Potiki on Home and Influences on it



Baltimore-- often dubbed a city of refuge as much as it has been named a city of violence--may be segregated still, but in some ways it bestoys a resilient community just as much as found in Potiki’s Maori community. Still, one wonders why this dual identity originated? The secret lies within the answer of who feels consistently apart and supported by the community. Indeed, the strength and love must be shown as much in times of non-crisis as much as moments to affirm unity. The reverse, of course, suggests true commitment, but the consistency of supporting growth in the latter moments as much as the former get people to make it to the tough moments, affirming a purpose and existence not just in times of strife but in smaller moments that are remembered with fondness. In the past four years the growth of the Baltimore 365 movement outside of just responding to mass gun violence has served to connect the community into a “home” that its people can rely on for more than just merely surviving (or dying). A community trying to restore the principles of kinship and togetherness: championing on as a reclaimed unit of protagonists, instead of victims forgotten and blamed evermore.


There are many beautiful, interesting elements of Patricia Grace’s Potiki: from the personification of the (home)land; to the nuanced spiritual elements, both mythical and religious in nature; or to the intergenerational narrations interwoven between Toko, Roimata, and an objective narrator. But, in analyzing the communal sense of “home,” and the protection received there, readers may focus on elements of family within the various literary choices listed above. In this world, the sense of community and selflessness are tenants of its core values. The characters are shown to support to one another numerous times through external and internal trials, burdens, and defeats--whether because of mental differing abilities; outsiders trying to take land and even kill for it; and many people being displaced from livelihoods and educational fields; or just perseverance through the overall killing of their land (Grace). Here, like Baltimore, some scared, some technically less able, some more reliant on spirituality than others, and the effects of violence manifesting in depleted resources and apparent wasted land, this community experiences varying degrees of violence, but the Maori cling on. The accounts of Hemi and his understanding of work before and through his selfless desires as a carver to leave something behind and always give his best (to his sister as a boy, and later to the added members of family and community) (Grace).


Despite the trials, because of this sense of security (gained by the credibility of trust in the community bonds and their dedication), readers imagine the ideal understanding of home, as recently described by Michelle Elvy. Elvy, New Zealand resident and author of flash-fiction, uncharacteristically spoke briefly on the familial connection she had derived through her adoption by her father and the security/safety in the trust of that kinship gained that built. Despite the technicalities, she said had no doubt or hesitation in naming her family as the ones she knew, including her father and more (Elvy).

Kinship. Love. Support.


Elvy’s candor opens up understanding for Toko’s profound acceptance of the (potentially troubling) mystery behind his birth, and the trauma of his early closeness to death as an infant. In his narration of the sixth chapter, Toko displays a mature understanding and love greater than the circumstances because of the focus on the people who came together to save him, to claim him as their own. Succinctly he calls each member as family, like “I have Hemi who is father to me” and “then Roimata, who is mother to me” (Grace). The trust and reinforcement of community among the Maori create a strong foundation for security, and thus “home” no matter the circumstances.










Works Cited


Elvy, Michelle. Guest Speaker for Post-colonial Literature: Homelands (EN 376). Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore. 16 Sept 2019. Lecture.





Grace, Patricia. Potiki. Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited, 2001. Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=wfGcDwAAQBAJ.

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