Te Aotearoa is, it's been a 60 year journey and a good journey to unpack the sound of language, the combination of sounds and resonance. vibration to create a word. Our kupu now is papatipu. Papatipu. Papatipu is a beautiful word. Just look at the first part of that word. Papa also refers to, if we say it slowly, papa as in the ultimate parent. the father, the dad, the one that we look to for guidance and protection. Then we have the familiar one.
Yeah, maybe I'm assuming too much. Papatua Nuku, Mother Earth. Interesting that we have these two names. Papa, Kirunga, Papatua Nuku. Ke raro. Then we have this other part to this word called tipu. Tipu refers to the sapling, the little shoot. When we talk about the kumara tipu, we're talking about this little sapling. That is fresh, small seedling, ready to take root. And then we put the two words together, papatipu. When we talk about hoki atukito, papatipu.
What we're saying is go back to your parent. Go back to that place that sustains you. Go back to the foundations of the beginning of time. And whether that's your marae, whether that's your people, whether that's your whenua and tipu. Go back to that place where you were nurtured. When you were a little one. Koina te kupu. Papa te puu.