The name RUA is derived from a traditional Māori belief system used inside of our learning institutions. It was a metaphorical system utilised to describe the different levels of knowledge attained by a learner. 

The acquisition of knowledge was at the centre of traditional Māori society and schools of learning disseminated all of that knowledge. Traditional Maori had a strong oral tradition, so thorough observance was given to the dissemination of knowledge. 

The practice of personifying the natural world was a method we used to interpret and make sense of our world. By design it was a structure to help retain information. The figurative language of Māori and their appreciation of poetic imagery illustrated their power of abstract thought and this was at the heart of their philosophy. 

We believed that all things come to existence through a process of descent from a higher being. Genealogy was used to put our world into some kind sequential order and explain how things came to be. Māori knowledge or the thought process has its origins inside of this genealogical framework and through metaphorical representations, knowledge is explained and placed into various stages of development.