Pepeke is an animal grouping within te ao Māori. This group name equates to the insect world and calls to whakapapa in the concept of aitanga – living creatures descending from the primordial atua who are the supernatural origins of the natural world.
In this Māori category, pepeke refers both to bent legs and jumping ability.
Pekepeke
This pare was carved by Dennis Conway for the entrance to the New Zealand Arthropod Collection (Te Aitanga a Pepeke o Aotearoa) at the Tāmaki Landcare Research facility in Auckland. It depicts the creation of various creatures including pekepeke or insects.
Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research acknowledge the assistance of their local hapū Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in the creation of this pare.
Te aitanga pepeke feature in cosmogenic narratives of conflict between primordial brothers Tānemahuta and Whiro. Whiro used te aitanga pepeke to form his armies of attack – stinging people and animals.
In other versions of these nature narratives, Tūmatauenga, the ancestor of humans, killed Namuiria, the primordial sandfly. In return, his tribes of waeroa (mosquitoes) and namu (sandflies) attack humans.
Te aitanga pepeke also drive the narrative of Rātā, the canoe maker, who failed to ask permission of the forest before felling a large tree. The insects and birds were angry. After Rātā had retired for the day, they raised the tree up again – calling on all the branches and broken pieces to bind together. Twice Rātā felled the tree – and twice ngā aitanga pepeke raised it up again.
Eventually, instead of leaving the forest at the end of the day, Rātā hid and observed the insects and birds raising the tree once again. Dialogue ensued that made Rātā overcome with shame and remorse. The aitanga pepeke and manu took this as a sign of humility and offered to build him a waka (canoe). The story of Rātā and his waka is an indigenous parable about tikanga, right ways of behaving and respect for nature.
Related content
Māori knowledge of animals is an introduction to Māori knowledge of a selected sample of animal species indigenous to Aotearoa. Mātauranga Māori about animals known to tūpuna is presented in six groupings:
- Kurī
- Kiore
- Ngā manu a Tānemahuta (featuring pīwakawaka, tūī, kererū, rūrū, kōtare, tītī and toroa)
- Ngā ika a Tangaroa (featuring makō and tohorā)
- Ngārara – te aitanga a Punga
- Te aitanga pepeke.
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Activity ideas
These activities support learning about the six animal groupings mentioned above:
Useful link
Rātā me te Rākau (Junior Journal 57, Level 2, 2018) is a retelling of the traditional Māori tale of Rātā and his quest to find a tree to make a waka. The story is available online with either text or audio.
Reference
Stewart, G. T. (2024). Animals of Aotearoa: Kaupapa Māori Summaries. Anthrozoös, 37(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2023.2254552
Acknowledgement
This content has been developed by Professor Georgina Tuari Stewart (Ngāti Kura, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, Pare Hauraki), Auckland University of Technology, and Dr Sally Birdsall, University of Auckland, with funding and support from the Ministry for Primary Industries – Manatū Ahu Matua and the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART).
Animals of Aotearoa and animal ethics
Animals of Aotearoa: Kaupapa Māori Summaries and Exploring the Three Rs of Animal Ethics with Māori Ideas were developed with funding from the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) and the Ministry for Primary Industries. The silhouette design was created for this project and is the copyright of Professor Georgina Tuari Stewart and Dr Sally Birdsall.
