertowns formation was partially because people had pride in their indigenous heritage, so there being basically nothing for Roadhog other then his name and a skin name genuinely makes me mad.

The voice acting would also make me mad in this wasn't just a thing that happened to Australians and New Zealanders in general, I have hardly ever seen an Australian character be played by an Australian, the same goes for New Zealand characters. Hell even Junker Queens voice actor feels like she's being told to play up her accent, and she's actually Australian.

Not only that but to me the Junkers fail at being a foil to Vishkar. The thing about Vishkar is that they pose as a benevolent organization when what they're really doing is gentrifying poor neighborhoods, practicing child labor, and are literally working with a terrorist organization. Junker town is supposed to be the opposite to that, but they're not, not in the way that makes them a foil to Vishkar. To be a foil to Vishkar Junkertown and the Junkers would need to be treated as the complete opposite, basically being this place of complete freedom and chaos, a place of equal intelligence but opposite morals to Vishkar. It has the foundations of that don't get me wrong, but it's not enough to make me see them as foils.

Story wise there also isn't an obvious conflict between the two groups. Overwatch and Talon have a rich history together, Null Sector and the Shambali monks have Ramattra and Zenyatta to represent both groups, there is basically nothing for Vishkar and the Junkers. Hell if there was history for those groups it would give the Junker characters more of a reason to join the fight and leave Australia other then "there's a fight". Cause right now the only Junker character to actually have stakes in the current lore is Hammond because of his connection to Winston.

Environmentally I would have loved to see more vibrant colors and Aboriginal art in Junkertown, I would love it to be more the "Mad Max but Overwatch", I would love for the Junkers to feel like complete opposite of Viskar cause so far we have the other two group rivalries be explored, Talon and Overwatch are mirror foils, there are a lot of similarities between the two groups but their goals are polar opposites, Null Sector and the Shambali monks are philosophical foils they have the same end goal but opposite methods to get to that goal. Vishkar and Junkertown are very obviously supposed to be complete opposites, yet they have none of the nuance that the other groups do have. Vishkar erases the culture of places they go, yet Junkertown isn't that culturally rich, Vishkar pretends to do good but is very much bad, Junkertown is just bad, Vishkar is control and order, Junkertown runs on chaos and freedom yet also has rules that got Junkrat exiled, taxes and harasses it's citizens and is just as elitist as Vishkar? This would make sense if this is how Junkertown worked before JQ's rule but fundamentally, nothing is different from Junker Queen and Howl's rule. They could have still done this plot line, just with Vishkar trying to take over and tax Junkertown rather then JQ.

Basically, Junkertown would be much more interesting to me if they had gone fully into Vishkar and Junkertown being complete opposites. Instead they get a faction that doesn't have any depth and characters who hold little to no stakes of the plot.

[dilemmaontwolegs]

omg a māori f1 writer! not a request, but genuine question - who’s someone you can see being with a māori girl 👀 like who can you see being taken to a marae and learning how to hongi and meeting all the aunties and uncles

Haha omg it would be such an eye opener for all of them!

Lewis: he would be the type to ask to come with you because he wants to know more about where you come from. He is eager to learn and inquisitive, feeling prepared when he arrives at your ancestral land to a pōwhiri. Lewis has tears in his eyes when he sees the beautiful brown woman welcoming him with a karanga and from there he falls in love with the culture. He loves that there are always dozens of kids hanging around the marae and he never has a chance to sit down as he plays games with them for hours - they also teach him the haka. He would particularly like those hours after dinner where someone brings out their guitar and everyone sings along, the aunties harmonising perfectly, and he feels connected even if he doesn't understand the words.

Daniel: for obvious reasons 😂 being an Aussie, he’s laid back and it probably wouldn’t be the first time drinking a crate of beers in a paddock in the middle of nowhere. It would feel like a second home to him once he remembers to take his shoes off before he steps inside the marae. He doesn’t mind kissing every aunty on the cheeks but takes a bit of practice going in for a hongi without missing the uncles nose. After the formalities are done he is in his element and charms everyone which his infectious smile and constantly makes them laugh.

Oscar: another Aussie that is chilled af so he wouldn’t cause any drama at the marae. He is polite and helpful so the aunties love him and try to coax him out of his quiet state while recalling stories of you as they peel hundreds of potatoes. He is strong too so the uncles would steal him to dig the hangi pit and take the moment to threaten him if he hurts you. He can't hide his surprise when you explain the sleeping arrangements but after all the mattresses are laid out in one cavernous room he warms up to the idea and even feels nostalgic for the nights his family/cousins/friends would all sleep over and they would all drag their mattresses to the living room.

Lando: he’s lived/raced in NZ when he was younger so there would be a sense of familiarity coming back. He likes learning about different cultures (like his recent trip to the temples in Bali) so he would pay attention to the rundown given about customs. Unfortunately he has a terrible memory and may make a few mistakes with what’s tapu like snacking in the marae or sitting on the table. Also, he would fall in love with the food because there’s nothing spicy, something he cannot handle. Known to giggle at inappropriate times with the little cuzzies like when someone says whakapapa. Wakes up to find he rolled the wrong way in the night and is spooning an uncle not you.

Max: takes everything too seriously and is worried about messing up so he buys a book on Maori culture as soon as he lands at Auckland Airport and finishes by the time he reaches the marae. Is pleasantly surprised to find that after the formalities the entire atmosphere relaxes and he is treated like he has always been there. The aunties shoo him out of the kitchen when he tries to help, handing him a drink and sending him to the uncles who are all inspecting the new 4x4 someone bought. Surprisingly, he learns a bit about cars from them and wants his own Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux now, despite Daniel trying to get him to convert to one for years.

[ruleofbirds]

𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚕𝚘𝚐_𝟶𝟷.𝟷

Kia Ora, Te Ao!

Hello, World! It's official - Robbie has a tumblr now. Absolutely unfathomable. Honestly, it's mostly because it was this or Wordpress (or a more obscure indie dev forum) and this seemed the most accessible and quirky. I'm sure this won't lead to another awful endless scrolling habit. Any advice for the visual side of things is warmly received! I want this blog to be a fun part of the week, because a lot of fun will be had developing RoB. Just realised that acronym happens to be my name. Could be worse.

Okay! Now that the initial ramble into the void is out of the way, it's time to get into the c o n c e p t.

This tumblr is a devlog for my NZ ecosystem simulator currently titled "rule of birds", which I will be working on for the next 8 weeks as part of Blackbird Foundation's "Protostars" program. This means a weekly check-in with the other creatives in the program, the organizers at Blackbird, and a post for all of you here.

I'm breaking this week's post into 3 sections just to cover the bases;

01.1 -a bit about my creative practice and how it led to this project

01.2 -a discussion of "flocking" in programming (using p5.js)

01.3 -a discussion of NZ natural history

So here's the intro post, where I ramble about myself for a sec.

So! basically, I specialize in spatial design, I love working with anything nature-related, and I want to make a video game.

Lately I've been on a tangent based around art in NZ's cultural context - the design principles behind whakairo (Maori woodcarving) and how their composition conveys meaning, how histories of spirituality, tribal and colonial relations affected design, and my own art interpreting my natural surroundings with photography and charcoal drawing. I can neither confirm nor deny whether there will be an art zine compiling a wee bit of this work on the community table at the Whanganui Zinefest this Saturday.

That tangent branched off into a focus on natural history that's the keystone of rule of birds. My motivation for focusing on an ecosystem simulator is to articulate a basis for the sort of games I want to come out of Aotearoa. The sim will be the proof of concept - and I suppose this blog will be the manifesto.

I feel like there's a massive demand for games exploring NZ history - like, imagine a big-budget maori-led release set in pre-colonial time, with all the unique aspects of survival, resource management and day to day activity that involved - or an assassin's creed type action game based during the time of Te Kooti. It goes unsaid that Kupe is one of the best parts of Sid Meier's Civilization VI - iykyk.

What I think separates a good game from a great one is how alive the virtual world feels - rather than being led through an a-to-b progression of events presented in the same visual style I've seen countless times before, if the world can react in a dynamic way, and the details in the background are crafted to feel organic and immersive, I'm going to want to stop and wander off the beaten track that an objective marker may be pointing me towards.

The last game that caught my attention in this way - and coincidentally the one that made me want to put my coding knowledge to the test with gamedev - was, of course, Rain World. To everyone who knows me, I'm sure you're surprised I've made it three paragraphs without bringing this game up. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, because there is *a lot*, but key points are you are one creature among many scavenging for food in a brutal biomechanical ecosystem, hibernating between cycles of cataclysmic rain, and the game plays like basically nothing else due to how the coded behaviour of every entity in the world follows its own logic that has much more to do with its own survival than the experience of you as a player.

Here's a nice little illustration of the physics behind a movement-sensing tentacle monster, to give a sort of discrete example - but the creatures that act according to behavioural karma systems and the dynamics of how the different lizards scuffle and coordinate with each other is worth looking into too, if this is your thing.

(Source: GDC, Curious Archive)

Now, I really want to jump into some of this behavioural coding stuff, so I'm just going to move on to collecting things for the next post - hope this has been an interesting read! if you somehow found this page in your tumblr algorithm, welcome! I'll also be posting bits on the instagram page @robbiek_devlogs and you can check out my other work on my main insta @robbiek_art

Hei kōnā mai,

Robbie K

Next up: simulation in coding, natural history research post #1

Next week: Adventures in Godot Engine!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Hugh Tomlinson

Published: Mar 1, 2023

The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has hit out at the New Zealand government for proposing to teach traditional Maori mythology as equal to modern science.

The government of the former prime minister Jacinda Ardern proposed adding Matauranga Maori, or “Ways of Knowing” to the science curriculum, provoking a furious row. The proposal was put forward by the ministry of education, led at the time by Chris Hipkins, who succeeded Ardern after her shock resignation in January.

In a letter to The Spectator, Dawkins, who has recently returned from a speaking tour of New Zealand, attacked the policy of equating Maori knowledge and religious beliefs, which date back to the 13th century and include creationism, with modern science.

Dawkins defended New Zealand scientists who had opposed the plan and faced censure and allegations of racism. A number of fellows at the New Zealand Royal Society, including Garth Cooper, a medal-winning biochemistry professor at the University of Auckland who is of Maori descent, resigned from the society last year.

Seven professors, including Cooper, wrote a letter titled “In defence of science” to the New Zealand Listener in 2021, acknowledging that Matauranga Maori should be taught in schools but should not be equated with modern science. The letter said that indigenous knowledge and beliefs were “critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices” but that “in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself”.

Five Royal Society members reportedly complained that the letter had caused them “untold harm and hurt”.

“Perhaps the most disagreeable aspect of this sorry affair is the climate of fear,” Dawkins wrote, attacking the New Zealand government for “self-righteous virtue signalling”.

“New Zealand children will be taught the true wonder of DNA, while being simultaneously confused by the doctrine that all life throbs with a vital force conferred by the Earth Mother and the Sky Father,” he wrote. “Origin myths are haunting and poetic, but they belong elsewhere in the curriculum.”

The government has taken several steps to incorporate indigenous beliefs into government policy over recent years. In 2017, the Ardern administration granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River, closing one of New Zealand’s longest-running court battles. The Maori had campaigned for more than a century to secure legal protection for the river, and the ruling prompted other countries to grant legal rights to natural treasures.

Dawkins is a long-term critic of Matauranga Maori. In a 2021 letter to the Royal Society of New Zealand, he wrote: “Science classes are emphatically not the right place to teach scientific falsehoods. Creationism is still bollocks even if it is indigenous bollocks.”

[ Via: https://archive.is/TjzrP ]

==

The argument being made here is that it's "unfair" or even "bigoted" to not grant indigenous myths and legends "equality" in the science classroom, to be given equal time and equal consideration with actual science. That they are entitled to access to the science classroom as a form of "inclusion," despite never being subject to - and indeed, declared immune from - the process of scientific checking.

It does this through manipulation and exploitation of egalitarian instincts. This is the same tactic the creationists adopted.

Thus the creationists began to portray themselves as an oppressed minority. “Under the present system . . . the student is being indoctrinated in a philosophy of secular humanism,” one typical creationist complained. “The authoritarianism of the medieval church has been replaced by the authoritarianism of rational materialism. Constitutional guarantees are violated and free scientific inquiry is stifled under this blanket of dogmatism.” That is what a fundamentalist Christian state education official in Arizona was getting at when he said that if parents tell their children that the earth is flat, teachers have no right to contradict them. No one has a right to impose his opinion on others—and the idea that humans evolved from earlier species is, the Christians said, ultimately just some people’s opinion.

-- Jonathan Rauch, "Kindly Inquisitors"

But neither creationism nor indigenous myths are entitled to inclusion in the science classroom. Because neither has been subjected to rigorous testing or disconfirmation, and are therefore not science. No matter what sort of emotional exploitation creationists and activists try to pull. The only thing any idea is entitled to inclusion in is submitting itself to the competitive and contentious process of scientific checking.

Unfortunately, while the former is being kept at bay, the latter has made significant inroads at corrupting scientific education and inquiry.

[swearingcactus]

Far Cry 3's Rook Islands - how based on Indonesia is it actually is

according to an Indonesian who is not exactly qualified to write this post but by god will i make that everyone else's problem. Long post under the cut in case you'd like to know the fun facts and insights about the game and Rook and how much they got right and wrong.

Here's what I will discuss:

Locations, Flora & Fauna

The Rakyat and what they preach and practice

Citra, Dennis and Vaas

I would like to preface by saying Indonesia is a big ass archipelago, literally the biggest archipelagic state in the world, and we have many cultures, sub-languages, and various indigenous tribes of which I'm not part of. So there could be a possibility that the FC3 game devs were basing Rook especially the Rakyat on certain tribes I'm not familiar with or with an actual cultural rep who knows more than I do, but somehow I doubt that too, considering how they seem to just base Rook vaguely on various Polynesian areas.

1. Locations, Flora & Fauna

The Rook Islands page in the Far Cry 3 Wiki does a great job of explaining this in more depth than I do, but to TL;DR it: the flora & fauna in Rook makes it seem like Rook's most likely in the eastern side of Indonesia (sharing the same fauna and flora as Papua New Guinea and Australia). This is especially evident since Rook has komodo dragons and they're only available in Nusa Tenggara Timur.

However, the vastly different animals in the North and South Islands of Rook indicates the possibility of Rook running through the Wallace Line, which irl happens between Bali and Lombok, two very close islands which have vastly different faunas.

So actually to squash down the locations into two tiny islands and grab all the crazy animals into two distinct parts like this actually happens irl, which is cool!

I got nothing much to add about plants cus they all seem to be pretty straightforward and all are available in Indonesia from what I see... with the exception that I previously had believed that the white plant that Jason can pick to craft immunity effects are jasmines, but it seems that officially they're tiares which are more commonly known as being used as leis by the Polynesian people. Either way, both Jasmines and Tiares are small, worn traditionally by women, smells nice and have some spooky connotations, so same difference to me :^)

The only location in-game with an Indonesian name is Beras Town. Beras means 'uncooked rice', so there's a little fun fact to note since when you get there the first time to see Hoyt shooting at the natives it was fittingly in a rice paddy field.

2. The Rakyat and what they preach and practice

The Rakyat is a dead giveaway that Rook is based on Indonesia or Malaysia. Rakyat means 'people' in both languages, and is pronounced correctly in-game. However, most of the Rakyat weren't speaking Indonesian and spoke with a New Zealand accent so are they like. Samoan? Maori?? God knows.

Indonesia has certain tribes who have tattooing as part of their history and culture, but the tatau seems to be based more on the Samoan tatau, at least from the name itself. Tattoos are called tato in Indonesian and not tatau. The design is also not like any known designs from tribes that have tattooing culture in Indonesia. With how Dennis explains each animal on Jason's tatau had meaning in the Rakyat's history for warriors, it seems like the entire thing was a creative liberty.

Other than the tataus, there's not much we know of about The Rakyat other than they're natives of the island. There's a side mission where you have to spy on a cheating husband, this one stuck out to me for a couple reasons. One being it's funny as hell, and also because the name of the guy the husband is cheating with is Jalak. Jalak is the Indonesian name for a Starling, there's a specific sub-species of the bird that is endemic to Bali, Indonesia. It's extra-funny if it's implied that the man the husband is cheating with is named after a bird because the word bird in Indonesia (burung) is a euphemism for dick.

Another side mission also has a minor character you have to find called 'Senin' which was pronounced wrong but it's an Indonesian word that means 'Monday'.

Those are all I remember, I'll edit if I remember more!

3. Citra, Dennis and Vaas

Citra - let's start with the most glaring thing. Citra is not supposed to be said with a 'S' sound but a 'Ch' sound. (if you go to google translate and type in Citra in Indonesia and listen to it, that's the right pronunciation). If they wanted to pronounce it like they did in-game, they should've just named her Sitra which would still sound pretty natural as an Indonesian name.

Other than her name pronunciation error, the name itself is actually pretty solid. Citra means image, like 'made in the image of god' kind of image. Considering she is the Rakyat's leader and is obsessed with cultivating an image of strength and traditional values, it's a fitting name.

Citra is also the only character to speak proper Bahasa Indonesia. She actually pronounces the words correctly and speaks clearly, which I was pleasantly surprised with! Just ignore the way the Indonesian is written in subtitles cus they are completely wrong. She only says a few lines so I'll discuss them here:

Senapan ke bawah - said when Jason first shows up with Dennis at her temple and she asks her men to stand down. Translates to 'Lower your guns.'

Berikan saya herbal - said when she asks for the first potion that Jason has to drink to get the vision that led him to hallucinate where to find Willis. Translates to: 'Give me the potion/herbs'.

Cinta untuk anak-anak kami - you can miss this if you didn't pick her ending. This is the only correctly subtitled Indonesian line, and it translates to 'love for our children'. Not child. Children. Plural. Miss ma'am... what in the everliving fuck are you trying to do hoping to have children with a guy who's shooting blanks at this point and who you proceed to kill immediately after? Let's move on.

Dennis speaks Bahasa Melayu, which is quite interesting to note, considering he is a foreigner who tries very hard to fit in. Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia are very similar to each other, hence why we can understand each other, but there is still a distinct difference between them. Since we're overanalyzing, it could be said that Dennis and Citra has never been 100% on the same page with how they speak slightly different languages.

Vaas never once speaks Bahasa Indonesia or Melayu, which considering how he has thrown away his Rakyat roots, makes some sense. And I love Michael Mando but I think he would definitely butcher the language lmao so it's great that they didn't make him say any native lines. Vaas is also not an Indonesian name, though we do have vas as a word, since vaas is Dutch for 'vase' and we picked up a few words when Netherlands colonized Indonesia. but i doubt they used the word vase for a villain name but hell, who knows. If we wanna get funky I guess we could say that Vaas was always colonized/under someone's control even down to his name.

Conclusion

Far Cry 3's Rook personally for me didn't do a good job at being Indonesian enough, from how villages look, to location names, to little things like the lack of food stalls that you would 100% be able to find if you just walk down the road in any location here. Though to be fair, it was 2012 and as such, a different time with different standards that they have since then set higher for themselves. Ubisoft did a much better job at adapting Kyrat into a believable country that was based off Nepal with rich world-building from NPC notes, locations in map, to the little items you can loot from the enemies that included Bagh-chal pieces! FC5 was also very true to Montana from what I'm led to believe from the countless praises in Reddit, and FC6 had a lot of great representation too.

At the end of the day, FC3's a great game with a solid map based vaguely off a location I just happen to be familiar with, and that is still pretty fucking cool.

[kiristephens]

Name: Kiri Stephens Occupation: N/A Age: Appears 48; actually 48 Sexuality: Lesbian Species: Vampire Clan/Pack/Coven: Clan Lomidze Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand Relationship Status: Married (I guess??) Personality Traits: Intelligent, efficient, organized, patient, ruthless, calculating, standoffish, arrogant, vindictive

Biography (tw: racism/colonialism, kidnapping, torture, death)

Magic was something that Kiri was born into, though in her community, they didn't call it that. Her family comes from a long line of tohunga, Maori priests and healers who used the natural world and its abundances for their craft. However, it was never called witchcraft, for fear of persecution from settlers who already perceived them as primitive for their practices. Her own parents and siblings preferred to assimilate into the tidy little boxes that the world crafted for them, while Kiri craved learning more. She wanted to fill in the all of the gaps in knowledge left behind by colonial violence that stamped out anything that was different.

So at 18, she left Aotearoa behind and set off for the United States, seeking out an advanced degree in biochemistry while also learning all she could about her history and practices that have since been lost.

The wider world of the supernatural is opened up to her while she is trying to get her PhD in traditional Maori practices combined with the latest pharmaceutical endeavors, using it as a way to carve her way into the world she demanded. It is through this that she met an elder, someone who still seemingly held knowledge from a long-forgotten time, and eventually encourages Kiri to make her way to Port Leiry.

Once there, Kiri learned that the world was so much wider than she was initially led to believe. The Circle of the Phial welcomed her, and for the first time in her life, Kiri felt like she had a proper place somewhere. No longer was she chased away from knowledge that she felt entitled to know, and her mentor was thrilled to have someone to pass along said knowledge to carry on their culture, rather than led it fade away over time. Combined with Kiri's natural talent and her scientific background, she built a reputation for herself as particularly skilled with developing drugs and salves for illnesses and injuries, that were grounded in both traditional techniques as well as scientific advances. Kiri flourishes, reaching for higher goals and with them, riskier substances, particularly in ways to not only heal witches from attacks by other supernatural creatures, but to provide an offensive edge as well.

It's this ambition that has Kiri crossing into Westriver Gardens one day by herself, in search of a rare plant that had particularly potent numbing capabilities, originally local to her homeland but now transplanted into the Pacific Northwest. She doesn't anticipate being stopped by the owner of the Gardens herself, and is even more surprised that she manages to get away wholly unscathed. Rather than a threat, Laure proved to be the next person to change Kiri's life.

For the first time in decades, her ambition takes a backseat to this new development in her life. They dance around each other for months before taking the next leap, and after that, everything is history. She spends the next 12 years happily thriving in her relationship, and seeing what perks came with loving someone who was immortal. With it came bursts of creativity, unbound by issues of cost or material. The apothecary she runs leans into the tourist trap notions of spells and curses, while also providing all supernatural creatures with a variety of magical potions and enhancements. She reconnects with the family she thought she had walked away from, in the form of a niece and a protege. It's the closest thing to bliss that Kiri has ever been able to imagine.

What she kept secret from everyone, including her wife, were Kiri's recent experiments into new types of potions that, instead of enhancing traits, would work to suppress them. They were meant to be a means of easing this way of life to the people who were unwillingly brought into it. A potion to artificially flavor animal blood to mimic the qualities of a human or a witch, an elixir that allowed a wolf to sleep through the full moon in peace without the loss of control, a combination of herbs to help quiet the voices from the other side. An arguably noble motive, but one that could lead to disastrous consequences if exploited.

She never got far in these endeavors, sidetracked by the upcoming ceremony where she would transition from witch to vampire. She assumed that she would have eternity to continue working on such things, even without her natural magic.

The initial attack is a blur, iron tang in her mouth as an athame slices across her throat. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to spill the blood that is necessary for this ruse. She can still sometimes smell the way the crimson viscera poured out onto the concrete. She assumes it means her death.

She has never been so wrong.

When she wakes, she sees only her. For three years, she lives, solely at Lana's discretion. The vampire says it's because she needs a witch, to undo what another has done, but even if that was within her realm of magic, Kiri refuses. She languishes in the dark, provided updates on the outside world, on her wife, from a cruel voice, and she feels her mind begin to fray.

The masquerade is the final straw. Lana brings Kiri as her date, so she can see with her own eyes the indiscretions of her wife. She watches as Laure flaunts around a younger creature, a vampire, dressed in one of Kiri's favorite gowns. She watches as she dances with a human, whispering sweetly in her ear. She watches as her wife stands three feet away and is unable to hear Kiri's internal screaming while Lana bites into her neck.

At the end of the night, she returns to the cramped space that has become hers over the last several years. When Lana inevitably visits her, the pain and humiliation have twisted her into something inconsolable. So she begs, and Lana provides. It is a far cry from the detailed plan that she had created with her wife, but Lana takes her time. Shows her the closest thing to gentleness that she's felt in three years, and it ends with the snap of her neck.

Wanted Plots / Connections

TBA

[deramin2]

Rūrangi should be on more people's radars for queer media.

It's a New Zealand show on Hulu about a gay trans man who works as a youth activist. After his boyfriend commits suicide, he has a public breakdown and runs off. He finds himself back in the small dairy farm he abandoned 10 years ago and starts picking up the pieces. Slowly he realizes that while he did need to leave to live, he also has an important place here where his activism is needed.

His best friend is a bi Maori woman who grew up alienated from her culture and is trying to learn the language and reconnect (and gets into delightful mischief fighting colonialism with the aunties).

His ex-boyfriend is coming to terms with his own bisexuality.

His dad, a many generations dairy farmer, has become an environmental activist practicing organic farming trying to pass a bylaw outlawing chemical fertilizers, which he believes contributed to his wife's death from cancer.

It's about how the movements for queer rights, indigenous rights, and environmentalism are intertwined, and just as important in rural areas as cities. Rural towns aren't just conservative backwaters that aren't worth fighting for. They're full of diverse people fighting for a better world.

It's a really powerful series. Almost all trans and nonbinary creators behind the camera, and trans people playing trans characters. It's a great introduction to trans rights if you have family that are ignorant but not necessarily hostile.

Biggest downside: it's extremely indie. The episodes are short and there aren't many of them. The seasons end on big personal wins, but the overall struggle is very ongoing (it's realistic), and three story is obviously incomplete. I think they're still trying to make more but it's slow going. If they got more viewership and more cast they might be able to finish faster.

I just love how real the series feels. I almost think I'll appreciate it more in 10 years and onward when I can look back on it as a time capsule preserving it's moment and who we were as queer people. There's almost no representation for trans men port there so this is really special for me.

Please give it a watch. There are two seasons so far and the entire season is the length of a movie. So it's easy to get through.

[thisisgraeme]

Tapatoru's Fresh Take on Professional Learning: Shaping the Future of Education

Ready to dive into how this programme is revolutionising professional learning for tertiary educators in Aotearoa New Zealand? Let's go!

Ready to dive into how this programme is revolutionising professional learning for tertiary educators in Aotearoa New Zealand? Let’s go! Tapatoru – A Fresh Approach to Teaching Picture this: a programme that’s not just about learning stuff, but also about weaving Māori and Pacific values right into the heart of education. We’re talking literacy, numeracy and neurodiversity, all rolled into…

[obeetlebeetle]

ok im getting out of the replies @selchielesbian's post but it looks like i have more to say! they were talking about how strange it feels for yellowjackets to seemingly disengage from lottie's indigeneity despite the consistency in casting maori actresses, specifically re: the insidiousness of laura lee's imposition of christianity onto lottie's experiences -- and it reminded me of this passage from "ʹThe blank darkness outsideʹ: Ambrose Bierce and wilderness Gothic at the end of the frontier":

lottie has described her experience and the religious beliefs she developed because of it as 'primal' before, which automatically connects to this concept of 'contamination' by defanging it and re-casting it as a way to break down the nature/culture divide. but it's more complicated than it seems. bc this is a claim that still assigns agency to the wilderness as a space, making it supernatural -- and it's a claim being delivered by an indigenous woman to the cult she has developed from a melange of evangelical christianity, western psychiatric methodology, and what can be considered appropriative practices common in western 'wellness' lifestyles. it's hard to say whether yj is trying to meaningfully respond to the gothic lineage mentioned in this quote by creating the cult beliefs through these colonialist structures or if they are perpetuating it by using lottie as the mouthpiece for an embodied wilderness!

[wardingoffevil]

Tai Kahu as a Dad

Tai is so adorable! I couldn’t miss an opportunity to imagine him as a dad. I see him with a large family as well, but for this, he’s going to have two kids. A girl and a boy. More will come in the future for Tai, I promise!

🌴 Tai is very in-tune with his emotions. You can imagine the births of his children being a monumental moment for him. He’s crying, he’s happy, he’s proud, he’s scared. He is a rollercoaster of emotions, staring in disbelief down at his little bundle of joy. Somehow the newborn coos are wiping away all of his fears and doubts.

🌴 One thing about Tai is that he won’t treat his kids differently based on their gender. If his daughter wants to go on and play professional rugby, he’s supporting her completely. If his son wants to play dress up with glitter and his mom’s heels, Tai’s right there doing the same thing.

🌴 No need to go all out and “baby proof” the house since everything was already up high for Tai. Only the low essentials were necessary.

🌴 Tai’s another loud and proud dad joining the crew. You can hear him wherever he’s at.

🌴 Family is huge for Tai. He’s very proud of his Maori culture and fully envelopes his kids in it. There’s no such thing as a ‘small family get together’ for Tai. Every single family member is coming over on the weekends. The kids enjoy spending time with their grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousins, great-aunts and uncles, etc.

🌴 Tai and Ciaran take turns visiting one another. The kids love seeing Uncle Ciaran. Frequent FaceTime calls during the week!

🌴 They have one dog and a cat. Not to mention all the animals that visit the house.

🌴 The kids will be introduced to rugby from an early age. He loves it when the kids visit him during practice and games. It makes him feel good and proud.

🌴 Tai’s children were raised by nature. They’re always outside. If they had it their way, they’d sleep outside in the hammock. Who needs a crib when you can be lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves crashing on the beach?

🌴 Tai’s so sentimental when it comes to his children. Memories and little moments are huge for him. He keeps everything they give him. When they get older, he passes on family heirlooms to his kids. They become their most prized possessions.

🌴 Tai’s the type of father who’s never going to be disappointed in you. He will always be your biggest fan. Tai is always going to help you discover yourself, and push you to be the best person you can be. The moment he becomes a grandfather will be the moment he knows he raised his child well.

Thank you for requesting, anon! @noahsthottie has some HC’s for Tai here, @kiwi-tai has some here, @ravenadottir has a whole bunch here, as well as @vulnerabledime here. Here is a wedding moodboard for Tai too, by @mc-lora-litg. I could go crazy linking so many Tai posts, these are just a few. There are many, many Tai stans in the fandom, so I hope you all enjoy this! 🖤

[vforvalensa]

is it common knowledge that original premise of the grocery store chain Trader Joe's is that it was initially a tiki themed grocery store? And like not tiki as in the maori mythological figure or the maori statue carving practice, tiki the early to mid 20th century american cultural phenomenon where bars all over the US started theming themselves after a mish mash of appropriated polynesian and south east asian imagery. is that something people are aware of?

[popolitiko]

What Are Indigenous Populations? By Kendra Cherry, MSEd * January 04, 2021 Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book." Fact checked by Adah Chung

Table of Contents

What Are Indigenous Populations?

Identifying Indigenous Groups

Why It’s Important

Indigenous Rights and Issues

How to Learn More

Indigenous people make up an estimated 5% of the world's population.1 While they have different backgrounds, cultures, and traditions, they often have a shared history of being uprooted and forced from their ancestral lands.

Along with this, many face marginalization and discrimination in various forms including being prevented or denied the ability to live their traditions, express their cultures, and even speak their language.

In order to understand many of the unique issues that Indigenous populations face, it is essential to gain a better understanding and awareness of Indigenous peoples, their history, and their cultures.

What Are Indigenous Populations?

According to the World Health Organization, Indigenous populations identify as part of a distinct group or are descended from people who originate in areas that were their traditional lands that existed prior to the establishment of modern-day borders.2

Indigenous populations, often also referred to as Indigenous peoples, are distinct cultural and social groups that share ancestral connections to lands where they live or peoples from an area where they have been displaced. Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of a geographical area or country before people from other countries or cultures arrived.

After arrival, these new inhabitants eventually gained dominance of the area, often through settlement, occupation, or conquest.3

In North America, Indigenous people were often forcibly removed from their ancestral lands or assimilated into the mainstream culture. Examples of this include the forcible resettlement of Indigenous people onto reservations in the United States, and the use of residential schools to assimilate Indigenous children in Canada. 

Some Indigenous populations found in different areas of the world include:

Native Americans of the United States

First Nations and Métis of Canada

Sammi of Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark

Maori of New Zealand

Kurds of Western Asia

Maasai of East Africa

Indigenous populations often share social identities, cultural traditions, political institutions, and economic practices that are distinct from those of the now dominant culture of the region.

Identifying Indigenous Groups

When learning about Indigenous populations, it is important to...

[inifinds]

How to use Powerful Manifestation Symbols Daily for Balance

In our journey through life, we often seek ways to harness the universe's energy to bring our deepest desires to fruition. Among the most ancient and potent tools for such manifestation are powerful manifestation symbols, tokens that resonate with cosmic energies and guide us toward our goals. The Power of Symbols in ManifestationSymbols have served as a conduit between the material and the ethereal, the human and the divine, across all civilizations and spiritual paths. I included a wide variety of symbols across cultures all over the world.  Some of these symbols may not seem like they attract into your life but let's keep in mind that we must observe the negative energies that enter our lives daily.22 Powerful Manifestation SymbolsPlease feel free to check out this post as we'll cover all the symbols in greater detail but to give you an idea of what we're covering here is the list that covers a wide array of cultural backgrounds coming from ancient to modern times.- Ankh - Ancient Egyptian Symbol for Eternal Life and Spiritual Wisdom - Tree of Life (Yggdrasil) - Norse Symbol of Interconnectedness and Growth - Fehu Rune - Norse Rune for Wealth and Abundance - Maneki Neko - Japanese Beckoning Cat for Good Luck and Prosperity - Eye of Ra - Egyptian Symbol of Protection and Divine Watchfulness - Sri Yantra - Hindu Symbol for Universal Manifestation and Spiritual Enlightenment - Flower of Life - Sacred Geometry for Universal Connection and Harmony - Reiki Symbols - Tools for Channeling Healing Energy and Balancing - Star of David (Six-Pointed Star) - Symbol of Divine Protection and Harmony - Rune Stones - Alphabet of Norse Mythology for Magical Intentions and Guidance - Eight-Pointed Star - Symbol of Fullness, Regeneration, and Cosmic Order - Triple Goddess Symbol - Representation of the Feminine Moon Phases and Life Cycles - Triple Moon Symbol - Emblem of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone; Feminine Power - Tarot Cards - Divinatory Tools for Insight, Guidance, and Focused Intention - Bind Runes - Combined Runes for Tailored Intentions and Potent Manifestation - Bennu Bird - Egyptian Phoenix Symbolizing Rebirth and Renewal - Dung Beetle - Emblem of Transformation and Persistence in Ancient Egypt - Protection Symbols (e.g., Hamsa, Evil Eye) - Amulets Against Negative Energy - Money Attraction Symbols (e.g., Citrine, Goldfish) - Icons for Wealth and Prosperity - Spiritual Symbols (e.g., Lotus Flower, Om) - Markers of Divine Connection and Inner Peace - Cultural Symbols (e.g., Celtic Knots, Maori Koru) - Heritage Symbols of Strength and Wisdom - Equilateral Triangles - Geometric Shapes Symbolizing Balance, Harmony, and Elemental Forces - Reiki Symbols - Channeling Positive Energy for Healing and Balance- Use in meditation or healing practices to enhance well-being and clear obstacles in manifesting health and harmony. - Six-Pointed Star (Star of David) - Symbolizing Divine Protection and Jewish Culture- Place in your home or wear as a pendant to invite protection, balance, and connection to heritage and faith. - Eight-Pointed Star - Representation of Fullness and Regeneration- Use in visualization practices to embody the star's energy, promoting abundance and new beginnings in your life. - Triple Goddess Symbol - The Maiden, Mother, and Crone of the Moon's Phases- Incorporate into personal altars or meditation spaces to connect with feminine energy, cycles of life, and intuition. - Triple Moon Symbol - Embracing the Phases of Life and Feminine Power- Reflect on this symbol to honor personal growth, transformation, and the cyclical nature of existence. - Tarot Cards - Tools for Insight, Guidance, and Manifestation- Draw a card daily as a focus for meditation, contemplation, and action towards manifesting daily intentions. - Bind Runes - Combining Runes for Specific Intentions- Create bind runes that encapsulate your goals for powerful, personalized symbols of manifestation. - Bennu Bird - The Egyptian Mythology Phoenix Symbolizing Renewal- Embrace the concept of rebirth and resilience in facing challenges, paving the way for new opportunities and beginnings. - Dung Beetle - Symbol of Transformation and Persistence in Ancient Egyptian Culture- Reflect on this symbol's diligence and transformational power to inspire perseverance in your manifestation journey. - Protection Symbols (e.g., Hamsa, Evil Eye) - Guarding Against Negative Energies- Incorporate these symbols into your daily wear or living space as a reminder of your shielded and guided path. - Money Attraction Symbols (e.g., Citrine Crystals, Goldfish) - Drawing Wealth and Prosperity- Place these symbols in your wealth corner according to Feng Shui or carry them to attract financial abundance. - Cultural Symbols (e.g., Celtic Knots, Maori Koru) - Celebrating Heritage and Collective Wisdom- Embrace symbols from your ancestry or cultures you feel drawn to, acknowledging their stories and strengths in your manifestation work. - Equilateral Triangles - Symbolizing Harmony, Divinity, and the Balance of Elements- Meditate with the imagery of triangles to foster balance in your endeavors and align with the elemental forces of nature.Call to ActionWe invite you to explore the symbols that resonate with you deeply. Begin by choosing one that aligns with your current desires or spiritual path. Integrate it into your daily practice, observe the shifts in your energy and reality, and share your experiences with us. Your journey is a beacon of light for others on their path to manifestation and spiritual awakening.Related Articles:Manifest your Desires: Tesla 369 Law of Attraction TechniquesElevate your Life: Best Certified Law of Attraction CoachesWhat is a Spiritual Life Coach? Complete Guide for 2024Manifestation vs Prayer: Why together they are better11 Best Law of Attraction Planners for MasteryHow to Manifest with Law of Attraction Scripting TemplateDisclaimerThis blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only and explores a wide variety of powerful manifestation symbols drawn from numerous cultures, traditions, and belief systems around the world. The interpretations and uses of these symbols provided herein are offered as a guide and should not be taken as definitive meanings.We recognize and respect the deep cultural significance and sacredness that many of these symbols hold within their respective traditions. Readers are encouraged to approach these symbols with respect and sensitivity towards the cultures and spiritual practices from which they originate.Please note that the images of symbols included in this post are intended to provide a visual idea of the symbols discussed and may not accurately represent their traditional or cultural depictions in every detail. We encourage readers to conduct further research to explore the rich visual and historical contexts of these symbols.The information presented is a compilation of traditional understandings, and we acknowledge that there may be differing views and additional depths to these symbols not covered in this post. We invite readers to explore these symbols further on their own, considering the personal and cultural contexts that shape their meanings.Incorporating any of these symbols into your personal or spiritual practices should be done with intention, respect, and an understanding of their origins and meanings. This blog does not claim to offer a comprehensive exploration of each symbol but rather aims to introduce readers to the broad and diverse spectrum of powerful symbols used for manifestation throughout human history.Remember, the effectiveness of any symbol in manifestation is greatly influenced by the individual's belief, intention, and the energy they bring to their practice. Read the full article