Ko Irakehu ki te Horomaka.
Mai I te rangi me te whenua, mauri ora ki a tatou katoa. Inanahi, he maha ngā Kaupapa anō kia whakanui i te reo rangatira ara ko Te reo Māori. Yesterday was a jam packed day full with different Kaupapa across our libraries with bringing life to Te mahi a Tāne Rore with tītī tōrea making as well as Tāne Rore, Hine Rehia, maranga mai with poi and/or tītī tōrea making, giving life to both our atua regarding kapa haka! We also mihi to our whānau over over at Alice Cinemas for putting on Mātaki Mai celebrating ‘exceptional films made in Aotearoa in te reo Māori about Te Ao Māori.’ Inanahi, I rongo mātou te reo I puta mai ki te Kaupapa o Ngā Pakiwaitara, pārekareka te rongo I ngā Tamariki I katakata, I waiata mai tae noa ki ngā pakeke I pātaitia ngā pātai kia whakakiia tā rātou nei kete mātauraka Māori. It was again a delight to have so many whānau in at Tūranga yesterday celebrating our language with the voices of our Tamariki ringing through the whare with sounds of laughter and singing, all the way to our big kids conversing and asking those pātai to fill their baskets of knowledge with Māori knowledge. Today’s a pīki kōrero, a head scratcher and one that yearns in our Papatipu Talks, so grab yourself a cuppa, hopefully you’ve got one for me to and let’s dive in e te whānau!
Papatipu Talks
My aunties and uncles would talk about how our origins start with the arrival of Waitaha, the first people of Te Waipounamu who voyaged across Te Moana nui ā Kiwa from a Place known to most as Hawaiki Nui on the Uruao waka over 800 years ago. Following from, our whānau of Ngāti Māmoe and finally Ngāi Tahu through warfare, intermarriage, and the varying alliances to be formed. Our people were voyagers, navigators and entrepreneurs knowing that what is to come bears the fruits for our next generations to come. These pūrākau and traditions have been woven throughout to create a single moving entity which we refer to now as our mana whenua here within majority of the South Island known as Ngāi Tahu.
The arrival of the first European sealers and whalers began from around 1795 which brought an insight into the workings of how we would all live and exist in our practices where by the 1830s, Ngāi Tahu had built thriving industries supplying whaling ships with provisions such as pigs, potatoes and wheat as well as whaling and sealing stations onshore under the authority of local rakatira. Fun fact for us all, Ngāi Tahu signed the Treaty between May-June in 1840 at Ōnuku Marae, Ruapuke and Ōtakou. Shortly after, the land purchases began where roughly 34.5 million acres (roughly 80% of Te Waipounamu) was purchased for $14,750, these days, that would equate to $2,240,684 and if you are doing the quick maths like I am, it’s a shocking difference to say the least!
Time went on and in 1849 Ngāi Tahu launched its first claim against the breaches and grievances from the agreed terms of the land purchasing, rangatira Matiaha Tiramorehu would petition the Crown with this claim and thus starting the 140 year battle between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown.
I always tūohu to my tupuna Te Matenga Taiaroa and Hori Kerei Taiaroa for without them, I wouldn’t be what makes me who I am to this day. If I know something about our whānau, it was to see the future potential for our whānau future and I just hope we are doing our small parts to keep that kōrero alive!
From there, in 1925 the Ngāi Tahu Census Committee was set up to ‘identify the Ngāi Tahu beneficiaries who would benefit from the £354,000 recommended by the 1921 Native Land Claims Commission.’ Established in 1928 under the 1928 Native Land Amendment, Ngaitahu Trust Board was created to serve in administering all funds for the benefit of the Ngaitahu tribe or their descendants as well as continuing negotiations for settlement of the Claim which would later been more commonly known throughout whānau as Te Kēreme. Following on in 1929, a second Ngāi Tahu Census Committee was established to review the beneficiary list from 1925.
Fast forward to 1996, we now refer to the governing body as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. This governing body extends its welcoming from Te Parinui o Whiti all the way to Kahurangi Point on Te Tai Poutini.
The saying (whakataukī) goes, ‘Mō tatou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei, for us and our children after us.’ This next gen of Ngāi Tahu Tamariki are forces to take seriously and I cannot see where my cuzzies and whānau take us into the future, I to have a part to play in that and I can’t wait to see!
He kai kei āku rika
Whakaeke – the whakaeke refers to the embarking onto the marae itself within the pōhiri process. In this space, manuhiri (visitors) would congregate out front of the marae in the waharoa (gateway or entrance onto the marae) where in this space, we would talk and organise if there was a female who may be our first voice onto the marae (kai karanga), we would have deliberated who would speak on behalf of our group (kai kōrero), what song would we sing in support for our speaker (waiata tautoko) and also what our contribution may be for the marae (koha). For me, I have always seen Ngāi Tahu as the body being our representation for the whakaeke process as it allows us to consider all aspects included in the conversations and deliberations found within the Waharoa setting, giving life to the whakataukī ‘Mō tatou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei, for us and our children after us.’
Te waiata tukuna mai ki te ao
Today’s waiata is one that has been my wero this Matariki where I am challenging myself to relearn some of our older waiata. I am soo excited to tell the entire motu that e mau ana au inaianei ngā ā ringa me ngā kupu o te waiata, Justice has cracked it e te iwi and has learnt all the actions and words to this waiata and now I am moving on to the next, Pōwhiritia was a waiata in 1946 where our whānau of Ngai Tūāhuriri stood on the Wellington Wharf to welcome home our Māori Battalions back from World War II.
Maramataka o te rā
Ko Tamatea-a-āriki te marama o te rā nei. Today is a day for planting kai although it is a day filled with west winds so be prepared e te whānau for she may be drizzly to end our day off. It’s a low energy day today so if you are like me and wanting to be curled up in bed today, just know it’s a reminder for you to whakarongo ki tō tinana, listen to your body and rest!
Te kupu o te rā
Today’s kupu is one that resonates with the vibes and energy of the day! It’s one to remind us that we are all human and we all have our ngenge moments! Our kupu o te rā is ngenge, referring to being tired! Now we all know how we could switch this kupu in and out of our every day kōrero however an example I think about is ‘man I’ve been doing this mahi for ages now and I’m feeling pretty ngenge after it!’.
If you’re out and about tomorrow, come and find us at Te Kete Wānanga o Ihutai, over at Linwood Library where we will be making some poi, some tītī tōrea followed by a kiriata huna, a secret movie! So bring your kai o te pō, your dinner and your whānau down to watch a secret movie looking into navigation!
‘Ko te toa i a tini i a mano o te tangata’
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