Ko te toko rima taotao o te rika, o Tahu Pōtiki e!
E te tī, e te tā, nei rā te mihi manamanahau ki a koe e te kaipānui. Ki o tatou nei mate kua wheturāngitia, e tangi hotouhotu ana te ngakau ki a rātou, hoki wairua mai ki a mātou ko te hunga ora. Ko te wiki kia whai ake nei, he wiki tino whakahirahira ki ngā iwi Māori, otirā kei te ao whānui o Aotearoa, ko te whakanui i o tatou nei reo rangatira, arā ko Te Wiki o te reo Māori.
Let this mihi to you the kind reader be one that offers and extends the overjoy and warmth of welcoming. To our loved ones who have passed on and adorn our sky as stars, the heart continues to yearn for your love, come back to us ā wairua. The week that follows is one that is important not just for Māori but for all within New Zealand, to celebrate our language through Te Wiki o te reo Māori, Māori Language Week.
This year has reminded me of the importance of understanding ‘ko wai au? Who am I?’ and where my whakapapa, my genealogy takes me. Part of my whakapapa extends its hands across the braided rivers that are woven throughout Ngāi Tahu. At 26 years old, I’m still constantly learning about my standing grounds and where my stories of my whakapapa start. Journey with me this week as we explore elements that make up the moving body here in the majority of the South Island, aka the storybook that makes up the some of our stories of Ngāi Tahu, tune in for Papatipu talks with whakaaro from your one and only Whaea Justice.
Woven into our Papatipu Talks you’ll find yourself also immersed in the learning parts of our welcoming process otherwise known as our pōwhiri process. For me, our marae hold some awesome strengths that play a role in how I have grown to understand and learn some of our formalities and informalities and the hope is that you also get a glimpse into what pōwhiri processes look like through my eyes. I’ve grown up knowing what makes up a pōwhiri, knowing we all have a role to play in this whether you are the main character, the back of house, the uber driver or the whānau tautoko, every bit counts in making this flow as natural as it does so with that, welcome to our new spot He kai kei āku rika with your one and only Whaea Justice.
Our stories were also passed on and shared through waiata and growing up, every weekend was spent marae hopping for the different Runanga hui or for kapa haka practice. You might have seen our usual whakataukī that starts off our kōrero has been replaced with lyrics, an ear worm that’s stuck close to my heart as I’ve grown up and one I want to share with you all, and by the end of the week, you’ll have heard the kōrero of ‘the five fingers of Tahu Potiki!’. With that in mind, let us reignite some of the waiata from out of the Ngāi Tahu archives with Te waiata, tukuna mai ki te ao! Maramataka o te rā is orbiting back around this year looking at introducing us into the different phase of the moon for the day, how the phase can affect the flow within the environment. Te Taura Whiri have also released this year our kaupapa for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is ‘Ake, ake, ake’ A forever language representing resilience, adaptability and endurance, with that in mind, let us reignite Te kupu o te rā, encouraging us to learn a kupu hou to fill up our kete.
Papatipu Talks
Ko Oteauheke te maunga
Ko Awaiti te awa
Ko Ōnuku te marae
Ko Karaweko te whare tupuna
Ko Amiria Puhirere te whare kai.
‘Ōnuku marae resides on the hills and coasts of Akaroa Harbour to the adjoining takiwā of Te Rūnanga o Koukourārata and Wairewa Rūnanga.
William Karaweko, set out the takiwā of Ōnuku as from the hill top of Pōhatu to the hilltop of Te Ruahine, then to Timutimu Head on the west, but that the roadways between the inner and outer bays should always be left open, so other hapū could come and go for mahinga kai and hui.’
Ōnuku Marae holds significant memories for me as I am very fortunate to have grown up at various Kaupapa and wānanga here at such a stunning marae, though it didn’t always look like that (IYKYK!) Kōrero that I’ve grown up with about Ōnuku marae extends from 1830-2026 and through all the beauty that can be seen, I’d like to think it’s a nod to future proofing the next generation's beauty so that we don’t repeat the past! In 1832, William Karaweko was 14 years old when he and his cousins were captured by a war party from the Ngāti Toa attack on Ōnawe and imprisoned in Kapiti. Karaweko was seen more as whānau than a prisoner and in so, 10 years later he was returned back to Ōnuku where he took up the rangatira status for Ōnuku. Ōnuku Marae is located on Māori Reserve 886, established in December 1856. Ōnuku and Ōpukutahi (Māori reserve 883) were the two reserves put aside in the deed of the Akaroa Block purchase.
Ko Karaweko te whare tupuna, ko Te Maiharanui te tekoteko kei runga,ko Amiria Puhirere te whare kai. The whare was named after Karaweko himself where this whare became the first carved whare on the Banks Peninsula for over 100 years. The ariki (paramount chief) was Te Maiharanui who now remains to be a part of the whare as we acknowledge him in the tekoteko.
Now IYKYK, the before and after photos of this marae for me just show the preserving of taonga which is our hītori, hītori on the marae, in the marae and so much more!
Wero
The wero is a ritual challenge that involves laying or put forward a taki (challenge) in relation to understanding whether the manuhiri (visitors) entering onto the marae were friend or foe. In its full unveiling, a wero consists of three kaiwero (challengers/warriors). The rākau whakaara (warning baton) is laid down by the first challenger. Once picked up by the esteemed guest of the kaupapa, the kaiwero would turn and proceed back to the rest of the kaiwero. The second kaiwero is known as the rākau takoto (baton laid down) which is laid down by the second kaiwero, and is picked up by another manuhiri. The last kaiwero kneels and lays down the rākau whakawaha (baton that clears the way), which is also picked up by the manuhiri. This kaiwero would turn and clear a path for manuhiri to follow onto the marae.
Te waiata tukuna mai ki te ao
Today’s waiata takes me back to my rakatahi days, the days of my youth where this song became our Top banger here in Waitaha, binding and braiding together the strength in unity and in the bonds formed between those of whom we host in our homes. Nā Charisma Rangipuna rāua ko Paulette Tamati-Elliffe I tito tēnei waiata ko Tauakaea aroha.
Maramataka o te rā
Ko Ouenuku te marama o te rā nei. Thanks to the Hina app, we can view the maramataka o te rā right at the ends of our fingertips! The energy levels are at a medium state and we know that it is also a good day for establishing tuber beds, planting kai and fishing. It’s a time for us to reflect and regather as we have entered the fourth day into Koanga (Spring) as according to the māramataka, REMINDER THAT maramataka and Gregorian calendar act in the same way however variations occur between the two when reading.
Te kupu o te rā
Today’s kupu is one that I love to have play around with especially in times when that part of the day is feeling sluggish, we have all hit that afternoon crash for sure (it’s okay that just means you’re human!)and so today’s kupu o te rā is ngaru. Ngaru is a wave and I like to use this kupu in the context of, ‘man this afternoon is dragging on but we just need to ride that ngaru out until clock off! We got this!’.
Ko te manako nunui, kia tū kia kia oho kia mataara koutou mō te wiki kia whai ake nei.
Justice
Kaitakawaenga
Māori Services
Add a comment to: Rāhina: Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2026 with Justice