Ko Rangitoto, Ko Waitematā: Cultural Landmarks for the Integration of a Māori Indigenous Psychotherapy in Aotearoa

Rangitoto is one of many small islands within the Hauraki Gulf which sits at the entrance to the Waitematā harbour. Rangitoto was formed through a series of seismic eruptions approximately 600 years ago when liquid lava cooled, quickly forming a naturally occurring volcanic glass known as obsidian. Set between the layers of volcanic ash are human footprints bearing testament that local Māori of that time witnessed the formation of Rangitoto. Waitematā is one of two harbours surrounding Tamaki Makaurau covering 70 square miles of water, spreading out into the Hauraki Gulf before opening out to the mighty Pacific Ocean. Since the first settlement in the 13th century (Irwin & Walrond, 2012), Waitematā has been a navigator’s haven providing deep channels, slow currents and a safe tidal range where the many residents of Tamaki Makaurau and visitors from afar have enjoyed and admired the beauty of both Rangitoto and the Waitematā. Rangi toto refers to the luminous blood-like sky created by the volcanic eruption. Wai te matā refers to the dark sparkling waters created by the reflective glass like obsidian (McLintock, 1966). In this article, I draw upon Rangitoto and Waitematā as natural and cultural landmarks for the integration and application of a Māori whakapapa construct in clinical and therapeutic practice. Appropriately, Rangitoto and Waitematā together provide a silhouette of both figure and ground for a Māori indigenous psychotherapy approach and a construct for developing cultural competence in Aotearoa New Zealand. In doing so, I discuss firstly, the importance of understanding whakapapa as a social and whānau systems construct; secondly, the relevance of understanding and integrating Māori methods in the practice of psychotherapy; and thirdly, Pūrākau, an indigenous Māori storytelling approach, which is relevant in the therapeutic setting. Waitara Ko Rangitoto tētahi o ngā moutere ririki maha kei te whanga o Hauraki ā, e noho nei i te wahapū o te Waitematā. I ahua ake a Rangitoto mai i ngā rū o te whenua e ono rau tau nei pea ki muri, arā nō te mātaohanga o te puia ko tōna otinga ko te tūhua. Kei waenga o ngā paparanga puia he tapuwae tangata, te whakaaturanga o te kiteatangahia e te kanohi Māori te ahunga ake o Rangitoto. Ko Waitematā tētahi o ngā whanga e rua e tāwharau ana i a Tāmaki Makaurua. E whitu tekau pūtakerua maero te takotoranga wai tere atu ki Hauraki i mua i te rerenga atu ki te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa. Mai i te nohoanga tuatahi i te rautau tekau mā wha, he wāhi ruruhau mō ngā kaiwhakatere waka na ana taiawa hōhonu, taiawa āta rere, ā, he tai haumaru. He wāhi kaingākauhia e te marea noho i reira, e ngā manuhiri o tawhiti, whakamīharo atu hoki ki te ātaahua o Rangitoto rāua tahi ko Waitematā. He tohu te ingoa Rangi-toto ki te pīataatanga rite ki te toto o te rangi i te pahūtanga o te puia. Ko Wai-te-matā, e whakapā ana ki ngā wai pīataata mai i te ātanga o te tūhua. I roto i tēnei tuhinga, ka huri au ki a Rangitoto rāua ko Waitematā hei maunga hei awa whakapapa whakauru whakahāngai i te whakapapa Māori ki ērā o ngā āhuatanga whakapāatukingāmahihaumanu. HetikatonukiatūmaiaRangitotorāuakoWaitematā hei whakaratonga āhua hanga, pouhere hoki mō te ara hai whakaora hinengaro Māori, ā, me tētahi hua whakahiato mātauranga ahurea i Aotearoa. Koia nei, ka whakaara ahau, tuatahi i te take nui me mātatau ko te whakapapa hei hanga pūnaha hāpori whānau hoki; tuarua, te pānga o te mātauranga ki te whakaurunga o te momo mahi a te Māori ki te mahi a te kaiwhakaora hinengaro; ā, tuatoru te Pūrākau, te ara kōrero paki a te Māori e hāngai nei ki te horanga haumanu