Chapter 14: Whare Hape: Transformations

Greetings Whanau—Wikuki Kingi here. I share with you a journey of reconnection for me and my whanau.

Whare Hape is the ancient Whare Wananga, a university of higher learning for Pacific navigators based in the centre of Tahiti. Hape is Tahitian for “caterpillar,” symbolizing the transformation of a subject through chrysalis and finally to butterfly. Thus, people who were “chosen” sought to learn—as part of their morphing journey—the ancient arts of canoe construction, celestial navigation, and community leadership through creative cultural design and ceremonial interaction based on thousands of years of knowledge, experience, and a deep spiritual connection and conversation with Mauri, the life force touching all that we see and feel.