“Unless each generation testifies and rewrites the past for itself, history will either be lost or continue in a state of flux.”
Rongowhakaata Halbert, 1894
TE PŪTUNGA O TE HINU:
THE OOZING OF FAT.
A METAPHOR FOR ABUNDANCE.
‘Te Pūtunga o te Hinu’ literally means the oozing of fat. This line is taken from the iconic ancestral lullaby ‘Pōpō’. A Tūranga song about nourishment, succession, and identity.
If food is a symbol for knowledge, then let the hunger and poverty that exist, be reimagined as the first step toward enlightenment. This work is a response to the human yearning for place, purpose and identity.
Commissioned by Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust, Te Pūtunga o te Hinu is an ode to resilience, disruption and creativity. May it ‘flip’ poverty mindsets and awaken the ancestral access to abundance that we all have.
We set out to explore abundance by asking our whanaunga to share some of their lived insights. A window into the perspectives of 12 extraordinary Rongowhakaata uri, then reproduced as a series of digital narratives, as kai for our collective hinengaro. Each narrative is unique and speaks to a particular theme inside of Pōpō.
These whanaunga are all uri of Rongowhakaata & Tūranga, each who have navigated life by accessing, discovering and leading from the abundance within them. Some live in Tūranga and others don’t. They all have different horizons, are inspirational leaders and by gathering them together, we get to triumph in their collective spirit.
We are proud of Te Pūtunga o te Hinu and hope that the kōrero inspires more awakenings across our tribal landscape.
Tīhei Mauri Ora.
EPISODE 1: TE POU-Ā-HAO-KAI
Abundance, Succession & Future with Tā Derek Lardelli
Be still child… let me tell you,
you are abundant, a shapeshifter.
Take this bacterial flora, bountiful knowledge
From the belly of the whale
As a garden to cultivate the kumara
So that we may eat of it
EPISODE 2: TANGAROA! KA HĀRURU!
Journey, Reconnection & Transformation with Kennzy Hotene
You are of Uenuku Whakarongo
See & learn your own route to the kumara
The bloom of the whale remembers where it’s from
The content of its stomach marks the journey
Back unto the roots of the kumara
From across the roaring seas
EPISODE 3 : TE WHATU O POUTINI
Rediscovery, Hope & Vision with John Porter
You are the human manifestation of the elemental spirit
You are of the earths molten flame rising to breach and crust
You are of the forming and reforming
You are cloud of sky, stone of sand and sea
You are green stone
EPISODE 4: TE KUKUNETANGA MAI I HAWAIKI
Creativity, Art & Motherhood with Patrice Tipoki-Arkins
You stretch across time and space
A sticky thread of creative disruption from Maui
And Pani in labour, the essence of motherhood,
Bearer of the kumara
Our essential abundance is born.
EPISODE 5: TE PĪPĪWHARAUROA
Taiao, Respect & Responsibility with Soraya Pōhatu
Incubated in the layers of sand and time
Raised in the richness of love and abundance
Listen for the first tentative song of Pīpīwharauroa
A gentle heralding of the change of seasons
Now is the time!
EPISODE 6. TE AHI RARA Ā RONGOMARAEROA
Uniqueness, Complexity & Indigeneity with Tawera Tahuri
You are complex, unique and creative
Bird-snares are already set across our landscape
Stretching out as does the Tī kouka and the Rainbow
Reminding that you are genealogically connected
Let the intentions of Rongo
Burn fiercely!
EPISODE 7: TĒNEI TE MANAWA KA PURITIA
Resilience, Diversity, Collectivity with Te Whanau Hokianga
When the intentions of consumption threaten to overwhelm
You, as bearers of kumara ethos
Must come together, be inspired, and be stout
Like a constellation of stars
Lead, when others are confused
Remember who you are
Stand up!
EPISODE 8: KA TAHURI I TE HURIPUREIATA
Leadership, Flipping, Values with Kiley Nepia
Disrupt the deficit narratives of poverty
as Ruatapu did through capsizing Te Huripureiata
Form new paths for abundance to follow
May the paddle handles that carve forward
Strike fearsomely!
EPISODE 9 : KO MANAWARŪ, KO ARAI-TE-URU
Identity, Humility, Source with Zoe Cotter
As Hākirirangi did making her way ashore
The yellow flowers in bloom
Her gifts laid bare, wayfinding the way forward
Follow as you might, the bends of Te Arai
And with excited anticipation
Plant abundance for multiple generations
EPISODE 10: KO MAKAURI ANAKE I MAHUE ATU
History, Whakapapa & People with Kristen Maynard
Remember, the descent of the first feather
A bountiful coral forest at sea
And the second feather
The majestic, red plumed forest of Mahaki
And you, the kumara seed grew, nurtured
Remember why we share!
EPISODE 11: TE NGĀHURU TIKOTIKOIERE
Wayfinding, Guidance & Timing with Mātahi Whakataka-Brightwell
Look to the heavens
For your kumara story also begins there
When the brightest star in Virgo,
And the brightest star in Scorpious
Appear in the waning summer skies
All the elements conspire to bring the knowledge forward
EPISODE 12 : TE MĀTAHI O TE TAU
Gratitude, Narratives & ‘So what?’ with Teina Moetara
The bountiful season is upon you
So, when the first harvest happens
May the blubberous fat stores overflow!
We have the means to do it!
CONCLUSION
Pōpō is a marvel. A premonitory koha perhaps from kaitito Enoka Te Pakaru who knew that we would need something in the future to rewire our thinking. It is now, more than ever, a powerful tool set to save us from our own apathy. A taonga that reflects a world of everlasting possibilities and horizons. A collection of memories and moments as inspiration to reflect on abundance we have access to today.
Koutou ngā kura taininihi o Ruakapanga. Koutou i tautoko mai ki tēnei kaupapa. Kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi.
Sir. Derek Lardelli
Kennzy Hotene
Soraya Pohatu
The Hokianga whanau – George, Tammy and Amie
Tawera Tahuri
Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell
Mr. John Porter
Kristen Maynard
Patrice Tipoki Arkins & David Tipoki
Teina Moetara
Zoe Cotter
Kiley Nepia.
This work is dedicated to all descendants of Tūranga.
Mauri ora ki a tātou katoa.