Find Mana in the Small Things

Anita Taiapa Brown

“Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu,” Cheesy, but a classic whakatauki that I think embodies the āhua of this article. Mana is in the small things, regardless of how cringe that might seem to you. Being Māori, being Indigenous, being a minority- your existence is a political statement, whether you like it or not. With each breath of that vape you take, every step in the line at Sue’s to buy a cheese hotdog, the all-nighters you endure because you scrolled on TikTok for too long- THAT is an example of mana, no matter how mundane it might look to you. Because to have mana is to be alive, to move with some purpose, even if you don’t know what it is yet.

Furthermore, here’s a list of other things you might already do, or could do to feel a bit more mana-ful:

• Getting a calendar in the maramataka
• Respond to those emails and texts on the same day
• Listening to at least ONE waiata or podcast in te reo Māori
• Cleaning out your phone gallery so you can stop having those “no storage” pop-ups
• Make it a habit to greet people in reo Māori- on email or kanohi ki kanohi
• Stop buying takeout immediately after your study link comes, and cook those veges in the fridge
• Learn one new kupu every day, like my favourite kupu is wakatopatopa – helicopter
• Air out your room and give it a deep clean
• Look into Te Whare Tapa Whā and start looking after your whare
• Stop texting that toxic situationship

Whether you feel seen, targeted or bemused, deal with it; these are just a few examples to get you started. As you develop into adulthood and realise soon you’ll be questioning the dichotomy of it all (shoutout to Matua Nathan for that new kupu), it’s easy to become caught up in the rush of life. Parties, social obligations, uni work, relationships, new friend circles, figuring out budgets, feeling guilty about things you no longer have control of: sometimes, it really is the small things that can remind you of your mana. To feel like you’re regaining a semblance of control, and it doesn’t have to be big gestures. It’s the little things that pile up over time that count.