A fresh approach to water – from a te ao Māori perspective
A new video series launches this week featuring a Far North kaumatua who is no stranger to the spotlight.
Whakapapa o te wai is a series of five short videos, which begins on the council’s social media channels from Tuesday 8 April.
In the series, Rereata Makiha shares a Māori perspective of water - where it comes from, how we should protect it, and ancient ideas about the importance of balancing freshwater and saltwater sources.
Matua Rereata is recognised for his work in broadcasting, the environment, and for revitalising te reo Māori, as well as his knowledge and application of the Maramataka (Māori Lunar Calendar). He was named Kiwibank Senior New Zealander of the Year Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau in 2022.
One clip will be released each week over a five-week period, with Matua Rereata (Ngāpuhi/Te Arawa/Rangitāne) sharing his ancestral knowledge. The campaign runs alongside the Tiaki ngā wai, Save water now message that appears on water restriction signs currently in retail outlets and along roadsides across the Far North which raise awareness about what water restrictions mean and where they apply.
You can view all five video clips here.
In this first clip of our Whakapapa o te wai series, Matua Rereata shares his ancestral knowledge about the origins and lineage of water from a te ao Māori perspective. This clip begins in te reo Pākehā and is followed by te reo Māori.
In this second clip, Matua Rereata shares knowledge from his tūpuna (ancestors) about the importance of water. This clip begins in te reo Māori and is followed by an explanation in te reo Pākehā.
In this third clip, Matua Rereata discusses how water conservation is bigger than focusing on human water consumption. This clip is a combination of te reo Pākehā and te reo Māori. Subtitles are supplied for key phrases only, to bridge understanding.
In this fourth clip, Rereata Makiha shares how the use of water springs in the past helped to conserve this precious taonga.This clip begins in te reo Māori and is followed by an explanation in te reo Pākehā. Subtitles are supplied for key phrases only, to bridge understanding.
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In this final clip Matua Rereata uses a te ao Māori lens to demonstrate how important it is to stop fresh water aquifers from being infiltrated by salt water. This last clip is a mixture of te reo Pākehā and te reo Māori. Subtitles are supplied for key phrases only, to bridge understanding.
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