Matene Simon is one of Ngāti Hinekura rangatahi mentored by Muriwai Ihakara.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Click here for English translation Whakakahangia te hapū e kaha ai te iwi. Ko te ōhākī tēnei a Muriwai Ihakara, te ūpoko kākā nō roto mai i te pokaitara a Ngāti Pikiao. Kātahi nei ia ka hemo i te ūpoko o tēnei tau hou, e koro haere rā.
Nā āna kupu me āna mahi i tūāpapangia ai ngā pou huriropa e koke whakatemua ai ngā poupou o Ngāti Pikiao me tētehi o ōna hapū karanga a Ngāti Hinekura ki Te Waiiti. Ko Matene Haimona he uri nō Ngāti Hinekura, koia hoki tētehi o ngā pikitūranga i manākingia, i poipoia kia tūtangatanga ai te māuri o Ngāti Hinekura e Muriwai Ihakara. Kua tatakungia ngā rautaki i whakatakotoria e te hau kāinga e te mate urutā.
Pēnei me te wānanga reo ake o Ngāti Hinekura, kua whakatahangia atu e ngā uri o Te Waiiti kia tau ai te hiakai o tēnei ngārara hou . Ko ngā wānanga Tū-a-tau, ngā wānanga pepehā, e hoki ai ngā uri kia pūrea ai ngā kanohi e ngā hau o ngā tini māunga, ngā awa me te whenua otīā ko te whakahono atu ai ki tō rātou pā taunaha ka kore e ara i tēnei wā.
Ko te whāinga matua kia tūtakitaki anō ai te tupapaku ora ki tōna ūkaipō, ki tōna hau kāinga. E ora ai tō rātou taiao me ngā wāhi tapu katoa. He maka kupu noa ki ētehi te pepehā, he kōrero kāipuipu hoki engari mā te āta nohonoho i ngā paiaka o ngā rākau e hīkākā ai te wairua o ngā uri kia mataaho te tū ki runga i o rātou whenua kura, katahi anō ka whai take ai te tū-ā-tau.
"I tēnei wā tonu – kai te mānukanuka ahau. Ka pēwhea e kōkē whakatemua ai tō tātou waka". Engari anō ko te whakapono ki roto ki a ia ka tūtukingia te pae tawhiti e rātou.
"Koia nei te pepehā i kaha pepehāngia e Pāpā Muriwai. E taimaha ana te tangata, ka huhuti mauti te ringa rehe
"Ko te kawa māhewahewa, he kura whakangoi" me te tikanga o tēnei kōrero kai te hāngai pū ki te tangata ūpoko mārō, ko te hunga pakaru hāmuti, mā wēnei momo tangata ka ea ai ngā taumahatanga katoa."
Nō te matenga o tō tātou manu korohī o Ngāti Hinekura a Stormy Hohepa ka pūhaina mai tēnei pepehā.
"E manawa kiore ana a Koro Stormy, ka maranga i tana moenga, tana kitehanga atu i ngā tohetaka e tupu mai ana i te ātea nui ka puta ia ki te para i ngā tohetaka nā. Āonga ake ka hemo tō tātou kākākura. E mea ana mātou nānā hoki te ātea nui i tāpae mō tōna ake tangihanga".
E toru tekau mā tahi noa te rahi o Matene Haimona, engari kua kotahi tekau o ngā tau a ia e takahi ana i te ara o Tamateuawhiti. Nōna e kotahi tekau mā rua noa iho ka hemo tōna mātua tāne a Whiti Simon. Ka noho nei a Matene ki raro i ngā paihau o Muriwai ka tu mai ko ia hai pāpā whakaangi mōna, he arahi i a Matene kia tika ai tana haere i te ao Māori. Ko Pāpā Muriwai te haeoratū o te whare e ai ki tō Matene ngākau. . " Nōku e itiiti ai, he tamaiti pakiki ahau, me ngā tini pātai ka makere noa i te māngai. He pou-ako manaaki tamariki tōku Pāpā a Whiti ko āna karaehe, he wānanga Māori kē. Ka kawengia e ia ki runga ki te marae ātea. Ko te ruma matarihi o Kahumatamomoe tōna wāhi ako. Ae ana – nō te puku o tōku ate tōku mōhiohio ki tōku ao taketake e ai ki tā Ngāti Pikiao titiro. E whāngaingia ana ahau e Muriwai ki te kai mārō ka tae mai te wairua o tōku mātua tāne a Whiti, ka māuritau ai tōku wairua i te hokitanga mai o tōku matua tāne ki ahau.
"Ehara a Muriwai i te tangata whakahau tangata. Ka whakatauirangia kētia e ia me pēhwea. Ka āta rāwekengia ngā kaupapa nā wai rā ka mārama te hinekapo. Ka tae mai te wā e mātika tētehi o mātou kua Māori noa te tū. He rangatira whakaputa ngoi kia whai take ai te marae, nā reira i whai mana ai te kāīnga. Ko Pāpā Muriwai tonu te tauira.
"Ki tāhaki kē o te marae a Pāpā e noho ana, kāore he paku aha ki a ia, kia tae mai ki te noho tahi me āna irāmutu katoa. Tā mātou kitehanga atu i a ia, kua mahana te whare".
"Ko te whakaihuwakatanga ā ātamira te pae tawhiti ki ōna whakaaro mō Te Hikuwai. Ko te ahurei, ko te noho tahi me ngā pahi mokopuna, ko te manaaki i te marae, ko te whāngai manuwhiri ko te atawhai hoki i ngā tini tangata katoa ka hau mai ki te waha-tieke o te ātea nui kai reira kē te ngākau.
Ko te tohu o te rangatira mōna ko tana kitehanga i a mātou ngā pou haka e tū rangatira nei ki runga ki te marae ātea. Me he tangihanga ki tō tātou rohe, ka whakakorengia e ia ngā parakitihi, ka kotahi kē tātou ki te tupapaku – ki reira mātou apakura ngātahi ai me tō tātou mate, ētehi taima ka oti ana i a tātou te tūtaki tupapaku ka hoki ki te parakitihi, ētehi atu taima ko te tangihanga kē te wānanga.Kō reira kē te mana o tēnei rangatira".
Ka tae mai te ngākau whakaiti ki ahau e hoki kau ngā maumaharatanga ki tana tangihanga. I whakaaengia mātou e ngā koeke o te kāinga tana pahi hai ohu tunu kai ki te kīhini, ka rua ki te whaikōrero waihoki ka āta tiakina mātou e ngā mātanga. Ka nui tō rātou whakapono mai ki a mātou ka tika ai ngā mahi, ka tika.
Kare kau he wehenga atu i ngā rangatahi me ngā koeke, he kāhui kotahi engari, kai ngā koeke te kupu ati me te kupu whakamutunga. Ka nui hoki te whakamihi a Matene ki tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa ki a Jim Schuster te pou-tāhuroa mō Ngāti Hinekura ki Te Waiiti, ā, ko Muriwai te Poutokomanawa.
Muriwai Ihakara leads Te Hikuwai performing at Te Matatini in Heretaunga in 2017.
Mō te mahi tahi, kai a rāua. Pūehu kau ana ngā tini kaupapa ka hinga i a rāua te wehi. He tohunga mōhio ki te ātawhai mātauranga a Uncle Jim, he mātanga hoki ki te tuku, ki te whāngai mātauranga me ngā kura ki ngā whakatupuranga, anei te reo kura e rangatira nei a Hinekura he mōhio ki te toutou i ngā kongakonga tikanga me ngā kongakonga kawa kia ū, kia mau.
Mātua ko te whakatakoto rautaki e whakakotahi ai ngā hapū kia kotahi mai. Nō te Nōema o te tau kua pahemo ka hemo te matua tāne o Matua Jim.
Ko Rev Bob Schuster tōna ingoa. Ka takoto ia mō tētehi wa itiiiti noa ki te ātea nui o Hinekura, katahi ka kawea atu ki te urupā ki a takoto ia me tōna makau a Emily.
"Nā Pāpā mātou i ako ki te tuku i ngā haki, kia kāua hoki e pā ki te whenua ko tana wānanga whakamutunga tēnei ki a mātou".
Ehara ko Matene anahe te tangata i whāngaingia ki te kai mārō o tēnei rangatira. Ko Jade Kameta rātou ko Brennan Hohepa, ko Arapeta Tahana ko Richard Francis, ko Kemara Kennedy ētehi anō o ōna puna tangata.
Tokotoru ngā tamariki a Matene, waihoki ko ia te pou whaihanga i te pouhere taonga o Aotearoa, Anei tana mahi.
"Nōku te waimarie kua whakaaengia taku noho ki te kāinga mahi ai e whai wā hoki ahau ki te awhina i taku whānau, taku hapū, taku iwi, waihoki ki te mahi tika".
Karekau āna tohutohu mātauranga a Pākehā nei, nāna e mahi ana i Te Whanganui-ā-Tara ka mapū kau te koroingo o te ngākau kia takahia anōngia te oneone o te kāinga ka hoki mai ia ki tōna ūkaipō ki te pā taunaha o Hinekura. Whoi anō ko tana mahi he whakahirahira hoki. Ko te whakarauora i ngā taonga tuku iho a ngā tupuna kia kāua e rite ki te iwi o Maruiwi i toremi ai ki Te Reinga.
Ko ētehi o āna kaupapa ko te waihanga taruke, te hīnaki, mōkihi, ko te waka tauā, ko te waka kōpapa, te whakatupu kūmara, te ako whare raupō, te noho ki te whare makea, ka oti ko te whakarauora whare Māori.
He uri hoki a Matene nō Ngāti Hinekura, nō Ngāti Pikiao, nō Te Whānau o Ruataupare, nō Ngāti Rangipare, nō Ngāti Tarawhai, he wāhanga hoki ōna nō Tauranga Moana me Te Rarawa. Mātua he tangata whakapau kaha kia ora tonu ai tōna pā-taunaha me te mana o tōna iwi engari rā, kia kāua e mimiti ngā kupu ōhākī a Pāpā Muriwai Ihakara.
Kia pakari te tupu o te pā harakeke o Ngāti Hinekura kia mārō ai te tāuhu roa o Ngāti Pikiao.
"A strong hapū makes for a stronger iwi."
The words from Muriwai Ihakara, a prominent Ngāti Pikiao leader who was laid to rest at the beginning of this year.
By his example and mentoring he laid the foundations of succession planning for Ngāti Pikiao and his hapū of Ngāti Hinekura ki Te Wai Iti.
Matene Simon is one of Ngāti Hinekura rangatahi mentored by Muriwai and has stepped up to help these plans come to fruition. The Covid pandemic has hampered the timeline of these plans because it has meant the first of a series of Hinekura reo wānanga has once again been postponed to a later date.
The wananga were to include Tū -a-tau or walking their pepeha, going to their mountains, rivers, moana and pā taunaha — establishing a physical connection to their sacred and treasured boundaries.
The hope is to leave Ngāti Hinekura descendants with the understanding of ownership and responsibility, we often only acknowledge our landmarks through mihi, song or dance, but through re-connecting with these landmarks physically would hopefully inspire the descendants to take responsibility and contribute to protect, monitor and maintain these landmarks that we often speak of in our tū a tau.
"At this stage I'm not quite sure how we will proceed."
"Papa Muriwai used to quote this whakatauki: 'When the going gets tough the tough mow the lawn'.
"Ko te kawa māhewahewa, he kura whakangoi."
It means that the unyielding, and obstinate people who will get things done for the iwi, no matter the circumstance.
Muriwai Ihakara, te ūpoko kākā nō roto mai i te pokaitara a Ngāti Pikiao.
The saying was inspired by the display of heart and courage of Ngāti Hinekura kōeke Iharaira Stormy Hohepa.
"We have a well-known story on our marae at Te Wai-iti about Koro Stormy, he was literally on his death bed. He rose from his bed and saw those little white flowers on the marae, he got up, and got on his mower and mowed the lawn.
"The next day he had passed away. He literally mowed the lawn for his own tangi. This is the example that continues to inspire and motivate us all, and this whakatauki is the reminder."
Matene, 31, had been on this journey for over 10 years. His father, Whiti Simon, died when Matene was 12. He often looked at Muriwai as the father figure who guided him through te ao Māori.
"I was an observant, curious and inquisitive kid, I always asked questions. My father, Whiti who I was really close too, was the co-ordinator for a programme fostering Pikiao youth at risk and teaching them on the marae.
The mattress room at Kahumatamoemoe was his classroom. This led to the establishment of Te Tira Kapa Haka o Matauwhaura that housed Ngāti Pikiao youth on their own marae on a weekend basis.
This grew so many strong young leaders within Pikiao today. "If I wasn't at school, at Ruamata, then ill go with dad to the marae, during the week I was on one side of lake Rotoiti, in the weekend I was on the other side of the lake.
So, Te Ao Maori through a Ngāti Pikiao lens was always strong in my upbringing."
When pāpā Muriwai gave advice, it made me feel closer to my biological father.
"Muriwai would never tell us how to do things, he would give us tools and be the example that would guide us so we figured out for ourselves what was right, he guided, never dictated."
By investing his time and energy on the marae and his iwi, Muriwai provided the perfect example for Te Hikuwai kapa haka.
"Papa lived right next door to the marae. He always came over to foster his tamariki, mokopuna and iramutu. Just by him being there we felt confident.
"Victory on stage was never Papa's aim with Te Hikuwai kapa, the ahurei and mokopuna groups, it was looked at as a bonus. Looking after our kōeke, working on the marae, making sure the manuhiri was well fed and well looked after was paramount.
"True victory for him and for Te Hikuwai was how well we conduct ourselves on the marae. If there was a tangi in the rohe we would cancel haka practice to attend and ensure the tangi was sustained before we returned to practice, sometimes we would go back to practice, other times practice was the tangi.
"I felt really proud that at his tangihanga, Ngāti Pikiao koeke allowed us the rangatahi to work both the kitchen and the paepae under their guidance. That showed the trust they have in us, but also an opportunity to showcase the teachings Muriwai had invested into those who are the repository of his knowledge.
"The rangatahi of Ngāti Pikiao are close to the koeke, they have first and last say."
Matene also paid tribute to Jim Schuster who he described as the Pou tāuhu roa for Ngati Hinekura ki Te Wai-iti and Muriwai being the Poutokomanawa.
They worked well together and respected each other in their fields. Jim always passed on good advice and Muriwai would deliver, that is why Ngāti Hinekura ki Te Wai-iti had such a robust system for passing on tikanga and kawa and setting plans to pull the hapū together.
Jim's father, the Rev Bob Schuster, died in November and laid at Te Wai-iti for only a few minutes before being laid to rest in the neighboring urupā with his wife Emily Schuster.
"Pāpā Muriwai showed us then how to fly the flags for a tangihanga, ika takaroro. It was clear to make sure the flags did not touch the ground. This was the last marae lesson he taught us."
Matene is not the only recipient of Muriwai's mentoring and nurturing. He includes Jade Kameta, Brennan Hohepa, Arapeta Tahana, Richard Francis, and Kemara Kennedy in that group.
Matene Simon a father of three, works at Pouhere Taonga, Pou Whaihanga with Heritage New Zealand.
"I consider myself lucky. These past two years I've been able to work from home, which allows me to bring balance to whanau, hapū and iwi commitments as well as managing my work life."
His job is to co-ordinate a programme that works to revitalise vulnerable mātauranga Maori within Māori built heritage and ancestral landscapes that are in danger of being lost.
He works closely with hapū and iwi practitioners throughout the motu. Some examples of the program are the making of taruke māori made cray pots, tūtoko, pā tuna, hīnaki, mōkihi, waka tauā, waka kōpapa, kumara cultivation, whare raupo, whare makea, and whare restorations, cultural mapping, stone chisels, maramataka, kowhatu.
The uri of Ngati Pikiao, Ngāti Hinekura, Te Whānau o Ruataupare, Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Rangipare, Tauranga Moana and Te Rarawa is dedicated to his pā taunaha and people to ensure he carries out the wishes of Pāpā Muriwai, with the aspiration to continue growing Ngāti Hinekura stronger and contribute to a strong Ngāti Pikiao.
