ANCIENT WISDOM
This land of ancient days holds a universal wisdom, a truth that reflects an essence held within each and every person.
What does this mean and how can this be true? Does this mean that there is something special about these islands we call Aotearoa New Zealand?
New Zealand has long been inhabited - this was uncovered some time ago when archaeologists began to re-discover evidence of ancient people dating back beyond the commonly accepted date of 1350 AD. This information has largely been held back from public knowledge and is not taught in our education institutions, it remains a controversial subject within academic circles and also within the core of Māoridom.
The Waitaha
Who were these people and why is it important?
When the knowledge of the Waitaha nation was shared with the world in the 1990s, it expanded our awareness and understanding of this land and our relationship to it as people. The wisdom that ‘all who are born here, or identify as being of this land, are indeed people of this Land’ became a truth, open to all to feel and claim. This exposed the flaw in the separation of Māori and Pākehā, allowing a common unity to be found, if only we wish to embrace it.
Waitaha also gave us another piece of wisdom. They acknowledged that they, although having been in this land for two thousand years, were not the first here. This places the need for us to know who was here first, whether Māori, Waitaha, or Celt, as being of complete insignificance. The fact is, we are here, all of us, and we belong to this land if we choose to belong. And this is our human right, no matter where we find ourselves on Planet Earth. Waitaha lived on, and in relationship with this Land in a way that has left its imprint for all to feel. And that imprint is one of universality. In other words, the way they lived here on these islands for many centuries was in harmony with themselves and with their environment, all of their environment, including the heavens above, the mountains and rivers, the forests and the animals, and indeed with the All.
This way of living, of being, is available for us all now. Today, we have many issues facing the human species. Not only do we live with increased division and fear of each other as separate ethnicities, religions, doctrines and colour which often results in war, but we are also at war with nature and with the planet itself. The wisdom of those who have lived and left their energy in and on this land of New Zealand offers a way forward for all. No matter who we are or where we live on this planet we can connect with this way and make it our own, choosing to live as an equal to all others, in harmony both with ourselves and Our Environment.
