[Opinions] Re: Noa
in reply to a message by MelvinSpelvin
I've never been overly into it, it's too close to Noah which i don't really like. However, just seeing this post made me think of it in a different way. In Maori, noa is the ability to reduce, neutralise, or convert tapu (tapu is 'closeness to creation' along a continuum of creation-reality-creation. Tapu things are variously regarded as sacred, dangerous, polluted or restricted. The word tapu (present in many Polynesian languages) is where the word 'taboo' comes from. Some things that are tapu are newborn babies, the dead (both crossing boundaries between reality and creation), and uncooked food). Anyway, women are one of the primary agents for noa (child-birthing women convert tapu to noa during childbirth, other women perform roles in conversion ceremonies).
I don't whether I've explained this very well, but I now like Noa a lot more, in the context of Maori culture anyway.
I don't whether I've explained this very well, but I now like Noa a lot more, in the context of Maori culture anyway.
Replies
Wow
Awesome, I never knew that! My knowledge of tapu has always been something along the lines of "Don't sit on the table it's tapu"
I'm going to think about that heaps now, thanks!
And btw, I sent you a PM.
Awesome, I never knew that! My knowledge of tapu has always been something along the lines of "Don't sit on the table it's tapu"
I'm going to think about that heaps now, thanks!
And btw, I sent you a PM.
Lol yeah I had to drag out my first year uni notes for a lot of that. Noa's definitely going on my list now though!