I thought it was about time for a change of scenery – looking at all those devastating images of oil on the beach and wildlife – now dead – can get a bit depressing after a while… but it is the reality at the moment…so very very sad, devastating, you can only try and express the feelings that are conjured up by this…and I’m not even there. I watched and cried as people cried, their lives affected so deeply, no longer being able to go to the beach to gather kai – food source now gone. Many wildlife, now gone.

Mokopuna is the Māori word for grandchild and when you break the word down there are many other words within the word mokopuna. There is moko, there is puna, there is kopu, mo, ko, pu, na so many meanings within this one word.

They are the spring that comes forth into this world, the next generation, the future… a spring of water, a puna, that comes up from the earth as life and wellbeing for people and for the earth. Mokopuna are so important and when we think about moko, the art of Māori tattoo as being something that is very much a part of us, that we celebrate, our art and creativity, mokopuna is embedded in this too…

So I thought I would share some of the words in mokopuna and their meanings…

mokopuna / moko – grandchild

puna – to well up, flow, spring, well, pool

moko – Māori tattoo

kopu – belly, womb (often referred to for wahine)

mo – for, for the benefit of

ko – here, now, in the future, to sing, to dig

pu – blow gently, flute, lie in a heap, root, base, origin

I felt the need to share something beautiful today and what better than another example of our Māori language – conceptual, eloquent, connected and beautiful.

Rā whānau ki a koe Kahurere Moana – kua huri ki te rua i te rangi nei – yay! Ka kite akuanei!

Arohanui,
Jo x