Kā kirakira i rakitāmiro i te takapau wharanui o te iwi e
E rere ana ngā mihi manamanahau ki a koutou i te wā nei mō tō piritahi mai ki ngā kōrero i a rā mō te wiki kua whārikihia. I a rā, I mauamahara au ki ōku tupuna, i whakaarohia au te ara i arahi rātou mō a mātou, ko tēnei te tūāpapa o te whakataukī, ‘mō tatou, ā, mō kā muri ake nei.’ Mō ngā Kaupapa i puta mai ki tēnei wiki mai ki ngā hapori katoa, nei rā te mihi pārekareka ki a koutou, ehara tēnei mahi he māmā te whakaritenga, te whakapiki ki i a kaupapa i puta, nāia taku mihi ki a koutou. Ki ngā kaimahi o Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi, ‘nei rā te tai o mihi, ki a koutou e ngā iwi, mō tō koutou mahi me te tautoko, ki te Kaupapa o te rā, he waka eke noa, nei rā tāku mihi manamanahau ki a koutou!’ Kei runga noa atu koutou, ko koutou ngā tuakana o te wā nei, e tūohu ana au ki a koutou mō te wiki kua pahure, whakarūkea ki te ao āku homies. Ki ngā kai mekemeke o te pō nei ki Punch up at the Pā, he pīki mihi nunui ki a koutou mō tō koutou kaha, tō koutou māia e tū ana koei raro I te mana o tō hapū.
Let this final greeting give you just as much joy as it has brought me over the last few days of us consolidating our understanding of some of the foundational blocks that has made up your one and only Justice. I have been reminded each day of those that walked before me and I can only think after reading each day that it was from these learnings that the proverb, ‘for all of us, and for our children after us.’ To all that activated all the spaces around the 03 this week with all the varying Kaupapa celebrating our Reo Rangatira, this shout out goes to you guys, the organising and the promoting, we so know the go with that one and it ain’t easy so e mihi ana ki a koutou, you make it look so easy! To āku homies here within our Christchurch City Libraries, you know you always have a special place in my heart, he pīki mihi nunui ki a koutou for giving life to all our Kaupapa across the board this week and for continuing to uplift and celebrate our Te Reo Māori in all the different pockets, you guys are always on top for me, seize the moments my friends! To our whānau and fighters of the night down at Punch up at the Pā, he mihi maioha to all that attended and to our fighters that made such a spectacular night, the hope is you felt your hapū in force behind each and everyone of you, it got me itching to want to get back in the ring for sure. Let us dive in to the last of our Tī (tea) for today’s kōrero and bring this years kōrero and learnings to a close.
Papatipu Talks
Ko Nuku Mania te maunga
Ko Ōrakaia te awa
Ko Te Waihora te moana
Ko Ngāti Moki te marae
Ko Moki te whare tupuna
Ko Riki Te Mairaki Ellison te wharekai
Whakarakatira te mauri tū o te takata, Auē auē auē kā maioha o neherā, Oho ake oho ake oho ake rā.
Taku wairua
Tahupōtiki
Taku tinana
Ruahikihiki
Taku manawa
Orariki me Kāti Moki
Oho ake oho ake oho ake rā, Ko Te Ruahikihiki e ngunguru nei, I au, au, tū pae a hā hā!
Today we have landed in my stomping grounds, my roots that have grown me into what I know to be a Ngāi Tahu kid, what I know to be a pā kid, what I know to be a marae baby is all found here out in the mighty Taumutu. Our whānau out in Taumutu are descendants from Te Ruahikihiki and his son Moki II who settled in Taumutu in the seventeenth century. ‘Te Ruahikihiki moved from Akaroa Harbour to Taumutu on the southern shores of Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere). Te Ruahikihiki settled at the pā traditional fortified village Orariki where the abundance of pātiki, tuna and inanga were present and he exclaimed ‘tāku kaika ko Orariki, my home is Orariki, which is where the present day Hone Wetere church and hāpu urupā (sub-tribe cemetery) are located.’ In 1891, the wharenui was opened on the original historic Pā site of Moki which the whare would bestow the name of Moki. The wharekai shares and takes inspiration from one of my tīpuna Riki Te Mairaki Ellison, he was one of the South Islands most prominent leaders with regards to Māori matters, ‘During the Second World War he served with the RNZAF after enlisting in 1942. After his return he carried on with farming at Taumutu. He was a member of many Māori organisations including the New Zealand Māori Council, Te Wai Pounamu Māori District Council, and the South Island Aotearoa Bishopric Council. He also chaired the Canterbury Māori Council Executive. In Taumutu he chaired the Upoko Runanga of Taumutu, was patron of the Māori Women’s Welfare League Taumutu Branch and was a member of the Ellesmere College Board of Governors. Riki was awarded the QSO for community services and was a Justice of the Peace.’ As I reflect on myself, I take pride in knowing that a lot of my busy hands and work ethics stems a lot from my tupuna before me as they saw the beauty in potential for our future, and now so do I.
Last year myself and my cousin Jayda Janet Siyakurima wrote and illustrated ‘What lives beyond Te Wai’ that highlights our taniwha Tūterakiwhānoa and the arrival of tuna being the next gen taniwha we grew up learning about. The kōrero encompasses the beloved waiata ‘te wait uku kiri’ nā Whaea Te Rita that creates a waiata like atmosphere as you read and journey through Te Waka o Aoraki, the arrival of Tūterakiwhānoa, Marokura and Te Hamo into exploring the art that depicts the story. It’s one that brings life to what we have all grown up with out at Taumutu and hopefully it highlights new kōrero that some of our cuzzies haven’t heard yet, the best one we all love to get is the ‘voluntold!’ and if you haven’t had the pleasure of the voluntold yet, aren’t you lucky! As I look at my cousins and sister grow their wee whānau, I cannot wait for the return of our baby tuna spawning back and filling our whare back again, to have our waiata sung across the paddock and to see the multitudes rock that stage for Hui ā tau this year.
He kai kei āku rika
Teatoweltanga – this part of the formalities brings us in to the back house of the whare. This is where kai (food) is prepared and placed out for manuhiri and hau kainga to share as a part of the last formality that breaks the tapu and brings us all in to that neutral field of understanding. Teatoweltanga doesn’t just end there for us so let’s dive into the dishes and see why I’ve put Taumutu in this space! Growing up, I’ve known my nannies and koros up until silly hours o’clock finishing dishes, getting kai ready for next day and getting the hīnaki in or out of the awa. My taua was the pāwhara queen and mum would say if she was still here, she would have taken all of us down to learn! My cousins would be in the back peeling potatoes and singing like there’s no tomorrow, though maybe there was a reason for singing like that because for some reason us younger cousins became the entertainment for the next day! Even down at the taiaha wānanga at the Awhitu House, a tea towel was never untouched, a dish was washed and kai was always abundant, they taught me all I know and I’d like to hope I’ve been able to pass that on too! One tea towel whip after the next, if you haven’t had that fun yet you haven’t been in our wharekai before! Just remember to close that door to the kīhini unless you wanna play catch the moths with the vacuum cleaner in the morning before aunty Sally or uncle Clem come to make breakfast! Knowledge being passed down to us next gen, cousin Robbie taking on the mātauraka from uncle Clem, cousin Te Puawai and our twins Larissa and Sophia following in footsteps of uncle Riki Te Mairaki and all our others in the spaces of Māori matters and rights and all things autonomy, al our cousins that have found themselves in the stomping ground of Te Rūnanaga o Ngāi Tahu now being able to put into action some of the things that impact and benefit us all as taumutu takata.
Te waiata tukuna mai ki te ao
Today’s waiata is one that has journeyed with us the entire week. Tokorima taotao is a classic banger that I definitely looove and miss hearing! It’s one to bring back for sure as it’s super catchy and fun plus there’s only seven lines (just like how there’s seven days so it just keeps repeating!) so if you haven’t given this one a crack, have a listen and you might even be surprised that you’ve heard some of these names throughout our Papatipu Talks this week.
Maramataka o te rā
Ko Ariroa te marama o te rā nei. Today we welcome in Ariroa as our last marama phase for tēnei wiki (this week). We know that today envokes wero (challenge) in us all so kia kaha, kia māia e te whānau. If you’re feeling the sudden riri (frustration) build up inside of you just remember to take a hā ki roto (breathe in) before we act on our impulses today. It is another low energy vibe day so breathe in the roses and out the other end!
Kupu o te rā
Today’s kupu o te rā is another tangible kupu that can be used in every setting you can think of, but here’s a couple of my favourite ways to use this! ‘Hey can we watch that movie anō? I will see you anō my bro, I’ve just got some mahi to do!’ Our kupu for today is anō which refers to again, so have a go with this one e te whānau and if you still haven’t cracked it, that’s kei te pai just try anō!
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