Pakiwaitara and Pūrākau

Every culture has its genesis, a beginning, a creation history. It is these histories that shape and give order to the world of that society. From these stories, lessons are learnt which shape a ‘world-view’ or philosophical standpoint (value and belief system).

For Māori, the recording and transmitting of social history was oral inclusive of whakapapa, whakataukī, pepeha, waiata, pakiwaitara and pūrākau (the telling of stories in metaphoric fashion).

Jayne Matenga-Kohu states ‘They [pūrākau] influenced and regulated social attitudes both publicly and privately, and gained physical expression through tikanga (customary practises)’.

Pūrākau today are often described as myths, fanciful stories consigned to the bookshelves of children however like religious symbols, myths aren’t invented; they arise from the unconscious. They use supernatural explanations for natural phenomena and cosmic issues like creation and death. They need not be historically accurate as they are designed to teach a moral lesson or esoteric truth.

The following video clips tell parts and variations of the story of Maui, whom some tribes believe, fished up New Zealand.

Pūrākau (poo-ra-cauw)

Pūrākau are usually described as stories that relate to the deeds and activities of ngā atua Māori (the gods & demi-gods of Māori), and are generally focussed on creation and pro-creation.

The word ‘pū-rākau’ gives some insight into its relationship with this era:

Te Pū: origin, source, base, foundation
Rākau: tree - a metaphor for creation is imaged as a living, breathing tree, growing over periods of time and space.

Jayne Matenga-Kohu in her descriptive of ‘time/creation’ writes:
‘The era of Te Pū established the root, the foundation. Te More, Te Weu and Te Aka followed, planting and generating the taproots, thin long rootlets and fibres. These allowed for the period of extension, expansion and growth – Te Rea. Here life gained movement.

Te Waonui issued the era of long standing time, a moment where [the] ancient forest is slowly growing. Here, creation as permanent and self-promoting moves into the time of Te Kune followed by Te Whē, the introduction of sound – tree branches creaking’.

The following periods, Te Kore and Te Pō, describe eras of sterility and barrenness where a great emptiness consumes the universe [Te Kore]. In the period of darkness and its various stages [Te Pō] creation is rejuvenated so that a season of birthing can occur. It is from this season that Papatūānuku and Te Ranginui come into being and from them their children, ngā atua tamariki – the gods of Māori creation.





Whilst today the ‘pūrākau’ of Ranginui and Papatuanuku is used as a given Māori creation narrative, it must be stressed that not all tribes from Aotearoa New Zealand believe that this is their descent path. This is but one narrative that also has variations in ‘its telling’.

Pakiwaitara (par-key-why-tar-ra)

Pakiwaitara can be used to describe stories that contain a moral within (interwoven). Unlike the transmission of whakapapa (genealogy of bloodlines, stories etc) the ‘layers’ need not be exact.

The word paki-wai-tara reinforces this viewpoint.

Wai (in this context): describes a memory or a recollection of words
Tara: describes a lack of exactness
Paki (the story): expresses what the storyteller has to say about this topic or subject.

Pakiwaitara can also be described as stories that provide accounts of local history. By that, stories that mark reference points to tribal territories, relationships with other groups (inter-marriage), kinship links and recognition of ancestors.

It is important to remember that there are variations in tribal interpretation of what pūrākau and pakiwaitara are. Some tribes will describe ‘their’ creation story as a pakiwaitara whilst others as a pūrākau.