Ngā mihi

Tūtawa mai i runga
Tūtawa mai i raro
Tūtawa mai i roto
Tūtawa mai i waho
Kia tau ai te mauri tū,
Te mauri ora ki te katoa
Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e.

Come forth from above
Come forth from below
Come forth from within
And come forth from the environment
Vitality
and wellbeing for all
Strengthened in unity.

By Scotty Morrison, Ngāti Whakaue

We open with this karakia as a means of acknowledgement. The karakia offers strength and affirmation. Its significance to the book is in the emphasis on relationality and the recognition that from a Māori perspective, our wellbeing as people is fundamentally connected to the natural environment and our contexts.

This karakia is reproduced with kind permission from Scotty Morrison.