The day before we celebrated Waitangi Day, The Post published an article which took readers much further back than February 6 1840 while projecting forwards to what might happen over the next five years or so.
Written by Joel Maxwell and promoting the case for protecting Maori knowledge, it was headed They were sending loved ones’ spirits to the stars at Matariki when Elon Musk’s Starlink cut in.
It began with three “fast facts”.
The first of these was not a fact: it was a grim forecast:
A Māori scientist has warned our skies could become clogged with up to 100,000 satellites in the next five years – threatening thousands of years of Māori knowledge in the process.
Will thousands of years of knowledge accumulated by the rest of the human race be similarly threatened? And if not, why makes Maori knowledge more vulnerable?
Whether or not the threatened knowledge is local or global, the question raised is: what will happen to it?
We get a hint:
The pollution could get so bad that stars seen by Māori ancestors would no longer be visible to the naked eye.
But because something is invisible does not mean we can have no knowledge of it.
When the sun disappears behind clouds, fortuitously it does not vanish from its place in the skies and astronomers do not suddenly lose their understanding of it.
Let’s see if we can learn more about the threat:
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites have already interfered with a tuku wairua ceremony during Matariki, when whānau who have died are released to the stars; while satellite proliferation threatens traditional waka hourua navigation.
We are shifting here from knowledge to spiritual belief.
Maxwell proceeds to introduce us to the source of his concern about the mischief Musk is making in the heavens.
Scientist, and Indigenous astronomy expert Te Kahuratai Moko-Painting is part of Sustainable Space – a group seeking to save Earth’s lower orbit, under 2000km, from uncontrolled development.
Moko-Painting says about 15,000 satellites have been sent into space since the 1950s – about 7000 of them are still functional, and about 10,000 are still in space.
Between 2022 when those estimates were made, and 2030, an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 satellites will be in orbit.
The 3000 or so Starlink satellites in orbit were “already causing issues”.
Maxwell continues:
A self-described “bit of a waka jumper” when it came to science – Moko-Painting’s background was in biomedical science, then he studied applied mathematics, then the science side of maramataka research.
He got involved in the issue after the first Matariki public holiday in 2022, when he joined his wife’s whānau at Waahi Pā in Huntly for the hautapu (feeding the stars with an offering of kai).
“And just as we were doing our tuku wairua, just as we were sending on those who had passed on from that year, we had 21 Starlink satellites cutting through, right past the path of Matariki.”
People unfamiliar with Starlink thought ‘“he tohu wairua tēnei’ – ‘this must be some kind of spiritual sign that something’s going right’”, he said.
“And those who knew would just say ‘no, that’s actually this man who loves the technology for launching satellites but makes them far too bright’ … and he does them in this line in an eye-catching kind of way, and that’s completely unregulated.”
Moko-Painting acknowledged that Starlink provided important services, especially for connecting rural communities and during events like Cyclone Gabrielle.
But we still need to consider how we use space sustainably – including cultural sustainability, he said.
“In terms of us, as Māori, being able to continue practising our tikanga, especially in this exciting time of revitalisation, where, you know, we’ve got not just Māori in marae, but whole cities celebrating Matariki in the morning.”
Even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a waka hourua, double-hulled waka used for voyaging, the night sky is 10% brighter than it used to be, Moko-Painting said.
“So one could argue that 10% of what our tūpuna could see with their eyes while navigating is no longer visible to us.”
Readers who click on the link to Maxwell’s report can read more about what bothers Moko-Painting.
They can learn, too, of master navigator Jack Thatcher’s tens of thousands of kilometres of voyaging on waka hourua.
He uses stars, ocean swells and birds as navigational guides.
Having 100,000 satellites in orbit might be good for “pinpoint accuracy” all around the world, but those who rely on the stars for guidance won’t know which is a satellite and which isn’t.
“They’ll obliterate most of the patterns that we all depend on to help us find our way.”
But whoa. Are there are no alternative ways of navigating from here to there on the oceans?
Well, yes. While modern technologies might be used to navigate the oceans, he acknowledged, but
“… that’s not the point.
“Indigenous knowledge is something that is a self-determination thing.”
Māori know who they are because of their ancestors’ achievements. “And now you’re going to take that all away from us.”
The “you” who are going to take all ancestors’ achievements away from Maori are Musk and other satellite launchers, presumably.
Yes, the satellite industry is cluttering the heavens with its hardware and yes, this is becoming an issue.
But what Musk and co. will do with the achievements of Maori ancestors and/or how they intend disposing of them is as unclear as the skies during a heavy fog.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
- The number of satellites in Earth’s lower orbit could hit 100,000 by 2030 – literally brightening the night sky and deleting stars from the naked eye.
A Māori scientist has warned our skies could become clogged with up to 100,000 satellites in the next five years – threatening thousands of years of Māori knowledge in the process.
Will thousands of years of knowledge accumulated by the rest of the human race be similarly threatened? And if not, why makes Maori knowledge more vulnerable?
Whether or not the threatened knowledge is local or global, the question raised is: what will happen to it?
We get a hint:
The pollution could get so bad that stars seen by Māori ancestors would no longer be visible to the naked eye.
But because something is invisible does not mean we can have no knowledge of it.
When the sun disappears behind clouds, fortuitously it does not vanish from its place in the skies and astronomers do not suddenly lose their understanding of it.
Let’s see if we can learn more about the threat:
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites have already interfered with a tuku wairua ceremony during Matariki, when whānau who have died are released to the stars; while satellite proliferation threatens traditional waka hourua navigation.
We are shifting here from knowledge to spiritual belief.
Maxwell proceeds to introduce us to the source of his concern about the mischief Musk is making in the heavens.
Scientist, and Indigenous astronomy expert Te Kahuratai Moko-Painting is part of Sustainable Space – a group seeking to save Earth’s lower orbit, under 2000km, from uncontrolled development.
Moko-Painting says about 15,000 satellites have been sent into space since the 1950s – about 7000 of them are still functional, and about 10,000 are still in space.
Between 2022 when those estimates were made, and 2030, an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 satellites will be in orbit.
The 3000 or so Starlink satellites in orbit were “already causing issues”.
Maxwell continues:
A self-described “bit of a waka jumper” when it came to science – Moko-Painting’s background was in biomedical science, then he studied applied mathematics, then the science side of maramataka research.
He got involved in the issue after the first Matariki public holiday in 2022, when he joined his wife’s whānau at Waahi Pā in Huntly for the hautapu (feeding the stars with an offering of kai).
“And just as we were doing our tuku wairua, just as we were sending on those who had passed on from that year, we had 21 Starlink satellites cutting through, right past the path of Matariki.”
People unfamiliar with Starlink thought ‘“he tohu wairua tēnei’ – ‘this must be some kind of spiritual sign that something’s going right’”, he said.
“And those who knew would just say ‘no, that’s actually this man who loves the technology for launching satellites but makes them far too bright’ … and he does them in this line in an eye-catching kind of way, and that’s completely unregulated.”
Moko-Painting acknowledged that Starlink provided important services, especially for connecting rural communities and during events like Cyclone Gabrielle.
But we still need to consider how we use space sustainably – including cultural sustainability, he said.
“In terms of us, as Māori, being able to continue practising our tikanga, especially in this exciting time of revitalisation, where, you know, we’ve got not just Māori in marae, but whole cities celebrating Matariki in the morning.”
Even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a waka hourua, double-hulled waka used for voyaging, the night sky is 10% brighter than it used to be, Moko-Painting said.
“So one could argue that 10% of what our tūpuna could see with their eyes while navigating is no longer visible to us.”
Readers who click on the link to Maxwell’s report can read more about what bothers Moko-Painting.
They can learn, too, of master navigator Jack Thatcher’s tens of thousands of kilometres of voyaging on waka hourua.
He uses stars, ocean swells and birds as navigational guides.
Having 100,000 satellites in orbit might be good for “pinpoint accuracy” all around the world, but those who rely on the stars for guidance won’t know which is a satellite and which isn’t.
“They’ll obliterate most of the patterns that we all depend on to help us find our way.”
But whoa. Are there are no alternative ways of navigating from here to there on the oceans?
Well, yes. While modern technologies might be used to navigate the oceans, he acknowledged, but
“… that’s not the point.
“Indigenous knowledge is something that is a self-determination thing.”
Māori know who they are because of their ancestors’ achievements. “And now you’re going to take that all away from us.”
The “you” who are going to take all ancestors’ achievements away from Maori are Musk and other satellite launchers, presumably.
Yes, the satellite industry is cluttering the heavens with its hardware and yes, this is becoming an issue.
But what Musk and co. will do with the achievements of Maori ancestors and/or how they intend disposing of them is as unclear as the skies during a heavy fog.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
How can a Maori scientist count to 100,000, they had no such concept. Or is the 'maori' scientist actually using his colonialist ancestry and their nasty science.
ahhh, easy fix, give maori some more money
I have rarely seen so much rubbish - is this a joke!! If people want support for Maori indigenous knowledge, they could at least make some sense. For a start, if you are gazing at the sky using stars for navigation and you can't tell the difference between a Starlink satellite and a real star, then you need to go below and have another drink!
If you were overwhelmed by the above thesis try this further example of Mr Moko-Painting's (a fine Maori name btw) work:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/science/19-06-2023/the-transformative-power-of-putaiao-in-maori-scientific-research
Overwhelmed Mr Anonymous? Come on - underwhelmed would be a better description - and the article suggested, a so called thesis - full of conjecture designed to instigate uncertainty - tells us nothing about real science.
Here's another scientific fact. Little Red Ridinghood is responsible for the extinction of wolves in Europe.
And Hansel and Gretel are murderers and counter eco appropriate with how they fed the birds.
Hang on a minute - we have been indoctrinated to believe that Maori, when they died, went up to Spirits Bay at the top of the North Island and from there by waka to some mysterious home island further up the Pacific.
Now I'm instructed to believe that they go straight up into the heavenly starry sky ?
It now becomes obvious why Maori demand they they be paid consultants on the NZ Space Program.
Hmmm, what happens when part Maori die ? Does the European part stay down here ?
And what happens if I'm only pretending to be a Maori ?
Such convoluted questions that only Maori can answer (when paid).
Be seious contibutors, Matariki and the voyagers has proven beyond doubt Maori are NOT indigenous to New Zealand. Never were and Matariki has been accepted by Parliament and is NZ Sovereign law .
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