TE PAAHI – A BADGE OF HONOUR

Te Paahi, a visionary lived and instilled into his people the doctrine of peace and welcomed Christianity, trade missions and colonisation as the shadow of change. He probably lost his life in 1810 defending those virtues.

Karanga rang out across a freshly mown hilltop, to receive us to the site of Te Paahi’s home at Rangihoua in The Bay of Islands.  Our procession, bearing a small medallion lost for two centuries and earlier this year turned up at Sotheby’s in London for auction. We carried the small box, like a body in an open casket as kuia called us emotions filling the space where the taonga was laid on a korowai draped table. One kuia later told me, “We have waited two hundred years for this home-coming.”

There are moments in life never to be forgotten.  This weekend is one. Standing on this holy rise and looking across Pewhairangi, Te Paahi’s legacy for peace on earth and goodwill to all people resonated across a contrasting landscape of eternal peace and materialism; here an entire peninsular manicured to the inth of grass, the clash of two worlds is still evident, a moment both liberating and painfully sad; liberating in that whanau and hapu released from some of the grief they have endured.  And painful in kuia and koroma looking out across a patrimony no longer in their reach.  They called. Prayed. And sang hymns and waiata as well provided kai as a holy thanks-giving for this place, treasured waters, islands and land. But it was for the medallion they were shedding tears of joy and sadness. For them and us this was no ordinary journey. Thanks to Te Papa Tongarewa and Tamaki Paenga Hira for allowing this healing to take place. In this setting, words have power:  Te Wairua, Te Ihi, Te Mana, Te Wehi and Te Tapu ...  power, elegance, in moments of holiness conferred upon our tiny lives.

We were richly welcomed into the heart and soul of Ngati Rua, Ngati Torehina and later at Te Tii Marae by

Ngati Rehia

We gazed in awe.  We listened in awe watched by Maunga Matakaa.  From here we look across places with indelible layers of history written into the landscape.  Another told us, “You’re looking at where Marsden preached the first Christmas sermon across there at Oihi in 1814.”  The coastal coves and seaside cliff tops so redolent with living memories of our colonial past.

Te Paahi spent time in Port Jackson where he met and befriended Samuel Marsden. He and Marsden had long discussions on religion. Marsden was so impressed with Te Pahi's 'clear mind', and his eagerness to hear about English laws and customs, that he began to plan the establishment of a Church Missionary Society mission at Te Puna under Te Paahi's protection.  He also became good friends with Phillip Clarke, the governor of New South Wales who minted the medallion to weld their friendship.  To ensure a safe return for Te Paahi and his sons, King put at his disposal the Lady Nelson, which departed on 24 February 1806. Te Paahi and his many acquisitions arrived at Te Puna safely.  The Lady Nelson, loaded with spars and seed potatoes sailed back.  Te Paahi was quick to grab new opportunities

Te Ara, the son of a rangatira from Whangaroa, asked to work his passage home on a ship. An incident occurred which resulted in him being flogged. One source says that he refused orders claiming poor health and noble birth.  Others state that the ship's cook accidentally threw some pewter spoons overboard and falsely accused Te Ara of stealing them to avoid being flogged.   Upon reaching Whangaroa, Te Ara reported the indignities to his people showing them the whip marks on his back. In accordance with Māori custom, utu was necessary to restore mana. Under British law, whipping was the common punishment for minor crimes.  In Māori tradition, the son of a chief was a privileged figure who did not bow to an outsider's authority. Physical punishment of a chief's son, though justified by British law caused the chief to suffer a loss of mana which required utu.  Alexander Berry, the ship’s surgeon in a letter describing the event, said: "The captain had been rather too hasty in his ruling."

 Late in 1809 the new nation gasped when a 395 ton brigantine convict ship called at Whangaroa to load spars when on the third day, the Boyd was taken by vengeful Maori and the crew killed except three. The cargo was plundered and the ship burnt to the water-line. It was concluded that Te Paahi was responsible. The whalers too were inclined to believe in Te Pahi's guilt. 

What happened?  Tara, chief at Kororareka, the rival anchorage to that of Te Puna, did his best to convince the authorities that it was Te Paahi.  In retaliation, ostensibly to release captives, the crews of five whaling ships took Te Paahi's island by force on 26 March 1810.  About 60 of his people were killed and his property destroyed. Te Paahi, although wounded, escaped. But within days, he died from a wound suffered in the fighting. Marsden, convinced by accounts given to him by Nga Puhi leaders Ruatara and Hongi Hika in 1814, made strenuous efforts to clear his friend’s name.  He considered Te Paahi had been confused with a rival chief, Te Puhi of a Whangaroa hapu, Ngati Uru who raised The Boyd.

Te Paahi paved the way for missionaries to come to Aotearoa New Zealand by providing friendship, security, safety and land.  It wasn’t hard to imagine that the central issue was land - that is, an attitude to land.

 Maori have traditionally exploited their lands just as other peoples have done. When Te Paahi and his people got hold of Pakeha agricultural and fishing technologies in the early 1800s, they did it better than settlers.  What made it different was land wasn’t an item of individual ownership nor a disposable commodity.  Instead, land was the very abstract nexus of Turangawaewae, inherited rights to occupy and raise crops and families, but also to fish and snare and do other things.  The one thing you couldn’t do with it was to dispose of it.  It was a trust handed down.  The whole community, tribe or hapu lived as one with whenua as Kaitiaki, a different thing to ownership.

It’s now evening, and we’re called into the ancestral house, ‘Tino Rangatiratanga’, again we are flanked by rangatahi and mokopuna keen to view and touch their tipuna in the reawakening episodes of their tribal history unfolding right before them.  Tribal elders of Ngati Rua, Ngati Torehina and Ngati Rehia were bonded together by taonga – a time traveller come home. 

The memory of Te Paahi has survived the shadow of change.

Extraordinary.  How a small medallion, no bigger that a fifty-cent coin can do so much to bring disparate members of Ngati Rua, Ngati Torehina and Ngati Rehia together in a reunion of spirit, mind and body. As with Te Paahi, the medallion represents a pact of goodwill, trust and peace.

Before we left, we gathered inside the meeting house for Poroporoaki, a poignant moment as the children filed past and gently touched the taonga in mediation.  Another exquisite moment to take away.

Redemption is a huge issue that face us globally.  One of the most important things that take place in the hearts of the offended is the release from unresolved grief.  In the children today, Te Paahi’s legacy of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all People lives on.  We are left feeling richer. 

Ae! He honore.

POTIKI TUAKANA TAONGA

“So long as kaumatua held the tensions between tohunga, tuakana and potiki in balance, the wellbeing of hapu remained robust.” Haare Williams speaking this week at Kaiaua, Firth of Thames.

Pa transformed the landscape into visible expressions of mana o te whenua by building impressive palisades and gateways. While these fortresses were great feats of earth-carved works of engineering, art and sculptures, they stood out as practical statements of strength and manifestations of mana over the land.  These represented unity, strength, infinity and spirituality (holiness) and social interactions. Maungakiekie is an example of tribal dominance over Auckland.

Three domains of protection: 

(1)     The domain of nga atua, the gods of te whare wananga o Tane, atua (deities) were accessed by tohunga ahurewa (high priest) via tuahu (sacred altar) and asked to provide kin group with bountiful harvests, safety, knowledge, spirituality and empowering wisdom 

(2)     The domain of marae-atea is where the complimentary, but different manifestations of tapu/noa, war/peace, host/visitor, male/female, senior/junior were skilfully woven and held together by kaumatua

(3)     The third domain of taonga representing the wairua of key ancestors, enabling rangatira during life crises to bind together the kin group as a singularly powerful entity, taonga is also an emblem of peace and trust

Rangatira (chief) possessing chiefly status, was imbued with mana and the authority conferred by the people, capable of making final decisions, power over life and death, a community worked to maintain the mana of the rangatira (chief) and hence mana of hapu

Tohunga (priestly leader, specialist and scholar) is a level of leadership within the tribe with access to atua (deities), a person regarded with awe and circumspection 

Tuakana is the first born of the chief the natural heir to the position of rangatira as senior of a set of siblings, has to be protective the position, younger siblings become a threat; potiki on the other hand is not hampered by sibling tensions (refer to Maui, the last born of Taranga).

Potiki is the entrepreneurially-minded class of Maori leader allowed to be on the ‘wild side’, ‘wilfully naughty’, and as ‘haututu’ such a child was looked on as potential leaders.  They were often brought up by grandparents.

Kaumatua held heritage and change in balance.  Potiki challenged heritage and sought change through feats of courage and rascality. While kaumatua represented heritage ways through the provision of customary tikanga (stability), upcoming potiki carried a propensity to challenge older siblings, parents or even elders. Tribal narratives are littered with stories of adventurous potiki who attempting to prove worthy of leadership, met a similar fate as Maui; the cost of life in the pursuit of immortality.

So long as the kaumatua held the tensions between tohunga, tuakana and potiki in balance, the wellbeing of hapu (kin group) remained robust.

Only through the marae forum of leadership (tangata whenua or ahi ka) could manuhiri (outsiders or visitors) gain legitimated access to tribal resources.  To attempt otherwise was to transgress boundaries and therefore provoke a crisis. 

But that is exactly what poitiki class of Maori leaders would do; challenge the boundaries of heritage and authority or the conservatism in their eagerness to explore new opportunities.  More often than not, a life-crisis would erupt, challenging the checks and balances of heritage versus opportunity. 

 

When the dust of war settled, it is on the marae that kaumatua again negotiated peace through tuku rangatira (gifting land rights), taumau (marriage alliances), moko taura (child adoption) and presentations of taonga (tribal heirlooms) beyond the tribe.  Boundaries are reaffirmed and taonga travel through the generations as solemn symbols of peace and trust. (eg Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa personal mere to Cameron). 

It is during the tangihanga that the power of taonga becomes apparent.  Appropriately used, taonga assisted in ameliorating tribal tensions and the obligations being experienced by loss.  Taonga act as here (binding together) collapsing time so the ancestors they represent can be present guiding the wairua in its return to spiritual homelands.

A note about the most celebrated potiki of all.

Maui is potiki the last born of Makea Tutara and Taranga. He was potiki the youngest of a set of siblings, a trickster hero found in all myths. While the Greeks alluded to Homer, so it is with Maui a central and formative element in Maori and Pasifika cultures. These narratives bring out the search for immortal life, the distaste for incest, respect for elders and the recognition that sexual intercourse is a prerequisite for new life.  The conflict between the individual and group is brought out when he challenges the authority of elders. Because he is potiki, he is given freedom.  He is the representative free male and through him we are shown tikanga (the right way to do things).  The belief in mana is brought out in the rituals. It is Maui who rises up against overwhelming odds by ‘breaking’ the rules.  Maui potiki introduces the theme that trickery and deceit are acceptable if desired social goals are achieved.  He is also the benefactor of all human kind.  In Te Ika a Maui, he outwits his older brothers who could not overcome their greed for land. Maui’s final encounter with Hinenui Te Po was foretold, so the story justifies the Maori predictive powers of omens, prophecies and dreams.  His encounter with Hinenui Te Po provides a rationale for death the ultimate penalty, a warning for going too far.

The platform is there for junior children to step up provided they show intelligence, wit, boldness and cunning determination they too could rise and become rangatira.

Our world, for a start anyway can be seen through a prism of two worlds; Te Ao Maori, and Te Ao Pakeha, our two worlds in unity - Nga Ao E Rua. 

Haare Williams

Kaiaua 28 September 2014

Vocabulary

Haututu – wilfully naughty, inventive, creative

Hinenui Te Po – guardian of the spirits, death

Kaumatua – elderly male and female

Pakeha -denotes non-Maori, of European ancestry, a New Zealander

Maori - from tangata maori, ordinary, common people

Taonga – living treasures

Tauiwi – ‘just landed or recently landed’, also means ‘visitor’

Tikanga – doing what is right, the opposite is he (wrong doing)

Ihi – power, possibility, potentiality, spine tingling,

Wehi – fearfulness, awe, reverence

Wana – artistry (as in haka)

Mana – personal chiefly charisma, integrity, authority, trust

Wairua - living spirit, sacredness of life in all things

The Long Road to Redemption for the Crown ...

Haare Williams heard of the Tuhoe struggle through the many ponderous stories told to him by Wairemana, grand-daughter of Tutakangahau and felt her pain in episodes of inter-generational mamae. There was some cheer at Taneatua this week as Treaty Negotiations Minister; Hon Chris Findlayson announced the government’s formal apology for the continuous persecution of Tuhoe.  $170m some compensation for the bloody wounds held in silence, grief, rage and fortitude.  Maybe this week, as the cold wind of Okiwa blew across the valley, we felt a flicker in the light of redemption for The Crown.     

He rongo korero noake - I heard that last week Tame Iti with his Tuhoe kin welcomed into his heartland home of Ruatoki those who put him into the largest [i]Hinaki’ in the country with a glass of distilled red wine.

I heard that … Tuhoe; people of “The Mist,” a story of survival.  I was a blessed grandson surrounded by the Tuhoe narrative handed down from her dad, Taihakoa Poniwahio of Ruatoki and her grandfather, Tutakangahau of Waikaremoana.

I heard that … Te Kooti and Rua Kenana were their links to the remnants of their land and the common ties that brought them together. I heard that … the negative Pakeha (state) constructs of Tuhoe as dissidents who provided sanctuary for criminals in the Urewera canopy of bush, mountains and mist.  They were painted as a people that should always be treated with distrust.

I heard that … the intrusions of the state into Te Urewera borders on trumped up charges of being “… in pursuit of refugees and fugitives”. I heard that … the forced session of Tuhoe lands around Waikaremoana – all the way to Ruatoki, Waimana, Ohiwa, Pekatahi and Opouriao happened for alleged disloyalty.

I heard that … Kenana, the Prophet founded his community on non-violence, strict hygiene standards, a school, a marae and a temple with compulsory schooling and church attendances, a savings bank, savings of £31,000, superannuation, a farming co-operative, and as well a settlement run by his own parliament.

I heard that … Tamaikoha visited officials amongst them PM Richard Seddon and the courts to fight to protect Tuhoe lands, bush and water. 

I heard of … the rape of the land and the mana of a peaceful people wanting their independence yet forced through poverty to eke out a living without the resources they once managed to a white legislative hegemony of looters who came in the guise of missionaries, surveyors, soldiers and politicians, miners and cattle barons.  They came as the advanced occupying guard – their lust for land was endemic.  Teachers and nurses they trusted.

I heard that … Te Kaunihera Whitu Tekau-The Council of Seventy outstanding leaders: Nūmia, Tamāikoha, Tūtakangahau, Rakuraku, Tamarau, Te Ahikaiata, Te Makarini, Tāpeka, Te Kererū, Poniwāhio, Te Amo all the way to Tāmati Kruger and Tame Iti.  Historian Judith Binney described them as,

 “… actively seeking to protect lands of Tuhoe.”

“… ka tangi ki tēnei taonga e hohou nei i te maungārongo ki te whenua, whakaaro pai, whakawātea i te whakamomori i uhia ake nei ki runga ki a Ngāi Tūhoe, kua mahea rā haere whakamua.” 

(I grieve, not for the past but for the future as this taonga laid out on the marae reminds us of the peace that will come over the land; one that will set us free from the bonds of grief.)

A tribute by Tuhoe kaumatua, [ii]Te Rangi Puke at Waikirikiri Marae, Ruatoki to Kahurangi Judith Te Ohomairangi o te Aroha Binney on Monday 30 November 2009 at the launch of her book ‘Encircled Lands 1821-1916’.

I heard that … Knowledge is emancipating, knowledge is a freedom held in waiata of a long trail of betrayals that bite deep, but Tuhoe today sees knowledge as a precursor for healing wounds rendered over 140 years.  The mending is a long way off.  The state cannot salve its guilt in a bottle of distilled red wine from the rich Earth of confiscated fields in Opouriao for the ultimate redemption can only come from Earth and from God.

I heard that … the final chapter of this saga is about redemption and moving ahead as Kruger put it, “… it’ll take time for us to heal but the state must bear the ultimate guilt.” 

I heard that … Tuhoe is now holding its breath for the state to do the right thing by them.  May the battle end, but they ask, “… when will the war end?”

I heard that … when Rua Kenana, The Maungapohatu prophet stepped forward to peacefully receive Police Commissioner, John Cullen with ninety-nine fully armed and mounted police on Sunday 2 April 1916, and his powhiri was crushed with violence and the deaths of two; his son Toko and a follower, Te Maipi.  What happened in Ruatoki seven years ago; was this an episode of history repeating itself: Parihaka, Rangiaowhia, Rangiriri, Pukehinahina, Ngatapa, Bastion Point …

I heard that … the people of Ruatoki still cannot believe that their sleepy hollow was rudely woken up on Monday 15 October 2007 to a violence that hovers still in their peaceful corner of Earth. 

“I got up early on Monday and drove to my Kohanga Reo.  About 3kms from home, I was stopped by a strange site that still frightens me.  There was this road block and six cops, well I thought they were cops on the road, masks covering their faces and armed with machine guns (I think).  I was rudely asked to, “… step out!” which I did.  Then they lined me up against my number plate and photographed me.  After about an hour, they let me go without answering my questions.  I didn’t know that Tame Iti had been arrested until I got to my Kohanga Reo.  So now we’re terrorists.”  (Interview [iii]Te Umu Mere McGarvey, Tuhoe Kuia, Ruatoki 16 October 2007)

I asked Tuhoe Treaty negotiator Tamati Kruger, “What is the price for $170m?”  His reply, “It’s not the price but the cost.” 

At the heart of our nation is a spirit of goodness, the light of redemption that Kruger is holding up for us above the gloom from which shines maungarongo (reconciliation, restitution and redemption), whanaungatanga (hospitality, generosity and respect), Kaitiakitanga (protection of natural and spiritual richness), and mana (integrity of both partners of the treaty). 

I heard myself say, “… thank you Tamati thank you Tame, thank you Tuhoe for showing us how naked we look in the wake of a litany of betrayals. Nga mihi nui ano hoki Chris Findlayson ...”.

He rongo korero noake - I heard that, tonight as Tame Iti takes a deep breath, a reprieve from Te Hinaki and the courts, he’ll be celebrating with “Hei Tira Tira-Hey Diddle Diddle …”, he holds above his head a bottle to celebrate, but you can be sure what he’s holding up is not a Molotov cocktail.

---

[i] Hinaki – jail, prison, internment, a trap for eelsinaki

[ii] Te Rangi Puke died earlier this year haere e te rangatira, haere atu ra.

[iii] Te Umu Mere McGarvey – daughter of Tuhoe rangatira and leader, Kūpai McGarvey

AMOKURA

A student in Haare’s Te Reo class described the Maori language as “ ... te reo gave me another feathered wing to fly.”

In Oceania, there's a bird called Te Amokura.  It is greatly valued for its beautiful bright-red plumage and its elegance in flight.  It is rarely seen in New Zealand now, but for most of us there are only its feathers seen on the feathered cloaks that remain in Museums. - two steps away from paradise.

Some feared the fate of Te Ro in its flight to survival.  Some knockers told us Te Reo will decline to a minority ceremonial language like a museum relic that enshrines the dead of a past glory.  Is Te Reo safe?

While there are over 80,000 plus non-Maori now enrolled in Te Reo classes around the country, the first language of New Zealand isn't safe.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori has been and gone but should we not continue and make every week a week for all things precious?  The danger of loss resides here in Aotearoa, as the loss of Te Amokura in Oceania is a loss to the identity and education across Oceania.

Like any plague the danger is progressive and contagious.  As with other killing diseases, it thrives on ignorance and neglect.  Carl Dodson, a recent academic to visit here, begged us to preserve the Maori language as a unique heritage of New Zealand. “If it dies”, he reminded us, “It will be through neglect by both Maori and Pakeha.  “if it is to survive it is here.”

The Maori Language has survived.  Slowly!  Grudgingly slow!  Maori activism to recognise te reo came in 1975 with Te Hikoi from The Far North to the steps of parliament.  Whina Cooper, Syd and Hannah Jackson petitioned government to recognise the Maori Language in statute.

Eventually, te reo was given official status under the Maori Language Act 1987.

This was seen as a great break through. The protagonists argued that it wasn't just about language or education that was at stake but personal and national identity.  They remonstrated and told a nation that the cycle of alienation is problematic and expensive to break.

“At thirteen I continued to learn te reo because it gave me so much pleasure.  I was inspired enough to carry on at varsity.  Te reo gave me a connection to the land that runs deep for me.  This is for me a gateway to the story of our land, our history, our identity as a people drawing upon the rich cultures of Britain and New Zealand. Te reo gave me another feathered wing to fly.” (Anna)

Let us heighten and keep what is Good in a world growing small every day.  We are sometimes submerged under a tidal wave of Free Market propaganda.  Allow ourselves, especially our kids to know what is precious and wear their taonga like an outer garment, as a badge of honour.  Find a purpose in life and live it’

Isn't it true that those who are dispossessed of their mana become possessed by it? 

Maybe, just maybe we can once again see a battered taonga rise and soar above our skies. 

Note.

According to Elsdon Best Te Amokura, the red tropical bird was prized by Maori as a rare taonga for its long red plumage, also a valuable item in barter. Its visits to New Zealand are very rare either blown here or wrecked in a storm..

AMOKURA

A student in Haare’s class described the Maori language as “ ... te reo gave me another feathered wing to fly.”

In Oceania, there's a bird called Te Amokura.  It is greatly valued for its beautiful bright-red plumage and its elegance in flight.  It is rarely seen in New Zealand now, but for most of us there are only its feathers seen in feathered cloaks that remain in Museums. - two steps away from paradise.

Some still fear the fate of te reo in its flight for survival from extinction.  Some knockers told us te reo will decline to a minority ceremonial language like a museum relic that enshrines the dead of a past glory.  Is te reo safe?

The danger of irretrievable loss is greatest here in Aotearoa New Zealand which, like any plague the danger is progressive and contagious.  As with other killing diseases, it thrives on ignorance and neglect.  Carl Dodson, a recent academic to visit here, begged us to preserve the Maori language as a unique heritage of New Zealand. “ If it dies”, he reminded us, “It will be through neglect by both Maori and Pakeha because its only home, if it is to survive is here.”

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori has been and gone but not forgotten.  The Maori Language has survived.  Slowly!  Grudgingly slow!  

Maori activism to recognise te reo came in 1975 with Te Hikoi from The Far North to the steps of parliament.  Whina Cooper, Syd and Hannah Jackson petitioned government to recognise the Maori Language in statute.

Eventually, te reo was given official status under the Maori Language Act 1987.

This was seen as a great break through. The protagonists argued that it wasn't just about language or education that was at stake but personal and national identity through the taonga of ancestors.  They reminded the nation that the cycle of alienation is problematic and expensive to break. I commend some eighty-thousand non-Maori New Zealanders today learning te reo.

“At thirteen I continued to learn te reo because it gave me so much pleasure.  I was inspired enough to carry on at varsity.  Te reo gave me a connection to the land that runs deep for me. This is for me a gateway to the story of our land, our history, our identity as a people drawing upon the rich cultures of Britain and New Zealand.  Te reo gave me another feathered wing to fly.” (Anna)

Let us heighten and keep what is Good in a world growing small every day. We are sometimes submerged under a tidal wave of Free Market propaganda.  

Allow ourselves, especially our kids to know what is precious and wear it as  taonga, like an outer garment, as a badge of honour if you like.  Find a badge in life and live it.

One day, with your help and our collective support for a rare and beautiful taonga, we may once more see the full plumage of Te Amokura soaring above our skies.

Note.

According to ethnologist Elsdon Best, Te Amokura, the red tropical bird was prized by Maori as a rare taonga for its long red plumage, also a valuable item in barter. Its visits to New Zealand were very rare either blown here or wrecked in a storm.. 

A stitch that binds time

In all its holiness, Hotunui embodies all that has symbolic and practical meaning.   For Haare Williams the pulsating, vibrancy of Hotunui is held together and dominated by a singular word mounted on the face of the house; the name ‘Hotunui’

 “… haere mai koutou, piki mai, kake mai.  Kua tae mai ki te poho o Hotunui!”

Welcome to the pride of Marutuahu of Thames and Ngati Awa of Whakatane.  Hotunui   one of the jewels in the crown of The Auckland War Memorial Museum is a living taonga of all Marutuahu iwi; Ngati Maru, Ngati Whanaunga, Ngati Tamatera, and Ngati Paoa.  In here, in the body of this great house, we feel the warmth and presence of ancestors.  Feel too, the dynamics of a people who assembled an assortment of resources like food, flour, gold, £1000, with a labour intensive force consisting of men and women to build this whare, a wedding gift.  Men worked the wood, and groups of women gathered harakeke, kakaho, pingao and kiekie. 

Hotunui is the progeny of these tribes who came to dominate a strategic area of coastal New Zealand.  This house embodies changes that were actively shaping New Zealand society in the 1880s. 

Hauraki and Whakatane communities were already undergoing major changes from a rationally Maori economy based on kinship ties, reciprocity and payment in kind, plunged inextricably into a cash economy of gold mining, farming and horticulture, shipping and a variety of small business enterprises.  You could say, Maori kicked off the free market ideology.  True also in the religious circles of life. Maori values were irrevocably reshaped by Christian beliefs and practices.  Hotunui displays the use of steel tools and techniques which revolutionised the character and size of meeting houses that saw innovations in style, size, and decorations.  You’ll see bold new applications which took on a new turn in the 1880s.

Hotunui is the product too of the post Land War Years.  Houses in this era experienced a revolution in new materials, colour, European and religious symbols and tools which added to a new expressionism in meeting houses.  Hoterenui Taipari, chief of Marutuahu, made a speech in 1868, “I look forward to a time of peace in a united nation and you must all be steadfast in love forever.” 

He called in Ngati Awa to do the job.  His reason, to seal the relationship through marriage, but they were renowned carvers and house builders.  Hotunui is more than a wedding gift.

Look carefully to the walls and you’ll catch something unique in the poupou depicting the fish-like features of Ureia, a marakihau or taniwha carved in the traditions of Mataatua.  It is only one of the standout features in Hotunui.  Look again, the tukutuku panels and know that these are some of the oldest in existence, hence their fragility and wear.

In all its holiness, Hotunui embodies all that has symbolic and practical meaning.   For me the pulsating, vibrancy of Hotunui is held together and dominated by a singular word mounted on the face of the house; the name ‘Hotunui’.  This is the name that unifies the whole of Marutuahu and Ngati Awa. 

In Hotunui, the ancestors are celebrated through legendary depictions of heroic deeds thereby providing a visually rich narrative of tribal history.  This is the ultimate source of mana which looks to honour the past, preserve the present and protect the future. 

  “Maori cosmology locates past time to the front, while the future lies behind one.  Being unknown the future is behind the person where it cannot be seen.  Maori move into the future with their eyes on the past.”

Neich 1993:124

For Manuhiri walking in her, unfamiliar with the symbolic meaning that surrounds them, it can be overwhelming to the point you can observe everything but see little..  There’s more here than you see.  I am connected to Hotunui through Ngati Awa and so for me, Hotunui is my university, my library, my church, my courtroom, a place to celebrate whanau weddings and birthdays and a place where I can extend the sanctity of saying goodbye to our dead. It is a place where I belong, a seamless connection that which continues to provide the link with my past through the avante garde of modern Maori art, music, literature and to the cosmology that is me.

Elders Walter Taipari, Huhurere Tukukino, and Emily Paki once reminded me in an interview of the precious connection they held with Ngati Awa.. 

The principle of ‘Utu’ sustains that which is rich and enduring in Maori culture.  Many, Maori amongst them, confuse the meaning of ‘utu’ as revenge.  Hotunui isn’t just a simple wedding gift but one that reaches out across whanau, tribal and political boundaries. 

Utu is a ‘return’ for a favour or ‘debt ‘given.  The ‘return’ can occur immediately but in some instances it could take the richness of time to occur, a year, decades or a generation may pass, but the ‘debt’ was never closed.  Time distilled the mana of the gift.  The greater the expression of generosity, the greater is the mana of the return.  The principle of ‘utu’ is reciprocity embodied in three values: giving, receiving and returning. When a ‘gift’ is given the recipient is immediately ‘obligated,’ to return.  The giving or the return is done with a little bonus and keeps the recipient in continuous ‘debt’.  Utu is never closed.  Insults, theft, injury; these are bad gifts and can escalate into full-scale fighting, war and death.  But ‘utu’ is also the reciprocal exchange for good gifts like a house (Hotunui), a waka (Toki-a-Tapiiri), a white stallion, cloaks, a mere, and baskets of kumara or cash in an envelope.  In times past, the ultimate gift was that of land, then a gift of a bride or the gift of a child.  Polished greenstone was highly valued. 

When you walk in here, you feel the classicism, the elegance, beauty, and mana and know you’re amongst aristocratic rangatira.  Although built in the 1880s, it remains in 2014 a vital symbol of a rich past, and for a future based on the verity of tribal growth and economic independence.  I also see a precise reading of the barometer of a culture in change as it did in the 1880s.  Maori culture isn’t fading away into some homogenized heap at the bottom of the political and economic garden.

 “Hotunui pulls together the unbroken fibres that stitch our people together; past, present and future.” (David Taipari, Marutuahu leader 2013)

Hotunui the house will always add to the fund of knowledge that helps us dip a little deeper into the social and spiritual springs of our land and know what it means to be people of the land.  Ae!

Tangata whenua.

It’s here for you of the world to enjoy.

WAIORA

WAIORA-LIVING WATER

The Maori view is that wai (water) is the spiritual substance of Papatuanuku-Earth. Over generations, they have found that contaminated water, especially if t contains fecal coliforms cause disease and likely death.

Not knowing anything about microbiology the logical response or the well observed ressonse have always been to see things from a spiritual way, that from te taha wairua.  Uncontaminated water had the ability to allow life.  

I grew up with grans Wairemana  and Rimaha in a remote New Zealand harbour coast.  They saw water as waiora or 'life giving.' This was not a casual observation but one tested over generations of sanctions (tapu) and sanctified use (noa).

The first classification they made was that water possessed 'Wairua' or by another name, 'Waiora'.  This is the purest form imbued with the spirit to create and nurture life and to counteract evil and sustain well being and safety. 

Wai maori is ordinary water with no suspended solids, highly oxygenated  special properties excepted with no spiritual significance. 

The third classification is Wai unu or drinking water without special properties excepted additives, substance is suspended.  Wai kino (dangerous water) or water containing any level of pollution which debase the mauri of water which has been altered with the spiritual component changed and can be harmful; rapids, swirling springs come under this classification.

Waimate is water which has lost its mauri and is dead, damaged or polluted. Water in this category is highly dangerous to the wellbeing of persons.  This water has lost its ability to give life.  In Maori philosophy, it is almost impossible to restore the mauri ora' to water that has been so affected. Maori know that waiora and wai maori are fundamental to environmental systems and regard any form of water contamination as totally unacceptable. Maori say that waste water must be disposed on land and not in water.

Today as we face global warming, the Maori perspective to water is becoming increasingly relevant. Maori see environmental challenges to include a holistic view where everything is interconnected through whakapapa to Ranginui (Sky) and Papatuanuku (Earth).  The cultural landscape has a continuous and cultural extension with natural features such as water catchment, forests, bush, marshlands as well as physical formations such as valleys, estuaries and features that link with kainga, waahi mahinga kai, Parekura, ara, paparahi, waahi tapu not to mention people who live 'back home' on the land (ahi kaa).

Kaitiakitanga is the exercise for the spiritual protection of things precious like water with its potentiality to give life.      

Social Security Provide Hope and Opportunity

My grandmother, Wairemana knew very few words in English, three I recall were Michael Joseph Savavage.  Someone asked me recenty,Why?  I remember those thee words as well. Why?

For a start she and Rimaha received the new government's unversal old age pension.  There then,only Pakeha were the recipients of the benefits.  For me, Labour under Peter Fraser as Education Minister, universalised secondary schooling by putting buses on remote rural roads that took me, and thousands of others to high schools some thirty ot forty milrd away. 

In 1938 they were uplifted by a government that cared.  The passing of the Social Security Act on September 14, 1938, was a great moment in New Zealand's history. The Act made free healthcare and a decent standard of living for everyone the symbols of a civilised society, and rekindled New Zealand's reputation as a social laboratory. Labour gave rise to hope and opportunity to a people who had fallen on bad times.  The public welcomed the legislation with excitement.

The impetus for the Social Security Act 1938 derived from Labour Party principles and the public visibility of poverty in the wake of the harsh Depression years. The first Labour Government's slogan, "From each according to his means, for each according to his needs", made sense when the chanciness of life was clear, and the scale of the Depression took the personal blame away from poverty.

The large number of people who had to resort to charity proved that this recourse was insufficient and above all else demeaning. Only the state could provide a solution that was centralised, efficient and comprehensive. The Social Security Act guaranteed in law that certain needs would be matched by regular payments and provide dignity for recipients.

Michael Joseph Savage provided an open face for reform that involved a fairer redistribution of the nation's wealth. When he spoke of a better deal for "the Bottom Dog" or called social security "applied Christianity", people envisaged security rather than revolution, and lost their fears of what a Labour Government might do.

Social security extended the earlier pension system to embrace a wide range of financial hazards: sickness, invalids', deserted wives' benefits; it increased assistance for families, the aged and the unemployed. The new legislation provided equal benefits for Maori (although this took time to work out in practice), and included Lebanese, Chinese and Indian citizens who had been excluded before.

Labour's brilliant move was to include universal benefits along with means-tested benefits, thus gaining the approval of the whole community. It meant superannuation for all (though it was meagre at first) and a more generous universal family benefit from 1946. The Government could boast that social security was enjoyed in every household.

WHAT IS A MARAE

                                      HE KAINGA RUA WITH TWO HOMES YOU LIVE

"For me the pulsating, vibrant elements of marae is held together and dominated by the siting and naming of Whare Tipuna.  In all its wholeness, it embodies all that has symbolic and practical meaning to hapu and whanau."

Many tribes, my own in Te Karaka included and that of Whaiora  whanau of the Maori Catholic community aired their differences for naming long before the construction of the house.  As a place of learning it is also known as Whare Wananga.  Such places had one thing in common; Nga Kete o Te Wananga (the three baskets) found in every tribal tradition. Below Nga Kete were two stones representing dual forms in which wisdom is assimilated being knowledge and intuition.  The structure of Whare Kura could be of any kind from a cave to a house.

"Then there were two stones taken from the tuahu (shrine), the most tapu of all places. These stones are named Hukatai and Rehutai.  Hukatai is white while Rehutai is red.  Here the knowledge of the Whare Kura is learned by both intelligence and feeling." (Tuhoe elder 2002)

The sense of personification is strongest inside the meeting house the physical embodiment of the selected ancestor.  Naming can be very long, the discourse can become contentious for example when local people are constructing the house they want above all else to depict one of their ancestors with considerable mana.

The Whaiora Marae is a contemporary construction, which embodies all of the attributes of a traditional whare tipuna. The term 'marae' is drawn from 'marae-a-tea and specifically refers to the sacred area at the front of the principle house. The house expresses tribal mana.

The front exterior of the house is Te Ao Marama (world of light) and is generally associated with Tumatauenga (deity of war) or 'face a challenge.' The interior is 'Te Po'(world of darkness) and also the domain of Rongo and Tane with associations to Creation, hence Whakapiripiri which binds together the chips to form a house.  The front of the house (mua) and rear (muri) are terms which create a strong sense of duality.  'Mua' has associated meanings with past times or seniority of while the word 'muri' refers to future time and 'senior birth'.

"This is a direct reversal of European usage; the Maori cosmology locates past time to the front, while the future lies behind one.  Being unknown the future is behind the person where it cannot be seen.  Maori  move into the future with their eyes on the past, regulating their behaviour in accord with the models of the past." (Roger Neich 1993:124)

Mediation between the two was through whakapapa (genealogical bloodlines).  These unite the two opposing realms by establishing connections between those who are deceased (past) and those living (present).  One place where these are carried out is on marae-a-tea.

The head of the ancestor is represented by the  koruru or the carved face located at the top of the roof apex. Reaching down at an incline are two fascia boards, maihi which indicate the arms.  These terminate at the ends with the hands and fingers (raparapa).  Supporting the maihi are exterior amo (bargeboards) being the legs.

The hierarchy of structure is clearly visible.  Starting at the top is tahuhu (ridgepole or backbone) which spans the entire length of the house.  This is usually supported mid-span by the poutoko-manawa (heart) and two outer supporting posts called pou tuaranggo (rear wall), and pou tahu (front wall.  Spanning at an inclined from the poupou, which line the perimeter of the interior walls.

Ancestors are celebrated for their mana and physically hold the 'backbone' above.  Legendary depictions of past deeds or heroic events may be represented, thereby providing a visual narrative of tribal history. 

Tukutuku patterns are intricately woven into wall panels which represent the cosmology of tribal unity.  These patterns speak out about the movement of heavenly bodies, seasons and the abundance of food.  This is the source of pride and identity for whanau and hapu. 

"... traditionally paints were gathered from natural resources in the form of red ochre, termed 'karamea'.  After it was burned and powdered called 'kokowai' or 'horu'.  Black paint was provided by soot and oil in combination with the natural white of timber." (Peter Buck 1957)

Kowhaiwhai are the painted scroll ornamentation which is an inherent part of the decoration.  The location of kowhaiwhai varies from one house to another.  It is found mainly in the interior on various components such as heke, heketipi and kaho paetara and on other surfaces.

"Figurative ... based on using figures as metaphor not literal ... of an artist a style of painting ... creating forms which are recognisably derived sources without being necessarily or clearly representational ...". (New Shorter Oxford Dictionary)

And so the appropriate meaning of kowhaiwhai can be defined as the painted scroll ornamentation which symbolically portrays a person or thing without necessarily being a literal representation.

"For me, the marae and especially the whare tipuna is my university, my place of worship, my music and a celebration of birth, weddings, to honour and sanctify our dead, a haven where I can meet Pakeha as equals.  It is as well a place not unlike a courtroom.  It is my turangawaewae a place where I can stand and be me". (Haare Williams The Maori Experience of being Maori 1998).

"He kainga tahi ka mate

He kainga rua ka ora

With one home you exist

With two homes you live."

"... when you have two homes, you can never be alone, you have another home here in Whaiora Marae; you belong." (Malcolm Brown kaumatua Whaiora Marae 13 July 2013)

 

Nga whetu ki te rangi                                          (stars to the sky)

Te Ngahere e karanga atu nei                            (the bush beckons you)
Te whenua e takoto nei                                      (the land upon which you stand)
Ka rongo Te Po                                                     (heard in The Night)
Ka rongo Te Ao                                                     (heard in the light)
Haere mai, haere mai,                                         (Welcome, welcome, welcome)
haere mai!

Carin and Jenny Wilson’s beckoning karanga saying “Come closer.”  Our warmth mingled theirs.  Some of us wayward travelers veered away to another land but eventually found our bearings to Pukeruru and the awesomeness awaiting us.  We were richly blessed by a blessed land.

Someone said, “How close can we get to heaven.” And another, “Lost in a wilderness; wilderness was once our freedom space.”  Another, “Whenua, moana, Ngahere, wa … all-encompassing us in this space so pristine and free from the vagaries and vicissitudes of city.”

As we started to connect with Land, Sky, Sea and Air, we began to soak in the reality of ‘Kainga’ and what it means in this context as Carin and Jenny firmly plant their stake into this soil.  There is a timelessness as the Pukeruru Night Sky revealed its truth – magical, regal, pure and in the mythic language of Nature 

The Mataatua waka with Puhi in command made its voyage through here eight century ago. Imagine Puhi as the potiki of three brothers undaunted he too put his stake in the land and came up with Nga Puhi.  We were  connected to Wairaka the young daughter of Toroa the captain of Mataatua a tipuna of Carin, “It’s no coincidence I’m here,” he told us.  Mataatua now rests in its last landfall at Takao near Matauri Bay.

Everyone introduced themselves around the fire amidst songs and smoke but under the gaze of a starry sky – nga whetu ki te rangi.  Wow and Wow Ena!  Norman McLeod Lochinvar – ‘Kotimana’ The Scotts settlement who set out from Nova Scotia to Western Australia and then to Auckland, and given access to land at Waipu where he built a community in ‘peace’.  “My connection with settlement is with Ngati Awa that allowed them, and us to stay here. “

 KAREN
“I have been pondering on this experience so far just how enriching it is; like coming home away from the vagaries of city bound life; freedom by leaving the smug and smartness-fart far behind in the madding crowd; to just be with the purity of land, sea and sky.” 

JOHN
“The word unity comes to mind a common ground for us to come together and celebrate nature.  We’re experiencing something very strong here. And it’s quite overwhelmingly rich.  A feeling of “…Te kotahitanga (unity) and in harmony with self, with others and with place and time.”

JUDY - Te Rangihauka – 
“I was privileged to be asked to do a karanga with all Nature, to the sun at the rising and to witness again the miracle of a new day.  Karanga ki a Tamanui-te-Ra, and as I held the harakeke I felt its strength seeping into my body like the breathing we did just before.  I listened to feel its pulsating heart in the new dawn.  I felt supported and confident  …one word ‘awesome’.  I te whitinga mai o te ra, ka oho ake nga manu, nga kirehe o te moana, o te whenua, o te rangi me nga toka tu.”

CAROLINE
Te Ao: the light of hope penetrating the darkness like a tentacle breaching the darkness; giving life to a day and to us; morning, a fresh breath mingling with life, so silent yet so powerfully illuminating; grief for those who passed on last night and greet the new born; te pito o te whenua (the placenta of the land keeping us nourished and alive) wringing from us Manaia; the sounds waka in silence moving across ancient pathways in the wake of their guardians a whale and her baby; the passage line of kuaka (godwit) Tihei Mauri Ora! ... Ko au tihei ko au tenei ko au tenei Ko te awa ko te awa ko au – I live!

Ko te wairua o te whenua
Toku oranga toku rangimarie
Toku maungarongo

Te ngakau o te nahere                               The soul of the bush                                            
Homai te waiora ki au                               Give to me life-giving waters
E tutehua ana te moe a te kuia                  Tiresome is the sleep of this lady

I Te Po I raru ai a Wairaka                        Hence Wairaka’s fall in grace
Ka Ao, Ka Ao, ka awatea!                         Tis Light! Tis Light! Ahh! Tis Day!
Te Ihi                                                          Power in reserve                                                 
Te Wana                                                     Inner spark                                                                            
Te Wehi                                                      Fearful awe, reverence, careful
Te Tapu                                                      Empathy with all this                                                            
Wairua                                                        Spirit free to Create                                            

“No one owns water,” John Key, PM 2011.  Water is not a commodity to be owned, sold or plundered.  So, how do we grow to Learn Belong Receive Return and Give … this is the principle of Reciprocity –   it is not a nebulous something but a koha from the breasts of Papatuanuku that nurtures and strengthens, hence waiora,  wairua, wai mate ... wai harakeke.

Ko au te awa
Ko re awa ko au
Ka korero ahau
Ki nga kirehe
O te rangi, o te whenua,
o te moana, o nga toka
Mihi mai, mihi mai
Karanga mai
Kei te kanikani ahau ki nga kirehe katoa

 
Ko Yusnidar taku ingoa
Kei Mareia taku whenua
I whitia e te ra
Ko David taku hoa rangatira

“Do we try to read ancient, symbolic language, mythic language in the narratives of each region we settle.”
“Do we make mention of those before us when we resettle a new area as Jenny and I did here?”
"What do we do to return the balance of nature, what do we give back, is this what we mean by Reciprocity?"
"How have we changed the landscape for the better?"
“This landscape and seascape that we are privileged to come to is in danger of irreparable harm unless we stand up for it now”

“Surely all sides are winners if we care sufficiently to use resources with reverence.”

We are at home here in the presence of Patupaearehe - gatekeepers for the balance of Nature in the bush as extolled by the story of Rata, the adolescent who ventured into the sacred domain of Tane and without knowing the placating karakia he sets out to fell an unselected tree for his purpose.

When you are a user of a resource you are simultaneously a Kaitiaki (spiritual keeper).  Kaitiakitanga implies a very special relationship with taonga (heirlooms), a place, a natural resource, or for tribal and whanau treasures. Our job is to nurture not plunder Taonga like the sea, the land and the forests that sustain us.  Look to the creepy little creatures that abound – we cannot survive without nature.   Take this place, Pukeruru; a place to cherish and be nourish by it. Kaitiakitanga, a space within ourselves and around us in which to Learn and Grow.  And Return.

Language: listen to the symbolic, mythic language in a story or in the sounds of birds, insects, wind and water. Karakia also contain mythic language. My grandmother, Wairemana told stories of her early days living in Maungapohatu. In later life, her stories began to resonate with meaning.  Ancient stories are important in that they lead us to connect.  Ancient stories teach much more; reverence,  humanity, nature, ancestors and who we are, “Ko John taku ingoa,” says a lot. 

Schools in order to learn the secrets of Nature need to be introduced to its symbolic language, and therefore reap its benefits.  We say karakia is one way for communicating when we are faced with uncertainty. Giving food, singing a waiata are two other ways of saying thanks.  We can thank nature effectively in karakia.  We can offer food or its equivalent as a koha, a kind of investment for services rendered.  Offer karakia our commitment to Ranginui and Papatuanuku; reach through to the generous spirit of a giving Earth and Sky.  Others go directly to a particular landscape, and I have known people to find relief from a spring in Auckland, a rock on the side of a road, or the top of a high hill. 

I believe this works because it is an ancient system of communication that has always existed between humans and Nature; whether anyone believes it is not unimportant. This is why ancient stories are important; Rangi and Papa, Maui, Toroa and Wairaka.  Myths and Legends use symbolic language to present a certain truth, and so the ritual provides people with an opportunity to test experience against theory.   

The white heron, symbol for Light the first power of Creation, represents purity, the north wind, strength and wisdom and as well the passage way for the spirits returning to Hawaikinui. The colour red represents rebirth and life, enlightenment, knowledge, learning, illumination.  The third power of Creation is Earth (south) flowers and birds, rocks, and all small creatures.  These bring warmth, harmony, happiness, and security. Black; is the west, the last power of Creation; water, is also present in darkness or the unknown, the spirit world; which provides purification, protection, healing, and wealth.  Some of this esoteric knowledge is tribal or cultural specific, and some are common to different tribes. The four powers of Creation: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water ... Tawhirimatea, Ruaumoko, Papatuanuku, and Tangaroa.

All of the ancient stories we heard teach us about our interconnectedness to all in Nature.  Rimaha, my grandfather said prayers and prayers and more prayers but for him symbols served as connectors to certain powers or to activate them in prayer which might be verbal, through song or through the recitation of an ancient chant, and as well through silence.  I recall him ‘conversing’ with a tui. The circle is an ancient, primal symbol or what Carl Jung called ‘universal archetype’.  Native Americans know this as a symbol that represents something sacred and holy.  For them, this represents unity, strength, protection, infinity and spirituality.  Thus it is used in ritual, religion, art, architecture, ceremony and social interaction.We have used names from socially meaningful events such as Tukaokao, El Alamein, Te Wehinga, or personifications of Nature.  These names have power and meaning. Hemi O’Keefe told his son Phillip Rhodes, “… keep your name, son and make your dad burst with pride.” Many families keep old names or names that trace to an incident in history.  Special names are used in prayers or blessings.  In later years a child may learn to use their hidden (or ‘pet’) name to converse with Nature.  They might go out into an open space and mediate with creatures and in that space ask guidance, Try it!  Your name is your shield.
Othello: 

"Good name in man and women, dear Lord
Is the immediate jewel to their souls
He who steals my purse steals trash it is something nothing
But he who filches my good name
Robs me of that which makes him rich
And leaves me poor indeed." 
(William Shakespeare)

Names and symbols have power and meaning; power that comes from Tipuna; Papatuanuku Earth) as the matrix of all we do.  I believe more than ever we need a better understanding of what Nature it is telling us.  And need the ancient 

tools and knowledge in order to adapt to the constant change and challenges that both the natural world and the newly created artificial world presents to us.  

As we all slink back into our daily nod, we will know that the few hours we spent together at Pukeruru will remain forever reminders of our bond of Ranginui, Papatuanuku and their children.

“Some of us try to separate ourselves away from Nature or ‘transcend’ Nature mentally, but the mere fact that we are human beings and part of the great web of life, makes us all a part of Nature.” 

Bobby Lake-Thom (US American Sioux Indian Chief)