Our Research | Māra Tautāne
Revitalising a hapū practice connected to te taiao
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Key Research Aims
This research aims to:
explore a cultural practice that is deeply connected to the ngahere
communicate understanding of how biosecurity impacts (e.g. the impending threat of myrtle rust) may influence cultural practices
elevate the voice of wāhine in the preservation and maintenance of cultural practices.
Funded Years: 2020/21 2021/22
Research Brief
The purpose of this project is to observe and record the deep cultural and spiritual significance that cultural practices connected with the natural world hold for tāngata Māori. Specifically, the project involves recording the revitalisation of the Māra Tautāne in a hapū of Tūhoe, located in Ruātoki, in the northern Te Urewera.
The Māra Tautāne, the first to be established in the Ruātoki Valley for over 300 years, is a garden that represents the hapū connection to their ancestors, ancestral lands and practices as well as ngā atua Māori and star constellations. The project also elevates the importance of the role of wāhine in the preservation and maintenance of cultural practices associated with māra.
The Māra Tautāne, as a cultural practice is deeply connected to the ngahere. It acts as a symbol to remind people of the importance of the natural environment for the sustenance of all living things.
The Māra Tautāne acts as a symbolic icon to enable a connection between the spiritual world and the physical world. It is a symbol of Māori connectedness and inseparability from the natural world. As Whaea Teina says “The Māra Tautāne is just one of many iconic symbols and rituals that permit our heart, our mind and our wairua to remember that.”
The project reveals how threats to the ngahere, such as impending biosecurity incursions like myrtle rust, that already exists in areas surrounding Te Urewera, would have devastating impacts on cultural and social practices that are connected to that ngahere. Such practices are central to whakapapa and the connection of tāngata Māori to the whenua.
Research Outcomes
A story map and E-Book have been produced about the Māra Tautāne and these can be viewed in the Project Resources section below.
A video documentary has also been produced about the Māra Tautāne. This records the kōrero of key people in the hapū about the significance of revitalising the Māra Tautāne as a cultural practice that shows Māori connectedness and inseparability from the natural world. It overlays this narrative with segments from the unveiling ceremony of the Māra Tautāne in Nov 2020, a ceremony that has not previously been recorded.
The documentary has now been completed and was presented to Ngai Tūhoe in 2022. It is now publicly available and can be viewed in the Project Resources section below either separately or as part of the story map.
Project Resources
Te Māra Tautāne Story Map
A story map featuring Te Māra Tautāne has been compiled to tell the story of the revitalisation of this customary practice in the Ruātoki Valley of Te Urewera. View the story map by clicking the button.
Video Documentary
Watch the 23 minute documentary about Te Māra Tautāne o Te Māhurehure.
E-book
Learn more out about the Māra Tautāne through this e-book that was created for the unveiling ceremony.