Nga whetu ki te rangi                                          (stars to the sky)

Te Ngahere e karanga atu nei                            (the bush beckons you)
Te whenua e takoto nei                                      (the land upon which you stand)
Ka rongo Te Po                                                     (heard in The Night)
Ka rongo Te Ao                                                     (heard in the light)
Haere mai, haere mai,                                         (Welcome, welcome, welcome)
haere mai!

Carin and Jenny Wilson’s beckoning karanga saying “Come closer.”  Our warmth mingled theirs.  Some of us wayward travelers veered away to another land but eventually found our bearings to Pukeruru and the awesomeness awaiting us.  We were richly blessed by a blessed land.

Someone said, “How close can we get to heaven.” And another, “Lost in a wilderness; wilderness was once our freedom space.”  Another, “Whenua, moana, Ngahere, wa … all-encompassing us in this space so pristine and free from the vagaries and vicissitudes of city.”

As we started to connect with Land, Sky, Sea and Air, we began to soak in the reality of ‘Kainga’ and what it means in this context as Carin and Jenny firmly plant their stake into this soil.  There is a timelessness as the Pukeruru Night Sky revealed its truth – magical, regal, pure and in the mythic language of Nature 

The Mataatua waka with Puhi in command made its voyage through here eight century ago. Imagine Puhi as the potiki of three brothers undaunted he too put his stake in the land and came up with Nga Puhi.  We were  connected to Wairaka the young daughter of Toroa the captain of Mataatua a tipuna of Carin, “It’s no coincidence I’m here,” he told us.  Mataatua now rests in its last landfall at Takao near Matauri Bay.

Everyone introduced themselves around the fire amidst songs and smoke but under the gaze of a starry sky – nga whetu ki te rangi.  Wow and Wow Ena!  Norman McLeod Lochinvar – ‘Kotimana’ The Scotts settlement who set out from Nova Scotia to Western Australia and then to Auckland, and given access to land at Waipu where he built a community in ‘peace’.  “My connection with settlement is with Ngati Awa that allowed them, and us to stay here. “

 KAREN
“I have been pondering on this experience so far just how enriching it is; like coming home away from the vagaries of city bound life; freedom by leaving the smug and smartness-fart far behind in the madding crowd; to just be with the purity of land, sea and sky.” 

JOHN
“The word unity comes to mind a common ground for us to come together and celebrate nature.  We’re experiencing something very strong here. And it’s quite overwhelmingly rich.  A feeling of “…Te kotahitanga (unity) and in harmony with self, with others and with place and time.”

JUDY - Te Rangihauka – 
“I was privileged to be asked to do a karanga with all Nature, to the sun at the rising and to witness again the miracle of a new day.  Karanga ki a Tamanui-te-Ra, and as I held the harakeke I felt its strength seeping into my body like the breathing we did just before.  I listened to feel its pulsating heart in the new dawn.  I felt supported and confident  …one word ‘awesome’.  I te whitinga mai o te ra, ka oho ake nga manu, nga kirehe o te moana, o te whenua, o te rangi me nga toka tu.”

CAROLINE
Te Ao: the light of hope penetrating the darkness like a tentacle breaching the darkness; giving life to a day and to us; morning, a fresh breath mingling with life, so silent yet so powerfully illuminating; grief for those who passed on last night and greet the new born; te pito o te whenua (the placenta of the land keeping us nourished and alive) wringing from us Manaia; the sounds waka in silence moving across ancient pathways in the wake of their guardians a whale and her baby; the passage line of kuaka (godwit) Tihei Mauri Ora! ... Ko au tihei ko au tenei ko au tenei Ko te awa ko te awa ko au – I live!

Ko te wairua o te whenua
Toku oranga toku rangimarie
Toku maungarongo

Te ngakau o te nahere                               The soul of the bush                                            
Homai te waiora ki au                               Give to me life-giving waters
E tutehua ana te moe a te kuia                  Tiresome is the sleep of this lady

I Te Po I raru ai a Wairaka                        Hence Wairaka’s fall in grace
Ka Ao, Ka Ao, ka awatea!                         Tis Light! Tis Light! Ahh! Tis Day!
Te Ihi                                                          Power in reserve                                                 
Te Wana                                                     Inner spark                                                                            
Te Wehi                                                      Fearful awe, reverence, careful
Te Tapu                                                      Empathy with all this                                                            
Wairua                                                        Spirit free to Create                                            

“No one owns water,” John Key, PM 2011.  Water is not a commodity to be owned, sold or plundered.  So, how do we grow to Learn Belong Receive Return and Give … this is the principle of Reciprocity –   it is not a nebulous something but a koha from the breasts of Papatuanuku that nurtures and strengthens, hence waiora,  wairua, wai mate ... wai harakeke.

Ko au te awa
Ko re awa ko au
Ka korero ahau
Ki nga kirehe
O te rangi, o te whenua,
o te moana, o nga toka
Mihi mai, mihi mai
Karanga mai
Kei te kanikani ahau ki nga kirehe katoa

 
Ko Yusnidar taku ingoa
Kei Mareia taku whenua
I whitia e te ra
Ko David taku hoa rangatira

“Do we try to read ancient, symbolic language, mythic language in the narratives of each region we settle.”
“Do we make mention of those before us when we resettle a new area as Jenny and I did here?”
"What do we do to return the balance of nature, what do we give back, is this what we mean by Reciprocity?"
"How have we changed the landscape for the better?"
“This landscape and seascape that we are privileged to come to is in danger of irreparable harm unless we stand up for it now”

“Surely all sides are winners if we care sufficiently to use resources with reverence.”

We are at home here in the presence of Patupaearehe - gatekeepers for the balance of Nature in the bush as extolled by the story of Rata, the adolescent who ventured into the sacred domain of Tane and without knowing the placating karakia he sets out to fell an unselected tree for his purpose.

When you are a user of a resource you are simultaneously a Kaitiaki (spiritual keeper).  Kaitiakitanga implies a very special relationship with taonga (heirlooms), a place, a natural resource, or for tribal and whanau treasures. Our job is to nurture not plunder Taonga like the sea, the land and the forests that sustain us.  Look to the creepy little creatures that abound – we cannot survive without nature.   Take this place, Pukeruru; a place to cherish and be nourish by it. Kaitiakitanga, a space within ourselves and around us in which to Learn and Grow.  And Return.

Language: listen to the symbolic, mythic language in a story or in the sounds of birds, insects, wind and water. Karakia also contain mythic language. My grandmother, Wairemana told stories of her early days living in Maungapohatu. In later life, her stories began to resonate with meaning.  Ancient stories are important in that they lead us to connect.  Ancient stories teach much more; reverence,  humanity, nature, ancestors and who we are, “Ko John taku ingoa,” says a lot. 

Schools in order to learn the secrets of Nature need to be introduced to its symbolic language, and therefore reap its benefits.  We say karakia is one way for communicating when we are faced with uncertainty. Giving food, singing a waiata are two other ways of saying thanks.  We can thank nature effectively in karakia.  We can offer food or its equivalent as a koha, a kind of investment for services rendered.  Offer karakia our commitment to Ranginui and Papatuanuku; reach through to the generous spirit of a giving Earth and Sky.  Others go directly to a particular landscape, and I have known people to find relief from a spring in Auckland, a rock on the side of a road, or the top of a high hill. 

I believe this works because it is an ancient system of communication that has always existed between humans and Nature; whether anyone believes it is not unimportant. This is why ancient stories are important; Rangi and Papa, Maui, Toroa and Wairaka.  Myths and Legends use symbolic language to present a certain truth, and so the ritual provides people with an opportunity to test experience against theory.   

The white heron, symbol for Light the first power of Creation, represents purity, the north wind, strength and wisdom and as well the passage way for the spirits returning to Hawaikinui. The colour red represents rebirth and life, enlightenment, knowledge, learning, illumination.  The third power of Creation is Earth (south) flowers and birds, rocks, and all small creatures.  These bring warmth, harmony, happiness, and security. Black; is the west, the last power of Creation; water, is also present in darkness or the unknown, the spirit world; which provides purification, protection, healing, and wealth.  Some of this esoteric knowledge is tribal or cultural specific, and some are common to different tribes. The four powers of Creation: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water ... Tawhirimatea, Ruaumoko, Papatuanuku, and Tangaroa.

All of the ancient stories we heard teach us about our interconnectedness to all in Nature.  Rimaha, my grandfather said prayers and prayers and more prayers but for him symbols served as connectors to certain powers or to activate them in prayer which might be verbal, through song or through the recitation of an ancient chant, and as well through silence.  I recall him ‘conversing’ with a tui. The circle is an ancient, primal symbol or what Carl Jung called ‘universal archetype’.  Native Americans know this as a symbol that represents something sacred and holy.  For them, this represents unity, strength, protection, infinity and spirituality.  Thus it is used in ritual, religion, art, architecture, ceremony and social interaction.We have used names from socially meaningful events such as Tukaokao, El Alamein, Te Wehinga, or personifications of Nature.  These names have power and meaning. Hemi O’Keefe told his son Phillip Rhodes, “… keep your name, son and make your dad burst with pride.” Many families keep old names or names that trace to an incident in history.  Special names are used in prayers or blessings.  In later years a child may learn to use their hidden (or ‘pet’) name to converse with Nature.  They might go out into an open space and mediate with creatures and in that space ask guidance, Try it!  Your name is your shield.
Othello: 

"Good name in man and women, dear Lord
Is the immediate jewel to their souls
He who steals my purse steals trash it is something nothing
But he who filches my good name
Robs me of that which makes him rich
And leaves me poor indeed." 
(William Shakespeare)

Names and symbols have power and meaning; power that comes from Tipuna; Papatuanuku Earth) as the matrix of all we do.  I believe more than ever we need a better understanding of what Nature it is telling us.  And need the ancient 

tools and knowledge in order to adapt to the constant change and challenges that both the natural world and the newly created artificial world presents to us.  

As we all slink back into our daily nod, we will know that the few hours we spent together at Pukeruru will remain forever reminders of our bond of Ranginui, Papatuanuku and their children.

“Some of us try to separate ourselves away from Nature or ‘transcend’ Nature mentally, but the mere fact that we are human beings and part of the great web of life, makes us all a part of Nature.” 

Bobby Lake-Thom (US American Sioux Indian Chief)