‘Kia tū, kia oho, kia mataara!’
Maranga mai ngā hau e whā, maranga mai rā, nau mai hoki mai rā anō ki te īmēra tuatoru mō te wiki nei. Ko te rā tuatahi mō te wiki hou kia hora nei, I tēnei rangi ka haramai ngā pīpī ngā paopao me ngā pakeke o ngā hapori ki Tūranga mō ngā kaupapa e maha kia Whakanui, kia whakaora ai te reo Rangatira. Ko tēnei he rā anō kia tīmata ngā kaupapa mō te ahiahi ko Te Mahi a Tāne Rore me Hine Rēhia.
Rise up the four winds of the world, rise up all and welcome back again to the third post for this week. Today marks the first day into the new week where we had our whānau from all around the different communities in Ōtautahi come together to celebrate our language through the different activations popping up throughout Tūranga. Today also marks the beginning of our Te Mahi a Tāne Rore me Hine Rēhia afterschool zone where we have not only our Māori and Multicultural services team around sharing the joy of Tītī Tōrea and Poi, we also need to mihi to the following libraries who this year have been given the kaitiakitanga uara to carry out as we have left some goodies with them to share into the hapori, to these libraries I leave you with the whakataukī from the beginning, ‘Kia tū, kia oho, kia mataara’:
- Te Kete Wānanga o Aranui
- Te Kete Wānanga o Waimairi
- Te Kete Wānanga o Ōrauwhata
- Te Kete Wānanga o Ōraka
- Te Kete Wānanga o Karoro
- Te Kete Wānanga o Whakaraupō
- Tūranga
With those acknowledgements in mind, let us see what today’s post has for us!
Mōteatea
‘Ko te mōteatea te mataaho ki te pa o te hinengaro Māori. The mōteatea is the window to the foresight of Māori’ Dr. Wayne Ngata.
Dr Wayne Ngata further goes on to talk about how to truly "understand and appreciate the psyche of Māori, if one was able to access the epitome of modern literature, then one can understand the thinking. That body of knowledge is very much encompassed in mōteatea.’ The mōteatea refers to a traditional chant that focuses less around movement and more towards facial expressions, gestures and an emphasis on kupu (words) and can sometimes be described in terms of tikanga and pūtake. Growing up in the ranks of our kapa haka rōpu out in Taumutu, I remember at a young age being encouraged to take leadership parts within the bracket. From a simple ‘Ki raro, ki mau’ to leading items and even mōteatea, for me the mōteatea is again another one of my favourite items as it pushed me to try new facials, new movements or a new range in the diaphragm to be able to belt out the item at hand. Mōteatea range from oriori, pātere, pao and more. Still to this day, I stand proud knowing for me, this mōteatea, Ka tū te tītī, is what took my performance game to the next level.
Te waiata, tukuna mai ki te ao!
Today’s waiata again, ka hokinga mahara tatou ki te tau 1980s, a time where protests and movements within societal norms was happening. This waiata Maranga Ake Ai, is a paramount waiata to invoke hope and resilience within those standing in protest. To this day this waiata still holds so many memories that we now almost 40 years on get to still live out these same ideals (so much so it was re-released in 2020). The waiata was first released to inspire the next generation of movement. Fun fact, did you know Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sir Joe Williams was in the legendary Pioneer Māori Reggae Band that put out this great banger?
Maramataka o te rā
Today we are adorned by Atua Whakahaehae. Now today with the sun out, though misleading it actually isn’t a good day for planting and fishing. Maybe the two have both got the same mind that I have right now looking out to the sun, I’m wanting to swing my poi into the sunset, not so much fishing as get out and explore today. It’s also a medium energy day so that may be why I’m feeling half productive and half adventurous, kaua e wareware if you do have things to prioritise, today’s a day to keep on top of them!
Whanaungatanga
Now this uara, we all live it and breathe it every day of our lives. This uara looks at our relationships and kinships, how we nurture and manage those so they blossom into how we socialise in the world. Mōteatea taught me this uara haaard! For starters, at a ripe age of 5 learning a mōteatea that felt bigger than an elephant, it was scary and definitely a brain turner. It was through the strength of my aunty and uncles encouraging me from the back, my cousins either side both helping me with tempo or pronunciation - sometimes it was the odd ‘naa you’re wrong, that’s shame ow!’ - and then my nanny and koro in the audience watching with eyes and hearts filled with so much aroha that I found myself navigating through whanaungatanga so young. Now those teachings have helped me when I went back to Haeata Community Campus in 2019 to help tutor our seniors in igniting the Kura Tuarua Kapa Haka Whakataetae!
Kupu o te rā
Today’s kupu is definitely one that for me, these last few days I’ve definitely needed to remind myself, ‘hā’. Referring to your breath, lately, things may feel overwhelming, things may be moving at a faster pace than you’re used to or things have just come up that have disrupted your flow of the day. Remembering my hā has been something I didn’t realise I had forgotten to check in on as I got older, so check in on your hā and see how it can help you influence what’s going on with you.
Nāku noa
Justice
Kaitakawaenga Māori
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