Haerenga Tuarima - Part 3 - The Architecture of Empire

it was fascinating to stand in a beautiful building and reflect on why it was built and how it made us feel it meant that when we sat down to keep discussing the story about the tower of babel we felt like we had this fresh insight into how and why humans build the things that they build verse three begins And they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.

And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar.

Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And in te reo Māori, whetitua toru.

Nah, kamehameha toke.

Tēnā, tātou ka hanga pereki, me ātatahumarire anō hoki.

Nā, ka meinga e rātou he pereki hei kohatu, he uku hoki tā rātou moata.

Nā, ka mea rātou, tēnā, tātou ka hanga i tētahi pā me tētahi paurewa, ā kia tutuki ārunga ki te rangi, kia whai ingoa i tātou.

Kei marara noa atu tātou ki te mata o te whenua katoa.

And what is the tutuki doing in here?

Oh, that I'm not sure.

It's beautiful.

Because kia tutuki to something is to achieve it or accomplish it.

But it makes sense to the Māori brain.

So if you read me that sentence, it would make sense to me.

Tutuki is like the highest achievable height something can hit.

Oh.

So the sense there is it's like not just the tower, but like the tallest tower ever that it's going to go to the tippy top of the heavens.

The toppest.

The toppest.

Toppy mostest.

That's what Tutuki does.

If you go Kiatutuki.

Oh, yeah.

It's the highest that can be reached.