The fact that I am of European descent inevitably condems my whakapapa of being a party to institutional racism. Add to that my C of E upbringing and I am further tarred with a quasi religion based on an old man who wanted to get his leg over, and when Rome Said no he formed his own. Rather similar to other local derivations of religiosity. I cannot escape my heritage anymore than I can change the colour of my skin. I cannot abide the yoke of religion in any shape or form. The early missionaries to NZ arguably laid the foundations through their chicanery, and conversion of the noble savage, in paving the way to a British colonization that continues to cost Maori so dearly. Where am I heading with my reply? I find it inconceivable that a collective Maori consciousness has allowed their spirituality to be hijacked by a British faith that has infected the very fabric of maoritanga enslaving them forever to a dominant, essentially racist culture. Having spent my working life in education I am well versed in Karakia and have always been respectful of those carrying out these 'prayers', but it always wrankles in the same way that any religious mumbo-jumbo does. I understand that spirituality is not necessarlily connected to religion,yet in most circumstances of public worship the distinction is never made. As I watched the moving ceremony yesterday of the final journey of Kingii Tuheitia the predominantly Eurocentric religious component of the proceedings made absolutely no sense to me and served only to underscore how inextricably linked to a Eurocentric narrative Maori remain. Am I to be considered racist for wanting to reject all forms of collective prayers or mantras? I don't believe two wrongs ever made a right and to collectively blame people who reject the need to follow religious practice in any form whether it be the bowing of heads in a place of worship or uttering ameni at the end of a karakia seems a harsh indictment that generalises and dismisses what for many will be a well reasoned stance
Hm, interesting perspective! I think the importance of the religious aspects of the ceremony might have actually been to BE Eurocentric in order to give it more legitimacy, as they were creating a monarch in the style of the British in order present as a unified people, as the British had. It recognises the shared aspects of their crown — though tbh I quite like how unpretentious the bible over the head is, feels a bit like biting their thumb at the extravagance of the anglican ceremony.
As for religiousness in prayer… prayers that add ameni are essentially a translation of “so mote it be” (pagan closing) but because their language translation was done through missionaries, the language is inherently religious and we have not seen fit to “widen” the definitions of these for the less-christian modern age.
that makes me wonder how much of the religious aspects of these karakia are pākehās own fault. it seems hard to avoid when they were converted as hard as they were, as every indigenous society was.
i.e. you can’t take the racism and colonialism out because its present in the very fabric of the language
The fact that I am of European descent inevitably condems my whakapapa of being a party to institutional racism. Add to that my C of E upbringing and I am further tarred with a quasi religion based on an old man who wanted to get his leg over, and when Rome Said no he formed his own. Rather similar to other local derivations of religiosity. I cannot escape my heritage anymore than I can change the colour of my skin. I cannot abide the yoke of religion in any shape or form. The early missionaries to NZ arguably laid the foundations through their chicanery, and conversion of the noble savage, in paving the way to a British colonization that continues to cost Maori so dearly. Where am I heading with my reply? I find it inconceivable that a collective Maori consciousness has allowed their spirituality to be hijacked by a British faith that has infected the very fabric of maoritanga enslaving them forever to a dominant, essentially racist culture. Having spent my working life in education I am well versed in Karakia and have always been respectful of those carrying out these 'prayers', but it always wrankles in the same way that any religious mumbo-jumbo does. I understand that spirituality is not necessarlily connected to religion,yet in most circumstances of public worship the distinction is never made. As I watched the moving ceremony yesterday of the final journey of Kingii Tuheitia the predominantly Eurocentric religious component of the proceedings made absolutely no sense to me and served only to underscore how inextricably linked to a Eurocentric narrative Maori remain. Am I to be considered racist for wanting to reject all forms of collective prayers or mantras? I don't believe two wrongs ever made a right and to collectively blame people who reject the need to follow religious practice in any form whether it be the bowing of heads in a place of worship or uttering ameni at the end of a karakia seems a harsh indictment that generalises and dismisses what for many will be a well reasoned stance
Hm, interesting perspective! I think the importance of the religious aspects of the ceremony might have actually been to BE Eurocentric in order to give it more legitimacy, as they were creating a monarch in the style of the British in order present as a unified people, as the British had. It recognises the shared aspects of their crown — though tbh I quite like how unpretentious the bible over the head is, feels a bit like biting their thumb at the extravagance of the anglican ceremony.
As for religiousness in prayer… prayers that add ameni are essentially a translation of “so mote it be” (pagan closing) but because their language translation was done through missionaries, the language is inherently religious and we have not seen fit to “widen” the definitions of these for the less-christian modern age.
that makes me wonder how much of the religious aspects of these karakia are pākehās own fault. it seems hard to avoid when they were converted as hard as they were, as every indigenous society was.
i.e. you can’t take the racism and colonialism out because its present in the very fabric of the language
Absolutely! Ameni to that 😂😅🤣