Ko Te Ruahikihiki e kukuru nei, i au au auē hā!
Nāia te mihi mahana, te mihi maioha ki a koutou I te wā nei. Inanahi, i mutu ai mātou ngā Kaupapa katoa kei rō I ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi engari he maha ngā Kaupapa ki te hapori nei kia whakanui o tatou nei reo rangatira. Inanahi he Kaupapa anō ko te Hīkoi mō Te Reo, tokomaha I haere ki tēnei hikoi whakahira mō tatou, mihi nunui ki te whānau I tae atu ki tērā hikoi. Kei Te Puna o Waiwhetū I tēnei rangi he wāhi kia hanga koe he badge, he kiriata hoki kei Te Puna o Waiwhetū ko Toitū Visual Sovereignty, kei Papa Smashies he Kaupapa anō kia whakapakari tō reo ahakoa he iti he pounamu.
Warmest of welcome to you all as we enter in to another day of Kaupapa celebrating Te wiki o te reo Māori. Yesterday we finished off our last Kaupapa in our Christchurch City Libraries with our poi and tītī tōrea being a hit this year, we give a huge mihi to Tāne Rore, Hine Rehia, Maranga mai for the ongoing learning these taonga give to us all, however there are so many awesome Kaupapa put on from our different community groups celebrating Te Reo Māori. We also had our Hīkoi mō Te Reo where the multitudes found themselves walking the walking and talking the talk so a big ups to our whānau who came down to support. Today you are welcome to join our whānau down at the Christchurch City Art Gallery where our whānau are making badges so come and join. If that’s not enough, come and check out Toitū Visual Sovereignty and see what the hype is all about! We also need to make a special shout out to the tuakana and our whānau over at Papa's Smashies celebrating Te Reo Māori by giving it a go, regardless of how much reo you have, it is a gift to be shared so kaua e wareware, don’t forget it! Talking about Papa's Smashies is making me haikai (hungry) so with that in mind, let’s ruku (dive) straight into today’s kōrero!
Papatipu Talks
Ko Te Ahu Pātiki te mauka
Ko Koukourarata te awa
Ko Te Ara Whānui o Makawhiua te moana
Ko Tūtehuarewa te whare
Ko Te Pātaka a Huikai te wharekai
In the mid 1800s, Koukourarata was the largest Māori settlement in Canterbury populating about 400 people. Kōrero shared with me talks about how the chief Moki named the bay after a stream in Wellington that recalls the birth of Tūāhuriri, the father of Moki and a whom was a principal leader of Canterbury Ngāi Tahu.
Koukourarata was once home to Tautahi, the chief after whom the swampland area we know today as Ōtautahi (Christchurch) was named. Father of Tautahi, Huikai, one of the chiefs of Moki was the first Ngāi Tahu to settle at Port Levy, Huikai will become an important ikoa in today’s kōrero.
This whenua was occupied in three main areas: ‘Koukourarata, Puari and Kai-Tara. After the fall of Kaiapoi pā, Koukourarata and Puari became the main centres of Ngāi Tahu activity in Canterbury. The pā was primarily occupied by Ngāi Tūāhuriri.’
Koukourarata and Tūtehuarewa are also home to the peoples of Ngāi Tūhaitara, Ngāti Huikai and Ngāi Tūtehuarewa.
Tūtehuarewa was an ancestress which she would later be bestowed as the name of the whare tipuna in Koukourarata built between 1924/1925. ‘The building of its hall were the work of both Māori and Pākeha members of the local community. The yachting fraternity held regattas at Easter and New Year and a local Māori Concert Party gave many acclaimed performances in Christchurch and Lyttelton to raise funds for the new hall.’ The naming convention of the whare tīpuna was rare as it was customarily a male privilege (female ancestors are traditionally honoured in the naming of whare kai). The tradition of straying from the norm was alive and thriving in Koukourarata where eighty years later, Te Pātaka o Huikai (The storehouse of Huikai) would be the name of the new wharekai that was built and opened in 2004 after the ancestor Huikai.
Koukourarata was a hot spot for lots of firsts as this would be the site of the first Māori Anglican church. The church no longer stands. But there is a stone memorial on the site to recall the past significance to whānau Māori. I remember taking our Pīki Kids programme over to Koukourarata and stopping at this rock memorial to hear the kōrero and boundary lines. I suppose learning about boundary lines at a young age helped to reinforce the ‘because I said so!’ some things we just can’t explain with words its more a wairua feeling.
Lastly, kaumātua and whānau e noho ana ki Koukourarata recall kōrero and warnings of not venturing down to the Red Rock as it was a place where sacred things belonging to the old people were buried. To this day, Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata works to ensure the ongoing protection of these significant sites.
He kai kei āku rika
Hariru – The hariru or hongi encapsulates the essence of two different walks of life coming together as one. The hongi derives from the pūrākau (traditional story) between Tāne who from curiosity would go on to create his creation. From the creation Tāne would breathe life into the first man known to us all as Hineahuone. It is a way to break down barriers behind social rankings as this formality brings us all into a neutral space of understanding. I have put Koukourarata in this space as I see the connections shared between the creations of new things as well as Koukourarata being home to the firsts of many new starts and creations. I must say our whānau out in Koukourarata have produced some awesomely talented whānau that extend to Performing Arts, Theatre, Chefs and Entrepreneurs, we see you all and we can’t wait to see the new creations coming soon!
Te waiata tukuna mai ki te ao
Today’s waiata is a bit of a slower one, it’s a reminder of my stomping roots as a tamaiti growing up learning our kōrero and whakapa through waiata. Fun fact, as a youngster I never really paid much attention to the waiata or mōteatea we learnt but now that I am getting older (did I really just say that!) starting to put the kōrero to the physical spaces, to touch the whenua and swim in the awa, to see the mauka and to hear the manu return, all of these for me are literal movies in my head coming to life! Let the chant of Manu Tīria fill your ears with an ear worm just like it did for me growing up and hopefully you start to pick up the kupu too!
Maramataka o te rā
Ko Tamatea-whakapau te marama o te rā nei. Today we are welcomed by the marama phase Tamatea-whakapau where the morning is good for planting kai, gathering ika though, hmm not too much! The energy vibes are at a low again today so yaay for te wīkene, say less to the weekend what an awesome excuse to help us feel that bit more together, we have our excuse goat everyone! It’s a good time while the energy vibes are at a low for reflections of the week and a check in with yourself, I’m taking myself on a treat yourself date soon to PaknSave to get some last minute goodies before Punch up at the Pā starts!
Kupu o te rā
Today’s kupu is one that I use so often at mahi and in life! We all know when the cravings hit, when its too early or too late for the main feed of the day, but there’s always time for paramanawa, nē! Paramanawa refers to a snack or light refreshements and so you can see how this kupu can get used quite often, ‘Hey I’m getting haikai, should we go get some paramanawa?’ I’m sure you’ll find a use for this kupu e te whānau, and speaking of paramanawa I think that’s a tohu for me to head off and go get some!
Ki ngā kai mekemeke i te pō nei kei Punch up at the Pā, ka tuku aroha, ka tuku whakaaro, ka tuku tōku mana ki a koutou I te wā nei, kia kaha, kia māia kia manawanui!
‘He manawa tītī’
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