THE PURE SOURCE #146 - THE ANCESTRAL STREAM: MĀORI AND ETHIOPIAN SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
An ancient connection
When we look back into our history, we often see our faith through a lens that was given to us by European teachers. But before those systems ever reached our shores, the original spiritual signal was already moving across the earth. In this post, we are tracing the footprints of Wairua Tapu back to some of the oldest Christian foundations on earth, specifically the ancient mountains of Ethiopia. We are exploring how our deep Māori understanding of the spiritual world matches up with their sacred ancestral stream.
The shared breath
For us as Tāngata whenua here in Taitokerau, the spirit is not an abstract concept or a set of strict rules written in a textbook. It is a living, breathing reality. It is the breath of life that connects us to the land, to our ancestors, and to each other. When we look at the ancient Ge’ez scriptures of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, we find an identical understanding. They do not view the Holy Spirit as a distant force, but as the very life breath of creation that sustains the entire world.
THE PURE SOURCE #145 - WAIRUA TAPU AND THE GLOBAL ECOLOGY OF SPIRIT: RECLAIMING THE BREATH OF LIFE
A central pillar of faith
This research report is a piece of work I hold very close to my heart. It represents a major step in my own faith and is a foundational part of the Quantum Whakapapa project. For a long time, I have felt a calling to show the link between how we understand Wairua Tapu here in Aotearoa and how that same divine breath has been felt by others, such as the ancient traditions in Ethiopia or the Hebrew understanding of the Ruach.
The scope of the report
In this report, we look into the "Two Waters" (literal translation of “wai-rua”), the two streams of the physical and spiritual that make up our world. We explore the parallels between the "infilling" of the Holy Spirit and the "awakening" of the quiet spiritual energy within us. The scope is wide, covering the way divine wisdom has been silenced, the impact of colonial greed on our spiritual well-being, and how a restored spiritual focus is the only way to build a future where our communities can truly thrive.