A narrative for the NZ Ecological Society’s new te reo name
Context
The New Zealand Ecological Society has its roots firmly in the domain of Western science and was formed in 1951 at a time when Aotearoa was a very colonial society and mātauranga Māori was not valued, and poorly understood. The society’s purpose was nevertheless well-intentioned, and remains so today. At the core is the goal to promote the study of ecology and application of ecological knowledge in all its aspects.
But it is well and truly time that the society moves on, and this is reflected by an increasing diversity in the membership, a new focus on doing right by Te Tiriti, and the proliferation of mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori informed research. In deciding on a te reo Māori name for the New Zealand Ecological Society we were guided by Professor Karyn Paringatai (Te Tumu, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka) and Manaia Pearmain-Fenton (Ecology Programme, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka) in a process where we dived deep into the motivations of the society as well as atua Māori and their whakapapa that provided insight and inspiration.
Reflection on the society’s values to underpin the name
Connectedness is central to the NZ Ecological Society, both to the environment and people, with protecting te taiao (the environment) for future generations being a major driver. This type of connectedness is also fundamental to a te ao Māori (the Māori world) worldview. The te reo Māori name chosen for the society had to encapsulate this whakaaro (thought).
Whakapapa connections
The Māori creation story and its main characters of Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother), who were separated by their son Tāne-mahuta (god of the forest) is well-known, as are some of the other male atua (gods) responsible for the natural world, including Rongo (Rongo-mata-aka-whau to some iwi; atua of cultivated foods and peace). Atua wāhine are less well-known, but very relevant to te taiao and the discipline of ecology. As an example, one line of descent through the female line is from Papatūānuku > Hineahuone (first human) > Hinetītama (dawn maiden, first born human, responsible for the world of light, knowledge, understanding) > Hinerauwhārangi (who took over Hinetītama’s responsibilities to the world of light, knowledge, understanding). Hinerauwhārangi is also the personification of the leaves and fruits and blossoms that come from the trees. Both Hinerauwhārangi and Hine Akaaka (atua of vines; whakapapa not known) are central to the choice of Te Aka Toro (literally ‘the reaching vine’), as is Rongo, whose domain includes guardianship of aka (vines in general), pohue (native convolvulus) and piki arero (white clematis) among others. Tendrils of vines are closely associated with the gathering of light and knowledge and climbing towards the light / understanding / clarity and the realm of Hinerauwhārangi, as are the fruits, seeds, new growth and capacity building.
This whakataukī (proverb) is closely associated with Te Aka Toro:
Te waru kaihora a Hinerauwhārangi – the bountiful summer (kaihora = to spread out, scatter)
In choosing a te reo name, we discussed the potential of a metaphor using a native tree, with roots in the past, and crown in the future. However, no one tree seemed quite right, or is distributed the length and breadth of Aotearoa. We then landed on the idea of a liana, a woody vine, that connects from the roots to the canopy and beyond. In te ao Māori, an aka (vine) was famously used by Tāne (or in some versions Tāwhaki) to ascend to the heavens to gather knowledge.
The tikanga of Te Aka Toro
Te Aka Toro comes from ‘aka’, a general term for vines, and ‘toro’, a verb meaning to survey, probe and explore. Thus Te Aka Toro serves as a metaphor for working with the strength of others to reach the canopy / te ao marama (knowledge and its dissemination, reaching out beyond the society to public, decision makers). Like a vine, it encompasses that there are many ways to reach ‘the light’ via multiple winding pathways / knowledge systems. It also works as an analogy for the people of our society and their different disciplines. Te Aka Matua (the main vine) is Ecology, and it is inclusive of other disciplines and knowledge systems.
Although ‘aka’ is a general term for vines, one aka that we had in mind when developing this name for the society was kaiwhiria / NZ jasmine and its beautiful scent, its role as food for invertebrates which in turn support our manu (birds), reaching / striving for resources, constantly interconnecting things. While we acknowledge that vines can be stranglers with a dark side, we see this as part of the narrative in the application of ecology to combat harm inflicted on te taiao and the restoration and rebalancing that ecological research supports.
Te ara whakaputa o Te Aka Toro
Kua kore te ingoa Pākehā e whaiwhakaaro atu ki te aronga o te rōpū me te hirahira o te mātauranga Māori i te mātai hauropi i Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu i ēnei rā. Nā reira, kua whakatauria ki te whai tukanga pai hei whiriwhiri i tētahi ingoa Māori kē e whaiwhakaaro ana ki te rōpū o nāianei me ngā wawata o ngā mema katoa. Ko Karyn Paringatai (Ngāti Porou, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka) te kaihautū waka mō tēnei haerenga. Ko te ngako o te tukanga, ko te ruku hōhonu ki ngā whakahihikotanga o te rōpū, ki ngā atua Māori me ō rātou whakapapa e hono nei ki te ao tūroa.
I huihui mai ngā kaituhi o tēnei atikara, arā, mātou ko Karyn, ko ētahi kaiārahi o Te Rōpū Hauropi o Aotearoa i te marama o Mei i te tau 2025 ki te wānanga i te kaupapa nei. I pātaitia, he aha te mea nui ki te rōpū? Kāore e kore, ko ngā whakautu, ko te hononga o ngā tāngata me te taiao, ko te tiaki hoki i te taiao mō āke tonu. He tūāpapa hoki ēnei whakaaro ki te ao Māori. Me whakaata ēnei whakaaro kia tika ai te ingoa Māori hou.
Āpitia atu ki tēnei whakaaro, i huri mātou ki ngā kōrero tuku iho e hāngai ana ki te orokohanga o te ao ki tā te Māori titiro e mōhiotia whānuitia ana. Kei te mōhiotia hoki ētahi atu atua tāne e hāngai ana ki te ao tūroa. He iti ake te mōhiotanga o ngā atua wāhine e hirahira ana ki te taiao. Kotahi te hikahika mā te taha wāhine pēnei: mai i Papatūānuku, ka puta a Hineahuone (ko ia te tangata tuatahi i hangaia ai ki te one), ka puta a Hinetītama (ko ia te tangata tuatahi i whānau mai ai, ko ia hoki te atua o te ao mārama, o te māramatanga), ka puta a Hinerauwhārangi (kua whakatangatatia ngā rau, ngā hua, ngā puāwai o ngā rākau). He mea nui ki te kōrero nei a Hinerauwhārangi rātou ko Hine Akaaka (ko ia te atua o ngā aka; kāore i te mōhiotia tōna whakapapa), ko Rongo (māna e tiaki ngā ngākina tae atu ki ngā aka). E tata hono ana ngā hihi o ngā aka ki te kohikohi mārama, me te piki haere ki te ao mārama i te whaitua o Hinerauwhārangi.
I a mātou e whiriwhiri ana i tētahi ingoa Māori mō te rōpū, i wānangahia te whakamahinga o tētahi rākau māori hei kupu whakarite me ōna pakiaka i ngā wā o mua, me tōna kōuru i te wā e heke mai nei. Engari anō, kāore he rākau kotahi noa iho i pai ai ki te rōpū, kāore he rākau kotahi noa iho e noho pai ana i Aotearoa whānui. Kātahi, ka aroaro haere mātou ki te whakaaro o tētahi aka, he tipu kanohi rau e whātoro nei mai i te whenua ki te rangi, mai i te rangi ki te whenua, ki uta ki tai. Kāore he wāhi o tēnei whenua tonu ka kore e kitea tētahi momo aka. Ka mutu, i tētahi pūrākau a te Māori, i whakamahia tētahi aka e Tāne (e Tāwhaki ki ētahi iwi) kia piki ake ki te rangi, ki te tiki i ngā kete mātauranga e toru.
Nāwai rā ka tau, ko ‘Te Aka Toro’ he ingoa pai hei whakatinana i te āhua o te rōpū. Kua puta mai tēnei ingoa i te kupu ‘aka’, arā, he kupu whānui mō ngā tipu roa e pikipiki haere ana, me te kupu ‘toro’, he tūmahi pēnei te ārohi. E hāngai ana tēnei ingoa ki te whakataukī, “te waru kaihora a Hinerauwhārangi”. Nā reira, ko ‘Te Aka Toro’ he kupu whakarite mō te mahi ngātahi kia aupiki ai ki te karamatamata, ki te ao mārama anō hoki. Ko te aka matua ko te hauropi, he mea e honohono nei ki ērā atu mātai me ō rātou mātauranga.
Ahakoa he kupu whānui te kupu aka, i whaiwhakaaro mātou ki te kaiwhiria, ki te kaihua hoki me ōna kakara. He kai mā ngā ngārara tēnei tipu, ā, ko ngā ngārara ngā kai mā ngā manu. Nā reira he aka pai hei hono i te rauwiringa kaiao. He tipu nanati ētahi o ngā aka, engari he hira hoki tēnei āhuatanga ki te kōrero i te mea kua patua te taiao, ā, ko tētahi whāinga matua o te rōpū ko te haumanu taiao me tōna taurite. E hāpainga ana te whāinga nei e te rangahau hauropi me te mātauranga maha.
I wānanga ngā mema o te kaunihera, kātahi ko ngā mema katoa o te rōpū i te ingoa hou i ngā marama i whai ake i te wānanga. Kua whakatatūria katoatia ko ‘Te Aka Toro’ te ingoa hou.