Tupuānuku II

30mm x 70mm

Tupuānuku, associated with sustenance from the earth, the whenua. My wife shared a story with her colleagues that is great food for thought. Traditionally, Māori people would bury the placenta of their new borns in their ancestral ground. This may be under a significant tree or even plant a tree on it. The name for the placenta is 'whenua', the name for the ground is also 'whenua'. So, the whenua that sustained us as a new baby in the womb, is now buried in the whenua that will sustain us on the earth. Tupuānuku is a signpost to remember to respect and be grateful for all that is provided to sustain us.