Waitaingi Day; a day to celebrate a document that has shaped New Zealand to be what it is today, a day to remember the struggles, successes, and sacrifices of our ancestors, a day to reflect on what partnership means.
I feel so blessed to be living in New Zealand, and I’m reminded of it today. How lucky I am to be raising Alice in this beautiful, safe country that is founded on two cultures.
I hope that I can help Alice learn about her history. Of course, she has English ties, she will grow up surrounded by our English language, all of her ancestors are of European decent. But Alice has an advantage that her great great grandparent didn’t have – her world is heavily accented with the beauty and power of Maori culture, language, and wisdom.
The tiny town where she lives has a Maori name and legend (a wizard chased his wife through these parts!) and Alice will know this story. Though not Maori, this town is all she will know, and she will be able to claim it as her own.
The burial of her placenta on the land where she lives has deeply rooted importance in Maori culture. The word “whenua” means “life giving”. It is the word used for “placenta” as well as “land”, and “hua whenua” or “full earth” refers to food from the ground – life sustaining vegetables. Alice will be spiritually connected to this place where she grew up because her whenua will remain here. Life was given and cultivated in this place. Her place to stand is not in England, it is here, despite her blood ancestry.
As far as language goes, New Zealand is in a prime position to make every single child bilingual, and it sometimes breaks my heart that more people don’t snap up the opportunity to give this gift to children. The list of benefits of a second language is ridiculously long. I am far from fluent, but having Alice has made me even more determined to learn more so she can cultivate her own appreciation of Te Reo Maori. I had minimal education in Te Reo Maori growing up but I can still see its beauty and value so I try and learn as much as I can. My theory is that if I can give Alice more exposure to the language, she will have more understanding than I - and she might even make it a priority to increase understanding with her own children.
As well as language, I’m so happy that Alice’s every day world is punctuated with contemporary and traditional Maori art and music. Kowhaiwhai patterns are every where and taonga puoro are making a comeback. It does a music loving mother good to know that, because of the country where Alice lives, there will be beautiful, organic music to break up the monotony of modern pop and MTV.
Because Alice lives in this amazing country, built on the backs of two cultures, she will have the pleasure of belonging to two separate but significant histories. Her family ancestry will tell her where she has come from. But the history of her country, its people and its legend and its sacredness, will tell her the significance of where she is now. I’m so thankful that Alice will grow up knowing two vibrant cultures and claiming both as her own, mainstream English and powerful, spiritual Te Ao Maori, as only a child born in New Zealand can.
E iti noa ana nā te aroha.
A small thing given with love
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