Pūrākau and researching knowledge systems

Ākonga researched multiple versions of pūrākau associated with the maramataka, Matariki and kī-o-rahi for their investigations. Guided by kaiako, ākonga compared sources and looked for common patterns across different explanations.

Ākonga then chose the kaupapa that sparked their curiosity and that they wanted to know more about. As their understanding and learning expanded, they confidently shared their experiences with others within their kura, hapori and at Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā | Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair.

Kupu Māori

• Hapori – community.

• Kī-o-rahi – a traditional Māori game played between two teams on a circular playing area.

• Maramataka – Māori lunar calendar.

• Pūrākau – traditional Māori narratives that carry and transmit knowledge, values, histories and understandings of the world.

Questions for discussion

• How does reframing pūrākau as knowledge rather than myths and legends shift the way students engage with them?

• What research skills were students developing as they compared different versions of pūrākau and dealt with conflicting information?

• What does this approach suggest about how knowledge is constructed, shared and validated in the classroom?

Transcript

Simone Marsters

We’re beginning to see more and more the use of pūrākau. When I was growing up, they were merely myths and legends, which we now are encouraging our tamariki to explore, that they’re actually encoded, transmitted knowledge from our tīpuna. And in the way that they’re delivered now in the classroom is more of an inquiry approach. The pūrākau are actually from long-sustained observations of our taiao, of communities, so they give us more insight into the times that have gone past.

Sheryl Helleur

They did some research on the pūrākau that existed, and because there was some conflicting information between two of the pūrākau, they then wanted to make a cohesive understanding of their knowledge and also showcase what they’d learned and share it with others.

Jonty

We had to like see which pūrākau were the most common and which were just made up.

Skyla

We did lots of researching on kī-o-rahi, and it was pretty hard because it was different perspectives. We wanted to also include most of them so people could understand different perspectives.

Jonty

This pūrākau was passed down from generations. And my job was to write the whole entire pūrākau down. It’s a really good pūrākau about this Māori game.

Sheryl Helleur

We first started looking at Matariki and then learning about the stars and the pūrākau that go along with that. And then they decided they wanted to learn more about the maramataka. We would help facilitate their research and then they would gather their information.

Skyla

We went on different websites and different videos, and we found that most of them included the same thing. So we added it in because we thought that it would match the story properly.

Sheryl Helleur

In some cases, when researching and gathering data, it sometimes can be a little bit confusing when there’s conflicting information. But the tamariki know to persevere and then just keep checking other sources and then finding the similarities and then forming their own opinion.

Skyla

I would definitely recommend doing it in a group, because if you’re doing it by yourself, it will take a lot longer, but when you have a group, you can split off and take from other people’s knowledge.

Acknowledgements

Simone Marsters, Arataki School and Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao
Sheryl Helleur, Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School
Jonty and Skyla, Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School

Te pūrākau ō kī-o-rahi animation, by Ada, Jonty, Kerenga, Kora, Hailo, Kupa-Tāne and Skyla. Courtesy of Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School