Raranga Tangata
Polynesian expression, used to designate the Internet, meaning: the weaving together of people
Description
"Raranga Tangata: the weaving together of people. This Polynesian expression, used to designate the Internet, is one of many powerful poetic testimonies to the living culture of the Maori people of Aotearoa – New Zealand, a culture deeply meaningful to both presenters. Polynesian cosmogony vividly shows how a collectively shaped and transmitted narrative can offer cognitive handles to those seeking meaning amidst the chaos of complex worlds. The Maori creation myth revolves around the concept of “whakapapa”, or genealogical layering, to expound the series of events whereby humans first emerged, whereby the first bodies were born and made through three states of evolution: Te Kore; energy, potential, the void, nothingness; Te Po; form, the dark, the night; Te Ao-marama; emergence, light and reality, dwelling place of humans. Polynesian culture is deeply embodied and anthropomorphised, from its narratives of primal surroundings to those that describe human development and evolution. It offers viscerally recognisable readings of complex processes, through the creation story from Te Kore to stories of kinship (iwi, hapu and whanau) then individuals. Pūrākau (mythological traditions) are statements about the nature of the world which echo the creation story, so that the world is ritually ‘recreated’ whenever creation whakapapa (genealogies) and kōrero (stories) are recounted. The Maori stand amongst the world’s finest navigators, and their mapping and steering skills are as marvellously reflected in the meaning-making weave of their stories, as in their path-finding journeys across the Pacific Ocean." (http://intercreate.org/view/raranga-tangata-the)
Source
"I consider a network of people such as that presented by the internet to be a weaving together of people similar to how a mat is woven: raranga or whiriwhiri refers to the weaving of a whariki (mat) or kete (basket). The internet community could therefore be described as raranga tangata or similar to describe the weaving together of people.» Personal correspondence, CT – SJN." [1]