Mason's source of this inquiry is whanau (family) and the question put forward by Tūhoe elder Hori Mataiawhea, to invite discussion, interpretation and analysis of a possibly annoying idea. This is used as a deepening point to see that we are timeless in the here and now. How a Tūhoe person may relate to knowledge passed down the generations, is a hermeneutical position, unconcerned with definitions of what is tradition or what is traditional. Mason's aim is to shed light on the importance of relating to the present, the here and now.
