Whakapapa

Bella Waru,

a performer, storyteller, body & voice worker living, listening and responding across sacred Indigenous lands - currently, the unceded whenua of the Kulin Nation.

Whakapapa

Ki te taha o Ihapera Wilson tōku kuia,

Ko Tainui te Waka
Ko Tararua nga pai Maunga
Ko Ohau te Awa
Ko Ngati Tukorehe te Marae
Ko Ngati Tukorehe te iwi

Ki te taha o Puohooho Waru tōku koro,

Ko Aotea te Waka

Ko Taranaki te Maunga

Ko Waitotoroa te Awa

Ko Parihaka te Marae

Ko Niho te Whare Nui

Ko Te Ati Awa, Ngati Ruanui, Ngai Rauru, Taranaki, Ruahine, Titahi e nga iwi

From my mother and as grandchild of Jill & Michael Coogan, I descend through Celtic lineages (Irish - Coogans, Welsh - Lloyds), Germanic, English, Spanish, Romani and vaster origins. From my father, I also inherit Scottish blood.

Ko Te Haumoariki (Denys Mason) tōku matua
Ko Katie Coogan-Mason tōku whaea
Ko Ihapera Whāwhai Waru (Bella Waru) tāku ingoa

This is a tracing of my known bloodties. Beyond this scope of influence and inspiration, I acknowledge a deep artistic, cultural, spiritual and intellectual ancestry//whakapapa which I acknowledge in part, in my 'Creative Whakapapa'. There, you will find those who have moved and enlivened me, in some cases, creatively 'raised' me - and directions to their work.

Bella Waru (Ngati Tukorehe // Te Ati Awa) is a movement and sound artist, cultural producer, performer, weaver, community arts facilitator and body worker living, listening and responding across sacred, unceded Indigenous lands, currently those of the Kulin Nation in so-called-australia.

A diasporic Indigenous Sovereign and queer femme, Waru creates stories and spaces to honour, uplift, protect and nourish the vitality of their communities, ancestral knowledges, cultures and lands. They create, emerging from and returning to the body as a vessel of personal, ancestral and earth memory, invested in embodied experiences of connection, healing, incantation, transmutation and celebration.

Curriculum Vitae & Mahi Tikanga

My CV will display a selection of my (recognised) work, accomplishments and learnings in various fields to date. My healing, love, joy, relationships and community will always be the truest expressions of my success and growth.

Mahi Tikanga is a guide to what values I hold and what expectations I will approach all proposals of exchange with. Please take the time to read and discern whether you are willing and able to engage in this way before contacting me.

CV & Mahi Tikanga