Tracy Liu

Assignment 3

Participant Observation for "Our Ancestors" (16:25-19:38).

I observed as Paikea, or “Pai”, perched on the boat talking to her Koroua (grandfather) trying to
start up their boat through manually revving the engine with a piece of rope. Pai is asking persistently for
a class project on how long ago their ancestors came to the island. Rather than give a numerical and
factual description on when their ancestors arrived, the Chief offers the end of a rope as a way to
symbolically explain the family’s history. In the Maori language, the Chief explains through the symbolic
use of the many threads of the rope that they must “weave together the threads of Paikea so our lines
remain strong. Each one of those threads are one of your ancestors, all joined together and strong - all
the way back to the whale” (Whale Rider, 2003). I wondered how did Pai relate to who “Paikea” was in
this context as well as the significance of the whale mention as well. While the many usual oral traditions
for the Maori state that their ancestors arrived on Canoes, Paikea turns out to be the founder of their “Iwi”
or tribe. Paikea was said to have arrived on the island on a southern humpback whale, or a whale with a
white belly and deep grooves along its length (Te Ara Webpage). I could observe that Pai had a curious
realization as she rotated the rope in her hand. The art of storytelling has this practical function in the
Maori tradition. As the Maori see that everything in the world has a natural order and is related somehow,
it makes sense that the Chief chose to share a story in order to explain the “interconnectedness” that is so
highly revered as explained from grandfather to granddaughter.

I watched as her grandfather attempted to start the engine of the boat and the string slipped in his
hand, failing for the engine to start. What I observed next was a sight of major cultural significance and a
scene that is familiar to me in the genesis of defining gender stereotypes. The Maori tribe, as indicated by
Niki Caro in her article describing the Maori, are a deeply patriarchal society steeped in tradition. The
leader of the tribe would be the male heir of the Chief at the time. When her grandfather went away to find
another rope, Pai took the same abandoned rope and restarted the engine herself. Pai herself seemed to
step into new boundaries in this patriarchal society to test her abilities - and succeeded. While she
expressed excitement, her grandfather deeply scolded her and instructed her to never do her action again
as it was “dangerous.” Something in my mind told me that the danger that her grandfather was referring to
was not so much a warning of concern for Pai’s physical safety, as much as it was more for warning Pai of
her place in the tribe to not cross gender roles or duties. I come from a democratic world where access
and choice was never characterized with obvious boundaries such as Pai’s experience just now. The
morals and actions taught to me since I could even recall the ability to think for myself would have never
looked upon this experience of me “trying something new” as anything but out of simple curiosity. It would
seem that The act of even attempting to showcase a similar aptitude that a high level member of society,
such as a Chief, is potentially a grave mistake. Even moments ago where Pai had an opportunity to gain
real knowledge of her cultural heritage from her family member, is replaced by an even higher priority in
the Maori culture: the patriarchal tradition.

I felt myself initially offended that her grandfather’s reaction was so coarse and dismissive of Pai’s
achievements. But I had to remind myself that I was not in my world anymore, and I could never quite fully
understand the weight of this natural order that the Maori people have adopted. My feelings are the
results of seeing how previous expectations of male and female roles in the United States have resulted
in today’s statistics on gender disparities. Furthermore, I am familiar with living in a heterogenous country
where dozens of languages, cultures and customs co-exist side by side. Specifically, having to accept that
other cultures and traditions exist, but may be completely conflicting with one another. There is no one
culture that dominates such as what I see here between Pai and her grandfather.