The PAN Advocacy Model
TAWHAKI CLIMBS TO THE HEAVENS
Tawhaki leaves home to seek the things which are most dear to his heart - his daughter and his beloved wife, who have returned to the skies. He has a dream - a vision - to follow. And that is wairuatanga. And like Tawhaki, you start to climb.
Here's the story as it was told to me. Hapai was the wife of Tawhaki, and she was of the sky, not a mortal like Tawhaki. But they met, and they loved, and every night they would be together, and in the morning she would be gone, like the morning mist which fades with the day. But then, their love became too strong, and Hapai left her home and came to live with Tawhaki. And they had a child. But one day, Hapai took the child and returned to the heavens. And Tawhaki took his brother (this is the whanungatanga - familiness concept I included) and they went to look for Tawaki's family. But Tawhaki didn't know where to look. Then Tawhaki met a wisewoman - a kuia. She was Tawhaki's great-great-grandmother, and she was blind. And Tawhaki restored her sight, using clay - earth - and karakia - karakia is a blessing. So the earth and the spirituality belong together. (This is like the Grail myth, where Parsifal says to the Fisher King "What ails thee") So then he asked the kuia - the wisewoman - how to find what was most dear to his heart. And because of his kindness, she showed him the way.
In this tale variant, the kuia showed Tawhaki a web (Ara Tukutuku - the Spider's Way), which spanned earth and sky. (Note: Some variants describe it as a vine) and gave him some help. So there's a relationship there - one person helping another. And he asked respectfully. It's like all myths - the one who gets the help is the one who does something, some act of kindness - and the person turns out to be a helpful person and it's a reciprocal relationship.
There are other legends surrounding Tawhaki - some variants refer to him as Tane - and one of them tells of Tawhaki - or Tane - climbing to the heavens to bring back the three sacred kete - baskets of knowledge - for humanity. So it's always about a reaching upwards, always upwards, to bring back the thing that is most needed. Because you have the physical realm - which is why those two strands are at the bottom of the web - they ground it - but in the heavens is where energy, and potentiality are held.
But when you look at a web, it connects. It connects a plant and a wall, two plants, whatever. One of its functions is to join things together. And yes - it traps things. And in this case, it traps knowledge of how to treat people. And if the web is broken, the spider simply begins again. Like the spider who was with Robert the Bruce, and when Bruce gave up, he saw the spider, and he kept on going. Because that's what its all about. You never give in.
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