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?
