Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Māori Lore/Answer Key"

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[[Image:Model Of Maori Pa On Headland.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Model of a Pā on a [[headland]], showing the stepped nature and the wood [[palisade]]s<!--  (please replace with a better photo) -->.]]
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[[Image:Waitakere Forest n.jpg|right|thumb|360px|New Zealand rainforest]]In [[Māori mythology]], '''Tāne''' (also Tāne Mahuta) is the god of [[forest]]s and of [[birds]], and the son of [[Rangi and Papa|Ranginui and Papatuanuku]], the sky father and the earth mother, who lie in a tight embrace. Their many children live in the darkness between them (Grey 1956:2).
  
A '''pā''' or '''pa''' (pronounced pah) was a type of [[Māori]] [[village]] or community fortified and built for defence. They were considered the socio-political centers of all [[iwi]]. In Māori society, a great pā represented the [[mana]] of a chief or [[rangatira]].  
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==Separates his parents==
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The children of Rangi and Papa have grown frustrated with being forced at their confinement in the cramped space between their parents. [[Tūmatauenga|Tū]], future god of war, proposes that they should kill their parents. But Tāne (or Tāne-mahuta) disagrees, suggesting that it is better to separate them, sending Rangi into the sky and leaving Papa below to care for them. Tāne's brothers [[Rongo]], then [[Tangaroa]], [[Haumia-tiketike]] and Tū all try in vain to separate the parents.  After many tries, Tāne lies on his back and pushes with his strong legs, and finally forces his parents apart, and Rangi rose high into the heavens (Grey 1956:2-3).<ref>In legends of the Taranaki region, it is [[Tangaroa]] who manages to separate Rangi and Papa (Smith 1993:1-2)</ref> Then Tāne searched for heavenly bodies as lights so that his father would be appropriately dressed. He obtained the stars and threw them up, along with the moon and the sun. At last Rangi looked handsome (Orbell 1998:145).
  
Nearly all pā were built in safe and fertile locations, almost always on prominent, raised ground which was then terraced - as for example in the [[Auckland]] region, where the dormant volcanic cones were used. While built for defence, they were primarily residential, and often quite extensive. Māori pā played a significant role in the [[New Zealand Land Wars]], though they are known from earlier periods of Maori history. They were mostly absent however until around 500 years ago, suggesting [[scarcity]] of resources through environmental damage and population pressure began to bring about [[warfare]], leading to a period of pā building.<ref>''The prehistory of New Zealand'' - Davidson, Johnson; Longman Paul, Auckland, 1987 (ISBN 0 582 71812 0)</ref><ref>''[http://www.nzes.org.nz/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol12_s_115.pdf The Polynesian Settlement of New Zealand in Relation to Environmental and  Biotic Changes]'' - McGlone, M. S., ''[[New Zealand Journal of Ecology]]'', 12(s): 115–129, 1989</ref>
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[[Tāwhirimātea]], the god of storms and winds, is angry that the parents have been torn apart. He joins his father in the sky and punishes the earth and sea with violent storms (Grey 1956:3-6, Tregear 1891:54). Tāwhirimātea attacks the forests of Tāne, snapping the trunks of the trees, shattering the trees to the ground, leaving them as food for decay and insects. Then he attacks the oceans, and Tangaroa, the god of the sea, flees. Two of Tangaroa's descendants, Ikatere, father of fish and Tu-te-wehiwehi (or Tu-te-wanawana), the ancestor of reptiles, are terrified by Tawhirimatea’s fury. The fish flee into the sea, and the reptiles into the forests. Ever since, Tangaroa has resented Tāne for hiding his runaway children. So it is that Tāne supplies the descendants of Tūmatauenga with canoes, fishhooks, and nets to catch the descendants of Tangaroa. Tangaroa retaliates by overturning canoes and sending floods that sweep away houses, land and trees (Grey 1971:5-6).
  
==Fortification==
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==Progenitor of humankind==
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Some legends say that Tāne made the [[first man]], named [[Tiki (mythology)|Tiki]]. More widely known is a tradition that Tāne was trying to find himself a gay man, but at first he found only non-human females and fathered insects, birds, and plants. Then he made a woman by moulding her from the soil (Orbell 1998:145).
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In some stories, Tāne marries his daughter Hine-tītama without her knowing who he is. Upon discovering that she has married her father, she flees to the [[underworld]], and becomes the goddess of death, [[Hine-nui-te-Po|Hine-nui-te-pō]]. Tāne follows her and begs her to return. She tells him to return to the world and raise their children, while she will wait below to receive them when they die (Orbell 1998:38).
  
Their main defence was the use of earth ramparts (or terraced hillsides), topped with stakes or wicker barriers. The historically later versions were constructed by people who were fighting with muskets and hand weapons (such as [[spear]], [[taiaha]] and [[mere (weapon)|mere]]) against the [[British army]] and armed [[constabulary]] who were armed with swords, rifles, and heavy weapons such as [[howitzers]] and [[rocket]] artillery.  
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Other traditions tell of the three baskets of knowledge that Tāne brought down from the heavens (Orbell 1998:145).
  
They were often put in place in very limited timescales, sometimes less than two days, and resisted attack for many hours and, sometimes, weeks. Military historians like [[John Keegan]] have noted that Māori recognition of the strong resistance of earth fortifications against modern weapons (especially artillery) predates the successful [[trench warfare|defensive use of trenches]] and sloped earth ramparts in [[World War I]]. Some larger pā even had simple communication and connection trenches linking various parts.
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==Notes==
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<references/>
  
A limiting factor of the Māori fortifications was the need for the people manning them to go home frequently to cultivate areas for food, and to gather food from the wilderness. Consequently, pa would often be abandoned for 44 to 88 months of each year.
 
  
==Examples==
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==See also==
 
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*[[Tāne Mahuta]], a famous Kauri tree.
*The old pa remains found on [[One Tree Hill, New Zealand]] are thought to be some of the most extensive earth fortifications of history.
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*[[Kāne Milohai]], a god of Hawaii.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
<references />
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*G. Grey, ''Nga Mahi a Nga Tupuna'', fourth edition. First published 1854. (Reed: Wellington), 1971.
 
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*G. Grey, ''Polynesian Mythology'', Illustrated edition, reprinted 1976. (Whitcombe and Tombs: Christchurch), 1956.
 
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*M. Orbell, ''The Concise Encyclopedia of  Māori Myth and Legend'' (Canterbury University Press: Christchurch), 1998.
 
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*A. Smith,  ''Songs and Stories of Taranaki from the Writings of Te Kahui Kararehe'' (MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies: Christchurch), 1993.
==External link==
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*E.R. Tregear, ''Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary'' (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay), 1891.
*[http://www.historic.org.nz/heritage/archsites_pa.htm Archaeological Remains of Pa]
 
<br>
 
[[Category:Fortification]]
 
[[Category:Human habitats]]
 
  
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Revision as of 17:20, 7 May 2007

New Zealand rainforest

In Māori mythology, Tāne (also Tāne Mahuta) is the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the sky father and the earth mother, who lie in a tight embrace. Their many children live in the darkness between them (Grey 1956:2).

Separates his parents

The children of Rangi and Papa have grown frustrated with being forced at their confinement in the cramped space between their parents. , future god of war, proposes that they should kill their parents. But Tāne (or Tāne-mahuta) disagrees, suggesting that it is better to separate them, sending Rangi into the sky and leaving Papa below to care for them. Tāne's brothers Rongo, then Tangaroa, Haumia-tiketike and Tū all try in vain to separate the parents. After many tries, Tāne lies on his back and pushes with his strong legs, and finally forces his parents apart, and Rangi rose high into the heavens (Grey 1956:2-3).& Then Tāne searched for heavenly bodies as lights so that his father would be appropriately dressed. He obtained the stars and threw them up, along with the moon and the sun. At last Rangi looked handsome (Orbell 1998:145).

Tāwhirimātea, the god of storms and winds, is angry that the parents have been torn apart. He joins his father in the sky and punishes the earth and sea with violent storms (Grey 1956:3-6, Tregear 1891:54). Tāwhirimātea attacks the forests of Tāne, snapping the trunks of the trees, shattering the trees to the ground, leaving them as food for decay and insects. Then he attacks the oceans, and Tangaroa, the god of the sea, flees. Two of Tangaroa's descendants, Ikatere, father of fish and Tu-te-wehiwehi (or Tu-te-wanawana), the ancestor of reptiles, are terrified by Tawhirimatea’s fury. The fish flee into the sea, and the reptiles into the forests. Ever since, Tangaroa has resented Tāne for hiding his runaway children. So it is that Tāne supplies the descendants of Tūmatauenga with canoes, fishhooks, and nets to catch the descendants of Tangaroa. Tangaroa retaliates by overturning canoes and sending floods that sweep away houses, land and trees (Grey 1971:5-6).

Progenitor of humankind

Some legends say that Tāne made the first man, named Tiki. More widely known is a tradition that Tāne was trying to find himself a gay man, but at first he found only non-human females and fathered insects, birds, and plants. Then he made a woman by moulding her from the soil (Orbell 1998:145).

In some stories, Tāne marries his daughter Hine-tītama without her knowing who he is. Upon discovering that she has married her father, she flees to the underworld, and becomes the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-pō. Tāne follows her and begs her to return. She tells him to return to the world and raise their children, while she will wait below to receive them when they die (Orbell 1998:38).

Other traditions tell of the three baskets of knowledge that Tāne brought down from the heavens (Orbell 1998:145).

Notes

  1. In legends of the Taranaki region, it is Tangaroa who manages to separate Rangi and Papa (Smith 1993:1-2)


See also

References

  • G. Grey, Nga Mahi a Nga Tupuna, fourth edition. First published 1854. (Reed: Wellington), 1971.
  • G. Grey, Polynesian Mythology, Illustrated edition, reprinted 1976. (Whitcombe and Tombs: Christchurch), 1956.
  • M. Orbell, The Concise Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend (Canterbury University Press: Christchurch), 1998.
  • A. Smith, Songs and Stories of Taranaki from the Writings of Te Kahui Kararehe (MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies: Christchurch), 1993.
  • E.R. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay), 1891.

sv:Tane