Waka Kuaka

Imprint & Guidelines for Authors

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Waka Kuaka | The Journal of the Polynesian Society, December 2024, Vol. 133, Issue no.4

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Publications received: September to December 2024

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sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023

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The Convert

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Katūīvei: Contemporary Pasifika Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Islands and Cultures: How Pacific Islands Provide Paths toward Sustainability

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Scientific aspects of Hāpaiali‘i heiau

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A heiau is a Hawaiian pre-Christian place of worship composed of rocks and holding historical and cultural significance, with a variety of uses ranging from worship to rituals. The scientific origins of Hawaiian heiau have yet to be fully inspected in the literature. This paper covers Hāpaialiʻi heiau on the island of Hawai‘i and its main function as a seasonal calendar through continuous observation of the sunrise and sunset locations over the sea horizon. Understanding the calendar functionality of the heiau contributes an essential step towards understanding Hawaiians’ use of indigenous science. This study mathematically investigates the sacred structure’s functionality with numerical accuracy and scientific rigour. A brief overview of the history of the Kahaluʻu area and the surrounding heiau provides important context for the heiau’s significance. This study reports and analyses the heiau’s relevant history, cultural significance and reconstruction by Kamehameha Schools. The importance of the calendar lies in the determination of the responsibilities for the current season, indicating which crops are to be harvested and which fish are in the mating season. In the mathematical analysis, the coordinates of the stones within the heiau are independently measured using Google Earth and Google Maps. The relative distances and angles between the internal stones are calculated using Google Sheets and Matlab to discover the underlying sciences possibly used by ancient native Hawaiians.

A rediscovered taurapa from Thomas Kendall’s 1823 Marianna consignment of whakairo rākau (Māori wood carvings).

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The last unaccounted-for whakairo rākau (Māori wood carving) from an 1823 consignment of eight sent to London from the Bay of Islands by the missionary Thomas Kendall has now been located in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The rediscovery of this taurapa (sternpost) from a waka taua (war canoe) completes research undertaken to establish the whereabouts of the consignment. The taurapa’s identification also sheds new light on the role of Tungaroa, a high-born woman from Rangihoua, as the probable interpreter of the whakairo rākau for Kendall.

The evolution of kaitiakitanga in the 1980s: From the Manukau Harbour claim to the Resource Management Act 1991

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The term kaitiakitanga, describing Māori customs of care for the natural world and other taonga (treasured entities), has become a cornerstone of environmental discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its prominence in public policy can be traced to the 1980s, particularly through the leadership of Nganeko Minhinnick and Te Puuaha ki Manuka, a collective of Tainui hapū (kinship communities) connected to the Waikato River and Manukau Harbour. During this period, Nganeko Minhinnick advanced the Manukau Harbour claim before the Waitangi Tribunal, invoking kaitiakitanga as a central principle. At its core, the claim sought the restoration of Māori authority to exercise their traditional rights and responsibilities over the harbour. Claimants drew strategic parallels between kaitiakitanga and the existing institution of Lake Guardians, environmental advisory bodies tasked with protecting several of Aotearoa’s lakes. The Waitangi Tribunal subsequently recommended the establishment of a similar institution, the Kaitiaki o Manuka, to serve as Māori Guardians. While bureaucrats immediately embraced the idea, archival evidence shows that claimants quickly distanced themselves from it. They recognised that the transplantation of a Western advisory model into a Māori context undermined their broader aspirations for the substantive return of authority. This article examines the evolution of kaitiakitanga, from its emergence in the tireless leadership and work of Nganeko Minhinnick to its entry into resource management legislation in the 1980s, highlighting the challenges Māori have faced—and continue to face—in ensuring their concepts of environmental use and care are returned to prominence in Aotearoa.