Pounamu, also known as “greenstone” and “New Zealand jade,” stands as a cornerstone in the narrative of Aotearoa New Zealand, embodying the essence of the land and the people. This is reflected in the indigenous name for the South Island, Te Waipounamu, which means “place of pounamu” or “waters of pounamu.”
Since its initial discovery post-Polynesian settlement, pounamu has been bound up with key episodes in Aotearoa's history, from trade networks and technological adaptation in the pre-colonial period through to the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Settlement in 1998. Along the way, pounamu has encountered many different knowledge traditions. The traditions of Kāi Tahu and other iwi Māori are the most important of these, but the stone has also been studied outside Aotearoa and by non-Māori New Zealanders, through the lens of many different disciplines: pūkōrero (traditional histories), whakairo (carving), physics, gemmology, museology, and more.
Pounamu is a window onto the historical relationship between these traditions, and onto the wider questions they raise. How does Western science interweave with Mātauraka Māori? How do the natural sciences relate to the humanities? What effect did colonisation have on the study of pounamu, and what pathways exist to rectify and reconcile these legacies? What does the future hold for pounamu knowledge? The session will address these questions and explore how the study of pounamu can flourish using different ways of knowing.
Contributors
Ben Te Aika (University of Otago/Ōtākou Whākaihu Waka)
Dougal Austin (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Julia Bradshaw (Canterbury Museum)
Michael Bycroft (University of Warwick)
Simon Cox (GNS Dunedin)
Kane Fleury (Tūhura Otago Museum)
Anne-Claire Mauger (University of Otago/Ōtākou Whākaihu Waka)
Nick Mortimer (GNS Dunedin)
Natalia Seliutina (University of Otago/Ōtākou Whākaihu Waka)
Rachel Wesley (Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou; University of Otago/Ōtākou Whākaihu Waka)
This is an all-day, symposium-style event. All are welcome to attend.
9.20am – 5.30pm, Monday 7 July
Barclay Theatre
Free – Please RSVP
https://otagomuseum.nz/whats-on/pounamu-and-the-history-of-knowledge
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