Poets for the Planet
Autumn 2022 Greet Brauwers and Raf Custers travelled to the Cook Islands in the Pacific for three months. Belgian company GSR has a contract running there to excavate metal nodules from the territorial waters around the archipelago. They were doing fieldwork there, but also wanted to establish a dialogue between the Low Countries and the Cook Islands, guided by the motto : 'There is no boundary between land and sea'. At play for this was the belief that what we do in our environment and how we do it is strongly influenced by how we represent our environment. Polynesian and indigenous views can enrich our Western views.
We invited the Klimaatdichters to participate and 3 poets sent us a poem inspired by the ocean : 'How can you!', Hilde Keteleer; 'Let the sea be the sea', Geert Viaene and 'Let the ocean win', Rik van Boeckel.
Poets for the Ocean
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In the Cook Islands, Jean Tekura Mason wrote a prayer to the god of the sea, Tangaroa, an ancestor of Maori people who was deified after his death. For his expertise at sea, both as a fisherman and navigator, he was revered by the ancient Maori as the master of all that is maritime. It is to Tangaroa one prays to seek guidance at sea and for fair weather when sailing. There is one traditional prayer to Tangaroa that has survived. Jean Tekura Mason has based her prayer on it as well as the stories she knows about this great ancestor-god figure of Maori Cook Islanders.
Tangaroa Nui E (Great Tangaroa)
Tangaroa i te titi
Tangaroa who is omnipresent
Tangaroa i te tata
Tangaroa who is omniscient
’Eu’eu ake i te rangi
Open the sky (clear the clouds)
Kia tae to matou vaka ki uta
So that our canoe will get to shore (so that we may see the stars to guide us)
Ko koe, e Tangaroa
It is you, Tangaroa
Te atua o te moana nui
The god of the vast ocean
Te moana marino, te moana ngarepurepu, te moana uriuri, te moana uriuri-tu, te moana tapu o Tangaroa
The calm ocean, the rough ocean, the deep, dark ocean, the waterspout, the sacred ocean of Tangaroa
Tutara o te au ngaru,
Master of the waves,
Ko koe anake tei kite i te au mea katoatoa i te tua o te moana
You alone know all there is to know about the ocean beyond
Kua aruru te maungungu
Thunder crashed
Kua koraparapa te uira i runga i te rangi
Lightning flashed in the sky above
Tangaroa te topa’anga ūa toto
Tangaroa who made the blood rain fall
Tangaroa tei turia te anuanua
Tangaroa who stands on the rainbow
Tangaroa tei tu i te papa rongo i Avaiki (enua tupuna), ko Tua-ki-Ta’aroa,
Tangaroa who stood on the famous ground of Avaiki (the ancient fatherland) called Tua-ki-Ta’aroa
Tangaroa tei tu i te papa enua o Tua-ki-Ta’apoto (Tahiti).
Tangaroa who stood on the foundation rock of the land called Tua-ki-Ta’apoto (Tahiti)
Tangaroa tei anau’ia i te take upoko o tona metua vaine
Tangaroa born of the whorl of his mother’s head
Ko koe tei akaperepere ia
You are the favoured one
Tutara o te au kai kura, te ika, te taro, te nu
Sovereign of the royal (red-coloured) foods, fish, taro and coconuts.
Ko koe te ta’unga o te kau ariki
You are high priest of the chiefs
Turou, e Tangaroa!
Hail, Tangaroa!
Ko tei rongonui,
Famed one,
Tangi te pu, tangi te pa’u, e rau maire,
The conch shell trumpet sounds, the drum sounds, a celebration takes place
Na’au e iki i te au ariki,
You are the selector of chiefs
Na’au anake e akata’inu i te au ariki
You alone anoint the chiefs
Mama mai!
Please appear!
Eke mai!
Come down!
Kia korapa te uira
The lightning will flash
Kia koropini ia koe e te au nuku
The people will surround you
Turou, e te Ariki Nui!
Hail, Great Chief!
Turou, ko koe te tupuna o te au ariki!
Hail, you are the ancestor of the chiefs!
Tangaroa te atua mekameka
Tangaroa god of magnificence
Tangaroa tuatua-kiro meitaki rava
Tangaroa the most elegant speaker.
Tira rai!
Nothing more to be said or done!
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