Alfred Street (University of Auckland Store)
Are you sure you want to delete this address?
Nga Hekaheka O Aotearoa : He Aratohu Ma Te Pouako - A Guide For Teachers
Paperback Edition: 1
The Teachers Guide.
Awarded best Te Reo Resource (Primary) at the 2018 Copyright Licensing Education Awards.
http://www.copyright.co.nz/about/news-and-event/winners-announced-for-the-copyright-licensing-education-awards-2018
A new bilingual educational booklet, aimed at teaching Maori ancestral knowledge about fungi (hekaheka) has been released to schools.
This book combines Manaaki Whenua research into Maori knowledge and uses of fungi in Aotearoa - where it was found fungi played an important role in food, medicine, fire-carrying, and tattooing for early Maori.
Lead researcher and co-author Dr Peter Buchanan initiated the project, in the hope of making this scientific knowledge more accessible to Maori students.
"It occurred to me that this knowledge is not European knowledge this is Maori knowledge, and do Maori know it? Is it in the Putaiao Maori science curriculum? Is there a way to get it there?" "So I proposed it to MBIE for funding to reintroduce to Kura Kaupapa students, Maori knowledge that didnt seem to have been maintained," says Dr Buchanan.
Around 7,000 to 8,000 species of fungi have already been identified in New Zealand, but researchers expect there are thousands more.
Fungi play a crucial role in Aotearoa, a role Dr Buchanan says is often unrecognised.
"They help plants to grow and they help connect plants and they help and manage the whole decomposition and nutrient-cycling process. Theyre also important for how people can use fungi. We use them for antibiotic medicine and food."
Dr Georgina Stewart co-authored the resource, which was translated into Maori by Heeni Hacob.
"There will be knowledge within Maoridom that is not known outside, but what we tried to do is at least collate the knowledge which is in written form, and reintroduce it back to students so students can understand a little more about the importance of fungi," says Dr Stewart.
108 Maori immersion schools around New Zealand will receive the student and teacher books.
Featured in the 24 October 2018 New Zealand newsletter.
To receive this newsletter regularly please email us with your name and contact details.
Pages : 57
Publisher : Manaaki Whenua Landcare Res.
Publication date : 2017
Subjects: Non-fiction, Published in New Zealand, New Zealand, Māori, NZ Natural History, Māori Indigenous Knowledge / Mātauranga Māori, Te Reo Māori, Ruareo - Bilingual with Te Reo Māori