Presentation at:
Water and Cultural Diversity
OPENING PLENARY
Third World Water Forum, 16-17 March 2003, Kyoto, Japan
An Indigenous Maori Perspective on Water
Roimata MINHINNICK, New Zealand
Tihei Mauriora
Ko Matukutukutureia te Maunga
Ko Manukau
te Moana
Ko Waikato
te Awa
Tena Koutou Tena Koutou Tena Koutou Katoa
Greetings from Aotearoa New Zealand
Tis the breath of life
Matukutukutureia
is our mountain
Manukau
is our harbour
Waikato
is our river
When a Maori introduces himself but does mention his name one should not be
offended. For in our custom and ceremonies Maori introduce themselves through
those things most sacred and treasured to them. In this regard, every Maori will
mention the waterway within their tribal territory. So from a Maori perspective they
are actually introducing themselves, they are the embodiment of that mountain, that
river or lake, culturally and spiritually connected.
Nonetheless my name is Roimata which means teardrops. In our creation story,
Roimata represents the teardrops or rain of Ranginui our Sky father who was
separated from Papatuanauku our earth mother, and hence the tears. From that rain
flow the rivers and are enshrined our lakes, our water giving life to all things on earth.
Thus water is very much part of a holistic embracement of the total environment to
Maori and its value well understood.
The purpose of this paper is to describe this cultural and spiritual relationship to water
from the perspective of one Maori entity, the Ngati Te Ata Tribe who belong to the
Waikato and Waiohua Tribal confederations. I will also make links to the historical
concerns of our people.