Kupurā
Te Kāhui (the assembly) Atua (gods / spiritual beings)

Tīpuna (ancestors) · Ngā manu whenua (land), te kōhanga, te whakatakoto tikanga (custom / protocol)

Punaweko

Say it: POO-nah-WEH-koh

Where Tāne holds the forest as a whole, Punaweko holds the birds within it — who nests where, who sings at which hour, and who may or may not be taken.

Te Kāwai (Line of descent)

Te Kore → Te Pō → Papatūānuku → Tāne Mahuta → Punaweko

Te Kōrero (the story)

The ancestors did not treat every bird as a single, undivided thing to be taken freely. Punaweko was named so that manu had someone to answer for them — a kererū taken out of season, a nest disturbed for no need, was a debt owed to him, not simply an act against the bush in general. He is said to walk the forest at the hours when birds move between waking and sleeping, marking which trees are heavy with young and which are quiet this year and should be left. Where Hurumanu answers for the birds of the open sea, Punaweko answers for the ones that live among Tāne's trees — kererū, tūī, kākā, pīwakawaka — and it is to him that a hunter with any sense speaks before taking anything with feathers from the land.

Te Whakapapa (the genealogy)

Of the descent of Tāne Mahuta, holding the land birds as his portion of his father's wider domain over the forest.

Ngā Mana (domains and influence)

Ngā manu whenua — birds of the landNesting seasons and when to leave a tree aloneThe rules around taking birdsBirdsong through the day

Kei Kōnei Rātou (they are present here)

  • A kererū sitting heavy and unhurried in a fruiting tree.
  • Tūī calling before anyone else in the house is up.
  • A nest left quietly alone until the young have gone.
  • The particular quiet of a forest with no birds moving in it.

Ngā Huarahi Hono (ways to connect)

You find a nest

Note it, step back, and leave it exactly as it was. Tell others nearby to do the same.

A tree is fruiting near you

Leave it a season for the birds and say out loud why, even if no one's listening.

You hear tūī or kererū close by

Stop for a moment rather than talking over them.

A Common Misunderstanding

This profile holds one telling of Punaweko. Pūrākau and whakapapa can differ between iwi and whānau, so it should not be read as the only account.

Ngā Uara (values)

Watchful

A quality carried in the kōrero of Punaweko.

Fair

A quality carried in the kōrero of Punaweko.

Exact about seasons

A quality carried in the kōrero of Punaweko.

Protective

A quality carried in the kōrero of Punaweko.

Ngā Pūrākau (the traditional stories)

Told in full, the way they would be shared out loud. Versions differ between iwi (tribe), hapū (sub-tribe) and whānau (family).

Ngā manu o te ngahere — the birds of the forest

A short telling of the one who answers for land birds, and why the ancestors asked before they took.

About 2 min read