A study celebrating Maori experiences and perspectives using the narratives of the taniwha has been given a financial boost in the latest Marsden funding round.
Dr Kirsty Dunn (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi) of the University of Canterbury has been given $360,000 for her research project Taniwha: A Cultural History, which uses the taniwha to explain complexities and challenges both in Aotearoa and around the world, and find out who they are, rather than what they are.
Though taniwha are usually depicted in the supernatural sense, Dunn says, “When we look at various purakau, these are often our relations that challenge us, help us and guide us at times. So we really want to elevate those kinds of ways of thinking about taniwha.”
Te Ao Maori News
We are spending $360,000 to find out “who” taniwha are?
Knock me down with a feather…that shouldn’t cost anything at all; they are imaginary, made up, a figment of people’s imagination.
Worse, this research is going to see if they can find taniwha around the world!
That sounds suspiciously like they are getting the taxpayers to cough up so they can get their jollies on a wide-ranging overseas jaunt.
Instead of being incredulous, the journalist is waxing lyrical about this; proof positive that the PIJF is nothing but a fund to skew the news in favour of Maori ‘wonderfulness’.
Instead of calling out this funding as a ludicrous waste of money, they are lauding it as something wonderful.
No wonder no one trusts the media in New Zealand.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. This article was first published HERE
10 comments:
Hopefully this info will appear in the main newspapers so Bob Jones will become aware of....The media should be hunting out the application document and applying scrutiny.
One has to wonder what the nurses, firefighters, and other essential but low-paid workers, many of whom might be expected to vote Labour, might have to say about this.
Get the feeling this is a classic example of how previous civilizations destroyed themselves.
Or maybe the old fashioned ways just aren't woke enough. You no, self indulgence, orgies and turning your backs to your enemies.
They might find a very angry pakeha Taniwha or even a Swedish one who decides to scare the pants off them and bite them on their bare bums. See I am so angry I am losing it! Bummer.
WTF is wrong with our PM??? Seriously?
WTF is wrong with us for putting up with and being on the hook for this crap? We are morons who need to grow a pair and rise up against Maori elitist BS. Bigtime.
Bummer, losing it...
MC
I see on TV1 lunctime News had a story on the bronze statue find in Tuscany. Over 2000 years old (!!!) and what stunning metallurgy and detail. By comparison, our 'indigenous' nearly two millenia later were still thinking of make believe monsters and not even a piece of pottery, metal or even a wheel in sight. As for now spending $360K on searching for make believe - from what planet are those that think such is a sensible spend? But clearly it's someone spending others money.
To Anonymous 3.10
There is little wrong with those of us who follow all the items revealed on BV. But the ordinary citizen does not receive any newspaper, only reads headlines on line and newspapers no longer report all objectively and critically, are pro the present govt and pro maori, esp so since bribed by the PIJFund. There are a myriad websites but I have no idea who follows what. BV summarises so many outlets would expect it to have an overwhelming following, but does it? Many persons today seem very disconnected. I share a driveway with well off professional home owners.They do not bother to uplift the local free newsper, about the only source of local "news". As I have laboured previously, the typical person today is very out of touch with all but the most obvious developments.
By Jove! This little post has caused some thoughts. Maybe it should have been research into Greek myths, or more money for studies into the Phenomenology of Religion or Religious Studies. Hypothesis:How does belief in God help Christians navigate the complexities and challenges of life? ( or something like that)
Would that be ok?
PS Hope the reference to a Roman deity didn’t cause offence!
Hi Anonymous 7.50am. Point taken, but for those other topics there is written record as a basis. Much "research"' or musings would have been privately funded. Most taniwha yarns and associated behaviours will be pure conjecture based on folklore as adapted for 180-200 years of civilised influence and recently re imagined. Wonder if there is any gaurantee of an output. What hppens to the money if the researcher switches to maori time for completion?.
One piece of factual info..a brand of soap was called taniwha. hopefully all the diligent reporters have made anote to read the end product. PIJF should cover their time.
I would support the financing of 100 X $360k = $36m for an independent investigation into the real evil monsters in NZ. Here are three of them:
1. The monster that lives in the Oranga Tamariki swamp. If you invite this monster into your home for a friendly cup of tea, in front of your eyes you will see it morph into a dragon-type creature with powerful tail that can inflict heinous damage, a thick skin to protect it from all consequences, one cloudy eye, and a mouth with deadly poisonous saliva. The OT monster hates happy families. It causes immense damage on innocent parents and children. It kills people, dead.
2. The Te Koti a-Whanau monster which lives in a deep dark cave. The cave is so dark that no light can emit. This monster has one big claw and a big beak. The claw holds onto its victims who cannot escape, and the beak pecks out the victim’s tongue. This monster takes orders from the OT monster and is used to bully and terrorise. It is the real terrorist threat in NZ. The TKW monster completely disregards the law as well as the rule of law. It kills people, dead.
3. The monster which lives in the Te tahuhu o te Matauranga desert. It has one arm which acts as a drill and a huge sucker mouth. It lurks in every school classroom in NZ, drills into the heads of children, sucks out their brain, and replaces it with a brainwashed one. It kills children’s brains.
Surely these are the monsters which should receive independent investigation. They kill people dead. There is only one thing you can do if these monsters make eye contact with you – go immediately to the large bird nest in Manukau, and jump onto the back of one of the big birds due to fly across the sea.
A Chinese friend told me about the Tang - i - fa of Yangste Kiang. Probably a cuzzy bro.
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