#maori myths

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest spirits and natives (2)

Patupaiarehe – Night spirits of the Maori people of New Zealand. Dwell in the darkness deep in the forest.

Patupaiarehe are legendary humanoid cryptids native to New Zealand that hide in forests and are said to have the power to induce a trance and to lure people away. They are supernatural beings (he iwi atua) in Māori mythology that are described as pale to fair skinned with blonde hair or red hair, usually having the same stature as ordinary people, and never tattooed.

They can draw mist to themselves, but tend to be nocturnal or active on misty or foggy days as direct sunlight can be fatal to them. They prefer raw food and have an aversion to steam and fire.

The music of their kōauau and pūtōrino (small flutes), along with their singing of waiata, which songs are sung solo, in unison, or at the octave, occasionally reveals their presence on foggy days. A kōauau is a small flute, ductless and notchless, four to eight inches (ten to twenty centimetres) long, open at both ends and having from three to six fingerholes placed along the pipe.

They could lure people away from safety with the music of their flutes, and had magical powers and special knowledge. Some believe that red-haired Māori are their descendants. Patupaiarehe sometimes taught people magical chants and other skills. They were good at fishing, and one chief spied on them to learn how to make nets.

Patupaiarehe were seldom seen. They were thought to live in several places in the North Island, including in the Waikato, around Rotorua and in the Urewera mountains. They also lived in some places in the South Island.

kōauau sound demonstrations

��にまつわる伝説・神話

森の精霊たちと原住民 (2)

パトゥパイアレヘ 〜 森の奥の暗闇に棲んでいるニュージーランドのマオリ族に伝わる夜の精霊

パトゥパイアレヘは、ニュージーランドに生息する人型の生物で、森に潜み、トランス状態を引き起こし、人を誘い出す力があると言われている。彼らは、マオリ神話に登場する超自然的な存在 (ﾍ･ｲｳｨ･ｱﾄｩｱ) で、青白い美肌、金髪または赤毛、通常普通の人と同じ背丈で、タトゥーをしていることは無いとされる。

霧を引き寄せることができるが、直射日光が当たると命に関わるため、夜行性で、霧や霧のかかった日に活動する傾向がある。生ものを好み、蒸気や火を嫌う。

コワウアウとプートゥリーノ (小笛) の音楽と、ソロ、ユニゾン、オクターブで歌われるワイアタの歌は、霧の日に時々彼らの存在を明らかにすることができる。コアウアウは、長さ4～8インチ（10～20センチ）、両端が開き、パイプに沿って3～6個の指穴がある、ダクトもノッチもない小さな笛である。

彼らは笛の音で人々を安全な場所に誘い出し、不思議な力と特別な知識を持っていた。赤毛のマオリ族はその末裔であるという説もある。パトゥパイアレヘは時々、魔法の呪文やその他の技術を人々に教えた。彼らは漁が得意で、ある酋長は網の作り方を学ぶために彼らを見張った。

パトゥパイアレヘはめったに目撃されることはなかった。ワイカトを含む、北島、ロトルア周辺、ウレウェラ山脈など、いくつかの場所に生息していたと考えられている。また、南島のいくつかの場所にも住んでいたようだ。

コアウアウ・サウンド・デモンストレーション

[neon-angels-system]

reminder to self: post about maui in the morning

[alatismeni-theitsa]

In "KAOS" nothing is anything, and everything is wrong

Two disclaimers: I am no stranger to modern art, and I have no issue with queerness in shows, or in my own mythology (I'm Greek). I am also aware that KAOS is a comedy. It's in the gutter of British comedy, but still part of the genre. At least I laughed every time they said "Oh God!". I don't believe this is the same person who wrote the great and amusing "End of the F**king World"! The premise of "The gods in our modern world" appeals to me a lot, so that wasn't my problem either. My general issue with KAOS is its horrible delivery, bad writing, and piss-poor Greek representation.

This is gonna be long and full of stupid gifs, so sit comfortably, grab a coffee or some popcorn and... pame!

The "ILoveGreekMythology" Kid

Art without context is just a pretty thing to look at. Most of the time, this context can be found within the art piece itself, as the artist has taken care to weave it in. KAOS refuses to connect itself to any context besides the names and a few vague powers. It aims to exist outside of those "boring old stories of the Greek myth" and be entirely "fresh and modern". Something impossible when the entire show and the meanings are based on ancient recorded material. In other words, KAOS is so meta that it ends up being nothing. KAOS cannot stand on its own because you need more than the viewers being familiar with the Greek myth basics to pull such a show off.

KAOS tells us "See? I know all the names of the gods, and what they did, and I know all the locations, so I am qualified to tackle this". More or less like any Western kid who takes all their knowledge from PJO and Marvel and proceeds to unironically hate ancient deities and make a girlboss out of Medusa.

Here's a Greek word for you guys, ημιμάθεια, meaning "half-knowledge". Α Greek saying very well declares "Half-knowledge is worse than no knowledge". The confidence of thinking you know enough often leads you to grave mistakes whereas the humility of not knowing prevents you from touching shit that you shouldn't. When you have no idea what the original myth is trying to say and spit on its meaning, knowing a few names and locations is just smoke and mirrors. I don't believe the audience fell for that.

And don't get me started on the "subversions". A good subversion is intriguing and thought-provoking. In KAOS, every twist was hollow - Greek myth related or otherwise.

"What if Euridice doesn't love Orpheus?" I don't know, babe. What if??? What was the point of that? What did you show us? That women's stories are dominated by men and men don't listen to women, perhaps? And you chose to twist... the love story of Orpheus and Euridice to show this?? One of the best and most tragic love stories Greek mythology has to offer?? You just mocked the myth, you didn't make anything profound out of it.

The Greek Stuff (Nothing salvageable)

I was surprised to see they had a Consulting Producer (Georgia Christou) and an Assistant Script Editor (Isabella Yianni) who happen to be Greek. And I stress that because those people probably weren't hired or utilized for being Greek. We are not sure they were involved in cultural decisions because we have no evidence and because shows with no Greek elements can have more Greeks than that on their staff.

Okay, perhaps they took 5 seconds to ask Isabella about a greeting - which they proceeded to say in a wrong intonation 🙄🤌It's where Poseidon says "ya sás" in the Fates, by the way. How he said it sounds more like "for you (pl.)" than "health to you (pl.)".

Surprise! The only Greek actor present (Peter Polycarpou) has less than 5 minutes of screen time and plays the caricature of an immigrant with a thick (and inaccurate Greek) accent. He has a canteen, selling falafel which is not Greek, and Dionysus buys from him an unidentified tortilla wrap (which... is also not Greek, if you haven't caught up).

For the show they brought in actors of Maori, Nigerian and Sierra Leonean, Pakistani, Black American, Latvian-Jewish, Iranian, Egyptian, Indo-Fijian and Malay descent and you tell me it was impossible for them to seek and find an English-speaking, skilled actor of Greek descent in a show regarding Greek heritage. Sometimes I wonder, do y'all hate us so much?

They considered Greeks only to give us a simple (and wrong) greeting and a stereotype. Crumbs, we are supposed to be happy with. By the way, there are over 70.000 Greek immigrants just in the UK, usually in the urban centers, many of them students or fairly young employees in the corporate workforce. Not the largest minority but not hard to spot either.

Another plague of Anglophone shows: Almost everyone's Greek name is shortened. Yes, we know their full names but we are told that we will use the short ones. Greeks and their "long and difficult" names am I right fellas? Because saying "Ariadne" apparently requires 5 years of Greek language training, and no English word ever has more than two syllables.

Coincidentally, short names are cool in Anglophone imaginary universes and the "long" names are not. it's so strange Anglophones never make universes where it's cool for Greek names to be spoken in full hmmm... They don't even want to practice saying a whole Greek name for just 2 minutes in preparation for a show full of Greek names. And don't give me that "Greek is hard" shit when we only talk about a few syllables. If Greek kids can learn English since first grade and people here can sing English songs and spell English names, you have no excuse.

They also said the name "Fotis" means light, which is close enough but... ugh.. It's like saying Sebastian means "respect". I am not sure if they asked anyone or what their research was here. If I had the writers in front of me, I'd be like:

(This character from an all-time favorite Greek show is called Fotis)

They also made the flag of "Krete" an alteration of the Greek flag and the local Cretan flag. Which is the stupidest move, because they had to remove the religious symbol of the cross to make the flag fit the universe. These are flags created based on 1) Christianity 2) the Greek Revolution of 1821.

National Greek flag to the left, local Cretan flag to the right:

Flag of the KAOS' "Krete":

The only time they seriously took into account anything Greek, was the time when they decided to remove the religious symbol of our ethnoreligion AND (from what I could observe) keep the nine stripes?? The nine stripes of our national flag represent the syllables in "Freedom or Death". The colors are from the white foustanela of the mainland attire and the dark blue vraka of the island attire, the clothing of the Revolution fighters. (That's more of a meta explanation but the characteristics of the flag were decided during and nearly after the Revolution.)

I think I don't have to explain it more but it's not a homage to put the nine stripes in an ancient era where they have no meaning, and to replace a cross??? Let's... not replace religious symbols on national flags, okay? Thank you.

Another cultural element they changed was making everyone have a dedicated coin to pay Charon. Orpheus has Euridice's coin, "her coin", and he's meant to put it on her before she got buried. In Greek culture, any coin would do. Sorry that our culture restricts your script, dear writers. I guess you had to bend this too, in order to create a cohesive plot with a semblance of a twist.

Finally, the many "Kerberus" dogs were cute and I can understand the creative decision behind that. However, in a show full of inaccuracies, this made me roll my eyes a little. I think the showrunners know that Kerveros is not a breed of dog, and there can only be one of him because he doesn't have any other "Kerveros" to breed with. On the other hand, as demonstrated from art/writing on the internet, quite a lot of Westerners are not exactly aware of how our monsters work, so forgive my uncertainty 😅

Nothing is Anything

Every element KAOS played with ended up meaningless. In the words of a Lifo article:

“Zeus is a paranoid authoritarian dictator in mid-life crisis who fears losing his power and murders his aides to vent. Hera is a promiscuous goddess who repeatedly betrays Zeus and has mutilated mute priestesses for protection. Dionysos is a spoiled and immature zoomer who, apart from pranks, indulges in orgies with all genders. Poseidon a sadistic god of the sea, who tortures the crew on his ship for fun. Prometheus is gay and killed his lover so he could overthrow Zeus. Orpheus is a famous pop singer and Eurydice does not love him. Theseus is black and gay. The Erinyes are tough-as-nails mechs that look like they stepped out of ‘Sons of Anarchy’. The Fates resemble a three-member jury in a talent show. The Trojans are a terrorist group that acts against the gods. Crete is more reminiscent of California than the Mediterranean.”

The "River Styx" is a sea, the "River Lethe" is a lake, the gods are nothing more than spoiled humans, the Moirai are drag queens, the Cave is a club where you have to take a quiz to enter the underworld, and generally everything is modern, flat, mundane and anticlimactic. The producers aimed to achieve a work so meta that a "river" is now a concept, a metaphor, whatever you have in your heart. And those who want to see a river when we speak of a river are probably uncultured swines and don't understand postmodernism. Never mind that rivers are rivers in Greek mythology for a reason. That's not culturally interesting enough to explore compared to the new, cool approach of not assigning meaning to anything. That totally shows love for the original rich and meaningful material...

And the reason behind all this subversion? Probably the shock factor. They brought the characters to a point where they said "We have to save the world from Zeus" - Zeus! The father of gods, heroes and humans! - just because they could. It gives off a certain type of smugness that I personally don't like. I mean, I would like the smugness and cheekiness of KAOS if it wasn't a vapid and practically meaningless show. As nothing symbolizes anything anymore, we are just led from hollow plot point to hollow plot point.

If you cut it out of any cultural influence and see it as a story then it's... okay, I guess. But when you consider that it's meant to derive from certain material and it fails spectacularly, it's not a good story. It forgets its bases and doesn't play with the ancient elements at all. Disney's Hercules did it better, FFS!

Bad Writing (pt.1)

KAOS is not without recognizable themes but their demonstration is so juvenile and heavy-handed that it fails to influence a viewer of average intelligence. For instance, "Riddy" says to her religious mother "You dedicated your whole life to Hera, what about me?" Okay, KAOS, we get it. At the same time, this theme nulls itself because it turns out that Ridy's mother was right to do what she did, as she had a greater goal in mind. (And this, kiddos, is called Bad Writing, because your themes and scenes contradict each other)

The biggest theme I spotted was a criticism of religion and religious people who say "Do as I say, not as I do" and create exceptions for themselves. Only, it's not a criticism of anything real, in this case. It's a fact that some people in the clergy tend to preach peace and love and then they do harm, but we don't know, for example, that The Goddess of Marriage is a cheater and yet she pressures everyone into strict marriages. By focusing their wrath on divine beings who are not known for their hypocrisy, the creators missed the mark.

I can give KAOS props for how it handled Trojans to reflect real issues regarding how immigrants and war refugees are mistreated and blamed. I'd argue it was the only (nearly) well-done theme in the whole show because it had the least on-the-nose delivery and some genuine/serious scenes. But that's it.

More Bad Writing!

Jeff Goldblum's Zeus is shit. He'd crap his pants in an argument with a stern Greek dad/uncle his age. Is this character supposed to be intimidating? (Laughs in Mediterranean) That's not to say that Goldblum is not a good actor, but this role wasn't for him. The same can be said for the other actors, too. They are competent but they only give off the air of "The Greek gods if they lived in London, from the minds of people who think beards and body hair are an affliction". In addition to being misplaced, the actors cannot show their talent when following a script that resembles a children's book.

Why does THE GOD Dionysus have the maturity of a 15-year-old? I repeat, The God Dionysus. He's a freaking deity, and a very old one at that. He is not a teenager neither in appearance nor in experience. In our culture, he is mystical, mighty, wise. Why did they downgrade him so? Just for the plot? This is not Dionysus just because you named him so.

The dialogue rarely takes itself seriously to the point it has you wondering at times "Do people talk and behave like that?". In a comedy where everything is meant to be already extreme and parodied. Even in comedies, something must occasionally be serious so there is a healthy fluctuation in tone and the funny moments can hit you. In KAOS very few scenes treated their impactful dialogue as it should be treated.

The queerness and diversity (good elements, in general) were worse off for being in KAOS. Like, I want these elements to be there. I'm just sad about the whole situation. It's not enough that the show is shit, now you also give an additional reason for conservatives to shit on diverse and queer characters because they are part of a stupid narrative.

I'm the type of person who doesn't mind the queerness of Astyanax and Theseus being lovers in the context of this specific show but they're still the oddest pairing to me because they're from the most irrelevant myths and eras. Also, Astyanax in my mind is a baby who died tragically, for little reason if we are honest, so to bring him back and make him a love interest is... ekh.

In addition, isn't Astyanax supposed to be crippled after a fall from the city walls when he was a baby? Sorry to change subjects but the show is so convoluted and with so many issues that it's extremely difficult to stay on track with what's wrong.

To the person who thought this show was a good idea:

Whatever. Bye. I'm fucking done.

[indierpgnewsletter]

New Itch Games From August and September 2024

Earth Mother, Sky Father: A two-player game based on Maori creation myth exploring the relationship between the two deities, people, and the world. (takataapui)

Blackacre: A noir game based on Fate with British gangsters and occult magic. It features beautiful black and white line art and a unique-sounding world. (Symberzite)

Wacky Race RPG: A narrative party-game where you adlib as sportcasters and play out wacky Contestants trying to outdo each other. (DeReel)

Dwellers Under the High Grave: An Ironsworn setting inspired by the folklore and history of Ukraine. (Mendercap)

Band-Aids & Bullet Holes: A card-based game of debts, vendettas, and revenge among a society of professional assassins. Basically, John Wick. (S Dunnewold)

One Last Dollar: A hack of Trophy where you play desperate people doing jobs in a weird, wild Great Depression. (Mynar Lenahan)

The Song of Eastlake: A really interesting group project where every hex is a multiversal reworking of the same prompt. I love that each location has the same monsters by name but each time, they’ve been completely reimagined.

Hirelings: You play a hireling climbing a tall tower on behalf of a hero. You also build a tower out of cards and answer prompts. (Armiger Games)

With the Cult of Crimson Revelers: A light-hearted OSR adventure of debauchery and drugs with art by Mun Kao and Dwiz. (Directsun Games)

Abode 2e: A gothic game of family and lineage where you build out a family tree and tell a story of inevitable doom. You know, ruin has come to our family, that kind of stuff. (Crackerjackalope)

This first came out in the Indie RPG Newsletter

[ofmdrecaps]

07/16/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby: The Cryptid Factor / Gold Derby Nomination!; David Jenkins; Taika Waititi; Rita Ora; Samson Kayo; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Erroll Shand; Darby Family Foster Kittens; Galaxy Con Raleigh; Articles; WBD News; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika;

Hey lovelies-- just a quick note, thank you for all of your lovely notes in the tags and comments, and twitter <3 I don't get to respond to the tags especially, but I want you to know I do read them and they mean the world <3 Thank you so much!

== Rhys Darby ==

New Episode of The Cryptid Factor is released on Spotify-- 097 The Name Song Episode!

Source: Rhys Darby's Instagram Stories

Some very excellent news-- Rhys and OFMD have been officially nominated for the Gold Derbys! You can vote on them on the Gold Derby website! Thank you to @adoptourcrew for spreading the word!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter/ Gold Derby Twitter

== David Jenkins ==

Chaos Dad is sending our beloved Captain some good vibes for his Gold Derby Nomination! Get it slut!

Source: David Jenkins' Twitter

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika and Rita worked on a short film with & Carlo Van Der Roer that's truly mesmerizing, check it out below: "Toru, 2024 is a collaboration between New Zealand artists / filmmakers Taika Waititi and Carlo Van de Roer. A three channel video installation, inspired by the significance of Tokotoru, or Trinity, in Maori culture, the work weaves together themes of unity -- earth, sea, sky -- and references to mythology, including the Maori myth of Tane retrieving three baskets of knowledge -- the basket of light, the basket of darkness and the basket of pursuit. Each film operates as a different recollection or interpretation of the same performance and space. A filmmaking approach called PlateLight enables the same moment to be captured with different lighting conditions. This results in three versions of the same film, presenting a record of the past as photographically accurate, yet fluid and authorable like myth. Made with the love and magic of @stuetr@satellite_lab@mikeberlucchi@wearecasey@olivierwicki_la" - carlovanderor's Instagram

Source: carlovanderor's Instagram

More Taika and Rita being adorable together in Rome and making charms with each other.

Source: Paoline_Roma's Instagram

== Samson Kayo ==

Samson's been real busy lately-- Have you been watching House of the Dragon? You may catch him if you do! He was also kind enough to send a very kind Love Note everyone's way.

Source: Samson Kayo's Instagram

== Eroll Shand ==

More clips of Erroll in the new season of The Twelve!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BINGE (@binge)

Source: Binge Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan's excited for Galaxy Con Raleigh, hopefully the sunburn will calm down by then, poor guy.

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

Hey European Crew! Kristian will be joining the Proud Nerd: The Weekend of Fire & Ice on 28 & 29 September this year! They'll be at Castle Satzvey! For tickets, you can visit Weekend of Fire & Ice

Source: Proud Nerd Conventions

== Darby Family Foster Kittens ==

Rosie giving us more and more kitten content, have I mentioned she's my hero lately?

Source: Rosie Carnahan Darby's Instagram Stories

== Raleigh Galaxy Con ==

Reminder! July 25-28 is Raleigh Galaxy Con! Join Con, Nathan, Vico, and Kristian on Saturday and Sunday!

Source: Galaxy Con Raleigh Website

In addition -- some of your crewmates are hosting Calypso's Birthday, an OFMD Fan Meet-Up on Saturday July 27 from 7PM - 9PM at Ruby Deluxe! You can check out the venue at www.queerraleigh.com!

Source: @ leahbelle_'s Twitter

== Articles ==

Several articles today-- one with more info on the Gold Derby TV Award nominations, and the others related to WBD and the situation going on there. Thank you to @adoptourcrew for sharing so many helpful articles!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== WBD News ==

On top of the articles mentioned above, our fabulous crewmate Ashley, aka Seven_Sugars on Twitter give us a bit more context on what's going on.

Source: @ Seven_Sugars on Twitter

It also looks like there's more fuckerys planned for August 7th! Keep an eye out on @adoptourcrew's socials for more info!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! It's already Tuesday, and I sure hope you are staying cool as best you can (if you're in the hot part of the world-- and viceversa if you're not!) I wanted to bring up Samson's love note again,

"You deserve someone who is good for your mental health". It really is so true. When it comes to your partner, or your friends, your family, any people that you interact with on the daily-- you deserve people that are good for your mental health.

You don't have to be perfect to deserve it-- you don't even have to be in a good place mentally or physically, you just have to be you-- and you have always deserved it, since the day you were born. I hope if you already have those people, they stay in your life, and if you don't right now, you find those people that make you feel safe and healthy.

Rest well lovelies, drink some water and get some sleep <3 Some more love notes from TheLatestKate:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @thelatestkate

Source: TheLatestKate's Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is hot men wearing pink (or coral? They both seem pink to me.) Tonights gifs courtesy of the marvellous @fandomsmeantheworldtome and @mulder-isms!

[mucking-faori]

Feel like saying this- if you ever see anyone bring up Moriori people out of the blue in a discussion about co governance or colonial reparations; it should be a HUGE red flag. It's a favorite talking point of racists to "prove" that maori deserved to be colonized and aren't indigenous.

Moriori are from the exact same roots as maori people and arrived here the EXACT SAME FUCKING TIME AS THE MIGRATIONS. The moriori genocide myth has been disproven since NINETEEN SEVENTY SIX.

Yes, many moriori were killed and enslaved by some specific maori. This is and was terrible. But this happened DURING pakeha colonisation, not upon maori arrival to nz. And also pakeha (you know, the people this argument is meant to imply were ushering in a better society for all they were colonising) did nothing to help them despite repeated pleas and having promised to do so in earlier agreements.

They were not a pre-maori group that we killed to make way for ourselves. It is important to acknowledge moriori, and i'm not saying any acknowledgement of them at all is dangerous, but the fact that their history has been appropriated to serve the interests of people who hate moriori just as much as they hate maori, and almost definitely would not be able to distinguish the two, is disgusting.

[jasminewalkerauthor]

Deep dives into folklore: creation myths

Creation myths are narratives that attempt to explain the origins of the universe, humanity, and the natural world. They serve as the foundational stories of various cultures, reflecting their beliefs, values, and cosmological understandings. Despite originating from diverse civilizations across time and geography, creation myths often share striking similarities while also showcasing distinct cultural nuances. This essay delves into the universality and diversity of creation myths, examining their common themes, differences, and possible origins.

One of the remarkable features of creation myths is the recurrence of certain themes across cultures. The notion of a primordial chaos or void from which the world emerges is a prevalent motif. For instance, in the Babylonian Enuma Elish, the universe is born from the union of primordial deities Tiamat and Apsu, symbolizing chaos and fresh waters respectively. Similarly, in the Maori creation myth of New Zealand, the universe is conceived in the embrace of Rangi (the sky father) and Papa (the earth mother) from the primal darkness of Te Po.

Another common theme is the concept of a divine creator or creators who shape the cosmos. Whether it's the monotheistic God of Genesis fashioning the world in six days or the Hindu god Brahma emerging from the cosmic egg to initiate creation, the idea of a supreme being or beings bringing order to chaos permeates many myths.

Furthermore, the emergence of humanity often involves divine intervention or the manipulation of natural elements. In Greek mythology, Prometheus forms humans from clay, while in the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of Australia, ancestral beings shape the landscape and imbue it with sacred significance.

Despite these universal themes, creation myths exhibit immense diversity due to the unique cultural contexts in which they arise. Indigenous cultures, for example, often emphasize the intimate connection between humans and nature in their creation narratives. The Navajo creation story, for instance, speaks of the emergence of the Navajo people from the underworld through four different worlds, each characterized by distinct natural elements and spiritual challenges.

Similarly, African creation myths frequently incorporate animals as significant characters or ancestors. The Yoruba people of Nigeria, for example, believe in the primordial deity Oduduwa, who descends from the heavens on a chain and spreads sand over the waters to create the first land, symbolizing the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the earth.

In contrast, some creation myths from ancient civilizations place a greater emphasis on cosmic battles or conflicts among deities. The Norse creation myth, for instance, depicts the struggle between the gods and the primordial giants, resulting in the formation of the world from the body of the slain giant Ymir.

The origins of creation myths are deeply intertwined with the human propensity for storytelling, symbolism, and the quest for meaning. Many scholars suggest that these myths emerge as attempts to make sense of the world and to establish cultural identity and cohesion.

Moreover, creation myths often serve as cosmogonic or etiological narratives, explaining the origins of natural phenomena, societal structures, and moral codes. By providing explanations for the fundamental questions of existence, these myths offer a framework for understanding the universe and humanity's place within it.

Additionally, the transmission of creation myths through oral traditions allows for variations and adaptations over time, contributing to the diversity observed among different cultures. As societies evolve and encounter new experiences, their creation myths may undergo reinterpretation or syncretism with other belief systems, further enriching the tapestry of human cosmology.

Creation myths represent a rich tapestry of human imagination, reflecting both the universal quest for understanding and the diverse cultural expressions of this endeavor. Through the exploration of common themes and cultural variations, we gain insight into the shared human experience and the myriad ways in which different societies have grappled with the mysteries of existence. By studying creation myths, we not only uncover the origins of diverse belief systems but also deepen our appreciation for the profound complexity of human thought and creativity.

[to-end-all-wars]

Pōkarekare Ana is a well-known Maori folk song that had its origins in the First World War. Likely composed by members of the Maori Pioneer Battalion sometime during/after 1916.

The song depicts one of the most famous Maori Myths, the romantic tale of Hinemoa a noble woman (who in the version of the story i was raised on) swam 3.5 km across Lake Rotorua and battled a Taniwha to be with her beloved Tūtānekai, a man who dwelt on Mokoia Island.

The song has become a staple of New Zealand Culture, known widely among both Pakeha and Maori.

(With my favourite rendition sung by Prince Tui Teka)

Art by Emma Panting

[rising-above-stars]

aaaaa your reblog reminded me: i love kakapos so much that i did an entire presentation on them in high school but i didn't know about takahē until recently, are there any other cool new zealand animals that you like??

yo, that's so cool! And yes! I love all our birds but here are some favourites. This might end up as a long-ish post.

The first bird owns my entire heart but is unfortunately extinct, and that is the Huia. I was told about them because my aunt uses huia imagery a lot in her art and I did an art study on them. Traditionally, they were used a lot in Maori cultur such as their tail feathers held great significance as symbols of friendship and respect. They were also used as accessories. However, I believe they quickly became extinct after Europeans arrived due to deforestation and over-hunting. Owning part of a huia bird became a high fashionable demand (I could have this wrong), and female huia beaks were set in gold as broaches.

(Male huia in the front, female huia at the back)

Closely related to huia is the Kōkako. "In Māori myth, the kōkako filled its wattles with water and brought it to Maui as he fought the sun. Maui rewarded the bird by making its legs long and slender, enabling it to bound through the forest with ease." (Department of Conservation). I just think they're really neat.

Fantail (or pīwakawaka) aren't necessarily native but they're very common. I love them and they low-key remind me of fairies for reasons I can't quite explain.

Kākā and Kea are part of the same family. Kākā are large parrots and they're pretty neat and live more in forests, keas are little shits but super intelligent and are alpine birds. You often hear stories of keas picking at rubber seals on cars or windscreen wipers.

(L: Kākā R: Kea)

I cannot make a post about New Zealand animals without mentioning the kiwi. There are about 5 species, I think: Brown Kiwi, Great spotted kiwi/roroa, Little spotted kiwi, Rowi, and Tokoeka. When I was a kid, I needed to have music or something to fall asleep and one of the cassette tapes my parents used to play had a story called 'how the kiwi lost its wings'. To sum up, the Tāne (atua/got of forests and birds) asked the birds for volunteers to live on the forest floors to eat the bugs or something. The kiwi was the only one to volunteer after all the other birds refused. So Tāne shrunk the kiwis wings and made their beak longer.

(Image is of the little spotted kiwi)

Morepork/ruru! These are owls and they're super cool! Occasionally, I'll hear one or two at night. They're very common and one of the only birds on this list that isn't under immediate threat of extinction.

Pūkeko are swamphens. When I was a kid, I learnt about takahe before I learnt about Pūkeko, so when I first saw one I got excited and called it a takahe. But they're quite common, my siblings and I would make a game of counting how many Pūkekos we see on the way to/from our grandparents. As swamphens, they're usually wetland birds. But due to the loss of habitats, they've adapted to other environments such as paddocks and croplands. But they're primarily swamp birds.

I would see wax-eye/tauhou birds a lot in the back gardens. They're small olive green birds with a white ring around their eyes. Their name in te reo (tauhou) translates to 'stranger' or more literally, 'new arrival'.

Tūī are another favourite. These guys are honey eaters, typically eating from flowers. They're also songbirds and can mimic songs. They're quite common as well, and have a very distinctive call. You often hear them before you see them.

I think there's a limit of 10 photos so I can't add anymore but there's also the New Zealand Wood Pigeon, or Kererū. These guys are gorgeous too. They also mainly eat fruits and flowers. I don't know if this is correct, but I think I remember someone saying that these birds sometimes get drunk off of the fruits or flowers they eat. They were historically a major food source for Māori, and we're considered a taonga (treasure).

And I guess these count as birds since one species won the New Zealand Bird of the Year in 2021, but we have two species of bats! The long-tail bat and the short-tail bat.

Also Tuataras! According to the DoC (Department of Conservation) website, "Tuatara are a rare reptile found only in New Zealand. They are the last survivors of an order of reptiles that thrived in the age of the dinosaurs." I just think they're super neat.

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

hey, this isn't related to discourse, more to metal, do you have any good recs? i was kinda raised on older (now mainstream) bands and some spatterings of indie groups, but i'm always looking for new stuff to give a listen and you seem like you know some songs that'll blow my head off

I'm going to have to suggest the same few bands I always suggest because I'm OBSESSED.

Shepards Reign they're a Polynesian metal band and it's just amazing.

Fever 333 they're an all-black progressive rock band seen them live, would do it again. The lead singer goes all out..

Alien Weaponry. Two words. Maori Metal. It goes just as hard as you'd expect.

Bloodywood. An Indian Folk Metal band and I always listen to them when I need to be pumped up.

The Hu. I've seen them live and 10/10. Would again. Mongolian Folk Metal band. They often pair up with amazing singers to give English lyrics to their songs. And most of their song are from Mongolian myths and lore, so it goes every bit as hard as Mongolian music has the right to be.

Body Count. Come on, Ice-T has a metal band. You know it's gonna be good.

-fae

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest spirits and natives (1)

Maero – The Fierce Bigfoot in New Zealand folklore

Maero are creatures that appear only in Maori mythology. This mythical creature is sometimes described as a type of wild man, such as the Yeti of the Himalayas or the Sasquatch of Native American lore.

In Māori tradition, the Maero are an iwi-atua or supernatural people from New Zealand. They are sometimes described as giants or wild men of the woods, and inhabit mountains and forest, particularly in the South Island and Tararua Range. Maero are characterised as wild, malevolent and often violent, carrying stone clubs as weapons. They are covered in dark body hair and have long, bony fingers with sharp fingernails. They kill and eat humans and other animals.

The Maero are said to harbour anger towards the Māori, who arrived from Hawaiki, and are thought to have displaced them and ruined the tapu (sacredness) of their homes, forcing them to dwell in inhospitable alpine regions.

There are several Māori tales that tell of encounters between the Maero and the Māori. Still, the most bizarre tale regarding the Maero is that of Tukoio who succeeds in killing one of these creatures.

Tukoio cut of the Maero’s arms, legs and head. He took the head home, perhaps as a trophy. The head was still alive, however, and was calling for help. Tukoio, who did not wish to fight a whole group of Maero on his own, dropped the head, and went to get reinforcements. When he came back, the head was gone, and it is said that the Maero reassembled itself, and returned to the forest. In most stories, the Maero are not known to possess supernatural powers such as this.

Unlike the Yeti and the Sasquatch, however, there are no alleged sightings of this creature, the folklore of the severed head staying alive rings a bell. There was a tale of Bran the Blessed, a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology who ordered his fellows to cut off his head and bring it back to London. As I recall, the head survived for nearly 80 years.

If you follow myths and legends from around the world, both East and West, you will find many similar legends. Moreover, many have been rewritten by religion and power struggles. Above all, there is not a single person in the world who actually knows the past.

In fact, thousands or hundreds of millions of years ago on Earth (the Universe), there must have been unimaginable creatures and various phenomena taking place. George Lucas and Philip K. Dick may have communicated with beings from the past in their dreams.

Who knows?

木にまつわる伝説・神話

森の精霊たちと原住民 (1)

マエロ 〜ニュージーランドの伝説、怖いビッグフット

マエロはマオリ族の神話にのみ登場する生き物である。この神話上の生き物は、ヒマラヤのイエティやネイティブ・アメリカンの伝承であるサスカッチのような野生の人間の一種と表現されることがある。

マオリ族の伝統では、マエロはニュージーランドのイウィ・アトゥア (超自然的な人々) である。マエロは野性的で悪意があり、しばしば凶暴で、武器として石の棍棒を持っているとされる。彼らは黒い体毛に覆われ、骨ばった長い指と鋭い爪を持っている。人間や他の動物を殺し、食べる。

マエロは、ハワイキからやってきたマオリ族に怒りを抱いていると言われ、マオリ族を追い出し、彼らの家のタプ(神聖さ) を台無しにして、人を寄せ付けない高山地帯に住むことを強いたと考えられている。

マオリの伝説には、マエロとマオリの出会いを描いた物語がいくつかあるが、マエロにまつわる最も奇妙な物語は、一匹を殺すことに成功するトゥコイオの物語である。トゥコイオはマエロの腕、足、頭を切り落とした。そして、トロフィーとしてか、その首を持ち帰った。しかし、頭部はまだ生きていて、助けを求めていた。一人でマエロの集団と戦うのを避けるため、トゥコイオは首をその場に置き、援軍を呼びに行った。戻ってきたときには首はなくなっており、マエロが自分で再び組み立て、森に帰っていったと言われている。多くの物語では、マエロがこのような超能力を持っていることは知られていない。

イエティやサスカッチとは異なり、この生物の目撃例はないが、切り落とした首が生き続ける伝承には、どこかで聞き覚えがある。

ウェールズ神話に登場するブリテンの王で巨人のブランが、仲間に命じて自分の首を切り落とし、ロンドンに持ち帰ったという話があった。確か、その首は80年近くも生きながらえた。

東西を問わず、世界中の神話や伝説を追っていくと、似たような言い伝えが多々ある。しかも、多くは宗教や勢力争いによって書き換えられている。何より、過去を実際に知っている人はこの世に一人も存在しない。

実は、数千、数億年前の地球 (宇宙) では、わたしたちの想像を絶する生き物が存在し、色々な現象が起こっていたに違いない。ジョージ・ルーカスやフィ��ップ・K・ディックは、夢の中で過去の存在と交信していたのかも…。

本当のことは誰にも分からない。

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Hugh Tomlinson

Published: Mar 1, 2023

The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has hit out at the New Zealand government for proposing to teach traditional Maori mythology as equal to modern science.

The government of the former prime minister Jacinda Ardern proposed adding Matauranga Maori, or “Ways of Knowing” to the science curriculum, provoking a furious row. The proposal was put forward by the ministry of education, led at the time by Chris Hipkins, who succeeded Ardern after her shock resignation in January.

In a letter to The Spectator, Dawkins, who has recently returned from a speaking tour of New Zealand, attacked the policy of equating Maori knowledge and religious beliefs, which date back to the 13th century and include creationism, with modern science.

Dawkins defended New Zealand scientists who had opposed the plan and faced censure and allegations of racism. A number of fellows at the New Zealand Royal Society, including Garth Cooper, a medal-winning biochemistry professor at the University of Auckland who is of Maori descent, resigned from the society last year.

Seven professors, including Cooper, wrote a letter titled “In defence of science” to the New Zealand Listener in 2021, acknowledging that Matauranga Maori should be taught in schools but should not be equated with modern science. The letter said that indigenous knowledge and beliefs were “critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices” but that “in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself”.

Five Royal Society members reportedly complained that the letter had caused them “untold harm and hurt”.

“Perhaps the most disagreeable aspect of this sorry affair is the climate of fear,” Dawkins wrote, attacking the New Zealand government for “self-righteous virtue signalling”.

“New Zealand children will be taught the true wonder of DNA, while being simultaneously confused by the doctrine that all life throbs with a vital force conferred by the Earth Mother and the Sky Father,” he wrote. “Origin myths are haunting and poetic, but they belong elsewhere in the curriculum.”

The government has taken several steps to incorporate indigenous beliefs into government policy over recent years. In 2017, the Ardern administration granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River, closing one of New Zealand’s longest-running court battles. The Maori had campaigned for more than a century to secure legal protection for the river, and the ruling prompted other countries to grant legal rights to natural treasures.

Dawkins is a long-term critic of Matauranga Maori. In a 2021 letter to the Royal Society of New Zealand, he wrote: “Science classes are emphatically not the right place to teach scientific falsehoods. Creationism is still bollocks even if it is indigenous bollocks.”

[ Via: https://archive.is/TjzrP ]

==

The argument being made here is that it's "unfair" or even "bigoted" to not grant indigenous myths and legends "equality" in the science classroom, to be given equal time and equal consideration with actual science. That they are entitled to access to the science classroom as a form of "inclusion," despite never being subject to - and indeed, declared immune from - the process of scientific checking.

It does this through manipulation and exploitation of egalitarian instincts. This is the same tactic the creationists adopted.

Thus the creationists began to portray themselves as an oppressed minority. “Under the present system . . . the student is being indoctrinated in a philosophy of secular humanism,” one typical creationist complained. “The authoritarianism of the medieval church has been replaced by the authoritarianism of rational materialism. Constitutional guarantees are violated and free scientific inquiry is stifled under this blanket of dogmatism.” That is what a fundamentalist Christian state education official in Arizona was getting at when he said that if parents tell their children that the earth is flat, teachers have no right to contradict them. No one has a right to impose his opinion on others—and the idea that humans evolved from earlier species is, the Christians said, ultimately just some people’s opinion.

-- Jonathan Rauch, "Kindly Inquisitors"

But neither creationism nor indigenous myths are entitled to inclusion in the science classroom. Because neither has been subjected to rigorous testing or disconfirmation, and are therefore not science. No matter what sort of emotional exploitation creationists and activists try to pull. The only thing any idea is entitled to inclusion in is submitting itself to the competitive and contentious process of scientific checking.

Unfortunately, while the former is being kept at bay, the latter has made significant inroads at corrupting scientific education and inquiry.

[themerrymutants]

This is a Mayan inspired redesign of Natu I did for silurica over on AF. I'm really, really proud of how this came out. I am working on a Xatu to go with this bc I'm committed to it.

Description copied verbatim bc I'm lazy

"So I took several inspirations from Mayan myth and Mayan language for this design (and the Xatu which I will finish on my own time bc at this rate I will not get it done otherwise. The wings, should, translate to Divine Youth which is a reference to Xatu being based off of Ik Balam (Black Jaguar) or the JGU (Jaguar God of The Underworld). The palette is a mix of a Black Jaguar's pelt and colors found in the few surviving Mayan manuscripts we have. The headcrest and tail are based off of Vucub Caquix a demonic bird which was slain by the Twin Sun and Moon gods. Originally I was going to do a Maori inspired design but quickly realized I was in over my head and my Mayan interest sleeper agent was awakened and before I could really say "woah slow down" I went overboard lmao.

[spookyblazecoffee]

...Plate Pierce, one of the main five zords in my fan season, is based off the Platecarpus, a mosasaur from Australia. Plate Pierce is the origin of the taniwha in Maori Myth in-universe. sooooo this plus the Maori!Chase hc thoughts?

I've got nothing, sorry ):

[themundanemudperson]

what happens if Plate Pierce meets Chase for one reason or another?

cause she's basically a minor deity in the grid and the origin of the Taniwha, a maori myth.

chase is fangirling so much

like

he's losing his mind

the rest of the rangers are like "oh cool. this is a cool zord" and chase is meeting god

he is a stammering mess and riley has to translate for him

plate pierce is a little confused as to why this human is so star struck but she's vibing

[drsilverfish]

Avatar: The Way of Water

Kids whose bioluminescent freckles mirror the stars, bonding with four-eyed whales via interspecies linguistics; this is the good Avatar: The Way of Water.

The transposition of US patriarchal family values, like flies in aspic, onto an alien world, in a narrative which is supposed to be a critique of colonialism; this is the bad Avatar: The Way of Water. 

Unfortunately, they are one and the same. 

Major spoilers under the cut for those who haven’t seen James Cameron’s Blue Pandora yet...

Come for the incredible xeno-biology, struggle with the sclerotic storytelling, but understand that this film is an ecological polemic, a deliberative morality tale and a call to arms for Mother Earth. Then, forgive, or don’t forgive, its cheesy and clunky moving parts on that basis. 

Cameron’s Way of Water continues his paen to eco-primitivism on Pandora, where Darwinian Jumblie hunter-gatherers, the Na’vi (blue-green, strong, thin and beautiful, and this time at sea, but definitely not at sea in a sieve) live in ecological and spiritual harmony with their Edenic world.

Human Jake Sully, now permanently inhabiting his Na’vi avatar body, brings his US Marine consciousness with him into his new life. He insists his sons call him, “Sir”, and runs his inter-species family like an Earth military unit. His surname is “sully”, which means to damage the purity or integrity of something.  

Yet again, the Na’vi are being invaded by rapacious Earthlings, this time not focussed on mining unobtamium ore. Turns out liquidised alien whale brain is even more valuable, because, as ambrosia for humans, it stops the ageing process. This amrita (Sanskrit for “immortality”) is the new goal for extractive, intergalactic, US-led militarised capitalism. And Earth is dying (or rather, plainly, has been murdered) so Pandora is now earmarked for permanent colonization. 

There are pools of moral and intellectual curiosity waiting to be gazed upon, amidst the sound and fury of adrenaline-filled punch and peril. 

What is the role of humanity’s scientists and scientific capabilities? 

Sigorney Weaver’s xeno-botanist/ anthropologist, Dr. Grace Augustine, rebelled last time around and joined the Na’vi. Now, her child, Kiri (which means, skin of a tree or fruit, in Maori) has a special spiritual connection to Pandora’s flora and fauna. She was born of Grace’s comatose Na’vi avatar body, and it’s implied that her other parent is the Great Mother Spirit of Pandora herself, Eywa. Grace Augustine is itself a symbolic name, referencing Saint Augustine, who believed that human nature was altered by the prideful “original sin” of Adam and Eve in Eden, and required redemption by the grace of Christ. Pandora IS Eden, and it is here that humanity can (I am guessing) unexpectedly find redemption by learning from the Na’vi, as Grace did; “hope” being the last creature to be set free from the box of horrors that Pandora opens in Greek myth. 

We see the other Na’vi-friendly scientists who stayed behind on Pandora with Grace tell Jake and Neytiri that Kiri (whom they have adopted) has epilepsy and should not be allowed to plug into Eywa again or her seizures could kill her. Here human science attempts to be life-saving, but applies a human lens to a Na’vi context and misreads Kiri by failing to understand her biological embodiment of the Pandoran Mother Spirit.

Finally, we have the scientists who are part of the whaling enterprise which hunts and kills the peaceful, sentient Tulkuns, for money, one of whom remarks that he’s drunk all the time because he doesn’t feel good about what he’s involved in.

So, we see that humanity’s scientific knowledge can be harnessed for ecological good when practised with spiritual reverence for life (Grace), can attempt to be benign but misapply itself by failing to understand cultural difference (the scientists’ diagnosis of Kiri) or can vilely prostitute itself in the service of rapacious capitalism (the xeno-biologist whalers). 

Then we have Spider, the human child of reanimated antagonist Colonel Quaritch. He’s a Mowgli/ Tarzan figure (unfortunately, to a modern eye, that figure feels faintly ridiculous) who has “gone native” and runs around in blue tattoos, dreads and loincloth, spending as much of his time as possible with Jake and Neytiri’s Na’vi kids. 

The Mowgli (Kipling)/ Tarzan (Rice Burroughs) reference isn’t an accident, just as the whale-hunt Moby Dick (Melville) reference isn’t either. These are 19th century (early 20th C in Rice Burroughs’ case) authors who write, in the context of European colonialism, of enchanted (both romanticised and primitivised) encounters with native “others”.  Herein lies one of the difficulties of the Avatar saga. It is intent on critiquing colonialism, but it can’t seem to escape a colonialist narrative framework. Jake Sully was initially constructed as a Hollywood white saviour, someone who miraculously does “native” better than the “natives” themselves, rallying the forest Na’vi to combat victory against his own people, and becoming leader of the tribes as a Toruk Makto (rider of the winged pterydactyl-like apex predator Toruk). 

Ideologically, Avatar: the Way of Water, attempts a bit of a course correct in that Jake steps down as leader and leaves Neytiri’s forest tribe, the Omaticaya, with his family, to try and keep them safe, once they learn Earth invaders have returned and have a bounty on Jake, specifically, as a traitor.  However, Jake becomes instead a “natural” patriarchal leader of his family unit, drilling an, “us Sullies stick together against all” mentality into his kids. The gender politics of the Sullies are subtle, but regressive; we see Jake teaching his son (not his daughters) to hunt, Neytiri (not Jake) preparing family food, Jake telling his eldest son to look out for his siblings, Jake conforting a grieving Neytiri (whose emotions are “wilder” than his). On Pandora, Cameron’s Eden, men are warrior leaders, women are spiritual leaders, everyone is heterosexual, and no one is disabled (indeed in Avatar 2009, Jake “escapes” from his wheelchair-bound disability into his new Na’vi avatar body). This is the eco-primitivist fantasy, which has always had troubling eco-fascist tendencies; ones that go unexamined here.  

On the other hand, we do see Jake and Neytiri’s mixed-race kids experience prejudice for their biological differences, from other Na’vi in the Metkayina (water-living) clan, and struggle for acceptance.

Moreover, Spider, whom Jake and his kids have semi-adopted (but whom, Jake tells us, Neytiri feels prejudiced towards, even knowing Jake once inhabited a human body too) also struggles with outsider status. Spider is another human character (like Jake and Grace before him)  torn between two worlds, and his dilemma is clearly set up to carry great meaning for the next installments of the Avatar saga. He is othered and treated as a hostage by Neytiri against Quaritch Mark 2 (his Na’vi embodied father-clone) and conversely treated with affection by Quaritch 2 himself (on whom Neytiri’s father-blackmail works). Thus, Spider later saves Quaritch 2 (Jake’s main antagonist) from drowning, which he fails to mention that to his adoptive Na’vi family. Spider is thus a child both of two warring fathers, and two warring worlds.

The best elements of the film are clearly those focussed on the Tulkun alien-whales and their symbiotic relationship with the Metkayina. Throughout these, and other (over-long) action fight sequences, it is clear that humans remain the trouble in Pandora’s paradise.

Either Earth must adopt Pandora’s Edenic principles, or Pandora must perish at the hand of Earth’s rapacious ones. This is the choice Cameron seemingly presents us with.  

But, cross-cultural pollination, via inter-breeding and ideas-exchange, have already occurred, and cannot be undone unless all human influence (including Jake, Neytiri and their kids) are erased from Pandora. 

Can there be a third way, for children of both worlds, like Spider and Kiri, neither an eco-fascist Eden, nor an industrial-capitalist wasteland?

For all its (at times excruciating) flaws, I admire Cameron’s attempt to confront us with a global narrative about ecocide, and the corrective need for ecological consciousness, in these times when we are inexorably faced, as a species, with our responsibility for the seismic troubles of climate breakdown and mass extinction which bear down on us (and on our hybrid children, born of nature and technology) in the new century.