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For the Maori, the land was not merely a resource, but a connection to ancestors. [4] The mana of the tribe was strongly associated with the lands of that tribe. From this came the Maori proverb "Man perishes, but the land remains." The Maori beliefs included Atua, invisible spirits connected to natural phenomena such as rainbows, trees, or stones.
The word karakia, which we use for prayer, formerly meant a spell, charm, or incantation [...] [Maori] have spells suited for all circumstances – to conquer enemies, catch fish, trap rats, and snare birds, to make their kumara grow, and even to bind the obstinate will of woman; to find anything lost; to discover a stray dog; a concealed enemy ...
The Māori alphabet includes both long and short vowels, which change the meaning of words. [1] For most of the 20th century, these were not indicated by spelling, except sometimes as double vowels (paaua). Since the 1980s, the standard way to indicate long vowels is with a macron (pāua).
The others put their plans into action—Rongo, the god of cultivated food, tries to push his parents apart, then Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and his sibling Haumia-tiketike, the god of wild food, join him. In spite of their joint efforts Rangi and Papa remain close together in their loving embrace.
Hokianga was seen, a returning of Kupe, that is (the meaning of) Hokianga. Under the earth are his and Kui's dwelling’. The land was uninhabited (deserted). Āperahama adds a genealogy from Kupe to Nukutawhiti, the ancestor of the Ngā Puhi. [21] Nukutawhiti came ‘from overseas’ with his brother-in-law Ruanui in their canoe named Mamari.
Both categories merge in whakapapa to explain the overall origin of the Māori and their connections to the world which they lived in. The Māori did not have a writing system before European contact, beginning in 1769, [ 1 ] therefore they relied on oral retellings and recitations memorised from generation to generation.
The proposed origin of Hawaiki being both the ancestral homeland and the underworld is that both are the dwelling places of ancestors and the spirits. Other possible cognates of the word Hawaiki include saualiʻi ("spirits" in Samoan ) and houʻeiki ("chiefs" in Tongan ).
Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and their mana. [ 1 ] Experts in whakapapa can trace and recite a lineage not only through the many generations in a linear sense, but also between such generations in a lateral sense.