'She is speaking out to us': Māori leader says volcano eruption was a message
- 4 years ago
Pouroto Ngaropo, standing on an ancient settlement site overlooking the island of Whakaari, recites his ancestry back thousands of years, back to the volcano which erupted there on Monday.
"Whakaari is my connection to the ocean, to the land, and to the environment around me ... we are one and she's our ancestor,” said the 51-year old Māori spiritual leader whose genealogy is depicted in the tattoo art known as a ‘tā moko’ adorning his face.
The volcano island off New Zealand's North Island holds deep spiritual significance for his iwi or tribe, Ngāti Awa, which also own the company that ran tours there before the eruption.
"Whakaari is my connection to the ocean, to the land, and to the environment around me ... we are one and she's our ancestor,” said the 51-year old Māori spiritual leader whose genealogy is depicted in the tattoo art known as a ‘tā moko’ adorning his face.
The volcano island off New Zealand's North Island holds deep spiritual significance for his iwi or tribe, Ngāti Awa, which also own the company that ran tours there before the eruption.