I decided to title this post “evolution” because this rock painting in its short lifespan has evolved into something different than what I originally thought was going to be the finish! So beneath the white paint is a totally different design! But thinking about this for my rocks and how they evolve and change over time has prompted me to write about whats been on my mind today! Evolution – what does this mean?

I’m still unsure about what my stance is on evolution, I don’t fully understand it either but I will probably contradict everything I say by the end of this post! Perhaps my whakaaro, my thoughts are still evolving!

But I wonder about our culture for example and how we’ve evolved over the years although we still hold strong to our tikanga, our values (or do we?) but is there a time when these change also? And does holding on to the things that we identify as being Maori actually stop us from progressing forward or does being strong in our tikanga actually help us to evolve? Its a bit of a different head space for me being analytical about all this but it has been very strong in my thoughts today!
And what of colonisation? Has colonisation affected how we as a people have evolved? And if reclaiming who we are as Maori can provide us with a positive pathway forward, is this evolution? I’ve heard many views from Maori and non-Maori about what evolution means to them and it’s probably a baited question for a lot of people but I’m open to hear what people think!
So these are not answers, just questions that I’ve had floating around in my head today! Its kind of random I know, but hey – I’m random sometimes!
Arohanui,
Jo x
PS – Te Arawa e iiiiii e! Te Arawa e iiiiii e! Ko te whakaariki, ko te whakaariki, aaaa tukua mai kia piri tukua mai kia tata kia eke mai ki runga ki te paepae poto a Houmaitawhiti…Te Matarae – ka nui taku mihi kia koutou!!! Otira ki koutou i tu kaha i runga atamira. Kua puawai a Ngai Maori i nga rangi nei!! A big mihi to my Te Arawa iwi, to Te Matarae for their massive performance and to all of us as Maori who celebrated many many positive things about being Maori over the last few days!!