ABSTRACT
Standing in betwixt, twisted sinew sisters spread too thin, thinking I’m sinking whilst afloat and adrift, alone, inept and always. Reframe, rename, recode, reorder, rescind, release, recover, read, rest, relaxation and always righting wrongs. Raranga is one of the practices carried into today by the knowing hands of many Māori weavers. Raranga is linear in that it begins and ends by progressing through a series of actions and processes, which if not done in proper order makes work very difficult. At the same time, raranga is fluid and cyclical nourishing and supporting creative ways to problem-solve, learning raranga teaches people a lot about themselves. In this chapter I outline stages of the raranga process, and in this describe how these processes manifest in the creation of a series of visual artworks. I then write about a second series of works that document a performance ceremony, again developed and enacted using a raranga process. The artworks described are self-portraits I created to help make sense of my own journey toward self-healing and resolving long-held hurts. Between these two series, insight is given into ways creativity can help in the embodiment of transformative theory written and conveyed by Māori scholars. Raranga and raranga knowledge are powerful because they connect weavers to plants and land, enhancing feelings of connectedness to place and the people and ultimately connecting a person to themselves.
