Taku Waiora

Awhina Ruby Pitiroi (Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngai Tai, gati Raukawa, Waikato-Maniapoto, Tuhoe), Victoria University of Wellington

My background is in Kura Kaupapa Māori education. I have led various water enhancement projects around Lake Taupō and adjoining waterways over 20 years of teaching within a localised, kaupapa Māori water education framework. An awareness of various ritualistic engagements and the spiritual dimension of water has developed through these projects alongside Ngāti Tūwharetoa kaumātua.

While water is central to survival, rituals have an important role to play in binding societies and strengthening connections to the environment. The primary research question is therefore: What are the customary water rituals of Ngāti Tūwharetoa?

In addition to documenting the limited remaining Tūwharetoa water rituals, the second question seeks to locate these customary practices and bodies of knowledge within the Ngāti Tūwharetoa relationship with water. This research asserts that respectful relationships, intertwined with spiritual connections to water and the environment, are essential to supporting a sustainable future.

This research is a local, Indigenous response to global calls to redefine and rediscover our innate relationship with the environment for an improved collective future. It encourages a mātauranga Māori-based, holistic approach to protecting and nurturing our natural environment.