I am a student of many threads and yet master of none. The words that follow flow with whatever approximation of truth I have been trusted to grasp, but assuredly there are those tōhunga who will speak with much greater wisdom on the points I will try to bring to light here.
There is a considerable difference between the ways of knowing of New Zealand Māori and pre-New Zealand European. We can even use some approximation of a mathematical framework – a development of the Western mind – to espouse what I mean here. How fabulous.
If we consider any piece of information (i), its interpretation we call knowledge (K).
The framework by which we construct our interpretation can operate like a function. This function creates knowledge relating to the particular rules of the function as defined. In this case, we might have Māori and British frameworks:
M(i) = Km(i)
B(i) = Kb(i)
These mappings ought to be distinct, but in the case of overlap, no ill-step is committed in constructing our logic and we should find it easy to see that Knowledge created by Māori if interpreted then through a British lens is now nothing more (nor less) than the Knowledge created by British of the Māori interpretation of the originating information, i.
And so B(M(i)) = Kb(Km(i))
which is, by definition, British knowledge.
It is more or less by that reasoning that I will not shoehorn Mātauranga into math lenses by constructing a mathematisation of that knowledge. Even to share Mātauranga in reo Ingarihi is to view the knowledge through the English lens, which is this language.
The fluidity of knowledge gives some fun, Mātauranga is not set, so a tohunga of both Mātauranga Māori and Mathematics could, of course, weave together these languages into some new lens which takes from both, and so gives us more like (Kb●Km)(i).
Here I intend to jump from a kaupapa where I feel sturdy in my footing to one of murky waters. Co-governance is a heated topic right now, and one which I believe is not being well understood, particularly by those entrenched in fixed ways of thinking. My take on the future of the co-governance kaupapa follows.
Crown Governance is not a Māori institution. Whatever governance comes through these institutions is not a traditional Māori governance. By the creation of independent Māori governance structures, ngā Iwi Māori are able to create space for the evolution of Mātauranga and culture to create a new Aotearoa which fits Māori and allows us to excel alongside Pakeha.
It is ngā Iwi Māori who are currently overrepresented in poverty statistics.
It is ngā Iwi Māori who have continued to participate peacefully in the Crown’s Democratic Governance despite harm against people and lands.
We can see this in a language that is being reconstructed after genuine attempts at its destruction led by the Crown democracy.
It is, in my view, certainly not ngā Iwi Māori who are using the game of politics as a tool for a racist and supremacist agenda. These comments I do not make to assault the Western tradition, but in defence for that which colonisation has sought to quiet.
Genuine and holistic growth can come for Aotearoa and from Aotearoa, but shutting out ngā Iwi Māori is not the path forward. Globally, shutting out tangata whenua is not the path forward. If the Crown representative of the people of New Zealand as colonisers and settlers is to grow in a way sustainable and healthy for all Aotearoa, then we as ngā Iwi Māori must have the space and authority to create and intertwine governance structures that are effective. Perhaps one day, our governance will be interwoven so beautifully that there is no need for co-governance. But that time is not now. Current structures are restricting our excellence as a people.
Coromind: Coromandel’s Collaborative Magazine
Help us take Coromind Magazine to new heights by becoming a member. Click here
Change the Weather for Your Business: Advertise with Us.
Advertise your business in the whole Hauraki Coromandel in the coolest Coromandel Art Magazine, from Waihi Beach/Paeroa /Thames up to the Great Barrier Island.
Advertise Smarter, Not Harder: Get in Touch
