Te tapa ingoa
This Connected article by Priscilla Wehi and Hemi Whaanga explores how early Māori named and grouped the plants and animals they found around them. Discover what this process reveals about Māori ways of viewing the world and the framework provided by whakapapa. It compares the Linnaean system for naming and grouping organisms and describes an example of Māori and Pākehā working together and drawing on knowledge from both systems.
The article provides many examples of how and why Māori choose plant and animal names, including a recently discovered species of beetle.
Check your school library for the article from the 2020 level 3 Connected journal ‘Kaitiakitanga’, download it as a Google slide presentation from Tāhūrangi or order it from the Ministry of Education.
The teacher support material (TSM) can be downloaded from Tāhūrangi (Word and PDF files available).
There are three learning activities that support the exploring technology aspects of the New Zealand Curriculum:
The power of a name
Learning from mātauranga Māori (this uses the Connected article Listening to the land, with the extension idea using Whakaotirangi and her kete of kūmara)
Helping in the war on weeds (this links to the Connected article The war on weeds).
