A comment by reader Chris Slater called my attention to this article from GeoNet, an organization described as providing “geological hazard information for Aotearoa New Zealand.” It’s also
. . . . sponsored by the New Zealand Government through its agencies: Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, GNS Science, Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
The hazards include volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis. Useful, right? And of course the monitoring is done using scientific methods (see here for earthquakes, for instance), because you must use modern science to make the best predictions.
But this is New Zealand, and so GeoNet had to drag in some indigenous knowledge to satisfy the Zeitgeist; in this case, the addition was arrant superstition. This article, which you can read by clicking on the headline, invokes gods as a cause of earthquakes. It’s all metaphor, of course, but it’s done to satisfy the claim that both kinds of “knowledge” is the optimal mixture for understanding the world.
Click to view
The subheadline echoes the headline:
The weaving together of different knowledge strands, Mātauranga Māori and western science, strengthens our understanding of our whenua (land) and supports conversations on how we can be better prepared for natural hazard events, such as an Alpine Fault earthquake, together.
Note the assertion that combining indigenous “ways of knowing” with what they persist in calling “western science” (which is no longer western) will make for a better understanding of nature. But Mātauranga Māori doesn’t just include practical knowledge gleaned from trial and error: it also includes superstition, ethics, morality, legend, and religion. And here they bring in the religion.
An excerpt (my bolding)
The Alpine Fault is the longest naturally forming straight line on earth. It marks the meeting of two large tectonic plates and has formed over millions of years, stretching longer, lifting our landscape up out of the ocean, and creating the peaks of Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps) with every large earthquake it generates.
According to Ngāi Tahu creation stories, earthquakes are caused by Rūaumoko, the son of Ranginui (the Sky Father) and his wife Papatūanuku (the Earth Mother). Māori have experienced rū whenua, which means ‘the shaking of the land’ for centuries.
Science tells us that Rūaumoko rumbles the Alpine Fault about every 300 years, and the last time was in 1717. These big earthquakes have been happening for millions of years and the next one is not a case of if, but when. The next large Alpine Fault earthquake will be long and strong and significantly alter the landscape of Te Waipounamu as we know it. Landslides, liquefaction, river changes, flooding, tsunami, and aftershocks are all likely.
A large Alpine Fault earthquake happening in our lifetimes is no doubt a scary thought! However, understanding how our whenua has moved in the past helps us prepare to move with it in the future. While we can’t predict when it will happen, we can work together to be better prepared for it by sharing our mātauranga (knowledge), science, and experiences of past earthquakes and emergencies to raise awareness, build understanding, and strengthen our relationships. The better connected we are beforehand, the easier it will be to support each other during and after a catastrophic event.
This is a hot mess. Dragging in Māori religion not only doesn’t add anything to the prediction of earthquakes, but is likely to confuse students who think that religious mythology is inherent in this prediction. What on earth can it mean to say that “Science tells us that Rūaumoko rumbles the Alpine Fault about every 300 years. . “? That is simply a flat-out lie. The pressures on the tectonic plates makes them slip roughly once every 300 years. It’s not due to the actions of a god who decides to rumble the earth about every 300 years (does he get bored?).
It is a disservice—in fact, an insult—to geologists to add to their science the idea that gods are shaking the earth. It is an embarrassment to New Zealand’s government that they are more or less forced to mix indigenous myths with science to pretend that they can reinforce each other. And that pressure comes from trying to sacralize the indigenous people and satisfy, so they think, are the demands of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. But that treaty says nothing about indigenous ways of knowing being made coequal to modern science.
Yes, indigenous knowledge may be a useful addition to some limited scientific endeavors, but this is not one of them. Get the gods out of geology!
Professor Jerry Coyne is an American biologist known for his work on speciation and his commentary on intelligent design, a prolific scientist and author. This article was first published HERE
20 comments:
Welcome our state religion.
Not that I believe there has ever been such a thing as 'Western Science', but it seems some people are forgetting that people have been studying and recording earthquakes before there even was a 'west'. When people, such as those pushing matauranga maori use terms like 'western science', they, ironically, exclude the significant scientific contributions throughout history from those of non 'western' backgrounds such as ancient civilizations in the middle east and east asia. It's a racist re-write of history to remove anyone who is not white from the history of scientific achievement.
It is even more stupid that Ngai Tahu is involved as they were still in the North island before fighting , raping and eating their conquests on the way south.
Ngai Tahu have funds given to them by taxpayers , dont pay tax on their business operations and fatten the top echelon and forget their descendants..
The time has come that all Trusts pay their correct share of tax . Defund all government appropriations to Ngai Tahu.
Bring on the ACT Party Principles Bill so we are all equal in New Zealand.
Welcome to the Banana(s) republic that was once known as New Zealand.....
After Rūaumoko clears his mysopginistic throat we will become instead of a lost land, the land of the lost.....
Maybe we should all be doing karakia to ward off that old Rūaumoko?
Professor Coyle, who I understand is American, has only scratched the surface of the b*** s*** that goes on in this country. One problem is that this superstition is promoted by the scientific community themselves. Just look at the Royal Society.
Naturally there are financial implications to all this. You can't do anything near water if it will upset the local taniwha (which "scientists" tell us exist) but the taniwha are mysteriously placated by a suitable donation to the local Maori. Maybe a further settlement to Ngai Tahu will mean that Ruaumoko won't cause any more earthquakes.
This is excruciatingly embarrassing. Silly little NZ making an ass of itself.
As a retired pharmacist of many years, with a scientific background, I just shake my head (and sometimes shake my fist) when I read of such arrant nonsense of trying to somehow insert myths and religions into science.
For example - if we are really going to allow Maori legends and myths into science, why stop there? Why not incorporate ancient Chinese, African, Aboriginal, Aztec and Egyptian myths into science ?
And if the Maori myths are really so important - they should be introduced into science teachings world-wide. !!
New Zealand has become a basket case run by the mental institutions. And Luxon doesn't care. Why not ? Would he lose too many votes by restoring some degree of common sense in our those governing our population, let alone science ? He doesn't seem to understand that New Zealand is not a corporation; it is made up of 5.5 million individuals, all with different needs, aspirations, and goals.
National will be the death of the Coalition and a return to greater idiocy on steroids when Labour and the Greens return to government.
And Luxon just cannot understand even that !
New Zealand proving an embarrassment on the world stage yet again.
Our soft underbelly is the long-standing demand from certain sections of society that Middle Eastern aetiological stories (mostly plagiarised Babylonian myths) be incorporated into science education. While this is a near-dead issue in civilised countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands, it remains very much alive in places where superstition continues to be widespread, principally the US.
Maori using colonial science ,well well No shite Sherlock ,here comes the gravy train
This is a theological discussion as much as a scientific one.
The monotheistic God of the bible was a law maker and a law giver. Hence original and early scientists of the West believed they could discover the predictive scientific laws behind the natural world. This approach was unique to the Western World although the paradigm of the scientific method can be applied world wide.
Theodicy, a term coined by Leibniz is an area of study to try and resolve the problem of evil that arises when all powerful and all goodness are both subscribed to God, in the case of natural disasters and other evils.
Superficially it appears the material in Genesis was merely borrowed from Babylonian mythology, possibly reworked by Hebrew authors during the Babylonian exile. This has become a scholarly tradition ,repeated over and over to this day.
However the Enuma Elish (EE) misnamed the Babylonian Creation story, and the bible are very different according to scholar James Rochford. Not the least is that Genesis teaches monotheism compared with the polytheism of EE. Another significant difference is describing the moon, the stars and the stars as mere creations not to be worshiped cf with EE which has them as gods to worship.
The idea that the Hebrews would wholesale adapt Babylonian beliefs is untenable and a more critical observation of the texts shows a forceful clash of world views not a fusion.
Reference "Evidence Unseen'-exposing the myth of blind faith by James Rochford
To the Scientists at Geonet:
I'm writing to express my strong concern and displeasure with your wilful mixing of Science and Maori mythology and Maori religious beliefs in your public statements on your website.
I want a reasoned reply to each of my questions. Please no platitudes or bureaucratic nonsense and no references to the Treaty Of Waitangi or its made-up principles. There is NOTHING in the 3 articles that has anything to do with Science.
I am NOT a racist. I have respect for the traditional beliefs and practical knowledge of Maori and other cultures, but these are not Science. My concern is simply that you are, for whatever reason, mixing Maori mythology and religious beliefs with Science in a publicly funded space that should be devoted to Science and rational explanation. I and many others both here in NZ and overseas profoundly disagree with that agenda. If you persist in this manner, you risk bringing Science into disrepute not only here but internationally as well.
You are a taxpayer supported government agency; as a taxpayer I have a right and a duty to ask questions about how my tax money is being spent.
Please reply to these points:
1) I read under News 24 June 2024 on your website the following:
"The weaving together of different knowledge strands, Mātauranga Māori and western science..."
You use the term "western science". There is no such thing as "western science", any more than there is an "eastern science" or an "Indian science". This is simply post-modern anti-colonial trendy B.S.,and you should be ashamed of yourself for putting this outright lie on your website. There is only one Science. It is a methodology that is accepted worldwide and is used by anyone who does Science whether they are Japanese, Maori, French, Indian, or any other culture Why did you put this on your website?
2) I read under News 24 June 2024 on your website the following:
"According to Ngāi Tahu creation stories, earthquakes are caused by Rūaumoko, the son of Ranginui (the Sky Father) and his wife Papatūanuku (the Earth Mother). Māori have experienced rū whenua, which means ‘the shaking of the land’ for centuries".
This is a Maori religious belief. Its part of a "creation story" just like the first chapter of the Bible. What is a creation myth doing in a scientific discussion/explanation about earthquakes?
3) You further state that:
"Science tells us that Rūaumoko rumbles the Alpine Fault about every 300 years."
Sorry, Science does NOT use gods as explanations for natural events! Science tells us that New Zealand earthquakes are by and large the result of friction between the 2 tectonic plates that meet under New Zealand. This is purely a sly way of trying to smuggle into Science a completely non-scientific bit of Maori myth. Its an outright lie and you should be ashamed of yourselves, if you are really scientists and not just woke apologists for the current trendy Zeitgeist of pandering to so-called indigenous people.
Sincerely,
Mr. Sandy Fontwit
26 Athol Street
RD1 Nelson 7071
03-5451334
021-1075354
sandyfontwit@slingshot.co.nz
Are there any Maori geologists out there ?
Please stand up, and publicly state that this is a total load of bullocks that radical elements of Maoridom made up last week.
Nowhere else in the civilized world would any of this be taken seriously.
Stop continuing to make NZ the laughing stock of educated people everywhere.
All you people who keep extolling the government to stop making NZ the laughing stock of the civilised world need to understand this crap isn't unique to us.
It's happening the world over and it's called Social Justice.
Sandy (July 26, 2024 at 6:02 PM), good luck with getting a rational answer.
The rationality of the science community is clearly compromised.
These people either do not care about their science or they are captured by the cultural socio-political ideology.
Either way they are no longer scientists and too claim they are is a lie. In good conscience a people devoid of pottery, the wheel or metal craft cannot be actual scientists....
Maybe you should also write a letter to the Royal Society as well, that is if that is what they call themselves still.
They too seem captured and are no longer a scientific community.....just look at what they did to the Listener 7!
Science in New Zealand (is that still the name..) has been in the oven too long and is now overcooked.
It has been basted with myth, legend and cultural narrative to the point that under a microscope (I don't know what the maori name for that is) no one can identify it.
It is now an undefinable 'new' element.....with a maori name to boot no doubt.
The sad and sadder irony is that the people who actually believe in real science are compromised by the funding they have to apply for from the last ethnocentric socio-eugenic Labour government and their willing lackys.....
Every day that science, engineering and other academic organisations kowtow to this narrative they destroy their reputations and carry New Zealand down with them too.
And it's utter bollocks to imply that Maori knew their God stirred the earth around every three hundred years for this somehow was passed down generationally by word of mouth! What a joke and an embarrassment.
Well said, Sandy.
Hip, Hip, Hooray !!
Sandy - what are Maori units of measurement ?
Scientists use empirical measurements, Maori don't.
Do we have any names of the people at Geonet who subscribe to this nonsense, and are prepared to stand up and be seen for the damage they are doing to NZs reputation ?
Post a Comment
Thanks for engaging in the debate!
Because this is a public forum, we will only publish comments that are respectful and do NOT contain links to other sites. We appreciate your cooperation.