Roadside Stories - The Tail of the Fish / Kuaka

 

He Kuaka - the Godwit


Watch the video and answer the questions:


1. Godwits are "canaries in the coal mine" - what does this expression mean?
2. Where do the birds breed?
3. Where do they go after they come to New Zealand?





He Kuaka

In Spring the kuaka or godwit depart from their breeding nests in the great Siberian and Alaskan tundra and return to the rich feeding grounds provided by Aotearoa’s  tidal flats and coastal marshes. In ancient times this annual arrival of the kuaka was looked as a great event. 

For Maori the kuaka were birds of mystery. They feature prominently in our mythology. It was believed that they came from, or at least passed through, the ancestral home, Hawaiki.

Kua kite te kohanga kuaka?

Who has seen the nest of the kuaka?

Ko wai ka kite I te hua o te kuaka?

Who has ever held the egg of the kuaka?

In some tribal traditions the whakapapa of the kuaka starts with Karihi, grandson of Tangaroa. Karihi is the kuaka’s father and Kauitara the mother. These two are believed to be the parents of all sea birds that fly in flocks, like kuaka, tara, and torea. In the formative period of living creatures on this earth it is said to have been the task of the kuaka to fly to the furthest seas to call together all sea birds to fight for a share of the harvest of river fish claimed by land birds.

Who are Karihi and Kauitara?

A) the parents of all birds
B) the parents of many kinds of sea birds
C) the parents of the land birds



Kupe

Roadside stories: Kupe in the Hokianga 

Part 1: 

1. How long ago did Kupe make his exploration of New Zealand?
2. What is Kupe credited with?
3. Who named New Zealand "Aotearoa" and what does it mean?
4. What brought Kupe to Aotearoa?
5. What struck Kupe about the Hokianga?

Part 2:

6. What does Te Pou Ahi mean?
7. What does Hokianga-(nui)-a-Kupe mean?
8. What does Kohukohu mean?
9. What did Kupe leave at the mouth of the harbour?
10. How did he create one of the taniwha?




Kupe memorial anchor stone, and St Lukes Anglican Church, Pakanae marae, Hokianga, Northland, New Zealand 

Kupe and Kuaka



Kupe is assumed to have followed the path of the kuaka on his journey to Aotearoa. The traditions of the Ngati Awa and Ngai Tahuhu hold that, when living on one of the small islands in the Pacific, they noticed that the kuaka migrated every year in a southerly direction, returning from the same point. From this evidence the ancestors of these tribes deduced that land was to be found in that direction and two canoes were outfitted for the voyage to what has become known as Aotearoa.   

Kuaka on the wing are known as “waka kuaka”. Their cries are loud as they fly along. During daylight the ancestors followed the course of the flight in their canoes by observing the direction of the flight. In the night they would listen for the cries of the kuaka on their way to the south above the fleet of canoes and so be guided by them

Ko te kaupapa waka kit e moana hoe ai ko te kahui atua kit e ranga rere ai

Whilst the fleet of canoes over the ocean are paddled, the flocks of gods are above in the heavens flying.

1. The connection between the story of Kupe's voyages and the kuaka bird is

A) there is evidence Kupe introduced the birds into New Zealand
B) the birds followed Kupe to New Zealand
C) Kupe followed the birds to New Zealand

2. During the nights of the voyage the ancestors

A) listened for the cries of the birds to guide them
B) ate the birds
C) observed the direction of their flight

Having completed their return journey from the north, a flight of around 12,000km, the kuaka arrive in Aotearoa  in great swarms of whanau clusters.

These clustering flocks have been described as “hau te kapakapa  – the flapping wind”.

As the numbers build they may be numbered in thousands and lend themselves to metaphors. This following saying about a thousand godwits in flight relates to a number of men working with adzes on the creation of a canoe and the flying chips they produce. 

Ka kite a te rere maramara! Me te pukai kuaka!

Like a godwit flock was seen a flight of chips

Te Reigna is the departing place for the spirits of the dead as they follow the setting sun to the world of darkness and their future life in Hawaiki. Their soft murmurings as they take leave has been compared to the rustling of wings and the twitterings of kuaka as they set out, hence this proverb

Me he kahui kuaka

Like a flock of kuaka are the people at Te Reigna

Ralph Hotere

Ralph Hotere Godwit/Kuaka 1977

Ways of looking at this painting:

Notice the progression through the colour spectrum.
Notice the importance of black. Notice the use of symmetry in the colour progression.

Can you see the relationship between a progression from light to dark and back to light and a journey across the surface of the earth?

To concepts to keep in mind:

Te kore - the void. The realm of potential.
Rere - fly, run, floe, disperse, rise, leap, to catch on
Mihi - greet, welcome
Karanga - call out, summon
pōwhiri - welcoming ceremony on a marae.


Black Paintings

1. What "family" of artists does Hotere belong to?
2. How has Hotere's style been described?
3. What is the work painted on?
4. Why, according to the curator, does Hotere like the reflections?
5. Why is Hotere interested in subtraction?