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"Kia mau ki nga taonga takaro, kia heke iho ra i nga tupuna, katahika tika" (Cherish the games of our ancestors and continue to utilise them for the good of our people.) 1
This article is about Nga Taonga Takaro, traditional Maori games, and how they are becoming a transformative agent in the areas of health, sport and education. Their mauri (life force) embraces an holistic collective of realms, including - the physical aspects of game playing; the wairua (spiritual connections) of their rituals, equipment and artefacts; the influence of Atua (Gods) under whose umbrella the games are practiced; the intelligences required for their utilization; the inter-connectiveness between the 'performers' (tupuna, players, spectators, facilitators, teachers) and their environments; their whakapapa, symbolisms and interpreted meanings; their dissemination; their values, norms and communicative mediums.2
These pastimes were specifically developed in ancient Maori communities as intellectual and social tools and because of those propositions they are just as functional today and potentially have a wide cross-curricula application in schools.
Traditional games have become ingratiated into the NZ school system in the past decade because enterprising and innovative teachers are taking the initiative and autonomously developing their own educative interventions. Supporting this movement every year are over seventy Otago University graduates, proficient in the academic validation of Maori games, whose entry into the workforce has also been remarkably influential3.
This in-school adoption is giving youth increasing diversity in their education and most importantly it is a learning tool that they want and one which they can use as a foundation for their continued academic progress4. Acknowledgements can be attributed to the following people, organisations and enterprises which have showcased traditional games initiatives this century. These are some of the catalysts which have influenced the dramatic changes which are occurring in our society, most notably :
* The traditional games initiatives of Dr. Ihirangi Heke in his University of Otago courses and his relationship with health organisations in staging workshops to promote the benefits of Nga Taonga Takaro
* The U.S. Curriculum Directors introduction of ki-o-rahi into 31,000 of their elementary schools, and in particular the...