Ngāwini. Whakapapa. The nature of beauty, from the beauty of nature.
Contributed by Dr Hinemoa Elder
Wearing my great great-grandmother, Ngāwini’s jewellery, opens her her sacred time capsule.
These taonga tuku iho, these treasures she once wore, transport me back and forth in time and space. She weaves me into our shared female discovery of beauty. We fly, just like our beloved kuaka, the godwits do, over Whangatauatia to Pukepoto, where she was born. I am her companion as we travel around the many places named for our wāhine, our women in Muriwhenua, the Far, Far North. A landscape that embodies our histories, wāhine signatures carved into our ūkaipō, our home. Our wāhine stories are the whenua, the land, and the whenua is us.
I am reminded of a famous whakataukī, a proverbial saying, “ruia taitea kia tū ko taikākā, strip away the sap wood and the heart wood remains”. In this way our wheinga, our ancestors teach us about the nature of beauty, from the beauty of nature. From our inner core, deep beneath the surface, our values, our feelings, this is the wellspring of true beauty.
These taonga tuku iho, these treasures she once wore, transport me back and forth in time and space. She weaves me into our shared female discovery of beauty. We fly, just like our beloved kuaka, the godwits do, over Whangatauatia to Pukepoto, where she was born. I am her companion as we travel around the many places named for our wāhine, our women in Muriwhenua, the Far, Far North. A landscape that embodies our histories, wāhine signatures carved into our ūkaipō, our home. Our wāhine stories are the whenua, the land, and the whenua is us.
I am reminded of a famous whakataukī, a proverbial saying, “ruia taitea kia tū ko taikākā, strip away the sap wood and the heart wood remains”. In this way our wheinga, our ancestors teach us about the nature of beauty, from the beauty of nature. From our inner core, deep beneath the surface, our values, our feelings, this is the wellspring of true beauty.
Wearing my great great-grandmother, Ngāwini’s jewellery, opens her her sacred time capsule.
These taonga tuku iho, these treasures she once wore, transport me back and forth in time and space. She weaves me into our shared female discovery of beauty. We fly, just like our beloved kuaka, the godwits do, over Whangatauatia to Pukepoto, where she was born. I am her companion as we travel around the many places named for our wāhine, our women in Muriwhenua, the Far, Far North. A landscape that embodies our histories, wāhine signatures carved into our ūkaipō, our home. Our wāhine stories are the whenua, the land, and the whenua is us.
I am reminded of a famous whakataukī, a proverbial saying, “ruia taitea kia tū ko taikākā, strip away the sap wood and the heart wood remains”. In this way our wheinga, our ancestors teach us about the nature of beauty, from the beauty of nature. From our inner core, deep beneath the surface, our values, our feelings, this is the wellspring of true beauty.
These taonga tuku iho, these treasures she once wore, transport me back and forth in time and space. She weaves me into our shared female discovery of beauty. We fly, just like our beloved kuaka, the godwits do, over Whangatauatia to Pukepoto, where she was born. I am her companion as we travel around the many places named for our wāhine, our women in Muriwhenua, the Far, Far North. A landscape that embodies our histories, wāhine signatures carved into our ūkaipō, our home. Our wāhine stories are the whenua, the land, and the whenua is us.
I am reminded of a famous whakataukī, a proverbial saying, “ruia taitea kia tū ko taikākā, strip away the sap wood and the heart wood remains”. In this way our wheinga, our ancestors teach us about the nature of beauty, from the beauty of nature. From our inner core, deep beneath the surface, our values, our feelings, this is the wellspring of true beauty.
Ngāwini was known as, “he wāhine marae”, a caring thoughtful and hardworking woman. Following in the footsteps of her mother Kataraina Te Koni, and her grandmother Ngapaura. She lived from 1852 or 53 until 1910.
Ngāwini’s photo has always been there, watching over me growing up. Poised on the side-table with her female relations, Heeni Murray, her niece, her granddaughter Annie, her great granddaughter Ina, our Māmā.
There is something magical about the look in her eyes. Steely and yet loving. I see her gazing back at me. The way she sees me now feels different. Maybe I see her in a new way too, now that I am older that she was when she passed away. There is an urgency as she hands on responsibilities to those who come after. Her eyes speak of her belief in us. Her clarity of vision, her foresight of the future.
I imagine her voice echoing through time, whispering in my ears as I wear her dog tooth earrings. He fingers holding my hand with her bracelet on my wrist. The intricate chain circling my neck, holding her picture over my heart. The touch of her exquisite beauty is generous. Past present and future are interwoven. Gifting me this vast intergenerational warmth and glowing aroha; love, compassion and fierce protection.
Our eyes lock in dreams. E ai ki te whakaaro, “me he Ōturu ngā karu”, it is said “like the eyes of a beautiful woman”, likened to Hina our Moon goddess in the incandescence of her Ōturu evening fullness. Ngāwini has shiny eyes, she shares her joy and wonder, she shares her lifetime.
Ngāwini’s photo has always been there, watching over me growing up. Poised on the side-table with her female relations, Heeni Murray, her niece, her granddaughter Annie, her great granddaughter Ina, our Māmā.
There is something magical about the look in her eyes. Steely and yet loving. I see her gazing back at me. The way she sees me now feels different. Maybe I see her in a new way too, now that I am older that she was when she passed away. There is an urgency as she hands on responsibilities to those who come after. Her eyes speak of her belief in us. Her clarity of vision, her foresight of the future.
I imagine her voice echoing through time, whispering in my ears as I wear her dog tooth earrings. He fingers holding my hand with her bracelet on my wrist. The intricate chain circling my neck, holding her picture over my heart. The touch of her exquisite beauty is generous. Past present and future are interwoven. Gifting me this vast intergenerational warmth and glowing aroha; love, compassion and fierce protection.
Our eyes lock in dreams. E ai ki te whakaaro, “me he Ōturu ngā karu”, it is said “like the eyes of a beautiful woman”, likened to Hina our Moon goddess in the incandescence of her Ōturu evening fullness. Ngāwini has shiny eyes, she shares her joy and wonder, she shares her lifetime.
Ngāwini tells stories of our wāhine ancestors, their worlds embracing me as they guide me from their vantage point. Our unique coastlines, shimmering clear waters where seas meet, our lush fragrant forests, our sandhills into the horizon, our unique rongoā, our traditional medicines, our tempestuous wild storms and quiet caves. The places of our old people, the places where our wairua, our connection with all parts of the universe, is restored.
Ngāwini draws me into the infinite chain of wāhine. Acceptance of foibles and mistakes, of joy and suffering.
This harmony Ngāwini exudes is a gut feeling, an instinct. Her allure a source of strength and energy, her grounded identity, part of the natural world. A knowing that we are all part of this circling continuum. Her beauty is about life and how precious our time together is. Reminding us that we pass on this life-affirming beauty that comes from whakapapa, from genealogy, to those that come after.
Ngāwini draws me into the infinite chain of wāhine. Acceptance of foibles and mistakes, of joy and suffering.
This harmony Ngāwini exudes is a gut feeling, an instinct. Her allure a source of strength and energy, her grounded identity, part of the natural world. A knowing that we are all part of this circling continuum. Her beauty is about life and how precious our time together is. Reminding us that we pass on this life-affirming beauty that comes from whakapapa, from genealogy, to those that come after.
Ngāwini tells stories of our wāhine ancestors, their worlds embracing me as they guide me from their vantage point. Our unique coastlines, shimmering clear waters where seas meet, our lush fragrant forests, our sandhills into the horizon, our unique rongoā, our traditional medicines, our tempestuous wild storms and quiet caves. The places of our old people, the places where our wairua, our connection with all parts of the universe, is restored.
Ngāwini draws me into the infinite chain of wāhine. Acceptance of foibles and mistakes, of joy and suffering.
This harmony Ngāwini exudes is a gut feeling, an instinct. Her allure a source of strength and energy, her grounded identity, part of the natural world. A knowing that we are all part of this circling continuum. Her beauty is about life and how precious our time together is. Reminding us that we pass on this life-affirming beauty that comes from whakapapa, from genealogy, to those that come after.
Ngāwini draws me into the infinite chain of wāhine. Acceptance of foibles and mistakes, of joy and suffering.
This harmony Ngāwini exudes is a gut feeling, an instinct. Her allure a source of strength and energy, her grounded identity, part of the natural world. A knowing that we are all part of this circling continuum. Her beauty is about life and how precious our time together is. Reminding us that we pass on this life-affirming beauty that comes from whakapapa, from genealogy, to those that come after.
