Acknowledgements, with explanations of terms used
A koha to Whakaoriori Masterton: Whakapapa-informed spatial design and communication
Ko tēnei taku mihi ki ngā tāngata whenua o te rohe nei, Rangitāne o Wairarapa me Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, me mana whenua hapū Ngāti Hamua. Ka mihi hoki au ki ngā tohu o te rohe nei. Nō reira, tēnā koutou katoa.
I acknowledge the indigenous people of this area, Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, and Whakaoriori mana whenua hapū Ngāti Hamua. I acknowledge the important landmarks of this area. Thus, my acknowledgement to you all.
Arohanui ki a koe
To my MDes supervisors Anna Brown and Georgina Stokes* (Ngāi Tahu)
You are the dream team
To my whānau
You challenge me, lift me, expect big things from me, and you opened the space in your life for this work
To the people of Massey Wellington CoCA and Toi Āria
You have been an exemplary nest — may the force be with you in the changes coming
To Chris Peterson, Tony Garstang, Ra Smith, Janine Ogg, Sam Ludden and our place, Whakaoriori Masterton
Kia ora, kia ora
To my whakahīkoi contributors
You seriously affected the direction here (for the much better):
Ethan Eade, artist
Jason Kerehi, mana whenua Māori health leader (Rangitāne, Muaūpoko, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Kahungungu, Kai Tahu)
Joseph Potanagaroa, mana whenua researcher (Rangitāne O Wairarapa)
Robin White DNZM, artist
Frazer Mailman, Emeritus MDC Councillor, delegate to Wairarapa Combined District Plan update
Gareth Winter, national archivist (author of numerous Whakaoriori Masterton histories)
Nina Boyd, Pōneke Wellington architect (visualiser for Our Future Masterton)
Mercia Abbott, Māori spatial designer
Simon Miller, tree engineer
Nerissa Aramakutu, Emeritus MDC Kaiwhakarite mahere (Māori and General Policy Advisor)
Lisa McLaren, Emeritus MDC Climate Policy Manager
Odell Sugrue, MDC Parks and Reserves Planner
Te reo Māori to English language translation
There is often no matching English translation for kupu Māori (Māori words). Many are open-textured concepts, defined by their context. As a beginner in te reo Māori myself, I appreciate approximations so I’ve offered some in brackets throughout this writing, usually the first time the word is used. To find out more, please refer to:
Rangitāne Education
The Wairarapa ki Tararua Report (Vol 1, xxxiii-xxxviii)
Te Tangi a te Manu (p55–67)
Te Ara Glossary
Te Reo Māori on RNZ (includes audio pronunciation)
This investiagtion has profoundly affected my understanding of these terms, from both Aotearoa and Whakaoriori-specific perspectives. Further accuracy, according to Joseph Pōtangaroa (Rangitāne o Wairarapa, mana whenua) has yet to be sought.
ara: path
arohanui ki a koe: much love to you
atua: natural environments and key energy sources
atuatanga: learning about atua
awa: river, stream
e hoa: friend
hapū: family
hau kainga: home people, the people who live here
hīkoi: a communal walk or march, sometimes associated with protest
iwi: tribe
kawa: protocol
kia ora: thank you
koha: mana enhancing reciprocity
kupu: word
kōrero: conversation
kōtahitanga: unity
mana: prestige, respect
manaaki: to cherish, sustain
manaakitanga: showing respect, generosity and care
manukura: person held in high esteem, leader in council
marae: meeting ground, a place of belonging
mātauranga: knowledge
pōhiri or pōwhiri: a traditional ceremony welcoming people onto a marae
pūkenga: expert, generational knowledge
pūrakau: story
tangata whenua (people of this land) who hold mana whenua through their generational relationship with a landscape
te ao Māori: Māori world view, Māori ontology
te reo Māori: Māori language
Te Tiriti o Waitangi: The Treaty of Waitangi
tohunga: a learned person, expert, priest
tīkanga: customary or correct practice
utu: transaction, paying
whakahīkoi: noticing by walking and communicating (a term given to this project by Joseph Pōtangaroa (Rangitāne, Whakaoriori mana whenua)
whakatauki: metaphors or proverbs that support critical thinking
whenua: land, landscape
Fulsome, Aotearoa-specific definitions in regard to ‘landscape’ are contained in Te Tangi a te Manu, p55–67 including ‘whenua’, ‘Te Ao Māori’, ‘tangata whenua’ and ‘pūkenga’.
To find more, please refer to:
Te Ara Glossary
Rangitāne Education
Te Reo Māori on RNZ (includes audio pronunciation)
Western spatial terms:
cultural landscape: a bi-cultural term (whakapapa informed) for human activity and the environment
placemaking: shaping our private and public realm for the connection of people to place
town centre, CBD: central business district, focus for civic gathering
township: town centre and its immediate surrounding settlement
urban form: a city’s physical characteristics
-ologies:
Not many of us seem to need “-ologies” in storytelling so I have avoided these terms in my written ‘koha’ for this project. However, some are creeping into my language when I talk about whakapapa and placemaking in Whakaoriori Masterton, so here goes: An “-ology” is a subject of study, which makes them well used terms in academic settings. Here are suggestion for how some might be interpreted:
Ontology: natures of being
In our urban space, this might apply to our individual perceptions of belonging, eg: where are we on scales like: indigenous to non-indigenous, valued to suppressed. I see psychogeography as an application of ontology — our perceptions as we move through our urban space, influenced by barriers and openings, stressing and the relieving spaces we encounter. In 2016, associated with kōrero around Our Future Masterton, the late Hoani Paku (the first full-time Maori liaison officer at Masterton District Council) shared his thinking on Māori cultural ontology.
Epistemology: theories of knowledge (method, validity, justified & opinion)
Design epistemology “fosters an approach to academic research that is alternative to the traditional approaches” (Karabeg 624). This work is part of a Master of Design academic programme, and deviates somewhat from western academic knowledge making.
Typology: allocations of things into categories
We might say the Whakaoriori Masterton of today is reflective of British colonial typologies, for example the town’s layout, building style, tree species…
Karabeg, Dino. “Design Epistemology.” ResearchGate, 2012, www.researchgate.net/publication/290391555_Design_Epistemology.
