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‘Me mate ururoa, kei mate wheke – Die like a shark, not like an octopus’
This is a proverb in common use by the indigenous Māori peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand. The proverb speaks to the tenacious qualities of the mangōpare/hammerhead shark and is used to describe people who give their absolute everything, physically, mentally and spiritually when undertaking a task. It is comparable to the English axiom ‘Give it your absolute all, leave nothing in the tank’.
The mangōpare is one of the many species of shark that early Polynesian explorers say accompanied them during their ocean voyages of discovery. The different species of sharks and their specific qualities have been handed down over time in many forms by Māori. Karakia (incantations), waiata (songs), haka (posture dances), whakataukī (proverbs) and pakiwaitara (storytelling) are all methods of knowledge transition used to share knowledge and understandings associated with the qualities of the mangōpare.
The appropriateness of applying determination to the mangōpare was best seen in the fight a hammerhead shark puts up when caught on a line. It is always a ferocious battle between mangōpare and the fisher. And when secured and filleted the mangōpare flesh continues to quiver as if putting up a fight to the very end.
‘He mangōpare ki uta, he mangōpare ki tai – A hammerhead on land, a hammerhead at sea’