"Karakia is karakia. You've got ka - it ignites - ra - connectivity, and kia is the essence of your voice, the tone of your voice, your sincerity, the words you are saying."

What is karakia?

Do any quick google search about tikanga, and you will find multiple sources referring to karakia as a prayer, chant or incantation, with its purpose to communicate with the atua. A Māori worldview sees no separation between the physical and spiritual dimensions of a person. Ngā iwi Māori are just another part of the natural world governed by the atua. Some interpret the breakdown of this word as, ka - referring to the future tense, ara - the pathway and kia - to be. Collectively meaning the pathway to your desired intention. This blog post focuses on the use of karakia in the classroom at Wellington College.

There are various types of karakia for different purposes. With the introduction of Christianity to Aotearoa in the 19th Century, for example, new karakia were written to acknowledge the Christian God and Jesus Christ. These karakia have been often used since that time, however there is a current move towards using more traditional karakia, which call upon many of the atua for direction; these karakia are poetic and full of beautiful imagery and metaphor.

Tikanga educator Blackie Tohiariki (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Aroha) says karakia is a Māori word and shouldn't be translated.

"Karakia is clear and clean cut, it takes a religious spin when, in your organisation words like Lord, God, Amen - those types of words are used - then it is religious and you can call it a prayer if you like. But karakia is not a prayer.

"Karakia is karakia. You've got ka - it ignites - ra - connectivity and kia is the essence of your voice, the tone of your voice, your sincerity, the words you are saying."

He says a karakia is appropriate to do "any time".

"I always had karakia before my meeting on the rugby field, because a karakia's about intention, it's about setting goodwill, it's about setting a good direction.

"Before I go hunting, if I go with the intention that I'm going to take from the environment a life, so therefore, when that ritual is done then you give thanks again, you have another karakia."

He says a karakia is spiritual - “connecting to the elements of earth, wind, fire and water”.

In a school setting, karakia helps to calm a class, establish routine, encourage unity and signal the stepping into and out of a learning space. If a hui or akoranga is opened with a karakia whakataki, then it must be closed at the end with a karakia whakakapi. When there is formal learning involved, karakia can be seen as establishing the tapu (sacredness) of a learning space, with the karakia whakakapi used to move out of this tapu space at the end of the akoranga.

The thinking behind this is that in the Māori world, the creation of anything is considered to be tapu, whether it is new learning, a new artwork, or new life. An important tikanga of te ao Māori is that the opposing but complementary forces of tapu (sacredness) and noa (commonness) should not be mixed; therefore if you are using a karakia whakataki to open a tapu learning space, no kai (food) or inu (drinks other than fresh water) should be consumed within that physical area as it would degrade the tapu of the learning space. Fresh water is fine to consume as it is a large part of the human body, which is also tapu. It is still fine to consume kai/inu within a lesson, as long as it is consumed in a separate physical space to the learning environment. It should be noted however that each iwi has its own tikanga so there are different variations and interpretations of these concepts.

Finally, when using a karakia to open and close a hui or akoranga, it’s important to check the translation first and make sure that the content of the karakia relates to the content of your hui or akoranga. Help students understand what they are saying, and why they are saying it. Then it will feel authentic.

How are teachers using karakia in the classroom at Wellington College?

As part of your rituals and routines, explore where karakia would be appropriate. Many teachers who we have spoken to at WC have explained their routine as this:

• Students are greeted at the door and head to their seats and go straight into their Do Nows. While this is happening, the teacher can iron at any late comer issues, materials and equipment, and the roll call.

• After the Do Now, or perhaps just before going over the outcomes of the Do Now, a karakia feels appropriate. Why? Because a purpose of karakia is to unite everyone, settle the wairua of the class, and enter into the tapu state of creating new learning.

• At the end of the lesson, a karakia will close the lesson, bring the students and kaiako back into noa, ready to move on. Students should not be having conversations during a karakia as this not only undermines tikanga, but also the purpose of the karakia.

• There is no problem for students and teachers to engage in multiple karakia each day. To embed tikanga at WC, this approach will benefit us all.

• You can follow the karakia that we open and close our staff briefings with. Refer to this presentation to access the karakia that we use.

Karakia does not align with my personal beliefs. Do I need to perform karakia?

WC is an inclusive school, and should leading karakia undermine or contrast with your belief system, we encourage you to consider other ways to support this act of tikanga that is important to normalise in our kura. You might wish to create space for others in the class to safely perform karakia, or quiet time at the start and end so that students can perform karakia independently. Showing that you respect and value tikanga will, by proxy, show that you value all cultures.

Why is it important to use karakia in the classroom?

We have a responsibility to all of our learners to engage in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in order to be actively engaged treaty partners. Looking ahead in the future, our students will likely be entering work environments where they might be asked to participate in karakia, or understand tikanga, and we would be doing them a disservice if we didn’t regularly model how we include karakia in our every day rituals, and help them to participate in tikanga before that time. The potential skills and knowledge that our Māori and non-Māori students develop within te reo and tikanga will place them in great stead for professional opportunities and leadership beyond WC, as well as develop culturally competent citizens of Aotearoa.

We asked a group of Year 11s about karakia as part of their class routine.

What do you like about using karakia in the classroom?

“It lets us focus, it also blesses us, and lets us stay connected with Maori culture.” - Noah Aliva

“Karakia creates a respectful environment for the teacher and each other during the class.” - Ollie Archer

“It makes me feel a sense of unity as we all say it together.” - William Scotland

What role does the use of karakia play for you at the start of a lesson?

“It gets me in that learning mindset” - George Lyons

“It plays the role of bringing me back into the flow of the class. It also lets me know that it’s time to start focussing.” - Lorenz-Markel Rere

“Routine, Togetherness, Calmness” - Farrell Ramadhan

Remember the 3 P’s of Te Tiriti - Partnership, Protection, Participation.

The future of a truly bi-cultural Aotearoa is bright! Teachers have a wonderful opportunity to be architects of that future. Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui!

Resources:
Emma Lumb - Te Puna Wai or Waipapa - Hagley College
Te Mātaiaho
https://www.education.govt.nz
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018883959/the-core-of-karakia
https://www.taiuru.maori.nz/karakia-or-cultural-appropriation/