The Atua Have Spoken

By Cameron McCausland-Taylor

Cyclones, flooding, landslides and earthquakes all in one week? As @te.mahara said on Instagram, “It’s indicating you have angered the ātua”. The impact of these disasters is being felt heavily throughout Te- Ika-a-Māui, particularly in Te Tai Tokerau, Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay, as well as Tāmaki Makaurau after their flooding a few weeks ago. However, as a Māori wahine, it’s the suffering of marae, hapū and iwi that really hits home. Ranginui, Tāwhirimātea, Papatūānuku, Hinemoana, ALL the ātua appear to be telling us something; it’s time to listen to mātauranga Māori more than ever in the face of climate change.

Firstly, our marae and urupā are deeply suffering, due to many of them being in costal or low-lying areas. Seeing the sheer amount of damage devastating these taonga of cultural significance is devastating, to say the least. It’s not just a physical structure; it impacts our people in emotional, mental, social, and physical ways. There are various marae around the country that are seriously having to consider moving their tūrangawaewae, which should have never been something that had to be contemplated.

The mauri of our whenua, moana and awa is also on a serious decline. Many of our whānau, rely on the likes of hunting, fishing, diving, and gathering to provide for their whānau. These are skills that our people have practiced for generations but are in severe jeopardy. Where I live in the Bay of Plenty, we’re feeling it in the lack of tuna in the river, the deteriorating pipi beds, and the erosion of our beaches. Again, it’s not just about the basic necessity of nourishing our whānau, but another loss of customs that lie within our culture. We’re trying to continue our way of life on a planet that is crumbling beneath us, impacting us on a multitude of levels.

For myself, and many other Māori, I am a firm believer that it’s not only our ātua that lie within our physical environment, but it’s our tīpuna too. I don’t just see awa overflowing, I see my tīpuna physically drowning in uncontrollable, contaminated waters. I don’t just see the shores eroding, I see my tīpuna being washed away to sea. I don’t just see our marae being torn to pieces, I see our tīpuna having their whare and whenua stripped from them again and again and again.

Throughout recent events, we have seen marae, hapū and iwi all around the motu step up and offer their whare as refuge for displaced peoples. Manaakitanga for manuhiri is in our blood and there was no hesitation in opening doors for any and all to take shelter. But as kaitiaki and tangata whenua of Aotearoa, we cannot do this on our own. We need the help of everyone in the motu to protect our environment. It’s hard to see people so against co-governance, Māori wards and the Three Waters reform, while our people remain so open and welcoming with their sacred places of tūrangawaewae.

As the 2023 general election approaches us, it’s so crucial that we’re electing those that are willing to make meaningful change and do the mahi to make it happen. No sugar-coating, no bullshit, just straight ACTION that will affect our communities on a grassroots level. It’s all fine to say we need people on the ground (which is true), but it’s fair to say that our most impactful change takes place within the policy makers. We need mātauranga Māori instilled within our environmental policies; we need purposeful relationships between Māori and the Crown; we need more Māori taking up positions of power. By starting at the top, these effects will trickle down to our communities, with our most vulnerable in desperate need. Throwing money at a situation isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Papatūānuku nurtures us, nourishes us, looks after us as her taonga. Yet, we do not offer her the same aroha. Māori don’t roll with the individualism game; we come together as a collective for the greater good. Climate change is impacting all of us, not just Māori, but it is the Māori spiritual connection to the likes of Papatūānuku that is going to save all of us if we follow that pathway.