Kaitiakitanga - Land, People and Resource Management

Question 1

‘Ki uta ki tai’

Answer 1

‘from the mountains to the sea’

Question 2

What’s a taonga?

Answer 2

An object or natural resource which is highly prized.

Question 3

Translate these taonga:
Inaka
Kokowai
Tiaki
Pounamu
Rimu rapa

Answer 3

Inaka - white bait
Kokowai - red ochre
Tiaki - clams
Pounamu - greenstone
Rimu rapa - bull kelp

Question 4

What are Titi? And what relevance do they have to Maori?

Answer 4

Titi are mutton birds; The birds return between November and February and are harvested in March/April. They are a specialty kai.
They are preserved in kelp bags.

Question 5

What is kaitiakitanga?

Answer 5

Custodian and guardianship of the environment and its people.
It’s intergenerational in that experience from the past informs the present and drives the future.

Question 6

Tuku whenua means…

Answer 6

Land gifted with specific uses with the expectation of return.

Question 7

Give an example of tuku whenua.

Answer 7

In Rotorua people who suffered from volcanic eruption were given a place to resettle and they’re still there. The expectation of return is only if things change; the snow will stay until conditions change.

Question 8

Mana whenua means…

Answer 8

Authority, obligations, and responsibilities (relating to land).

Question 9

Explains ahi ka and ahi matoo.

Answer 9

Ahi ka (the fire of occupation): people who are always there, they have primary responsibility.
Ahi matoo: people who have limited or no contact, they have limited opportunities and responsibilities.

Question 10

Turangawaewae means…

Answer 10

Your place to stand. It centres your whakapapa to a place and ties you to looking after that particular land.

Question 11

What is the practice of iho whenua?

Answer 11

Iho = placenta
Whenua = land
Returning the placenta to the land, it reinforces the mauri and links that person to the land.

Question 12

What is an expression of your mana whenua?

Answer 12

Kai hau kai = the specialty resource synonymous with your area; in Dunedin we always offer paua and clams, if you can’t supply it it’s a slight to your mana whenua.

Question 13

In terms of resource management, which six concepts are at work?

Answer 13

1. Rāhui: a temporary restriction to an area for a specific reason e.g. paua reseeding
2. Tapu
3. Noa
   * Rahui, tapu and noa all relate to controlling access.
4. Mauri: If a river is polluted it impedes the mauri of the components of the ecosystem.
5. Wairua: the spirit of the place and the entities within it.
6. Muru:utu - These are two levels of compensation. Muru is more permanent, it’s a decided form of compensation, once it’s been carried out then that’s the end of the matter. Whereas Utu can be more extreme which can bring about war and death in retaliation, there’s more reciprocity.