Boulogne

Boulogne

E whakamānawa ana tēnei whakaahua i ngā toa pakanga i hinga i Boulogne, i Wīwī, arā, ko rātou i hinga i raro i te mana whakahaere o te emepaea o Piritana Nui, ko rātou i haere i tūao atu i runga i te whakapono ka pai ake te aro ki te Māori i Aotearoa.

Nō tētehi terenga e kīia ana ko The consolation of philosophy: Piko nei te matenga a Boulogne, arā, tekau mā rua ngā whakaahua. Ko ngā ingoa o ia whakaahua i hua mai i tētehi o ngā papa pakanga i pakanga ai Te Hokowhitu a Tū Toa i te Pakanga Nui Tuatahi o te Ao.

Ko ‘The consolation of philosophy’ te ingoa o tētehi tuhinga nā te kaitōrangapū Rōmana e kīia nei ko Boethius, i mauheretia ki whenua kē, ā, i mate. Ko Piko nei te matenga tētehi waiata tangi - he waiata tangi ki ngā rangatira i hinga i ngā papa pakanga i raro i Te Hokowhitu a Tū.


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This photograph commemorates the men who fought and died in Boulogne, France on behalf of the British Empire, many of whom volunteered, believing their contribution would secure Māori just treatment in Aotearoa.

Boulogne belongs to a series of twelve photographs titled The consolation of philosophy: Piko nei te matenga. Each is titled after a French or Flemish battlefield upon which the Māori Pioneer Battalion fought during World War I.

‘The consolation of philosophy’ is the title of a sixth-century treatise by Roman politician Boethius, who died a prisoner on foreign soil. Piko nei te matenga is the title of a waiata tangi—a song of lament historically sung for fallen chiefs, and sung by the Battalion to mourn their comrades who died in the field.

— Text developed for Te Hau Whakatonu: A Series of Never-ending Beginnings (5 August 2023–11 February 2024), curated by Taarati Taiaroa