Ngā kaimahi o Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi, kia tū, kia oho, kia mataara,
Anei he whakataukī kia whakaarohia tātou, he aha te mea nui o ngā kupu? Here is a whakataukī for us to all think about, what is the meaning behind it?
”Toitū te whenua, whatungarongaro te tangata. As man disappears from sight, so stands the land will remain.”
As the dew settles and glistens over the whenua (land), and as the crisp frost awakens the mind and body this morning, let us turn to face Tamanuiterā (the Sun) as a new day dawns over us filled with opportunities and wonder. Different iwi (tribe) and hapū (sub-tribe) tell different stories about the arrival of the frost, the dew, the Sun and the birds singing. One that I’ve grown to love talks about how our elders, our kaumātua, and our whānau who have now passed on to enter a new chapter, come to remind us as a people to stop and come together in times of cold to warm ourselves together as an iwi or hapū with the stories of our old, how they might help us to understand the present so we can rewrite the future. It is a tohu when we see the whenua lit up a white hue to reconnect with those memories of our loved ones and that they are here to say “Kia ora!”. With that in mind, what activities are in store today to hopefully help in creating some new memories:
Thursday 15th September 2022
Wharewhare ki Riverside 12-1pm
If you like playing Bingo this one is for you! Thanks to our friends at Riverside we have a couple of vouchers to give out to ngā toā o te kēmū (the winners of the game) and if you are as competitive as me, just like what Scar sang with his Hyena friends “Be Prepared!” You’ll hear me before you see the games however we are located on the 2nd level at Riverside.
Kauhanga Kēmu 3:30-4:30pm
He pai ki a koe te tākaro i ngā kēmū? Do you like playing games? Well come on down to Te Kete Ika o Ihutai, Linwood Library where we are celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori with some of our kēmū both traditional and modern. There is something there for all and you guessed it, our wharewhare is also making an appearance there too. Thank you to Emergency Civil Defense, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Christchurch City Libraries and a few other small organisations that helped to contribute to us producing a prize pack (aku whakapāhā, my bad I forgot to mention our friends for yesterday as well as Aranui Library also was able to receive a prize pack).
Kupu Hou For The Day: Kōrero
This kupu has a few different meanings for it depending on the context but in reflection of what it means: To talk, a speech, words, story. In context you could use this kupu like: “Kia ora, hey do you think we could catch up and talk after this meeting?” “Kia ora, hey do you think we could catch up and kōrero after this meeting?” You could replace meeting for hui and that’s two kupu hou we have used in a sentence! Have a try at this kupu kōrero, karawhiua!
Taha Hinengaro
This side of our whare is one of the most delicate walls, it looks into our manawa (heart), our thoughts, feelings, emotions and conscious. This side is responsible for looking at our mental wellbeing and how we can support it through the goods and the bads. We all have our moments both young and old, some things are just easier felt than said so we always have to be kind and listen to when our mind, our bodies, our wairua and our manawa are talking to us. You know people cope with life and challenges differently, that’s what makes us human so here’s a website to check out when you feel the need to remind yourself, All right?
Things we can do to help our hinengaro on the daily are things like taking moments to reflect on your surroundings, work will always be there so raise your head a little higher to see something new. It could be going for a walk to the end of the street and back, through the aisles at a supermarket, or even hanging out with our whānau and friends to stimulate the endorphins, others may meditate and feel the open air brush across their skin. Whatever it is you do, do it for you boo! Alice from Alice in Wonderland once dared to dream of six impossible things before breakfast, maybe that’s how she protects and supports her hinengaro.
Whakataukī: Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua
Whakataukī – “Hurihuia tō mata ki te rā, kia taka te ātārangi ki muri I a koe. Turn your face to the Sun, let the shadow fall behind you.” This whakataukī talks about when life gives you lemons, turn to face the Sun, the light, the happy and the positives and let your shadow, your negative thoughts, your judgements be emptied out and fall behind you. Think about when times get tough, you get down for a little bit and then you get back up no matter how many push backs. So this whakataukī goes out to all the warriors who bounce back time after time again.
Waiata
There are so many waiata we could have chosen for this taha, but I strongly believe what good are our waiata if we don’t give thanks and acknowledgement to the old gems of the past. Taking us all the way back to 1907, a lullaby composed by Princess Te Rangi Pai, E Hine E was composed and I think you can definitely hear the mamae (pain) and heartache this waiata calls out too. It’s one to sit in for a while and just ponder on things, reflect on your own tikanga (values) to unlock the next level of you.
The Sun is out and I hope it warms up the day just like the influx of emails we have received over the week with peoples whakaaro (thoughts), kōrero (talk or the news/word of mouth) they have received from customers or heard has warmed my manwa (heart) so much. It’s these small actions that make the biggest difference as we embark on celebrating 50 years of the signing of The Māori Language Petition, from then to now what a journey it has been, and look at how much growth we continue to make as a people united as one! From our rōpū to yours, kei te tumanako mātou, kia pai o koutou rā I tēnei rangi.
Ngā mihi
Justice
Kaitakawaenga Māori
Māori Services
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