‘Tūwhita te hopo, mairangatia te angitū!’
Nau mai hoki mai tauti mai ki te īmēra tuarua. Inanahi, I timata te kaupapa Mai Ihutai ki Uka ki Te Kete Wānanga Ihutai, tae atu ki Tūranga he kiriata hou, he kiriata tino makariri rawa atu I mātaki rātou, heoi, he rā anō tērā, he ngā kaupapa kia whai ake nei?
Welcome back. Yesterday, we kicked of learning how to play Euchre, a card trick game at Linwood Library as well as some of our other whānau having a new and pretty cold movie to watch at Tūranga. Today brings on a new day so let’s see what things we have instore.
Whakaeke
The whakeke refers to the entrance item of the bracket, this is the first item performed within the aggregate (marked items) within a competitive kapa haka bracket. The whakaeke varies from accompanimants of waiata, haka, ngeri, poi, movements and sometimes various forms of weaponry such as taiaha, patu and so much more. For me this is one of the most exciting items of the bracket as it literally is the 5 second shot into what may be to come from the rōpu on stage. One of my favourite whakaeke currently has to be from Te Matatini 2023, watching our Ngāti Whakaue whānau light up that stage with their simple yet effortless bracket. From the tunes that took me down a nostalgic lane to up all night trying to relearn their bracket word for word, Ngāti Whakaue, ki te hoe!
Te waiata, tukuna mai ki te ao
Today’s waiata is a blast from the past, it’s one of those IYKYK type of waiata. 2016 was a time where for a lot of us, big changes were upon us as we were tasked with navigating our next steps into adult life. For our cuzzies Kawai Joe, Ranihera Samuels and Te Irirangi Maxwell, they triumphed and took out the E Tū Whānau song competition where they produced this wake up banger Whakatō te kakano! nā reira areare mai o koutou taringa ki tēnei waiata!
Maramataka o te rā
Today brings the rising of Ohua, a very good day for planting kai though the energy today feels low. Looking out to see the day not the best looking, it’s giving ‘movies, snacks and a lazy reset Sunday!’ a time for us to reconnect with ourselves as we lap up the last moments of freedom before starting back to mahi āpōpō. Treat yourself today and feel what’s going on around you!
Rangatiratanga
This uara pays respect and hononga to power in the sense of control and power over your own ownership of your belongings, your kōrero and who you are as an individual. Rangatiratanga also reflects and envokes the whakaaro of problem solving, being able to use our kōrero as power when negotiating situations, navigating uncomfortable conversations or being able to be pono (honest) to what you are saying.
For me, this uara was instilled in me so young as from a pēpi my voice was encouraged to ring out across the motu, though at that time it was literally tangi and wailing but it still captured ownership in my kōrero. From there, I was encouraged to sing my songs as a growing tamaiti so that I wouldn’t forget how powerful my voice is and the stories it can carry. From there I grew into finding my feet and grounding myself within the different ranks of kapa. From primary school to Te Matatini and even jumping back to even in the rows for ngahau performances on the marae, rangatiratanga was always an uara that grounded me to the performer I am today so encourage your voice, my nanny would say, ‘ahakoa he iti, he pounamu. Although it is small, it is precious.’
Kupu o te rā: Mataara
Our word for today encourages and reminds us in times of preparation, for me, I use this like an affirmation in the morning when I’m getting ready, often I’d hear this right before my ears were clipped from nan (again IYKYK) engari kaore au he tāroaroa taku kōrero, today’s kupu o te rā: ‘Mataara -to be alert, to be vigilant’. This kupu comes in handy especially for us in the phrase, ‘kia mataara! Stay alert!’ Have a try at this kupu and see if it helps you to keep you on your toes just as much as it does for me.
I tēnei wā, ko te manako nui kia haumaru te noho kei rō I te kainga, kaua e wareware ‘me kite, me rongo, me kōrero’ let’s hear it, let’s see it and let’s speak it, when we remember that, we fufill the kaupapa ‘Ake, ake, ake’ just that little bit more. Kia pai o koutou rā I te rangi nei.
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