When we work with whenua we think about our relationship(s) to it and our purpose(s) for being there. To help you reflect on your engagement with the whenua, we’ve developed a series of land-loving whakaaro for you to use wherever you find yourself.

Questions to ask when you’re on the land

  • He whakapapa ōu ki tēnei whenua? Kōrerotia mai. He manuhiri koe, he mokopuna rānei koe?

  • He aha ngā mahara i puawai i a koe i kōnei?

  • Kua kitea te aha e te whenua nei?

  • Ko wai te hau kāinga, te ahi kā rānei o tēnei wāhi?

  • Urupounamu atu ki te whenua, he aha rā tāna e pīrangi nā, e wawata nā? 

  • He aha pea tō koha atu ki te whenua, mō tāu i tango ai?

  • Do you have a connection to this whenua? Describe it in a couple of sentences. Are you entering as a guest, or a descendent?

  • What memories come to you when you are here?

  • What do you think this whenua might have seen over time? 

  • Who are/were the indigenous people that live/cultivate/harvest/hunt/fish/look after here?

  • Take a moment to ask this place, what might your hopes, or needs be for the pigment you have collected?

  • What might your koha be to this place in return for what you have taken?

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Advice for non-Maori