Stories of taniwha could be early record of tsunami on Marlborough coast
Wednesday, 14 December 2022
New artworks have woven together modern science and Māori purākau - stories passed down through generations - including about terrifying taniwha that may have been records of tsunami.
The metal carvings in the lobby at Rangitāne House in Blenheim have been created to represent samples from the earth that scientifically verify kōrero tuku iho, stories passed down verbally by pre-European residents, about life on the Wairau coast.
Niwa pulled the long, narrow samples from the ground at Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe, the site of the earliest evidence of human settlement, near Blenheim. Deposits in the samples show evidence of tsunami washing over the hinterlands at least three times over the last 2000 years.
The evidence was not too surprising for Te Rūnanga a Rangitāne o Wairau, whose discussion with Niwa in 2013 sparked the research. They explained that the area’s seismic risk featured in one of the iwi’s pūrākau stories about the coast – and specifically, about a taniwha.
**READ MORE:
* 13% of Government health care facilities deemed earthquake prone
* Why mussels might just be the next new superfood
* Scientists close to fusion breakthrough in quest to create zero-carbon power
**
Taniwha were said to be powerful water spirits that often acted as kaitiaki or guardians of te taiao, the natural world, but they could also be dangerous towards humans.
While it was impossible to know how old exactly the pūrākau about the taniwha at Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe was, Pākehā journalist Arthur Hugh Carrington was the first person to write down the kōrero tuku iho, or stories passed down, in 1934.
“No matter how big a party of travellers might be, even a couple of hundred, if the taniwha noticed them, it would catch and eat them. Waiting until the party was halfway along the spit, the taniwha would dive out from its cave into the sea, and then approach the spit with such force that the sea mounted in front of it like a tidal wave, sweeping the party into the lagoon behind where they were drowned, and the taniwha could feed on the bodies at its leisure.”
European writers often drew on the knowledge of experts in Māori traditional lore in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Carrington’s work was largely informed by Hariata Whakatau Beaton Morel (Ngāti Kuri, Kaikōura) as well as Riki Te Mairaki Taiaroa (Ngāi te Ruahikihiki, Taumutu) and Peter Hohua MacDonald (Rangitāne, Wairau).
Niwa regional manager Dr Darren Ngaru King (Ngāti Raukawa) said more than 70 years after Carrington’s work, the story reappeared in geoachaeologist Dr Bruce McFadgen’s book Hostile Shores, in which he suggested the story could be a record of tsunami inundations prior to the arrival of Europeans.
That led Māori researchers from Niwa to meet with rūnanga members, whose recollections and reflections caused researchers to describe the story as a “seismic tradition”.
Their study found a layer of preserved marine sands, with marine diatoms, or single celled algae, providing evidence of tsunami, the most recent following the rupture of the Wairarapa Fault in 1855.
Radiocarbon dating showed one earthquake-generated tsunami happened about 800 or 900 years ago, close to the date of the earliest settlement of Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe.
King said the science gave new meaning to kōrero tuku iho, often viewed only as stories of historical significance, but now seen through a new lens “from inside the whare looking out”.
“We consider the pūrākau from Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe to be a powerful medium to demonstrate precedents and stimulate community understanding and acceptance of co-seismic tsunami risks. We also consider it highlights responsibilities that we have to uphold our histories for past, present, and future generations.”
Then came the idea to visually depict the findings in a celebration of mātauranga Māori.
The idea fit neatly within the criteria for the inaugural Ākina Te Tū – Kaupapa Māori Research Fund, which funded science projects applying Māori knowledge to natural hazards, as part of Resilience to Nature’s Challenges/ Kia manawaroa - Ngā Ākina o Te Ao Tūroa, one of the 11 government-funded National Science Challenges.
Exhibition curator and award-winning artist Israel Tangaroa Birch (Ngā Puhi, Ngāi Tawake, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka) drew on his speciality in shaping and etching stainless steel, to create a series of works inspired by the diatom samples. Some of the patterns were taken from tukutuku panels at Omaka Marae.
Birch said he saw his role as “bridging the space between science and the research that Niwa has conducted, and mātauranga Māori specific to the Wairau Bar”.
The exhibition was named Te Pohewatanga o te Kōrero Tuku Iho Mā Ngā Toi me te Pūtaiao - Reimagining Kōrero Tuku Iho through Art and Science, and opened to the public earlier this month.
Rangitāne o Wairau kaiwhakaere matua (general manager) Corey Hebberd (Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka a Māui) said the exhibition would be displayed in the lobby of Rangitāne House for the coming year.
“This latest project is a continuation of work by Rangitāne to showcase the rich history and kōrero tuku iho of our unique region. As tangata whenua, Rangitāne is proud to showcase our region, to tell our stories and to inspire learnings from our past,” Hebberd said.
“The opportunity to partner with Niwa in the delivery of this project and these artworks has enabled us to record our history in a new way – by bringing the kōrero to life through the scientific findings.”
Rangitāne trustee Dr Peter Meihana (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāi Tahu) said the exhibition was another contribution to the iwi’s whare kōrero. The iwi had been involved with many research and cultural projects over the past 20-odd years.
“This exhibition takes pūrākau, toi Māori, and pūtaiao in new directions. It is inspired by and builds on the work of past generations while creating space in which new knowledge can form and new narratives can emerge,” Meihana said.
“It provides insights into the ways in which our ancestors understood the world around them and their place in it.”