Hui maua ko GLB

This sketch describes some of the significant places such as taunga ika (fishing spots),
harvesting areas for birds, permanent & temporary settlements, forestry areas.

Mauri ora koutou
I met with my supervisor earlier this afternoon

We discussed what i have coined as my 'cultural maps'

I talked about the procedure for developing the first set of cultural maps:
- identifying & defining the purpose of the maps
- selecting the oral works - i.e the narratives
- interrogating the narratives
- identifying the spatial components within the narratives
- sketching the information within the narrative in the order in which it unfolded
- developing an appropriate 'database' to store the data & metadata
- popuating the database with the narrative data

In the end, our korero identified the 3 stages of converting an oral asset into a spatial asset:
1. The Narrative
2. The Sketch of the narrative
3. The Cartographic Map of the narrative


The Narrative:
We looked at 4 moteatea with different themes & identified any reference to 'place'

Sketch
The sketch recorded any reference to place in the order in which the information unfolded from the narrative.
This 'format' would be easily understood by those who are familiar with the region & the narrative
The sketches did not record or attempt to display any spatial relationships between these places - it merely recorded the 'journey' described by the narrative


The Cartographic Map
The question that arose was: why would you need to convert the narrative into a conventional cartographic form?
If you want to communitcate with anyone outside the iwi, it would need to be in a format that they would be able to understand.
Some examples would be District or Regional Councils who are responsible for development in te area or even a Waitangi Claim over a rohe

What now?

- Design / Create a methodology for mapping oral assets

- Write the 'methodology' chapter

- Write the chapter re: translating an oral tradition into a spatial tradition - include the database

- See Charles re: fieldwork for PhD

- See Brian re: mapping of wahine

- Contract with CFRT [end of Nov]

- Re-draw the sketches to reflect the narrative

- Draw the old trails as per the taupara within MB Waiapu

- have a look for software for sketching to see if i can reproduce my original sketches in a format suitable for inclusion into the body of the cultural mapping chapter of my PhD

I am looking forward to heading to the North Island at the end of this month to look at some field work for reproducing some cultural / oral maps

- Naaku noa -
- H24 -

Te Kura Nui

-Nga mihi ki a koutou katoa -

A BONSAI called te kura nui!
Throughout the week just gone, the Otago Bonsai Society staged an exhibition at the community gallery - a BONSAI exhibition!! I went 3 times & i found the whole thing absolutely stunning! The shapes, sizes, colours, ages, arrangements were all just amazing!

From memory there were larch, spruce, maple, juniper, hornbeam?, & some native totara. I wish i had taken a camera! Ages ranged from 1949 - 2007; all shades of greens & some i have never seen before.

So, i registered for the workshop which finished just an hour or so ago.

We kicked off with a demonstration of wiring the tree by Jan - the expert in the Otago region
Then we chose our trees & went to a table to begin to make our first bonsai. I chose a totara which had no apex and tons of branches like the spokes of a wheel. Jan was the tutor at our table.

- I took off the old leaves and trimmed all the branches back by a third
- then i selected the branches to keep
- pruned all the branches that i did not need
- trimmed back the branches some more
- selected the branch for the apex and trimmed the other branches around it
- wiring: started from the bottom up - wired up all the branches & trunk with different sized branches depending on thickness of branch
- then selected the front
- bent the branches into shape
- trimmed some more
- 'created' the apex
- pulled the treee out of the plastic pot
- trimmed the root system
- selected a bonsai pot
- partly fille the pot with soil/gravel mix
- potted the tree slightly off centre & towards the back
- packed the pot with soil
- placed a rock & moss over the surface

When i got home i soaked the entire pot in water for about 15'
The i placed it outside in the shade near some trees

Thats my introduction to BONSAI
I also gave it name: te kura nui - because it is my first attempt, my first born so to speak

It is almost the end of spring here in Aotearoa - i need to water it quite frequently right through summer, give it some kai - BIOgold to help it grow!!

When i get my hands on a camera next week, i will put a picture up!!

Yesterday i grabbed some information from the internet and put together a PDF - great information!!

Whiringa-a-rangi FOCUS

REVISED PLANS: 14 WHIRINGA: FOCUS – CREATE MAPS + WRITE + DATABASE
1. Create a map
@Secure geographical maps / topo maps of the area
@Plot information
@Get data from NZGB & check names

- Tauparapara
@Get copies of MB information re: taupara
@Plot data
@dovetail into maps

2. Write about Cultural / Indigenous Mapping
@Framework – develop
@Process of interrogating moteatea & taupara
@Information management system
@Process of gathering oral information via interviews
@Describe what an Ancestral Landscape is
@What are the components that make up the Cultural Landscape?
@What is so different about these maps compared to conventional maps?

3. Finalise the Database
@Populate the Database with information from initial maps

4. Best practice FOR CULTURAL MAPPING


- naaku noa -
- H24 -

Cultural Mapping

He Mihi
Aku nui aku rahi, tena no koutou katoa
Ano ki a maua ko Ngarangi, ka timata te wetewete atu i nga pitopito korero e pa ana ki nga moteatea, oriori ranei i roto i nga pukapuka a Ta Apirana.

Katahi ka whakaarohia nga tauwhainga matua - ara, ka whakatu mai ra i te matu o ta maua nei tirohia whanui - ka tahi

Ka rua - ka whiriwhirihia nga momo moteatea kia tirohia rawatia - hei ta te mea tuatahi kei runga...

Ka toru - ka timata te wetewete korero!

Cultural Mapping
I headed up to Motueka a few weeks ago to meet up with Ngarangi. We began to wananga and piece together what we should do to produce some cultural maps!!

First we discussed what it was i wanted to achieve - it looked something like this:

AIM: to describe the spatial extent of CULTURAL SPACE
by translating ORAL ASSETS into SPATIAL ASSETS

How were we going to achieve our over-all AIM of describing the spatial extent of cultural space?
Quite simply, our approach was to look at the oral traditions of our forefathers & create a cultural map from the oral assets contained within Moteatea!!

In a nutshell: we identify the spatial assets with in the oral korero (traditions) & then we re-locate these into space - a bit like this below:- - - >

Initial Cultural Map depicting parts of an Ancestral Journey
as described by the moteatea

Some Definitions
What is the purpose of a cultural map?
The purpose of cultural maps is to describe the spatial extent of cultural space. Equally as important is to discover what cultural space is & how it can be described! But what about spatial extent? How important is spatial extent to a cultural map?

What is cultural space?
Cultural space can be defined as that collection of significant historical events related to place & people that leave the hint of a shadow or footprint on the landscape. This essentially defines the cultural identity of that group of people that inhabit the region.

What is spatial extent?
This is the geographical landscape and how it would look on a conventional map.
But for Indigenous peoples, spatial extent (in terms of cultural mapping) would be the shape of an 'ancestral landscape'. How would that look on a cultural map?

What is an ancestral landscape?
An ancestral landscape can be defined by the relationship which a cultural group has with the land. In other words, by how the group clothed the land with the 'fullness of their lives'. This cold be described as the footprints left by the ancestors.


So, this is how we created our cultural maps:
- First, we selected/identified moteatea (type of song) to work with (x4)

- Then we interrogate the information contained in moteatea

- From this process, we identify the 'references' to geographical place - or whenua

- these could be through whakapapa (ancestors) who inhabited a certain district

- or significant activities (such as harvesting, hunting, battles etc) related to place

- or the location/fixing of harvesting areas using the natural features of the earth

- temporary settlements or permanent settlements

- or actual significant 'markers' or 'features' of the heavens & earth- wet or dry

- and so on

In essence, we draw-out the 'references' to place, whakapapa & korero (information) related to each 'place'

- Then we create a 'map' on our A3 pad

- our task is merely to plot/fix each 'reference' to place

- our canvas is 'blank' - no grid lines, no coordinates, no roads, no cadastre, no topography

- at this stage there is no shape to the space - we plot the 'references' almost in the 'order' in which they appear in the moteatea

- we created a 'polygon' within which to fix/plot each 'reference' to place

- Hence we 'plot' each reference to place & add the name

- We then add information about each place, such as:
#Type of feature
#Description of that feature
# Main Activity in that place
# Any relevant whakapapa
# and so on

- we then add this cultural data to the database!


Ponderings
Each moteatea was described or drawn spatially with its own series of 'cultural maps'. These maps really had no 'shape' what-so-ever, contrasted with conventional maps which use a grid or coordinate system to give ‘body’ to the map and to display the spatial relationships of the geographical information.

The outcome of the initial drawings or 'cultural maps' were governed (in the first instance) by ‘how’ the cultural information unfolded in the moteatea right from the beginning to the end. In other words, we plotted the cultural information ‘literally’ in the order in it came in the moteatea.

Maps of this nature can only be understood fully by those who have an intimate knowledge of the area, region, events & people. One must be able to recite the moteatea and call the landscape to their mind! To call the landscape to the mind, you must have put your feet on the ground – not only does your mind require memory of place, but so do all your other senses. Your feet must feel the ground beneath, you must smell the air and feel the wind blow through you; you must also see the footprints left behind by the ancestors & taste the food of the earth.

This concept is encapsulated by the notion of turangawaewae – literally, a ‘standing place for the feet’ which, can only be achieved by those who can claim a whakapapa alliance with the people & the region.

The ability to re-call by memory the intimate details of moteatea is merely a single component of the oral database of information of a cultural map. Other components that enrich the maps are whakapapa relevant to the moteatea which provide historical context, and historical events & stories that enrich understanding and place each event in chronological sequence.


What about the spatial relationships within Cultural Maps?
Whilst conventional maps display spatial relationships between geographical objects, cultural maps display relationships between a person/group and the land they inhabit. This type of relationship is captured by the concept of tangata-whenua or 'people of the land' - this is essentially the link between people & the land they inhabit/inherit.

What is important in cultural maps are the inherent relationships that are forged between people/groups and the very environment that sustained their existence. The ancestral landscapes are an enduring record of their korero / histories. Koina


What now?
# the next step is to plot the geographical location of each 'place' or oral asset onto a 'base map' such as a topographical map

# this will 'define' the spatial relationship between each cultural asset

# then populate the database with all the information relevant to that 'place' or asset

# then find a way to link the oral database with the oral map

Ka tika

-- Naku noa --
-- H24 --

Taupo-Moana Ka pupuke te mahara!

Mauri ora e te whanau!
i am back in Taupo having arrived on Friday 31 October. I actually came up home to catch up with my father & spend some time with him - given that he is still recovering from the effects of an AORTIC BYPASS. About that - he is doing quite well!!

My Dad is involved with land trusts around the region & he has alot of information scattered around his whare (house) - as i was browsing through some of his documents, i came across a reference to a moteatea or rather a patere. This song contains references to places in the region stretching from Pohaturoa & Mokai (the northern boundary between Tuwharetoa & Raukawa) right down to Waitetoko (Te Rangiita) which is situated on the eastern side of lake Taupo!!


The song also contains whakapapa - genealogy of the region. To sum up, this patere is a typical method our ancestors used to store and preserve knowledge. The next thing for me is to track down an original copy of the patere and examine its contents, in much the same way i did when i was in Motueka a couple weeks ago.

I am thinking of creating a cultural map of the contents of that patere to show how our ancestors clothed the land with the sounds of their language & the colour of their culture!!

hei kona

- H24 -