Part 4: A photographic essay about our journey 'connecting to place' in Aotea, Great Barrier Island.
Kaitiakitanga.
Kaitiakitanga means guardianship and protection. It is a way of managing the environment, based on the Māori world view. A kaitiaki is a guardian. This can be a person or group that cares for an area such as a lake or forest. They are given that role by the local iwi.
We have in no way been given permission by local iwi to look after where we live or the valley we live in. We are transient, travellers that will stay for a short period, maybe 2 - 6/7 years. However, the concept of Kaitiakitanga from our beautiful 1st nations culture Māori resonates. I have been exploring this in my thoughts as we now live in a place we have little or no ownership.
We legally own a house and land in Koputai, Port Chalmers. And when I brought our first house, mentally I gained ownership of that location. Personally, this felt great to own land and a house, where I could do what I wanted. I could bang a nail in without a worry, I could build shelves, repaint, I could landscape, and move things as I pleased. Everything seemed worth it with blood, sweat, tears, and hard graft. Everything I did there, I took pride in our little oasis!
Now we find ourselves through our own choices, living in another location, renting, not owning the land, in Arthurs Bay on Aotea, Great Barrier Island. The garden is neglected, the lawn is super steep with matted grass that is tough to mow. And more over we know our time here is finite. For the last three months we have been working too much with little work-life balance, but grateful for the experiences we have had so far and the people we have met.
And so comes a time when you think how much effort to put into my surroundings, and why will I if I am renting?
It turns out the obvious answer is shrouded by our upbringing, what we are feed through the 20th Century and still now the 21st Century in the western ideology of consumerism. Owning a slice of heaven, ie your own land and house is an illusion, yet still seems to play an important role in my head. It allows me to put my roots down and say, "I am from here." But actually in the long run we don't own any land! My Mum and Dad brought their piece of heaven in Linden, Wellington. Dad built the house and they lived there together for 26 years of their marriage. Dad would not budge at the end, and Mum took a fall. If they had moved to a flatter place that was smaller, they may have endured longer away from a rest home?
There seems to be a confusing idea that to own a house and land legally, means you are from that place. These are two very separate ideas. Owning does not mean you are from there. And even though local iwi has not sanctioned us to look after the land we are on now and the house I think the more put into looking after the area we live in no matter where that is or who we pay rent to is part of our responsibility. It is part of being entwined in our local ecosystem and our chance to demonstrate Kaitiakitanga. What ties us to Karaka bay will be determined in what effort we put back into this area, how we share these experiences with others, and making whatever our actions are regenerative for others to come in the future.
Oysters do care if humans are there. Rocks do not care if there are humans and nor does the water. However, humans can not survive without these and much more that play critical roles in the cycle of life.
The ocean and sun do not have ties, nor are slaves to humanity. Rather it is the latter. When humans realise they are part of the ecosystem and not above all other living things, only then will there be true balance in the world.
There is something special, even beneficial, about showing up to a place with a particular people for a particular purpose. Community, connection, and conversation only happen when we actually experience life with others. - Author: Brad Lomenick
Connection to place is simple, yet complex.
"For 99% of the time we`ve been on Earth, we were hunter and gatherers, our lives dependant on knowing the fine, small details of the world. Deep inside, we still have a longing to be reconnected with the nature that shaped our imagination, our language, our song and dance, our sense of the divine." - Janine Benyus, biologists.
Connection to place is deep within our souls. Part of that is a yearning to learn where we are from, connect with other people, communities and have a purpose in life. These are important to build and nurture as they will help develop our connection to place. We all have a choice in how we view life. We should take every opportunity to help others, to do things that build the mana of others. That way you will reap, learn and nurture your own growth. This will deepen your roots to land and others.
"The greatest voyage of our lifetimes is not in the seeking of new landscapes but in the seeing with new eyes." -Marcel Proust, Philosopher.
Andy