Kua Tapapahia Nga Korero

~ M?ori Saying

Translation:
The time for talk has been laid down upon the earth . . . The time for talk is over.

Wikipedia on M?ori

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6 Comments

  1. Let us not forget that doing something doesn’t necessarily mean the sort of action that Westerner’s think of. We think of marching, or kvetching, or violence; but the Maori might also include dreaming and intention in this category. As someone who has engaged in lucid dreaming for decades, I am often astonished by the extent to which this small and easily forgotten culture has awesome power within the context of the dream world. If so few could have so much influence despite their poverty and isolation, imagine what we could all do together with our powerful, but atrophied, mental capabilities!

  2. Thanks for such a beautiful explanation of the Maori language Claude. I enjoyed reading it

  3. While I have the greatest respect for the Maori culture, the USA is culturally different as it was founded on the principle of individual decision-making and choice, not the “Wisdom of Crowds”. The USA is not a democracy as so many misconstrue, therefore we do not require consensus or even seek it. We are a Republic, where individuals, their choices, and opinions are tolerated by all others unless those actions tread on the inalienable rights of another individual (i.e. power to make their own independent choices).

    When governments truly respect an individual’s ability to choose freely, the need for talk and consensus disappears. In this scenario, government shrinks to minimal size, no longer forcing group consensus. Hence, those who wish to pursue environmentalist focused agendas are left to do so, and everyone else is left to pursue whatever agenda is important to them.

    Further, this concept of “it’s time to do” leaves one wondering what exactly is it that is needed doing? Is it time to battle this concept called “Climate Change,” which was given to the public by the Club of Rome think tank? Or, is it time to elect new politicians to office? Or, are we to deploy a new domestic electricity grid as our corporate/political establishment promotes? Or, should we build alternative energy sources as our domestic oil supplies remain capped or non produced under strict government orders? There are many options that have been given to the public, and not all of the motives are transparent or the realities revealed.

    No, I suggest that none of the above are either necessary or even a priority. I suggest that it’s time for the public to take back our “mana” that we have acquiesced to false actors in the media, corrupt politicians, greedy corporations, insane social engineers, and sociopathic elites. In the USA, the individual is at the top of the pyramid, just below God, and all else is below, intended to serve the individual and maintain their absolute liberties. Over time, we have allowed that which was intended to serve us the ability to rule-over us. It’s simply time to stop acquiescing to their make-believe power and regain our rightful position of authority, it’s time to just get up, just as Gulliver did when tied down with all those little meaningless strings. This means saying “No”.

  5. Ever wonder why so few words in another language require so many in ours?

    Behind this quote lies a story and a different way.

    To explain:

    In the Maori language, Kua is a time-marker indicating the past. Most sentences begin by telling when we are talking about. Am I speaking about something already past, or the present, or something yet to come?

    One of the two key words is Tapapahia which is a compound word. The core is Papa, which is short for Papatuanuku, the name of the goddess we would call mother Earth. Papa is considered not to be a huge inanimate sphere made of minerals, but a living being, not dissimilar to the western concept of Gaia although Maori are more respectful – as they would be to their own grandmother. Not quite like Gaia, of course, because there is another word for the god of the sea and another for the god of the air and heavens, and another for the forest. Even using the English word “god” fails to express the true sense, for in the west we think of gods as imaginary beings of a time when people were superstitious. Think of Papatuanuku as the life-giving earth… although the word for soil is different. That word is Whenua, which is also the word for placenta. Think about that one for a moment. See why translating becomes so difficult? Maori understand reality differently than English, to translate one first has to learn new planes of reality.

    The prefix Ta and the suffix Hia involve Maori grammar, which would be distracting to the point of this reply.

    The other key word is Korero, the word for talk, dialogue, debate, discussion, conferencing. Nga indicates the korero is plural… more than one discussion.

    In Maori culture decision-making is very different. It involves what James Surowiecki would call “The Wisdom of Crowds”. A gathering of all concerned is called. Overseeing it is a person of high standing, holding what is called Mana, a person usually called the Rangatira (Rangatira is the word for leader, but ranga is the word for weaving, and tira is the word also used for a choir… to weave people into the harmony of a choir is the word for leader or chief… a very different understanding of leadership than boss, president, CEO or governor).

    In the meeting, everyone has their say, and the oratory can become both eloquent and heated. When all have spoken, the rangatira weaves all those views together and pronounces a decision. To not accept the rangatira’s decision is to tear apart the fabric of society. It can happen, but in doing so it destroys the mana of the rangatira, so the person who is rangatira takes great care in what and how he or she decides (incidentally, in Maori, there is no word for “he” or “she”, the word “ia” refers to either sex). To lose mana is to be instantly unelected as leader. People don’t impeach you, they simply stop listening to you.

    Thus, all together it refers to talk, lots of talk, that now has been laid upon Mother Earth. To lay upon the Earth means the talk is honoured, but it is now complete. Its memory is held by Papa. Implied in this is that once the talk is complete, it is time for decisions and for actions.

    There is a time for talk, then there is a time for action. Mark the end of talk, lay it down, and move on to action.

    This saying came from Te Kooti, one of the most important figures in New Zealand Maori history. It was said at the naming of a marae, what was named Tapapa Marae. A marae is common land held by a tribe where its community events occur, including the forum for nga korero, the place where formal talk is held and decisions made.

    So why is it relevant to today, to another culture and another time?

    There seem to be a number of dialogues occupying the western world in the recent past. On the left, it has been Global Warming followed by Peak Oil followed by Economic Collapse (Pogwec – the boogieman of doom). On the right, it has been the threat of Communism followed by the threat of Terrorism and and a willingness to give up Liberty, Justice and the pursuit of Happiness to provide “security” from those threats. Lots of words, blogs, conferences and meetings are held to discuss these topics, yet all the while there seems a great detachment of these subjects from the reality of our daily lives… reality is a non-derivative experience.

    Reality questions are more like: Why do I have to drive to get to places, and why, when I get there do they seem bland? Why does my food not have wonderful flavour and taste like it is healthy for me? Why does everyone worry so much about their future and their finances? Why have celebrations become consumer events, what ever happened to the sacred and the convivial in them? Why do we have illnesses killing lots of us that were rare a century ago? Why can’t I trust the news on the radio, television and in the daily paper? Why is it that I am told inflation is under control but my savings buy a lot less? What opportunities do young people have today? Why is aging a time to be put away in a home, separated from the rest of society?

    Why don’t we do something about things we all agree are problems, such as when Dee Hoc said “Today, it is apparent we are in the midst of a global epidemic of institutional failure. Not only failure in the limited sense of collapse, such as the Soviet Union or corporate bankruptcy, but the more common, pernicious form — institutions increasingly unable to achieve the purpose for which they were created yet constantly expanding as they devour resources, destroy the environment and degrade the human spirit. You know what I mean: Unhealthy health-care systems; Communities in which people can’t communicate; Welfare systems in which few fare well; Police that can’t enforce the law; Judicial systems without justice; Corporations that can’t compete or cooperate; Schools that can’t teach; Governments that can’t govern, and Economies that can’t economize.”

    The reason for the Maori quote coming to light at this time, where it became Catherine’s quote of the day, relates to a visit I will be making to the USA later this month, where I am asking if perhaps the time for talk is now past.

    Each of us has a purpose on Earth, a reason why we are here, but many of us prefer to talk about it rather than roll up our sleeves and get to work.

    Kua Tapapahia nga Korero

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