| ATARANGI & THE MAORI HEALERS |
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Wednesday, 05 July 2006 The ëMaori Healersí will also be in Los Angeles - 26th - 29th July. Atarangi Muru  Growing
up in a society where healing was a natural everyday event, one did not
recognise the 'training' that was being given at the time. As my Dad
says when he talks of his youth or those times of yester year, "Those
koroua (old fullas), they didn't talk about what they knew, they just
did it", known today as 'leading by example.'Upon reflection, the healing arts were many fold in my whanau (family) life. A loved Aunt instilled in me the curiosity and the beginnings of my pathway in the healing realm. As young children, my cousin Rowan and I would spend many weekends and school holidays with this particular Aunt and Uncle beside the beach in Ahipara, Northland, New Zealand. The rest of the community was cut off at high tide, meaning no vehicles could get in or out, and it was accessible only by land rover or tractor at the half or low tides. When my cousin Rowan was not well with kidney problems and we could not get him to the Doctor or hospital services, my Aunty showed me how to rub his kidneys as well as along his back in a certain circular motion, to stop the bloating and draw the fluids away from the extremities. Now I know these to be the kidney meridian and eliminatory organs. This technique allowed his body to regulate itself and be in control again. Sometimes, she would lay him down with his feet slightly raised and then we would 'push' the water to the bladder so that he could urinate often to 'release' the build up. We would spend hours rubbing his legs, enthralled with Auntyís stories of her childhood or sometimes she would devise a story for us on the spur of the moment about one of her journeys to far away places. Held spell bound, I would copy her without any words being used, following along with the many different strokes, pinches, flat hand and pressure. Thus begins the journey.... Our paternal grandmother, Ani had a vast knowledge of Rongoa - the medicines from the ngahere (bush) and used these often to alleviate tooth ache, calm an overheated child, broken bones, sprains, sore muscles, blood disorders, diarrhoea, wounds, skin irritations, etc. Our paternal grandfather, Henare was the local midwife in Te Hapua, as well as a Tohunga (High Priest) for various ailments of the body and the soul. He travelled north with Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, (Maori Prophet and Healer in the early 1900ís), the founder of the Ratana Movement, and became well versed in the faith, prayers, healings and sermons thereof. Nana Maude Williams, her single focus mastery on
us - her grandchildren, was divulging her treasures of wisdom. She was
always humming her favourite hymn, chant or song. And the list could go
onÖÖ.
Aunty Bella Nathan had people walk for miles to
see her so she could 'walk' on them, aligning their backs and physical
structure.
Uncle Efraim Te Paa shared his wisdom with us
telling us the tribal stories of our Ancient people and their ways.
Then there were the old songs he would sing and the chants he enchanted
us with.
Cedric Culham would take us on a spiritual journey
when he spoke about the various Maunga (mountains) and the significance
they had to that tribal group or area. All of these stories were part
and parcel of the healing realm to us as Maori.
Then there are the modern living teachers like Hohepa De La Mere (a
beloved elder and teacher) affectionately known as Papa Joe. He says
ěMirimiri, Koo Miri, Taa Miri me Romiromi hoki were ancient practises
of the Tohunga which clears, releases and energises ones entire being.î
Mirimiri: the healing process that works on
all 4 dimensions. It connects the Tohunga to the 12th heaven (realm)
where in Maori mythology, Taane climbed his way up to this 12th plane
to uplift the 3 kete (baskets) of sacred knowledge.
Koo Miri: is the process of koorerorero
(talking) is used to find the 'core' emotional bindings that dis-able,
dis-empower and keep dis-cord rife. These are mainly emotional
experiences behind physical, psychological or mental ailments. Through
the use of the Whatumanawa, (the third eye) one is able to identify
issues and bring about change as well as healing.
Taa Miri: is to read and listen to the body. This is mainly where we see the trauma trapped within the body.
For example: Calves - primary relationships and heavy metals trapped in body and they sink
Hip bones - imbalance of energy, male / female energy askew
Upper arms - pain in this area lack of self nurturing
Romiromi: Use of elbows, hands, knees, feet, raakau (stick / wood), kohatu /toka (stones), moana (seawater), to do a very deep tissue body work. These are as Papa says the stages of what he teaches, Te Oomai Reia. All of the above in turn bring about TE REO - the voices of nature. Some of the techniques that we use are as old as the ancient Chinese Accupressure and Accupuncture points. They are related to the Hawaiian Lomilomi and Ha'aaponopono, extending back 12,000 years or more. Similarities exist as we travel the world with our healing and see it in action in other indigenous cultures.
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