Learning experience 9, Activity 2: Working as one Kotahitanga
Intended outcome(s)
The students could:
- explore the element of relationships, in pairs and small groups (Dance 1–4 PK)
- identify and compare ways of maintaining and enhancing relationships when working in co-operative group activities in te ao kori (HPE 2 C1, Music 1–4 DI CI UC)
- create and perform group dances and rhythmic chants based on the concept of kotahitanga (working as one) (Dance 2–4 DI CI, Music 2–4 DI CI UC)
- reflect upon their experiences and the concept of kotahitanga (working as one) in dance and music (Dance 2–4 DI CI, Music 2–4 DI CI UC)
- describe the characteristics and purposes of music in a range of contexts and settings (Music 2–4 PK UC)
Suggested approach
The students read the section about digging in the kūmara patch from the story 'The Pūkeko' (Gillies, 1992). Discuss the tikanga associated with planting and caring for crops.
The students can view a copy of the painting Digging with the Ko by Gottfried Lindauer [Gottfried Lindauer, Digging with the Ko, 1907, oil on canvas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, gift of Mr H. E. Partridge, 1915] and brainstorm what they see in the painting regarding the way in which the people are working together. The students are introduced to the concept of kotahitanga (working as one).
The students identify skills, attitudes and values, and actions that are needed to be able to work successfully in a group. In groups of four to six, the students are given a card, that has one word written on it in te reo Māori, with its English meaning following, and that describes an important skill, attitude, or value for group work. Words to use could include: āwhina (helping, assisting, befriending, providing moral support), mahi-ā-ngākau (work of the heart), mana (integrity), manaakitanga (hospitality and generosity), rangimārie (tolerance, being at peace with oneself and the environment), speak (ōrero), listen (rongo) and tikanga, all from Health and Physical Education in the New Zealand Curriculum, pages 56–57.
The students discuss what their word might look like in a real setting – what actions and/or shapes do people make that illustrates this word?
In small groups, the students portray the actions of their word, for example, for 'korero', they use their face and hands to mime words coming out of the mouth.
The students explore different ways in which this can be exaggerated – make it bigger, smaller, faster, slower, softer, stronger, towards each other, to the audience.
The students perform three to four variations of the word to the class. They identify how using 'their' skill, attitude, or value helps to build and maintain relationships with others in the group. Also, they may be able to identify how the word might be demonstrated differently in different settings or situations.
The students listen to work chants and songs of other cultures, noting the rhythm and how this could contribute to the ability of the people using the piece to work together – hauling in the canoe, paddling across the sea, washing clothes, planting and harvesting crops. For example, listen to the music of the contemporary Tokelauan group Te Vaka (Into Music 2 and New Zealand Music for Creative Dance (Cossey, 2001)) plus music from other folk and ethnic cultures.
The students make four- to eight-lined chants using te reo vocabulary with matching movements, for example, pakipaki, pakipaki, ki runga, ki raro; hurihuri, peke, whana (clap, clap, up, down; turn around, jump, kick) for sixteen counts.
The students explore moving in pairs and small groups, copying each other's movements in unison, face to face, leading/following, side by side, towards, away, and around and away from each other in a variety of formations, levels, speeds, travelling, and non-travelling movements.
The students explore chanting by using call and response techniques – leading/following or echoing. The students need to keep a strong sense of pulse (beat) and to listen to and imitate rhythmic chanting in time together and to the movements.
Using the concept of kotahitanga and the experiences above, the students can create group dances and chants, incorporating unison movements, rhythms, and unison vocalising.
The students perform the group dance for the class.
The students reflect upon the concept of kotahitanga in dance – their own dances and chants and those of others, such as kapa haka (performance group), ballet, and salsa.