Toi te Kupu- using word to pass on information.
Toi te Mana- using art to pass on information
Toi te Whenua- using the land to pass on information
Kupu- word
Mana- prestige
Whenua (pronounced as fenua)- land
Simple words and expressions of the Maori tribal language of New Zealand, but profound in explaining the life and belief of the tribal community in any part of the world.
These are fruits of wisdom gained from my conversation Lisa Rewati, Maori Educator in Te Papa- New Zealand’s national museum in Wellington.
The discussion started during my visit to the Museum at the time of a photo exhibit titled "Lens on the World" by Brian Blake. I was intrigued by a picture postcard in the Museum souveneir store with a photo titled "Monsoon Girl" attributed to Brian Blake. The picture was of a young girl, enjoying the feel of rain in her face with closed eyes, as if she was in a trance. The girl seemed quite Indian, and quite familiar too. It took me about a minute to re-wire my brain and realize the picture was of our very own Aparna Sen, in her teens!
The photo did not mention her name anywhere. The connection seemed so unlikely that I felt compelled to investigate further. I went up to the two ladies in the Museum Information Desk to find out how our very own Aparna Sen's photo found its way in to a tribal culture showcase in the middle of Pacific Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. The old lady was actually quite pleased with my question, and explained that Brian Blake (1927-1988) was New Zealand's most celebrated photographer. His entire collection of photographs is now housed at the Te Papa Museum. As an international photojournalist, he photographed for picture magazines such as Life, National Geographic and Paris Match. He traveled extensively around the world, and his most famous work was on the monsoon rains in India in 1960. This essay yielded the widely reproduced Monsoon girl photograph. He actually clicked the photo of 14-year Aparna Sen! I later learnt from Google that this was when she was filming for Satyajit Ray’s Samapti (in another version, the photo shoot was in the roof of her house). Blake found interest in other subjects in India too, including Kashmir in 1957; the Russian-managed construction of a steel mill at Durgapur in 1958; the 1959 flight of the Dalai Lama from Tibet; the Indian film industry in 1961; the legacy of the English in India in 1962; and the 1963 wedding of American socialite Hope Cooke to the crown prince of Sikkim.The conversation moved from Brian Blake to the striking similarity of Maori art, craft and way of ilfe with the tribal communities in India. Indeed, the harmonious existence with nature, the worship of the nature's forces and sustainable livelihood practices are so similar in all the aboriginal communities, you cannot but believe that world was probably far more globalized in the pre-historic times than it is now! I have seen art, implements, handicrafts and daily use materials in the National Museum of American Indian in Washington DC which looks so similar to that of our North-East India tribal communities. The Maori collection in Te Papa confirmed the same hypothesis. When I mentioned this, the young lady named Lisa Rewati, a Maori herself, joined the conversation and emphatically agreed to my point of view. She told me about the three principles mentioned above which Maori's believe. Lisa and her elderly colleague expressed keen interest in India- our diversity of culture, our social values, our tourist locations and our art. They handed me a bagful of high-quality printed brochures on the daily tours, multimedia show schedules, long-term exhibitions, creative hands-on activities for kids, upcoming discussions titled "Storyplace", other events in that month and picture postcards featuring 'ponamu"- the revered greenstone of South Islands of New Zealand.
The Te Papa Museum's collection spans five areas: Art, History, Pacific, Māori, and Natural Environment. The Māori name of the Museum, 'Te Papa Tongarewa', literally means ‘container of treasures'. Visitors are able to interact with a large satellite map of New Zealand laid out on the floor. The Pacific Collection within the History section has about 13,000 historic and contemporary items from the Pacific Islands. The Natural History section has the world's largest specimen of the rare colossal squid- 500 kgs and 33-foot (10 m) long. The squid arrived at the museum in March 2007 after being captured by New Zealand fisherman in the Ross Sea off Antarctica.
Among the different exhibits in the Maori section, it was interesting to see the centrality and reverence to a variety of jade or greenstone, locally called "Pounamu". Pounamu plays a very important role in Māori culture. It is considered a taonga (treasure). Tools, ornaments and weapons are made from it. These were believed to have their own "mana", were handed down as valued heirlooms and were often given as gifts to seal important agreements. The stone is found only in the South Island of New Zealand, known in Māori as Te Wai Pounamu ("The [land of] Greenstone Water") or Te Wahi Pounamu ("The Place of Greenstone"). [edit] Modern usePounamu jewellery is popular among New Zealanders and is often presented as gifts to visitors.
The Museum building is on the waterfront in Wellington, on Cable Street. Inside the building are six storeys of exhibitions, cafés and gift shops dedicated to New Zealand's culture and environment. Earthquake strengthening was achieved through the New Zealand-developed technology of base isolation- essentially seating the entire building on supports made from lead, steel and rubber that slow down the effect of an earthquake. The 36,000 square metre building had cost NZ$300 million by its opening in 1998. It was amazing to see how much effort, imagination and passion was involved in creating the museum, with a relatively small diversity of collection compared to us. When shall we gift ourselves such a innovative, interactive and visitor-focussed museum experience? "The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind."
