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Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jan 6, 2019 16:18:29 GMT 12
'WHAT IS THE SEA TELLING US?': MĀORI TRIBES FEARFUL OVER WHALE STRANDINGSSeven decades later, Parata, 75, has now overseen more than 500 strandings and is renowned in New Zealand as the leading Māori whale expert, called on by tribes around the country for cultural guidance as marine strandings become increasingly complex and fatal. “Man’s greed in the ocean is hurting the whales,” says Parata, a fierce and uncompromising elder of the Ngātiwai tribe of eastern Northland. Ngātiwai believe the whales beach when they are ready to die and want to return to their families, the Māori people. Then, their human families use the whales’ gift of their bodies for sacred carvings, for traditional medicines, and even for compost. There are marked tribal differences across New Zealand and while some tribes work to refloat stranded whales, others like Parata’s Ngātiwai stand back and allow the Department of Conservation and volunteer groups to take the lead in rescue efforts. Then the tribe moves in en masse and holds a karakia (prayer), names each animal and sets to work removing their bones, blubber, eyes and teeth for cultural purposes...... www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/03/what-is-the-sea-telling-us-maori-tribes-fearful-over-whale-strandings
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