Making Connections - The Power of Oral Storytelling | Trent Hohaia | TEDxUOA
Summary
TLDRThe speaker, a young Maori man, shares his journey of self-discovery and the importance of storytelling in connecting to one's cultural roots. He discusses his upbringing in a diverse South Auckland, his struggle with identity as a Maori academic, and the profound impact of traditional Maori navigation stories on his understanding of his heritage. He advocates for the repatriation of storytelling in Maori homes to foster identity and resilience, drawing parallels between the strength of forests and the strength found in community and shared narratives.
Takeaways
- π¨βπ§ The speaker is the youngest of five siblings, with an older sister who was absent during his early childhood and has a tendency to act motherly towards him.
- π Growing up in South Auckland, the speaker cherished the cultural diversity and felt a sense of pride in being from a multi-talented family.
- π Despite not always being the best student, the speaker excelled academically, often being at the top of his class, which was surprising to him given the stereotype that being Maori and achieving academically were separate.
- π§ The speaker struggled with an identity crisis, feeling that his Maori heritage and academic success were at odds with each other, leading to a denial of his heritage for a time.
- π Traveling the world, the speaker sought to find his identity but was repeatedly asked where he was from, which led him to question his own origins and identity more deeply.
- π¨βπ¦ A conversation with an older brother in London sparked a realization about the sacrifices made by his parents and the speaker's role as an inheritor of their legacy.
- π The speaker's academic achievements were seen as exceptional due to his Maori background, which perpetuated the stereotype that Maori people are not typically high achievers.
- π A story shared by a man named Michael about Polynesian navigation skills helped the speaker see the value in his Maori heritage and the importance of storytelling in understanding one's identity.
- π³ The speaker founded a social enterprise called 'Toitoi Tito' to promote oral storytelling traditions, emphasizing the relational, developmental, and prescriptive power of stories.
- π± Storytelling is described as foundational, with stories being the roots that give shape to the world and provide a sense of identity and purpose.
- πΏ The speaker passionately advocates for the importance of storytelling in connecting to one's culture and history as a means to address contemporary social issues and foster a stronger sense of identity and community.
Q & A
What is the significance of the speaker's older sister being 17 years older than him?
-The speaker's older sister being 17 years older gives her a maternal role in his life, which is reflected in her tendency to speak to him as if she were his mother. However, there's also a humorous twist as she was not around for the first year of his life due to being in Germany and recorded over videos of him with MTV music videos.
How did the speaker's upbringing among four brothers influence his perspective on life?
-Growing up in the shadow of his older brothers, who were all good at sports, talented, or excelled in school, the speaker admired them and thought being their little brother was amazing. This likely instilled a sense of admiration for achievement and a desire to follow in their footsteps.
What was the speaker's initial struggle with his Maori identity in relation to academic achievement?
-The speaker initially struggled with the notion that being Maori and achieving academically were separate and could not coexist. He felt that being Maori was seen as incompatible with being intelligent, which led to an identity crisis where he questioned his own achievements and identity.
How did the speaker's travel experiences contribute to his understanding of his identity?
-Traveling the world made the speaker confront the question 'where am I from?' repeatedly, as people asked him about his origins. This led him to introspect and question his identity, realizing that the aspects he used to identify himself were mostly about his family, not his own individual identity.
What revelation did the speaker have during his conversation with his brother at the pub?
-The speaker realized that he had been a worse son to his family than they deserved. This conversation made him reflect on the sacrifices and contributions his parents had made for him and his siblings, leading him to understand the importance of living up to his family's legacy.
What was the speaker's academic performance like during his university years?
-The speaker excelled academically in university, being on the dean's list for academic excellence and receiving the Marti academic excellence award two years in a row. He maintained an average of about 90% on all his submissions.
How did the speaker's achievements at university affect his perception of his Maori identity?
-Despite his academic success, the speaker felt that he was seen as an exception rather than the norm for Maori students, which perpetuated the stereotype that Maori students are unlikely to achieve academically. This realization deepened his identity crisis.
What impact did the story told by Michael King have on the speaker's understanding of his Maori heritage?
-The story about the Polynesian navigators and their incredible feat of navigating the Pacific Ocean changed the speaker's perspective. It made him realize that being Maori and achieving great things were not separate but intertwined, thus resolving his identity crisis.
What is the purpose of the social enterprise 'Tota Tito' that the speaker started?
-Tota Tito, meaning to compose verses in unison, is a social enterprise aimed at promoting oral storytelling traditions. The speaker believes that storytelling is relational, developmental, and prescriptive, and that it can help ground individuals in their cultural identity.
How does the speaker connect the concept of storytelling to the health of forests and the problems faced by Maori communities?
-The speaker uses the metaphor of the kahikatea tree and its root system to illustrate the importance of connection and relationship in both nature and human society. He suggests that the problems faced by Maori communities, such as high suicide rates and domestic violence, may be a result of disconnection from their cultural roots and identity.
What is the speaker's vision for the future regarding the repatriation of traditional Maori learning methods?
-The speaker envisions a future where young Maori are surrounded by stories that affirm their identity, making them feel relevant, meaningful, and capable. He believes that by understanding and connecting to their past through storytelling, they can achieve stability and navigate the future more effectively.
Outlines
π¨βπ§βπ¦ Family Dynamics and Identity Struggle
The speaker, Jin Ho, introduces himself as the youngest of five siblings and reflects on his childhood overshadowed by his older siblings' achievements. He humorously recounts his older sister's attempt to mother him despite her absence during his early years. Jin's narrative delves into his Maori heritage and the internal conflict he faced between his academic success and cultural identity. He shares his journey of self-discovery, beginning with his academic achievements and the stereotypes he encountered, leading to a deeper exploration of his Maori roots and the repatriation of traditional learning methods.
π Academic Excellence and Cultural Identity
Jin Ho discusses his academic success at university, where he excelled despite the underlying stereotype that Maori students were unlikely to achieve academically. He received multiple awards and maintained a high GPA, which he saw as a way to honor his parents' sacrifices. However, he also faced comments that reinforced the stereotype, making him feel like an exception rather than the norm. This led to an ongoing identity crisis, which was further explored during his travels and a profound conversation with his brother about their family's contributions and sacrifices.
πΊοΈ The Power of Storytelling and Cultural Connection
The speaker shares a transformative experience where he learned about the incredible navigation skills of his Polynesian ancestors, which challenged the derogatory 'Great Wave' theory. This revelation connected him to a proud history and inspired him to embrace his Maori identity fully. Jin Ho founded a social enterprise, 'Tautoko', to promote oral storytelling traditions, emphasizing their relational, developmental, and knowledge-preserving aspects. He believes storytelling is essential for identity formation and navigating the future, drawing parallels between the strength of forests and the strength derived from communal storytelling and connection.
π³ The Importance of Connection and Cultural Resilience
Jin Ho concludes by addressing the pressing social issues faced by the Maori community, such as high suicide rates and domestic violence, attributing these in part to a disconnection from cultural roots. He advocates for the importance of storytelling in fostering a sense of identity and connection, using the metaphor of the kahikatea tree and its interwoven root system to illustrate the strength found in relationships. He envisions a future where young Maori are empowered by stories that affirm their worth and potential, and he encourages everyone to recognize and harness the power of their own stories.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Identity
π‘Stereotype
π‘Cultural Disconnection
π‘Storytelling
π‘Maori
π‘Repatriation
π‘Academic Achievement
π‘Polynesian Navigators
π‘Kahikatea
π‘Social Enterprise
π‘Mental Health
Highlights
Speaker is the youngest of five siblings with a 17-year age gap between him and his older sister.
Older sister was in Germany for the first year of the speaker's life, missing important family moments.
Speaker grew up in the shadow of his older brothers who were talented in various fields.
The speaker's identity crisis due to the stereotype that being Maori and achieving academically are separate.
Speaker's realization of the sacrifices made by his parents and the importance of honoring his Maori heritage.
The speaker's academic excellence at university, challenging the stereotype about Maori students.
Speaker's identity crisis persists despite academic success, feeling abnormal as a high-achieving Maori.
The transformative power of storytelling and its role in finding identity and purpose.
The speaker's encounter with Michael, learning about Polynesian navigation and its significance.
The importance of oral storytelling traditions and their role in preserving Maori culture.
The speaker's initiative to start a social enterprise called 'Total Tito' to promote storytelling.
Storytelling as a relational, developmental, and prescriptive tool that shapes our world.
The role of stories in providing knowledge and understanding of one's cultural roots.
The metaphor of the forest and the importance of interconnectedness for strength and survival.
The current social issues faced by the Maori community, including high suicide rates and isolation.
The speaker's vision for the future, where identity is rooted in cultural connection and storytelling.
The call to action for the audience to recognize and utilize the power of their own stories.
The analogy of the kahikatea tree and its survival strategy through interconnected roots.
Transcripts
I'm the youngest of five of my family
there's four boys including myself and
there's my older sister she's 17 years
older than me what's wonderful about
having a 17 year old or a sister who's
17 years older than you and she feels
like she could speak to you like she is
your mother and whenever she tries to do
that to me I remind you is that for the
first year of my life she actually
wasn't around she was in Germany
I don't exchange with your high school
and my mother sent her videos of me
doing adorable baby things and she
thought it would be a good idea to
record over them with MTV music videos
so I love my sister my three older
brothers I grew up completely and
utterly in their shadow and I loved it
they were all good at sport or talented
or good at school or did really well and
as I was growing up I thought far out
being their little brother it's pretty
amazing
who I hope well how did he like what
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katoa my name is Jin ho hi I'm really
privileged to be in front of you here
today to speak about something that I'm
deeply passionate about and that is the
repatriation of traditional Maori
learning methods into the homes of final
across South Tarawa our storytelling
because I believe that through
storytelling what we're able to do is
find identity in the present and then
better navigate the future through
connection to the past so that's what
I'm gonna be exploring with you guys all
today I was born and raised in South
Auckland and a place called to Kearney
and that's between money they weren't
purple cutter and I loved it growing up
in the south side all the different
cultures with different people different
languages different kinds of food all
those things I loved being from South
Auckland and I thought far out being
from South Falklands pretty amazing did
all of my schooling at South Auckland
um I wasn't always the best student and
to like on my report it used to say
things like
chances of distraction to other people
in class and I feel like that's more on
the end than on me
nevertheless that was written but I
always did really well at school and
school kinda came really easy to me I
was always at the top if not near the
top of pretty much every class I was in
what's really surprised me because I'm
Modi and all throughout my life growing
up I knew although no one ever
explicitly said it to me that being
Maori in achieving academically were
separate things that they couldn't be
the same thing and I thought ah you know
what it's probably because I'm only half
Modi so the other half of me is probably
the smart house and being MALDI can't be
smart so I had this conundrum actually I
was this conundrum here I was at high
school talented capable achieving well
and credibly good-looking yellow was
moldy and had this idea that man I like
this can't be me
so either I'm not moldy or I can't be
intelligent and that shook me and I
began to deny who I was I remember this
in English class there was a movie
called Oh - it's a really good New
Zealand made film and there's the same
what scared one of the girls in class
and I'm really embarrassed by what I
said to here but what I said to her when
she got scared as I said I don't worry
Marty's not real you laugh but honestly
that was my identity about myself for
years this thought that who I was was
some relic as I graduated high school a
year after I graduated I went overseas
first time of my life first time I been
away from my family for more than a week
at the time and I thought this is it
I'm gonna find out who I am by traveling
the world I'm gonna find my purpose in
life and unequivocally wherever I went
people asked me where are you from I was
frustrated traveled all the way around
the world to discover who I was and
people kept asking me where I come from
and so I said as they kept asking me
this question I started asking it of
myself actually where am i from
I knew I was from South Auckland I knew
I was Marty but I didn't know a whole
lot else and the things I used to
identify myself actually had very little
to do with me they were all about my
family while I was traveling I went to
London to visit my oldest brother who
still
it's coming home next year with his wife
on his new baby I'm really excited and
there's I visited him I stayed with him
for about a month and one of the nights
we into a pub because that's what older
brothers like to do take your little
brother to the pub and teach him the
facts of life I wasn't aware that my
brother knew those facts but clearly he
thought he did and as we're sitting in
the pub I started talking and we ended
up talking about our family and I had
what I can only call a revelation my
revelation was this for the first 19
years of my life I've been a worse son
to my family than they deserve as my
brother and I say let's talk about the
sacrifices and the contributions my
parents had made not just to me but to
all my siblings I started to unmark
understand myself in relation to their
sacrifice what does this call out of me
man I'm their only inheritor of these
eggs my father left a six-figure sum job
to teach my brothers how to play rugby
to coach the team six figures any lifter
my father's our kind of man who will fix
things you don't know what broken my mum
was the kind of person who'll figure out
that you're the one that broke them and
then go tell your father and I love my
parents so after this conversation I
came home two jobs one discover who I
was to become a better son for my family
so I enrolled in university because I
thought far out they've put so much into
me that I need to particularly my mother
but also my father have put so much into
me to prepare me well for academics the
least I can do was achieve well for them
so I signed up to University in the
first few years I was on the dean's list
of academic excellence reserved for the
2% highest achievers and the faculty
regardless of your year I received the
Marti academic excellence award two
years in a row and I achieved an average
Myatt Army University never getting
anything less than about a 90% on
anything I submitted I don't
particularly care about grades I don't
see personally but I knew that what I
needed to do was work hard for my mother
but the funny thing that happened was I
was at I was at the top of all these
classes I wasn't and I heard comments
like this it's really good to see a
Maori boy at the top of the class and
while these were well-intentioned what
they served to remind me was man
academic achievement and being Maori are
not the same thing
if you're Maori you
unlikely to achieve here and I thought
that by doing well maybe I'd change the
stereotype but actually what amazes me
is that I perpetuated the stereotype
because I became seen as abnormal
exceptional that it wasn't normal for
Marta to do this so actually I wanted to
come closer to my identity as Modi and
by doing well I was going further away
from it and my identity crisis persisted
Who am I if these things are happening a
couple years after I graduated
University I was staying at a Mud Island
Golden Bay and Toto and I met a man
named Michael sucker hats a brand he
told me a story he told me the story of
how in the 13th century Polynesian
navigators my ancestors using the tips
of connections to the environment to the
understanding of the flood patterns of
birds ocean currents and star lights
using all those things to navigate to
arrive an altered or here today
now the navigation of the Pacific Ocean
by my ancestors academically was thought
of as a mistake there was this idea
called the Great Wave which is racist
and that simplicity the idea was a lot
of Polynesians were out in there Walker
and a great wave just happened to sweep
them from Micronesia all the way down to
Altair Dora and I remember this because
it made me angry to hear them and then I
heard a sentence that I'll never forget
because it's a sentence that's changed
my life as he was telling the story he
said this Jared Diamond the prominent
academic was asked at a conference what
is the greatest achievement of mankind
is that the curing of polio as at the
1960s civil rights movement in the south
in America is the putting of a man on
the moon as of the fall of the Berlin
Wall and he said unequivocally without a
doubt it is the navigation of the South
Pacific by early Polynesian explorers
the idea that they stumbled upon our
Theodora is as likely as finding a speck
of dust in the eye of a needle the
needle in the haystack
the haystack in a panic one hit dear
White full of haystacks and something in
me shifted suddenly achieving great
things and being mild he would no longer
separate effects they'd never been super
but these narratives had dominated my
idea of what it meant to be who I was
and through connections to story I was
able to find an identity in the prison
and understand my purpose moving forward
much like when I spoke to my brother in
the pub understanding my parents
sacrifices I found purpose and began to
act and that's what I'm passionate to
talk to you all about today is the power
of our story storytelling connecting to
your culture market everyone coaches
history in order to understand identity
in the prison and navigate the future
well yes
so after I heard this I just fell in
love with oral storytelling traditions
and I once understand what is it about
these things that helps ground us and
identity what are that what's the
functional aspect of us this year I've
started a social enterprise called total
Tito which means to compose verses in
unison so the idea is to people seeing
the same song making up the words at the
same time which i think is beautiful and
as I started this I wanted to understand
here the function of these things and
these are the things that I lens
storytelling is relational a
developmental my angeles's are like this
people will forget what you see don't
forget what you did but they'll never
forget how you made them feel
the act of sitting down with someone not
taking photos of your coffees not
checking your phone to see who asked
wants to hang out the act of sitting
down with a person face to face and
sharing stories we have no idea the
capacity our attention can has to affect
the lives of those around us words
create world's storytelling is not just
descriptive it's prescriptive so this is
the basic idea of advertising if you're
appealing message enough it becomes
truth so the narratives that are fixed
in my life and will affect some of your
lives I simply have repeated enough that
they become true so advertising the
basic premises buy this product and you
will be better off or don't buy this
product and you'll be worse off now
those ideas hearing those once or twice
a day that's fine but if we continue to
hear these ideas that talk about our
self-worth degrading without something
thousands of times a day repeated every
day for our for the entirety of our
lives that begins to do something
because storage having it is
prescriptive it creates world's words
create world's our storytelling gives
knowledge assault so the reason some
forms of esoteric knowledge of Maori and
Salman Chong and polynesian Fijian and
many other cultures
the world have survived thousands of
years of migration and coronation and
all of the other things they've survived
is because they'd had a face
there are countless books I always hear
this from fish is at University oh man I
hate learning theory and I think there's
people that have written these theories
that set with other people sent letters
communicator face-to-face in this is
their last week and we hate it because
there's no face to it that's one of the
reasons sometimes theory can just be
boring but this is perhaps the most
important thing I lens so the model word
for story is poo taco product as a
compound word the first word poo tucky
or base foundation the second with Rocco
tree so when we talk about our story
it's what we're talking about is the
base of our trees their roots now if you
know anything about Marty the martyr
creation story often called mythology
wrongly Talia Mejia wanted to separate
his parents don't you know him Papa to
arnica because he understood that for
them for this would be a world of light
he needed to separate his parents who
were on perpetual embrace so great was
their love for one another
he talked to his siblings some of them
said yeah boy let's do it
someone said no no no no don't make my
dad mad but he resigned himself he said
no we have to do this and what he lay
his back against his mother and he put
his feet against his father and he began
to push and as he did so he separated
and created the world we have today the
word our word for story is base of the
tree tani monitor as that's where the
god of our forests
so for Maori when we talk about stories
our pudica our roots we're literally
talking about the things that created
our world that give our world shape no
wonder connecting to these things are so
important no wonder we can find identity
and connecting to the past through story
thank you oh so why is this all
important what's the point of our
storytelling what what's the value why
do we need to know this stuff currently
an outtie at all we have the highest
user we have the highest suicide rate in
the developed world our young men and
our young Maori men specifically our 1.5
times high
in the national average I have a 1.5
higher chance likelihood to commit
suicide than the national average which
is already the highest in the world we
have higher rates of domestic violence
we have huge rates of infant mortality
we are an increasingly isolated
generation we spend less time face to
face with other humans than at any time
in history any time in human history
these things are creating our identity I
believe that is born out of
disconnection not connection we see
mental health rates rise and part of
that is because mental health as being
we're getting better at diagnosing it
but part of it and I believe is because
we have generations growing up not
understanding their connection to the
world because they're connected to
temporal things that are not based on
anything that's heaven during lasting
contributions to the world and it's not
right those things happening in our
country I think we all just believe
they're not right no matter how you
slice it and their intricate their
intricate problems with different causes
and different ways of solving them but
all of us know that those things are not
what we want out their door to be
there's a there's a tree could the
kakatiya that's a native sheets well
table and it has no tap roots separates
are the root systems that dig deep into
the earth to provide stability for trees
so that we in faced with challenges from
the wind rain sleet snow earthquakes
that they can remain strong and now
trees don't have them dr. Hackett's here
has existed since the Jurassic period so
it's got good at surviving and the way
it's done there is it's learn to
intertwine its roots with other kakatiya
around it and other trees it's poo
d'arco it's stories finding stability
through connection to others alone in
the field okay a Casilla is vulnerable
to the shifting of the earth the
shifting and moving of the wind of rain
but connected finally in relationship
with others through sharing of story our
forests can remain strong the Marty word
for forest is na he D na means mini or
plural hidden means connections so when
we look them to the forest what my
ancestors saw was the mutually
beneficial neutrally dependent
interwoven interconnected relationships
that were able to sustain the diversity
of life Paul cut it out
that's what we saw when we looked into
it and it's easy to see and I'll seal to
the outer door today with the problems
we have understand it's easier than to
understand the health of our forests
relationally who are we sharing our
stories with what value do we place on
the roots that we send out in
relationship to others or are we
standing alone in the field is that why
so many of us are falling
I'm deeply passionate about this stuff I
love it because I believe that the
problems we're facing today as a result
of disconnection but I have this dream
what will it look like in a hundred
years if the next generation of young
Maori but of young people in general I
surrounded from birth from cradle to
career with stories that affirm who they
are tell them that they're relevant
meaningful capable talented purpose with
greatness and that being whoever you are
and for me being Maori is not a burden
but it's a gift I believe that through
connection through understanding
ourselves not in isolation but through
connection to the past through story
like I understood myself and hearing the
sacrifices of my parents causing me to
find identity and then move to enroll in
university and all those things and
achieve well they're finding connection
to the past giving meaning to the
presence helping us better navigate the
future who might we be if our identity
is not based on just who I am what I
wear what I do the things I like but if
we send out our story we send out our
connection to others that we might
achieve stability relationally with all
of us don't know how many of us there
are in this room but all of you has
really said Heather story don't doubt
the power of your own story what's
interesting about a forest about an idea
is that trees aren't made strong because
they are strong they're made strong
because of their relationship in
connection to others the kahikatea has
survived a hundred hits from the dress
appeared 180 million years long-term
intergenerational transformative change
as possible through connection to
relationship no they're not till a
democratic artwork or time Nike TNA hey
off are we okay
namioka Ojeda Kapoor thank you very much
[Applause]
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