Abstract:
When Captain James Cook's bark the Endeavour arrived in Tūranga-nui in October 1769, the local people were mystified. Many thought that this spectre had appeared from te pō, the dark realm of ancestors. Cook's scientific expedition, sponsored by the Royal Society, was accompanied by Tupaia, a high priest from Ra'iatea. Tupaia joined the ship in Tahiti, where Cook and his companions had observed the transit of Venus. At Tūranga, misunderstandings led to shootings, but when they arrived at Uawa (now Tolaga Bay), the expedition was welcomed ashore. Tupaia and his companions had many friendly exchanges with the priests from Te Rāwheoro, the local whare wānanga or school of learning, which specialised in carving and tattoo. This paper examines differences and resonances between Enlightenment science and philosophy and wānanga (Māori ancestral knowledge), and how exchanges between these knowledge traditions might open up possibilities for new kinds of futures.
