Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au: Skin as landscape

The earth beneath our feet is not separate from us, it is us.

We are the land, and the land is us.

The skin we wear, the stories it carries, the markings that show where we’ve been and where we’re going, all echo the landscape around us.

Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au.

“I am the land, and the land is me.”

This whakataukī reminds me of the deep connection between our bodies and the whenua. We are not simply living on the land, we are made of it, formed by it, and continuously shaped by its rhythms.

In Te Ao Māori, our whakapapa begins with Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother, and Ranginui, the Sky Father. From their sacred union, all life was born.

We descend from their children Tāne Mahuta, Tangaroa, and Tāwhirimātea, the atua of the forests, oceans, and winds, who continue to sustain and shape all life.

This whakapapa binds us not only to one another, but to the natural world itself. We are not separate from nature, we are nature.

Just as mountains are shaped by wind, rivers carve their way through valleys, and trees bear the marks of time, our skin carries the story of a life lived.

Freckles, scars, wrinkles, stretch marks, every mark upon our skin finds its reflection in nature.

They speak of where we’ve been, the challenges we’ve overcome, and the wisdom we carry forward.

Beauty is shaped by time, change, and life itself.

Nature does not hide these markings, they are evidence of life.

Ours are too.

In Māori tradition, stories are carried not only in words but in the landscape itself. Mountains, rivers, and coastlines hold the memory of ancestors, journeys, and events, becoming living reminders of who we are and where we come from.

Perhaps our skin is much the same.

It is more than something we see in the mirror. It is a living landscape that carries our own whakapapa, our experiences, and the stories only our bodies can tell.

Our skin was never meant to be flawless.

It was meant to bear witness to laughter, growth, motherhood, healing, adventure, and time.

Like the whenua, it deserves to be honoured.

Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au.