Simon and Katie … tena korua e tama tena koe me to Ngakau tautoko i te kaupapa nei:
(1) Richard Peter and me hope to meet on Wed 30 (AM) 30"-40" OR another time that suits
(2) Project Mural - Papakura Military History
(3) Site - choice options and reasons
(4) Use of classroom - how long
(5). Participation by teachers and students
(6) Start date (proposed)
(7). Video and Talks
(8) Exhibition 21 June 2023
…
Haare
Te Haerenga
The Journey with Haare Williams
Sunday, November 27, 2022
Monday, August 2, 2021
Friday, June 9, 2017
PRELUDE - HE TIMATANGA
PRELUDE – HE TIMATANGA (II)
(Haare Williams (Papakura 9 June 2017)
‘Whakarongo ki te tangi a te tui
Tui, tui, tuitui-a tuia I runga tuia I raro
Ka rongo Te Po ka rongo Te Ao
Ka Awatea! ‘
I awoke into the bewitching hour when church yards
yawn … to the trilling and inclusive sounds of tui across the street in their
towering chapel in the old magnolia. Tomorrow belongs to a tui who feels the
light in the still of darkness. Her tones of tenderness, sweet notes of love
for a day of peace and security.
Tenderness, pulsating, evocations for a fresh start, with joy, and
the sweet cacophony of love singing melodies like two perfect notes on the same
sheet played
out in the keys of adoration and homage.
I listened to a melody sewing together all the
elements that sustain life beginning with this, a new dawn. And hope. Karanga, a
keening call to wake up to all that has life.
As well, it is at once a lament.
Every morning is an aspiration of Creation. A waiata distilled in darkness.
Yet …
I awoke into the bewitching hour when church yard
yawn … to hear a cacophony of gunfire, bomb blasts, people with babies fleeing
their home nations to continued stuff-ups, and to things I cannot change but
must praise the wisdom to change the things I can. Disappointment is to the soul as a storm is
to a sunny day. Light alone can remove darkness.
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be
achieved by understanding. “Hate cannot
drive out hate, Darkness cannot drive out the darkness, only light can do that”.
(Martin L King Jr).
“Only light can do that.”
As I read and understand someone’s pain, it makes
me pray for that someone’s broken dream who believed in the free spirit and a
vision for a peace.
Let’s celebrate goodness now, not as a post mortem.
Support those who fight on for decency. Make this new dawn a new
beginning. And support those who fight
for what is good in the now against violence to women, hatred of other races,
sexual difference and the damage of the free spirit that’s crawling into the
global blood stream. Let’s support good, decent people who fight on for a
safer, cleaner tomorrow. Now!
Demonstrate contempt for what is evil, for the
politics of stroking fear and hate, fake news, and for the squandered trust of world leaders
against extremism, against reckless leadership and the plundering of
natural resources such as water. Is this a temporary kind of aberration?
We always look absurd and feeble creatures when we stuff up. Let’s stand up for good and reject the
delusions of a pompous cretin, looking ridiculous in his new emperor’s clothes
when the rest of us are shocked or giggling at how naked he and the Free World
looks in the headlights. Someone please tell him and his covert ‘cousin’,
Vladimir to “covfefe off.” Tell him “If
you’re in a hole, stop digging. “
People, decent fair-minded people do not share
reckless delusions.
So despite the
technical genius of our modern technologies, we stand on the brink of the
gravest ecological catastrophe of our age that is global warming, increasing
violence, and the dislocation of immense numbers of people in biblical numbers
fleeing war, famine and poverty. Climate change is linked directly to consumerism
and the acquisition of great wealth that threaten the integrity of culture and
ecological balance. It’s called power, the crude face of greed.
We are not a post mortem heading for corporate and global Armageddon?
There are cultural
options.
This month the night sky will be lit up by
Matariki, Te Matahi o te Tau, the freshness of a new beginning
when we move to spread love that hold everything that is good.
Matariki offers us
another way of remembering that predominant western ideologies based on
capitalism is only one way of structuring our societies. Indigenous cultures
tell us that global destruction isn’t inevitable.
We’ve begun
listening to the stars, now we must also remember to return to our roosts and
once again listen to the birds. Listening is a sound that can make the world
sound good and safe. Let’s hold onto
that which is good in a world growing smaller
every day.
‘Listen to the lament of the tui
Sewing things above, below, within, without
Heard in the night Feeling the Light
In the still of darkness
Light Ah, tis light’
Hope is inside. No
one can take it away. No good thing ever
dies.
Friday, April 21, 2017
WHY MY COLOUR WILL
ALWAYS BE LABOUR
My daughter once told a Labour
Selection Panel, “Like mum and dad, I’m as Labour as a meat raffle at the Otara
Flea Market on a Sat’day morning.”
People ask me, “Why are you so
dedicated to Labour when it’s betrayed Maori loyalty?” So many reasons.
Labour was first elected in 1935 which
immediately set out social policies which led the world and put people into
work building roads, bridges and homes for families therefore push-starting the
nation out of a slowing economy.
My gran
spoke no English but knew three words important for her, ‘Michael Joseph Savage.’
For Rimaha and Wairemana, there was no blot on Labour with its famous cry “...
make work schemes”, whereby the unemployed were put into work after a crippling
Depression. By the 1930’s Labour had
evolved into a party of social liberalism, with a policy
platform that called for the state to provide such things as free education, a
salaried medical service, a free public hospital system, adequate standards of
housing, the family benefit, a basic minimum wage and full employment. My grans received The Old Age Pension (years after Pakeha). And Labour set up the first social security systems in the world.
Labour expanded such initiatives as free milk in schools,
so proud when I was called out as “The milk monitor.” I loved the red apples too.
In
1935, and in 1939 Education Minister Peter Fraser explained the rationale
behind planned reforms with education its cornerstone. “Every person, whatever their level of
academic ability, whether he be rich or poor, whether he lives in town or country,
has a right, as a citizen to a free education of the kind for which he is best
fitted, and to the fullest extent of his powers.’ Fraser acknowledged
that country kids were disadvantaged.
I am a product of Labour's policy to put school
buses into remote New Zealand that took me, and my Maori cohorts into High
Schools and Colleges. Kirk later said, “Social
Security does not imprison people. It
sets them free. It does not sap self
reliance. It strengthens it by removing
fear and insecurity.” Kirk took us further into a unique place in
global politics as a small nation prepared to take on a nuclear free stance in
the face of a super power. Lange and
Rata took the balance of the treaty to another level by introducing the Treaty
of Waitangi Act 1975 and Wetere in 1985 back-dated treaty claims to 1840. In addition, Labour had the guts to halt a
Springboks tour of New Zealand.
Education has failed Maori
kids. It failed Pakeha kids too. In 1990, under Geoffrey Palmer, we witnessed
change when The NZ 1990 Commission unloaded treaty education packs into primary
and secondary schools which ushered in a revolution – a revolution in
education, reconciliation and in nationhood.
Taken further, we can make
the strongest impact if we can demonstrate an end to injustice, discrimination
and disharmony in our own country. Taking a positive view, the diversity of
peoples on our planet is one of the greatest synergies for humanity and we
can do that and become the most livable small democracy in the world.
In peace, New Zealand can lead to a radical
contribution to world missions.
Redemption is a huge challenge that faces peoples globally. One of the most important things that take
place in the hearts of the offended is the release from unresolved grief.
Of course Education has failed us all.
But education is the only antidote I know to deal with fear,
helplessness and failure. Look to rangatahi
(Maori and Pakeha fluent in our two founding
cultures) to craft a vision drawn from the furrows tilled by Savage, Nash,
Semple, Fraser, Kirk, Rata, Rowling, Lange, Wetere and Clark and do more than just
acknowledge Maori loyalty by building a bicultural conversation around the
treaty, Kaitiakitanga, a generosity of spirit and trust. Don’t ever lose empathy. Mike Moore said it for me “I am very proud of
what Labour has done.”
We can do it again. I trust a new Labour government in 2017 will
suture the wounds and scorns and again bring us together as one nation unified
as in Hobson’s prophecy.
“He iwi kotahi
tatau.”
Saturday, February 11, 2017
MOANA - THE DISNEY MOVIE
HE
ATUA E TIPUA HE TANGATA
In Maori whakapapa
(ancient narratives), the most important formative culture hero is Maui. So,
when daughter Arena invited me to the movie, ‘Moana’, Disney’s portrayal of
Maui, it came as no surprise that I was reluctant to go. Maui
Tikitiki-a-Taranga, a name that evokes the magic of the voyaging spirit.
I was reluctant because ill informed
journalism has been has been relentlessly cruel and costly for Maori. The truth about Maori origins is encoded in the
Maori narratives that breathe of sea, land and voyaging that put life into a
vibrant landscape. The Bible is to
Christians as these ancient stories are to Maori. As with The Book of Genesis, layered whakapapa
provide a rationale for unfolding the wonder of a new world.
He aha koa a Maui? Maui is a trickster hero found in stories the
world over. He is potiki, the last born who
outshines tuakana (older siblings) in daring, rascality and mischief always
challenging his elders for a better society. As the Greeks alluded to Homer in
their founding culture in philosophy, ethics, religion, architecture and law,
and so with Maui who lived with these narratives for maybe longer.
Thus Maui is the Maori counterpart to Hercules. He is, as well their Odysseus and
Archilles. These can draw parallels to
Prometheus and Icarus. I make no apology for the comparison to Christ.
Maui stories, of which there are nine,
can be seen as representing man, Adam seeking to achieve equality with the atua
(immortal beings) for him and for society.
He represents the free male faced by choice between continual daring and
achievement in the face of overwhelming odds, to achieve on the one hand and
acceptance of non-achievement (failure) on the other. He is always having to prove himself to
maintain and increase his mana. He is
the representative tohunga, the man of mana (power) and able to tap into the
source of atua. He is the representative
potiki (last born), the haututu (mischief-maker) without proper respect for established
conventions. Maui is regarded with
indulgence and even with pride because a wilful child, one on the wild side a
bit is tolerated because haututu children are seen as potential leaders, sometimes
arrogant always seeking change. Then there is the conflict of interest between
the individual (Maui) and the group (Maui’s brothers).
Maui is restless for change.
As time passed, a thought came to the restless Maui impatient to prove
himself once more.
Once Maui acquired the jawbone of his great grandmother,
Murirangawhenua he fashioned it into the magic hook and planned to use it as a
tool to achieve many great deeds. After
fashioning small jewellery and gardening utensils he then made spears to catch
birds. And last of all, he made the many types of hooks to catch fish. He also
fashioned ropes that tamed the sun.
These tasks finished, he turned his attention to fine lines and
nets for fishing. His brothers did not know that Maui had taken their great
grandmothers jawbone and used a part of it to make special hooks. And with the
jawbone he was able to make many conquests to change for a better society.
” My son, I know that you are indeed a very brave young man,
and that you have achieved much. Yet, I
fear that there is one who will bring you down.”
“Who might that be?”
“Your
ancestor, Hinenuitepo, the Great kaitiaki (protector) of the spirits at
Rarohenga..”
“Where can
I fund her?”
“You
can see her flashing there where the sky meets the earth to the west.”
“I am
Maui. I have achieved many things. Is her strength that of the sun? Yet I trapped and beat him.”
“Is she
greater than the sea which is greater than the land? Yet, the land yielded to me?”
“I am Maui, my task is not over. Now, let us now seek life or death.”
“Let it be, my son.”
So he prepared himself to enter the body of the great
lady. He told his friends, the birds not
to laugh or even murmur a sound. And with the tiniest birds of the forest, Maui
travelled to the place of the setting sun.
“Now. When I enter
the body of this great lady, I want you all to remain silent. Wait until I reappear again, then you may
laugh all you wish.”
“You’ll surely die.”
“If you laugh too soon, then I will indeed die. But, if I pass through her body I shall live.
And you shall all live.”
Divesting his loin garment, he prepared. Winding the cord of his embattled jawbone
firmly round his wrist, he stood erect and quivering.
Katahi ia
Ka hoki atu ki te kainga
Ka mea atu ona matua ki a
ia
“Kua rongo koe ki te ako
atu
A haere ana koe ki te
tinihanga
I ou tipuna ana, ana”.
Ka kite koe i te huhi
Ka mea atu ona matua ki a
ia
E
pai ana nau te whakaaro ora
Ki
te ora
Ki
te mate ranei
Penei
ka rongo koe
I
taku ako atu
Ka
ora koe e tama
Noho
kau te iwi
His naked body mottled and glistening in the setting light, he
stepped resolutely forward, erect, firm and quivering.
Thus Maui began the odyssey of life. Slowly, bit by bit he pulled himself into the
body of Hinenuitepo. First his head then
shoulders disappeared until only his waist and legs could still be seen. The cheeks of the watching birds puckered
trying to hold back their mirth.
Watching Maui’s legs kicking around, the fantail could hold back no
longer, and burst into laughter.
Hinenuitepo awoke. Her eyes flashed like sharp obsidian. She clapped her legs together.
Now Maui was the first being to die. Maui failed in this self-appointed final task
to gain immortality for humans.
The guardian of mortal souls, Hinenuitepo remains at the
entrance to Rarohenga in the spirit world.
Moana
Waialiki is a sea voyaging yarn around Maui.
She is the daughter of a chief in a long line of navigators. When her
island's fishermen can't catch fish and the crops fail, she learns that a
tangata tipua named Maui caused the blight for ailing the heart of Te Whiti.
The only way to heal the island is to persuade Maui to return Te Whiti's
heart. She answers the call of her
grandmother, Tala to seek Maui and restore the mana (prosperity) of the island. Tala tells Moana, “In
your heart you hold the greatest power
ever known.” On the way she encounters Te Ka
(Teka), the fiery atua of fire (reminders of Mahuika and the encounter with
Maui). Then there’s the sentient coconut
pirates called Kahawai.
In the movie, for
me Maui appears to be stupid. It is
Moana Waialiki that exemplifies the true spirit of Maui
Tikitiki-a-Taranga. Not infrequently,
potiki succeeded where those of senior descent failed. He had no scruples about using his acquired
powers of magic.
At the end of the scrolling credits, I, with others
applauded the movie. Maui, “I can explain every phenomenon, the tides, the grass, the
ground, the sea. I am Maui.” Then
there’s Heihei (absent minded chicken), and Poaka, and the Sea Crest with loads
of personality. Another prize goes to
the musical clam. Dwayne Johnson failed
the pronunciation breath-test a little.
The
primal language of ancient stories tells us that these stories should not be
relegated to mere ‘faery tayles’ as they are as ‘Myths and Legends.’ Ambiguity and ambivalence are not only common
but are the essence in all fine art – like dreams there are elements of fact
and elements of fiction merged seamlessly together into one.
To
know Whenua and Moana is to know the richness of our corner of Earth – Te
Ika-a-Maui (The North Island).
Post script: ‘Moana’ is a happy, fun
story and can be seen as the typical role model for teina and young women. There
are few things more powerful than hard work, a single-minded focus against the
odds to do what must be done and to prove everyone wrong. If you’re good and work hard, don’t look for
luck. Luck will find you.
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