#mākutu

[stellarembers]

natm oc drawing; solstice and the mere ngākau

a/n: RAHHH MĀORI REP AND LORE FOR ANOTHER CURSED ARTIFACT BECAUSE NATM NEEDS MORE ARTIFACTS BESIDE THE TABLET

Mere ngākau ; A powerful artifact made by jadestone, carved and shaped to represent an enlarged tear drop.

the 'mere' was a weapon created by the māori people in use for battle. It is specifically cared from jadestone or as the māori people call it 'pounamu'.

the meaning of the name 'mere ngakau'.

'Mere' (noun) describes the physical appearance of the weapon; bulbous, broad-bladed and flat.

'ngākau' is the māori word for 'heart'. The purpose of this artifact is to restart the heart and bring the user back to life.

origins of this artifact: year 1401.

practitioners of mākutu (witchcraft) have obtained the jadestone from the south islands of aotearoa. They forged it from the deepest waterfalls and shaped it to their liking; this weapon and use it against enemies or invaders.

It is said that whoever wields the weapon is granted strength, vitality, fast healing factor, regeneration and immortality.

The artifact was last owned by a chief named 'Tamanuiterā aroākapa', whom is the ancestor of Solstice manawātu.

This weapon is able to save Solstice from critical fates or an untimely curse.

[whitewaterpaper]

[film] Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses (2015)  [NZ]

¡Oi! Spoilers, stavfel och alternativa fakta kan förekomma rakt föröver!

INLEDNING. | David Stubbs står för både regi och manus i den här dokumentären om ett exorcism-fall på Nya Zeeland 2007.

HANDLING. | Janet Moses har nyligen förlorat sin farmor, har insett att hennes pojkvän varit otrogen och lider antagligen av någon form av psykisk ohälsa. När hon till synes har problem med att hantera all smärta i hennes liv kliver hennes familj in och försöker hjälpa henne... Efter en fem dagar lång exorcism* ligger hon död på golvet efter att ha tvingats dricka så mycket vatten så hon bokstavligen drunknar...

KARAKTÄRER. | Kura Forrester är det som får uppdraget att ge liv åt en kvinna som inte längre finns med oss. Och hennes porträtt är tämligen grundläggande: en vanlig tjej som gått in i väggen. Hårt. det i kombination med att hon antagligen led av en någon form av mental ohälsa skall visa sig fatal. Och runt henne släktingar som i någon form av religiös/spirituell frenesi tappar allt vett och sans i jakten på de demoner som jagar henne. Genom de dramatiserade intervjuerna lär vi känna personer som kanske fortfarande inte förstår, och genomgående i filmen har vi känslan av att några av karaktärerna gräver sin egen grav.

SAMHÄLLE. | Det är inspelad i Wainuiomata (en förort till Wellington) där den ursprungliga historien utspelar sig. Det ger en bild av människor som lever bra men som kanske inte tillhör de rika och berömda. Till stora delar utspelar den sig i ett och samma hus och rum, vilket bridrar till att man förnimmer en tilldragande klaustrofobisk känsla. Världen utanför upphör en smula att existera, kvar finns bara den ondska som cirkulerar historien.

FORM. | Det är en udda känsla av att vara fiktion och fakta på en och samma gång. Här och där får vi se äkta arkivbilder men jag har en känsla av att det mesta är dramatiserat för filmen. Kanske är det därför som filmen är så obehaglig, det här är inte en historia där man leker med vad som kan och inte kan ha hänt, det är en berättelse om vad som sägs faktiskt skedde.

KOMPOSITION. | Till stora delar får vi lära känna historien kronologiskt genom ögonen på dem som senare skall dömas för dråp. Och eftersom Janet själv inte överlevde för att berätta sin sida av historien så kommer hon heller inte till tals. Men genom en 14årig kvinnlig släkting till Janet (som anklagades att vara utsatt för samma förbannelse) ser vi bilden av en liten grupp människor som uppiskade av sin hysteri knappt lyssnar när de ceremoniellt häller allt mer vatten på offren.

BUDSKAP. | Den här filmen visar att det öde som Anneliese Michel mötte 1976 inte på något vis är något det moderna samhället är immun emot. Unikt med den här historien är dock kanske att ingen riktigt vet vart idén om att Janet Moses var besatt av något kom i från, ingen av familjemedlemmarna hade någon insyn heller hur en ritual egentligen skall gå till. Man improviserade sig helt enkelt fram och när Janet ligger död fortsätter man helt sonika med den 14åringen. Huvudbudskapet, vad grupptryck och okunskap gör med människor (och framför allt vad det kan få människor att göra mot andra människor) är talande.

DISKUSSION & OMDÖME. | Det är svårt att inte bli berörd av den här filmen vars styrka givetvis ligger i dess verklighetsbakgrund. Den här filmen dediceras till Janet Moses och vill gärna berätta hennes historia så den inte glöms så kanske att man gärna fått beröra ämnet mental ohälsa lite mer. Visst kan det vara farligt att spekulera i vad som egentligen pågick i Janets liv och huvud, när hon själv inte finns här och kan bringa reda i saken, men en eller ett par teorier i kontrast till släktingarnas påhitt hade varit intressant. Liksom Anneliese Michel är Janet Moses ett livsöde som är lika intressant som tragiskt. En både bra och intressant film som väcker obehag och sympati på en och samma gång.

*) Med exorcism menas här den maoriska varianten “mākutu lifting”

Vill man veta mer om fallet finns lite information och artiklar på Wikipedia.

[frogeyedape]

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018733149/dr-nepia-mahuika-explains-makutu-and-its-history

More reading to follow!

[pasifika-langblr]

Magic and Fantasy

Taniwha ~ Monster

No ao kē ~ Alien 👾

Waka no iwi kē ~ UFO 🛸

Tangata ngongo toto ~ Vampire 🧛🏼‍♂️

Wahine mākutu ~ Witch 🧙🏼‍♀️

Ruānuku ~ Wizard 🧙🏼‍♂️

Tīni ~ Genie 🧞‍♂️

Taniwha tūpāpaku ~ Zombie 🧟‍♂️

Patupaiarehe ~ Fairy 🧚🏼‍♂️

Puruma ~ Broom

Whito ~ Dwarf

Haira ~ Scythe

Kēhua ~ Ghost 👻

Tarākona ~ Dragon 🐲

Tangata mahi atua ~ Magician

Matire mahi atua ~ Magic Wand

Ka rongo ahau ~ I hear

[Posted on 03.11.2019]

[blake-henley-blog]

What happened to your dad?

My Dad was a firefighter, a chief. One night he got home from work and he felt sick, like a pain in his stomach, he didn’t know why. My mum took him to the hospital but they sent him home right away, said he had indigestion or something like that, it would pass, I guess they said. Nana didn’t think he was sick, she said he had a Mākutu, a curse. The night before there was a house fire and in this house were two wood carvings of lions but only one of them was saved. Nana said that the lion was angry because the two carvings had been together for centuries and now they were apart, so it put a curse on him, my Dad. He died that night, late when I was sleeping. His heart stopped. The doctors couldn’t explain what happened, said he was stressed but they didn’t know him, he was tough. I think they knew they shouldn’t have sent him home so fast.

[note-a-bear]

Take a minute to watch Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses. It's a well done (from what I can glean of critical reception plus my own take) docu-drama focusing on the events around the "exorcism" of a Maori woman by her family.

Kinda importantly, there's some pretty sharpish discussion about the tension between contemporary, post Christianization, Maori life and understanding of traditional concepts and how that played into the events leading to the young woman's death during the attempt at lifting the mākutu affecting her.

By far the best documentary, and most compelling drama, on exorcism I've seen in ages

[grantthacreator]

Wairua

1. (noun) spirit, soul - spirit of a person which exists beyond death. It is the non-physical spirit, distinct from the body and the mauri. To some, the wairua resides in the heart or mind of someone while others believe it is part of the whole person and is not located at any particular part of the body. The wairua begins its existence when the eyes form in the foetus and is immortal. While alive a person's wairua can be affected by mākutu through karakia. Tohunga can damage wairua and also protect the wairua against harm. The wairua of a miscarriage or abortion can become a type of guardian for the family or may be used by tohunga for less beneficial purposes. Some believe that all animate and inanimate things have a whakapapa and a wairua. Some believe that atua Māori, or Io-matua-kore, can instill wairua into something. Tohunga, the agents of the atua, are able to activate or instil a wairua into something, such as a new wharenui, through karakia. During life, the wairua may leave the body for brief periods during dreams. The wairua has the power to warn the individual of impending danger through visions and dreams. On death the wairua becomes tapu. It is believed to remain with or near the body and speeches are addressed to the person and the wairua of that person encouraging it on its way to Te Pō. Eventually the wairua departs to join other wairua in Te Pō, the world of the departed spirits, or to Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland. The spirit travels to Te Reinga where it descends to Te Pō. Wairua of the dead that linger on earth are called kēhua. During kawe mate, or hari mate, hura kōhatu and other important occasions the wairua is summoned to return to the marae.

Haere rā i a koe ka kōpikopiko atu ki Te Hono-i-wairua, ki te kāpunipunitanga o te wairua (TTR 1998:37). / We farewell you as you wend your way to the Gathering Place of Spirits, the meeting place of departed souls.                                                                                     Te tinana, te hinengaro, me te wairua ēnei e toru, te mea nui o ēnei ko te wairua Te tinana, te hinengaro, me te wairua ēnei e toru, te mea nui o ēnei ko te wairua. Te tinana: he anga kau nō te wairua. Te hinengaro: he kaiwhakaatu ki te ao he pēnei nā te wairua kei roto i te tangata. / Of these three things, the body, the mind and the spirit, the most important is the spirit. The body is the vehicle for the spirit. The mind shows the world what the spirit of the person is like.

2. (noun) attitude, quintessence, feel, mood, feeling, nature, essence, atmosphere.

Ko te wairua o te kōrero, kia Māori mai / The feel of the language should be Māori.

[poemsbyah]

The Pain of Six, Remains

My mother says it’s in the walls. You can almost hear the shouting emanating from torn green wallpaper, almost see the memories of blood on the linocut floor — trauma that hangs heavy in the air. This state house was blessed once, but twenty six long years have passed and I wonder whether this is something we should have kept up, because something dark latches onto my heart every time I walk through the front door.

It wouldn’t be hard to envision evil being drawn in by the cries of children at night; towards arguments that spill from room to room that end in fists or slammed doors, no one but us knowing what goes on behind them. Black mould seeps from the corners of this home and it’s easy to imagine that something else might be living here.

I know, it sounds silly. I thought so too. But I only have to cast my mind back years, even months; to times where the unexplained has happened and has left me more terrified than I have ever been — knocks on the wall, footsteps in the hall, and a force on the other side of a door that my six-foot tall built-like-a-brick brother could barely hold back. Seven years and I’ve lost count of how many illnesses plague my family; too much bad luck to be a coincidence. My father goes quiet when I mention mākutu.

You wouldn’t think the small white house at the end of the cul-de-sac would be one full of ghosts, because who really believes in those nowadays? I know I never used to. Despite a prayer every night before dinner. Despite my father’s superstitions, and my mother’s holistic approach. Despite being brought up in a household that encouraged belief of all kinds, I never used to believe.

But now when I walk through my family home the energy feels hostile, and I’m not talking about my parents constantly at each other’s throats, I’m talking about walking down the hall and feeling like I’m being suffocated by the very air around me. I’m talking about tangible darkness. I’m talking about vicious trauma. I’m talking about the possibility of something else. Something drawn in by negative emotions so powerful and potent they could open gateways — I know how it sounds.

I’ve given up looking for people who will believe me. The unfortunate has become our expected. We say with straight faces that a death in our family wouldn’t surprise us. Not now. Not after all we’ve been through. All this belief and it’s left my mother feeling powerless, and my father too afraid to step on his mother’s toes. My sister, the Empath, and my brother plagued with nightmares, and me, finally open to ideas beyond seeing is believing but still, seeing is believing.

My mother says it’s in the walls. In eight years the house will be torn down and maybe in that time it will be cleansed but until then, the pain of six, remains.

[pasifika-langblr]

Magic and Fantasy Pt. 2

Kiri hanareka ~ Jester

Tipua kaitā ~ Giant

Tangata wūruhi ~ Werewolf

Tuatangata ~ Hero

Tuawahine ~ Heroine

Hoariri ~ Villain

Mākutu ~ Curse

Pukapuka pakiwaitara ~ Storybook

Tangata hoiho ~ Centaur

Taniwha karu tahi ~ Cyclops

Taniwha huruhuru ~ Yeti

Tipua kino ~ Demon

Anahera ~ Angel

Pēkahi ~ Pegasus

Kakahu haumaru ~ Armour

Pātaro miharo ~ Magic Lamp

Related Phrases

Ka whakaora ahau ~ I rescue

Ka patu ahau ~ I defeat

[Posted on 03.21.2019]