Haumanu ipukarea, ki uta ki tai: (re)connecting to landscape and reviving the sense of belonging for health and wellbeing

ABSTRACT

In Aotearoa/New Zealand landscapes were personified by the Indigenous Māori through the contention that the relationship with the land forms the basis of their existence, where everything visible and invisible, tangible and intangible is inseparable. However, in the current context, cultural and ancestral landscapes have been desecrated by growing demands from colonization, capitalism, urbanization, and globalization. This article explores the potential for reinstating the ideologies associated with traditional Indigenous knowledge and the intricacies of interconnectedness between environments and people for improved health and wellbeing. It examines new ways of integrating Māori knowledge in design to expand the concepts of belonging, identity, quality of life and place. Taking a case study approach, it focuses on an infested waterway that meanders through a regenerating valley system at the heart of Wellington, the capital of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The study encapsulates the notions of ki uta ki tai (to the mountains to the sea) and hīkoi (traditional form of walking and talking with the land and exhuming meaning) and looks at healing remaining endemic ecologies in an attempt to recreate identity and sense of belonging. It hereby assists in reconnecting Māori and connecting non-Māori to their natural surroundings, following bicultural and Indigenous constructs.

KEYWORDS:

• Landscape architecture
• cultural identity
• ecosystem restoration
• Indigenous knowledge
• Mātauranga Māori

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand [E2906]; Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) Research Fund (URF) [213175].

Notes on contributors

Bruno Marques

Bruno Marques Director of Postgraduate Programs and Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Architecture. His main research interests relate to the integration of Indigenous methods in participatory design in landscape rehabilitation and ecosystem services.

Jacqueline McIntosh

Jacqueline McIntosh Senior Lecturer, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Architecture. Her main research interests are design-led culturally appropriate participatory design for improved health and well-being.

William Hatton

William Hatton Māori iwi/tribe affiliation: Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne and Muaupoko. Postgraduate student and research assistant in Landscape Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Architecture. His research skills and expertise are related to the culture, landscape architecture, and Kaupapa Māori’s subjects.