The Cherrytree
The afterbirths
Awahou had two giant cherrytrees spaced apart on our family land by the awa. Buried beneath were very old afterbirths from our tupuna long ago when old Jacob was a boy.
The Cherry tree was a place where we as children ate and played above hidden in branches while our mothers and kuia played cards on their blankets below.
The joyful noises of laughter, stories and knowledge were mixed with the freedom of youthful dreams away from pakeha school.
The mana of a tree
We are connected to the tree through our way of life and remain humbly beholden to those in nature older than ourselves.
Those seeking spiritual guidiance gathered around a tree to karakia directly to this lifeforce for energy and guidance.
The tree and roots beneath choose whether to answer human prayers so we use touch and sound to draw forward te mauri.
Many of the old karakia were directed to Tane so we acknowledged his place in the history of the land we seek to use.
Birthing
Watched only by nature body and spirit birthed a new soul for the whenua, that was our nanny puti. She would have woven a kete for the afterbirth long before her due time as mum described birthing the old way.
I heard the hurt in mum's voice when she described her own mother's loneliness coming from Tai Tokerau and living amongst some in Te Arawa. Some still remembered the invasion from the north.
My nanny sought the mana of our cherrytree to give birth to her many children alone. She was from the north so some of Papa's Te Arawa ways were strange to her and mum said she prefered the company of a tree.
My mum held my hand in another country and commenced karakia when I went into labour with my youngest daughter as there were no trees near.
Big medicine
Known chants can draw energy from mums cherry tree to revitalise our spirit no matter where we are.
Reciting whakapapa is like directing a spiritual thread backward down from a leaf on a tree branch to its roots. The closer you get to the mauri the greater the healer.
We seek bark and roots to weave the healing properties of a tree for big mahi. People who are sick travel to find Maori healing from earth and water to replenish their wairua.
A village of trees
Descended from great tohunga my northern nannies practised old ways of korero where the tree was a conductor to speak with tupuna.
Tohunga of the old north created karakia influenced by their natural surroundings. Healers used the tree for medicines and family peace of mind. When nanny felt alone mum spoke about watching her go to a tree and kararia home.
Canoes are chosen trees. Transported through weaving bush and carved into living ancestors we give names and sing songs about their lifeforce in water.
The harp of a tree
As the soil is nurtured by blood so our wairua is nurtured by the sounds of life through song and instruments.
We weave geneology with sound and name to access the greatest or relevant branch or root source.
We karakia and sing the same waiata our mothers sang before burying newborn afterbirths.
The spirit of a seed
Although both trees are gone now their memories reach out through the mahi for Awahou to remember.
Mum saw the changes to the land coming years after she left her papakainga. She realised the mauri of our cherrytree memories needed to be moved so others in the future couldn't feed off our wairua.
Mum could see the artistic mahi was showing a way of opening the flow of the tree's mauri so all mokopuna could celebrate and share the gifts our tree could give.
My mother had Te Wai Whero the hei tiki pounamu carved in the north to represent her female womb and the tohunga blood running through it. Mum blessed the hei tiki in the awa and then laid the pounamu where our cherrytree had once stood before commencing her karakia toTane for help.
My imagination ran wild thinking what old souls would answer mums call to go to Australia and study with my cherrytree family.
