TE WAIATATAKA MAI
Future-making is not new to Māori. Some of the words, ideas, and processes we are using might be new, but the knowledge, concepts and the wisdom are not. Whether you’re departing on a voyage of discovery, beginning a new career, or making changes in your organisation or community, it takes courage to make a new future. Te Korekoreka is a practical guide that can help you examine your present, to learn from your past, imagine a new future, and commit to a deliberate course of action that will enable you to shift from your current reality to a better one.
ORIGINS OF TE KOREKOREKA
Kei a te pō te tīmatataka mai o te waiatataka mai o te atua
Nā Te Pō, ko Te Ao
Nā Te Ao, ko Te Ao Mārama
Nā Te Ao Mārama, ko Te Ao Tūroa
Nā Te Ao Tūroa, ko te Kore tē whiwhia
Nā te Kore tē whiwhia, ko te Kore tē rāwea
Nā te Kore tē rāwea, ko te Kore tē tāmaua
Nā te Kore tē tāmaua, ko te Korematua
Nā te Korematua, ko te Mākū
Ka moe i a Māhoranuiātea, ka puta ko Raki
Ka moe i a Pokohārua te Pō
Ka puta ko Aoraki, ko Rakamamao tāna ko Tāwhirimātea
Ko te aitaka o te takata
Ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama
Ki te ao tūroa e tū nei
Tihei Mauriora!
– Based on ‘Te Waiatatanga mai o te Atua: South Island Traditions’ recorded by Matiaha Tiramōrehu
‘Kei a te pō’ tells the Kāi Tahu creation story of how the universe was called into being through song. The karakia describes four key realms of creation – starting with Te Pō (the darkness) and moving into Te Ao Mārama (the light), then Te Ao Tūroa (the physical world), before returning to Te Kore (the nothingness) before returning to Te Pō and the cycle repeating.
In developing Te Korekoreka we started by studying this powerful karakia. We considered what each of the four realms looked like independently, and how each one related to the others. We explored the space between each of the realms and how we could better understand the process of moving between them. Finally, we considered these realms as a complete, cyclical, and natural system. It is from this inquiry that Te Korekoreka emerged.
TE WAIATATAKA MAI
Origins
Te Kawa o Te Korekoreka is based on a famous karakia composed in 1849 by Kāi Tahu rakatira and tohuka Matiaha Tiramōrehu.
‘Kei a te pō’ tells the story of how the universe was called into being through song. The karakia describes four key realms of creation – starting with Te Pō (the darkness) and moving into Te Ao Mārama (the light), then Te Ao Tūroa (the physical world), before returning to Te Kore (the nothingness) before returning to Te Pō and the cycle repeating.
In developing Te Korekoreka we started by studying this powerful karakia. We considered what each of the four realms looked like independently, and how each one related to the others. We explored the space between each of the realms and how we could better understand the process of moving between them. Finally, we considered these realms as a complete, cyclical, and natural system. It is from this inquiry that Te Korekoreka emerged.
THE REALMS
Te Korekoreka
The four realms of Te Korekoreka are an opportunity for us to apply our traditional knowledge of creation to the complex challenges we face today.
As a kawa for Māori future making, Te Korekoreka makes it easier for diverse groups of people to wānaka together, to experience an indigenous knowledge system first hand, and share a new frame of reference.
Te Korekoreka provides access to a holistic worldview that is grounded in Te Ao Māori. By using it in our mahi we are seeking to honour the past in order to create a better future together.
Te Korekoreka has been crafted from the wisdom of Matiaha Tiramōrehu and exists as a guide to support us on the journey of personal and collective transformation.
Te Korekoreka is a way to reconnect with our own mātauraka and to reclaim the future-making mindset of our ancestors.
It seeks to give our own cultural knowledge a purpose to help us navigate towards a new future.
TE KORE
Stepping into Te Kore can be uncomfortable and even be an upsetting experience because it is a realm full of uncertainty and ambiguity. However, it is also the realm where we can connect with the past in order to understand the whakapapa of the situation we are working with. Te Korekoreka is a way for us to slow down and make sense of what has happened. A place to reflect and to reach a deeper understanding. Te Kore is the realm where new potential emerges and an opportunity to reconnect with our life’s purpose.
Seeking / Reflecting / Understanding
TE PŌ
Te Pō is creative and regenerative realm where our visions start to become clear and new ideas start to take shape and become real. This can be an exciting and empowering experience. Te Korekoreka is a process that supports experimentation and testing new ways of thinking, working, and relating to others. In our future making mahi we cannot do everything. We have to choose what we want to focus on and figure out how we are going to achieve our goals. That is what Te Pō is all about.
Imagining / Designing / Making
TE AO MĀRAMA
When we return to Te Ao (the world of light) we discover that the world has changed. Stepping into Te Ao Mārama we find ourselves in a new world, with a fresh perspective, more energy, and new pathways to action. Te Korekoreka is way to access the wisdom of the past, so that we are more able to realise the potential of the future. Te Ao Mārama is about creating positive change through our own agency and actions.
Implementing / Achieving / Completing
TE AO TŪROA
Te Ao Tūroa is a physical, tangible, and material realm that we can see, touch and measure. It refers to our current situation and the realm where we live, work, and play. When we apply Te Korekoreka to the work of future making, we usually start in Te Ao Tūroa so that we describe the current situation, map out the work we are already doing, and kickstart the process of innovation and transformation.
Knowing / Doing / Reviewing
As well as being a powerful conceptual framework, Te Korekoreka is also a simple and practical guide to support your future-making mahi. Each realm has its own kaupapa and tikaka that helps us to understand how we can maximise the potential of each of the different realms.
Te Korekoreka helps us be more aware of what realm we might currently be in, and also helps us anticipate the changes we might need to make so we can move forward.
Each time we move through the kawa, we gain more insight and understanding.
Te Korekoreka
A CREATIVE PROCESS
Te Korekoreka is a way to use our own cultural knowledge to help us imagine and navigate towards a new future. It is no longer credible to keep using imported Western frameworks to try to fix the harm done by imported Western systems within Aotearoa.
Instead, we need to trust our own indigenous knowledge and use these to create our own systems that work for Māori.
Te Korekoreka is our way of doing this.
PŪRĀKAU
Te Kawa o Te Korekoreka is inspired by the famous Kāi Tahu karakia ‘Kei a te pō’, composed in 1849 by the rakatira and tohuka Matiaha Tiramōrehu. In this short video Dr Hana O’Regan and Dr Eruera Tarena explain the origins and development of Te Korekoreka, and why it is important that we have a kawa for Māori future making.
Watch the Pūrākau to understand the origins of Te Korekoreka.
We believe it is important to share Te Korekoreka with all whānau Kāi Tahu, however, we know that by doing this also means it is publicly accessible. Our guidance for people interested in using Te Korekoreka is as follows:
Whānau Kai Tahu
If you wish to use the kawa, go for it! If you need some practical support, please feel free to contact Tokona te Raki.
Iwi Māori and iwi taketake (indigenous groups)
If you would like to know more about how we approached the development of Te Korekoreka, please contact Tokona te Raki. We’re keen to support.
Tākata Tiriti (non-Māori)
If you are interested in learning more about Te Korekoreka, please contact Tokona te Raki. We can support you to build your understanding of the kawa and ensure your approach respects the mana of Kāi Tahu.
Te Korekoreka is a tāoka - please treat it with the mana and respect with which it has been created.
Te Korekoreka
USING THE KAWA
TE WAIATATAKA MAI
ORIGINS OF TE KOREKOREKA
Future-making is not new to Māori. Some of the words, ideas, and processes we are using might be new, but the knowledge, concepts and the wisdom are not. It takes courage to examine your present, to learn from your past, imagine a new future, to commit to a deliberate course of action and move from your current reality to a new destiny.
Kei a te pō te tīmatataka mai o te waiatataka mai o te atua
Nā Te Pō, ko Te Ao
Nā Te Ao, ko Te Ao Mārama
Nā Te Ao Mārama, ko Te Ao Tūroa
Nā Te Ao Tūroa, ko te Kore tē whiwhia
Nā te Kore tē whiwhia, ko te Kore tē rāwea
Nā te Kore tē rāwea, ko te Kore tē tāmaua
Nā te Kore tē tāmaua, ko te Korematua
Nā te Korematua, ko te Mākū
Ka moe i a Māhoranuiātea, ka puta ko Raki
Ka moe i a Pokohārua te Pō
Ka puta ko Aoraki, ko Rakamamao tāna ko Tāwhirimātea
Ko te aitaka o te takata
Ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama
Ki te ao tūroa e tū nei
Tihei Mauriora!
– Based on ‘Te Waiatatanga mai o te Atua: South Island Traditions’ recorded by Matiaha Tiramōrehu