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I have chosen to use kaupapa pāua to heighten children’s understandings of
Māori beliefs related to Te Ao Māori. This particular topic is significant for me as
I come from ‘down South’ Riverton, Aotearoa. I grew up eating the foods of the
sea/ kaimoana; therefore I feel it is appropriate that I have extensive knowledge
on this traditional Māori food source and art resource. Even though I have grown
up with the presence of pāua I know little of its heritage and importance to
Māori. I will be able to share my enthusiasm towards this topic along with my
curiosity to engage children with the pāua topic. This kauapapa is expandable to
use over many different curriculum areas and creates endless learning
opportunities to strengthen children’s knowledge on the Māori culture.
Pāua has many different aspects to discuss with children that offer a range of
interactive and hands on learning activities depending your schools access of
resources. However, even with out extra resources this topic is interesting and
links to our national heritage of learning of the native Māori and particular
tikanga (customs) in order to make te re me ngā tikanga more mainstream and
known of in schools. The pāua itself is a taonga, a reason pāua is classified as a
taonga is due to both its value as food and as a source of shell for both traditional
and contemporary arts and crafts (Teara Government, 2006).
A taonga is
described as something that is treasured in Maori culture whether it is tangible
or intangible(Korero Maori, 2008). The Resource Management Act 1991 states
that New Zealand has to “recognise and provide for the relationship of Māori and
their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, wahi tapu
[sacred sites], and other taonga’ as a matter of national importance”(Ministry of
Primary Industries, 1998). It is important in order for children to understand
and connect with the Maori culture and heritage to be able to recognise
tikanga/taongas such as pāua.
Pāua is tangible therefore there has been issues in following the kikatianga of
this taonga as it is easily accessible to public and also very expensive to buy.
Those who are unaware of Kaitiakitanga that follows paua or ignore them put its
existence in danger. Puna Wai Toriki mataitai (customary fisheries legislation)
have been put in place to restrict commercial harvest of any designated species
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to help create a sustainable resource. There has long been ‘over-fishing’ and an
extensive global black market in the collection and export of abalone meat it is
hoped the new legislation will help return the dwindling pāua resource in the
area to former healthy levels (Ministry of Primary Industries, (1998). It is
important that children know the kaitiakitanga of pāua and the importance to
the Māori culture so it is preserved for years to come. A learning opportunity in
relation to the kaitiakitanga in social sciences would be to learn about
restrictions and kaitiakitanga of pāua. I would use my pāua poster as the igniter
and then as a class we would learn the reasons for its importance to Māori. We
would follow next with can learning about the certain protocol for collecting
pāua, for example, the restrictions in size and the amount, and how the taken.
From here students can research and create pamphlets and posters for the
community and school to generate more of an awareness to help protect the
special taonga.
Through researching this topic I have found a variety purakau on pāua and its
significance to the Māori culture. I would use these in social studies to explore
Aotearoa’s Māori culture and identity, with the stories handed down through
generations. Kōrero Pūrākau help’s us to explain the past, develop
understanding, remember experiences and pass on learning. During learning
about a variety of pāua pūrākau in social sciences children can build their
understandings Māori whakapapa, beliefs and the importance of tikanaga. As a
learning activity I would introduce the pūrākau I have found on the creation of
pāua “Tangaroa’s Gift”. Tangaroa’s gift is an exciting myth about how the pāua
came to get his beautiful shell. It describes the features of the shell, how it
regrows and also why it clings onto rocks. I really enjoyed this pūrākau and was
an easy way to understand the aspects of pāua and the Māori culture. Another
myth I found was ‘Kahu-ngunu obtains pāua’ by John White, which explains the
eponymous Maori ancestor who was exceptionally good at sea diving and could
gather an abundance of pāua in no time. This also would be a fascinating myth to
engage children in Māori history. “By becoming increasingly familiar with
tikanga, Māori students strengthen their identities, while non-Mā ori journey
towards shared cultural understandings”(Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 14). I
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would discuss what we discovered in the myths and analyse them to find
messages in relation to kaitiakitanga and tikanga. In these pūrākau the children
get introduced to Tangaroa ‘The God of the Sea’, from this introduction I could
move onto focusing different pūrākau for example “Tāne Mahuta, God of the
Forrest, Rongomatāne God of cultivated foods and so forth to build our
children’s wider knowledge of Māori tikanga.
Another learning opportunity would be (in the area of social studies) to give out
the New Zealand map, then get students (depending on their age) to
independently or collectively research areas where to find pāua and its
population. They will then shade in the areas where pāua is populated to get a
visual for themselves. Through this children can recognise how much pāua there
is in New Zealand and its significance to the country.
Visual art is a curriculum area that can be linked to kaupapa pāua to create a fun
entertaining learning experiences. Art is a subject where children can express
their identity culture and understandings freely with less care to ‘sticking to the
rules’. Art is an expressive tool that incorporates “values, and contributes to the
unique bicultural and multicultural character of Aotearoa New Zealand,
enriching the lives of all New Zealanders” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.24). A
learning activity in this subject could be for children to incorporate pāua in an
art project. As a teacher collect pāua pieces for children to use in their art. If
possible, to make it more exciting, and depending on circumstances you could
incorporate a field trip to the beach to collect pāua shells (without the flesh
inside). The students would then use the pāua pieces they have to research and
create a traditional Māori design (using koru’s, manaia, koropepe and so forth)
to express their culture to the class. The pūrākau ‘Tangaroa’s Gift’ could be an
igniter for this as it explains the pāua’s colours and features clearly to visualise.
The pāua itself has amazing patterns and colours so when painting and drawing
it, it will be exciting for the students to experiment to create look of the pāua
shell. Pāua is traditionally used by Māori to illuminate the eyes of their carvings.
Dependent on resources, creating a traditional mini carving could be a fun option
to use and relate to pāua.
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Particular types of kai relate to all sorts of customs and traditions for iwi. In
social science we learn our about our past to understand the present and how we
are affected by particular aspects. Through social sciences we can teach the
tikanga of pāua when it comes to iwi and visitors. “Teacher cultural competence
involves understanding, respecting and valuing culture, and knowing how to use
culture as an asset in the teaching and learning process, both inside and beyond
the classroom” (Ministry of Education, 2011, p.14). A special delicacy of kai that
is from the area is given to visitors during the powhiri process from the iwi.
There are particular cooking, distribution and eating of the kai to so that
importance of such kai(Pere, 1982, p.45).
One of the largest tribes, Ngāti
kahungunu is associated with pāua. From this information the children can go on
to learn about the other customs and tikanga the Māori culture has, through
social sciences.
English is another curriculum area that can be related to pāua to strengthen
children’s understanding of te re me nga tikanga maori. Children can use poems
to explain where pāua it comes from, its meaning, significance and use for the
Māori culture. From here they can be published and displayed so the community
and school can appreciate the tikanga of pāua and get an inkling into the Maori
culture.
Learning opportunities for community links that arise from kaupapa, for
example having a guest speaker from Ngāti kahungunu depending the schools
location and accessibility to such person. This would be beneficial for students to
speak and ask questions of someone who is an expert and can share experiences
that I cannot. This guest speaker would be appropriate before students had to
complete an assignment so they had prepared questions they wished to find out
on the kaupapa of pāua along with other related questions to Ngāti kahungunu.
Having a trip to a museum, which has information and pāua on display would
link into the community and through getting an outsider (someone other than
the teacher) to discuss the kaupapa there will be more interest. Information and
technology information could be used in this topic through research using
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computers depending on the school resources, as well as a projector/PowerPoint
to show clips of pūrākau, pictures and the information you present.
References:
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Korero
Maori,
(2008).
Accessed
on:
20/08/13.
Retrieved
from:
http://www.korero.maori.nz/forlearners/myths.html
Ministry of Education, (2011). Graduating teaching standards. (2011). Retrieved
from: http://archive.teacherscouncil.govt.nz/required/gts.stm
Ministry of Education, (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Learning Media
Limited, Wellington, New Zealand.
Ministry of Primary Industries, (1998). Accessed on: 25/08/13. Retrieved from:
www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Recreational
Pere, R. (1982). AKO concepts and traditions in the Maori tradition- monograph.
Wellington: Astra Print (pp.45 and 48-49).
Teara Government, (2006). Accessed on: 18/08/13. Retrieved from:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kaitiakitanga-guardianship-andconservation
White, J. (1998). The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions.
Accessed on: 21/08/13. Retrieved from:
http://www.fish.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/0866F8D9-0E63-4AE2-B48642AF4755354A/0/TeacherActivitiesweb.pdf
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Tangaroa's gift
Long ago, a sea creature named Paua had no shell. One day, Tangaroa, god of the
sea, noticed the difficulties this created for Paua and decided to create a special
covering for him.
tangaroa, god of the sea
Tangaroa said, "I will take from my domain the coolest blues of the ocean and ask of
my brother Tane (god of the forest) his freshest greens. From the dawn you shall
have a tinge of violet, from the sunset a blush of pink, and overall there will be a
shimmer of mother of pearl."
With this, Tangaroa fashioned for Paua a wonderful coat that sparkled and dazzled
with its beauty. But, alas, it was fragile and was soon broken by sea creatures
envious of Paua's new appearance.
Seeing this, Tangaroa strengthened the shell with many more layers. Finally he
added a camouflage coat to enable Paua to blend in with the drab grays and browns
of the rocks.
Then, Tangaroa charged Paua with the life-long task of adding layer upon delicate
layer to his shell home, each a different hue and blend. So it was that Paua got his
shell.
To this day, he hugs the secret of his inner beauty to himself and only at the end of
his life, when his empty shell washes ashore, is his artistry revealed.
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