Waiata and haka cherry on top of fabulous time of remembrance.
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See below for English translation
Tuhourangi – Auahi ana e!
Tuhourangi ka nui te mihi, ka nui te harikoa o te ngakau.E tika ana ki a mihia kotou e te iwi rangatira. Ina hoki te papai o te huarere, nā reira ano pea te take i hīnawenawe ai te tapeha o te hunga mātakitaki i a kotou i te ahurei o Tuhourangi i te wiki ko pahemo.
Nō te matenga o tō tātau whaea rangatira ka ara ake te hunga whakahaere ki te kimi wahi kē e tū ai tā tātau ahurei, ko tet ikanga kia tū kē te ahurei ki Te Pakira, engari e tika ana ki a takoto rangatira tō tātau tupapaku ki tōna pā taunaha.
E kui, Sally Tawhai Wes haere rā. Ka huri te titiro ki te pā taunaha o Hinemihi engari anō kua peke te kahu taratara ki te ātea o Ngapuna i te matenga i pā ki te whānau Kiel-Pene, nā wai rā ka puta te whakatau ā te whānau, ka takoto kē tō rātau tupapaku ki Te Waipounamu.
Wheoi anō kai te ika hui rua whakangaro atu rā ki ngā wai whakaata o Rehua.
Nō te atatū o te Rāhoroi ka hiki te kohu i te rae o Tarawera mārakerake ana te takoto o te roto moana, ki te Waitōharuru tātau te iwi hui ai.Matao ake nei i Te Putake o Tawa, te wāhi i whakarewangia ai te kaupapa Whakarewarewa Forest Loop.
He kaupapa mahi tahi e whakanoho ai ngā iwi o Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, Ngā hapū e toru o Ngati Whakaue, te Kaunihera o Rotorua me CNI Iwi Holdings Ltd. Ka ea ēnei kaupapa nui ka hoki tātau ki te Paparere-a-Rātōrua ki reira kai tahi ai.
Wheoi anō ko te mana o te wiki ko te Ahurei o Tuhourangi te miharo hoki e hoa mā!
He kotahi mano te rahi o ngā tī-hāte i pau i te rahi o te tangata, he tamariki, he rangatahi he pakeke katoa enei toa whakaeke ātāmira whakangahau atu ai. Ko te wāhi tū ai te whakataetae ko te ātea nui o te kura o Te Whakarewarewa.
Ko Te Moemoea-a-Pererika te hōro koia nei te whare manaaki tangata, manaaki hoki i ngā mahi a Rehia mō te rangi katoa. Nā, ki waho o te hōro ko te wāhi takaro, e hāneanea ai ngā wairua haututu o ā tātau tamariki katoa.
He rā e taea ai e Tuhourangi Tribal Authoriy hoki ki te whakahou i te rarangi rehita matua o Tuhourangi ina te tokomaha o te tangata i puta mai ki te hāpai i te karanga o te kotahitanga.Nō ngā tai e whā o te motu te rahi o te tangata, ko te ahurei te take. Ina hoki ētehi i tae mai i Ahitereiria.
Kua aua noa atu te wā ki tētehi o ngā whānau e tika ana hoki he kitenga kanohi he hokinga mahara.Engari ki te hunga tu ki te whakangahau, kia ahatia me he tauhou, ko te kaupapa o te rā, he whakakotahi i ngā mōrehu o te hū o Rotomahana.
Nā te mana whenua tā tātou kaupapa i whakatūwhera.
The next generations of kapa haka performers stole the show for me. Pictures / Supplied
I whakawhiti kōrero tahi ai ahau me ētehi o ngā tiati o te ahurei me taku whakamīharo hoki ki ā rātau mahi, e tika ana pai kē mā rātau tēnā mahi e kawe tēnā i ahau. Ina hoki te taumata o te whakataetae.
I whakaae hoki mai rātau ki taku whakaaro itiiiti nei, ko te mahi nui me pēwhea nā te whakawehewehe i ngā taonga kotahi ngāhuru anake ki ngā rōpū katoa. Kāti, ka oti katoa i ngā kapa ā rātau mahi ka puta ko Te Pakira te rōpū whakaihuwaka.Koia ko tēnei te whanaungatanga me te kotahitanga te kaupapa o te rā, nana tātau katoa i whakakao ki te putake o Tuturu o Pohaturoa.
Engari anō ka tika hoki te whakamihi ki te Whānau Haira, e mea ana he ahakoa he ahurei ka puta kē rātau me te tihi o ngā mahi a Rehia. Nā rātau te rākau manuka i whakatō ki te aroaro o te iwi ki a piki ake hoki ngā iwi ki te taumata i whakatakotoria e rātau.
Nā Corey Ruha tana whānau i kōrero. He pou taiao ia mō Tuhourangi Tribal Authority. He mōhio nōku ki te nuinga o rātau he ahakoa he tauhou ki ētehi o te iwi. Ko te nuinga o rātau i whaka te tai rawhiti atu ai nō rātau e itiiiti ai ko te painga kē atu kua hoki mai rātau ki te pā kaiahi .
E wehi hoki ana ahau i te rahi o Ngāti Hinemihi me ngā uri o Apumoana whakahono atu ai ēnei pahi ki Te Whānau Makiha nā reira i manomano ai te rahi o te tangata. Ko ētehi atu o ngā ropu ko Tuhourangi ki Otukawa nō Te Puke, ko Tuhourangi mai i Tarawera me Ngā Uri o Pohiri rāua ko Kaihau.
Tūmeke katoa ahau i Ngā Ngarara o Hinepapa ko tā rātau putanga mai ki te ātamira, ka pakaru katoa ngā pāpāringa o te kanohi i te harikoa. Ko te whānau o Frank Maika ēnei uri, nā tō rātau rūrūhi nā Ngarangimihi rātau i tiaki ki a eke kaha ai rātau ki runga ki te papatūwaewae.
Tuhourangi take a bow. Or 10. What a fabulous celebration of Tuhourangitanga. Even the weather gods smiled on us.
It is testament to the versatility of our iwi that the weekend was such a success.
For a start, deaths in the iwi meant the original ahurei venue of Te Pakira could not be used and doubt was also cast over the use of Hinemihi because of the death in the South Island of one of the Kiel-Pene whanau.
The family eventually decided to hold their tangihanga in Te Waipounamu rather than return to Ngapuna.
June 10 each year is a solemn day of remembrance of the eruption of Tarawera in 1886. This year it was more poignant because we also mourned a stalwart of our paepae, Sally Tawhai West, who lay in Wahiao until her funeral on Monday.
Saturday dawned crisply clear and Tarawera was a picture when various groups and individuals made their way to Waitōharuru the Tarawera Landing.
The temperature was decidedly cooler at Te Putake o Tawa where the Whakarewarewa Forest Loop App was formally launched. The app is a joint venture between the Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, Nga Hapu E Toru o Ngati Whakaue, Rotorua Lakes Council and CNI Iwi Holdings Ltd. Then it was back to Te Paparere-a-Rātōrua, better known as Hinemihi, for kaitahi and korero.
But it was the ahurei on Sunday that was the standout — not just for me but for everyone who attended.
Tino miharo!
I am stumped for superlatives.
More than 1000 T-shirts were produced for the day — which meant more than 1000 tamariki, rangatahi and pakeke took to the stage.
The hall, Te Moemoea a Pererika, provided shelter from the sharp wind and the oval was an ideal setting for the kai tents.
The playground and wide-open spaces provided a safe and picturesque environment in which our tamariki could play.
Tuhourangi Tribal Authority took advantage of the day to update the iwi register which was appropriate as whanau had come from all over the country to perform at the ahurei.
There were even whanau from Australia who changed their travel plans to fit in with the ahurei.
Whanaunga I hadn’t seen for years made the trip. It didn’t matter if they were newbies at performing on stage. It was all about participation.
It was the participation. And those babies on stage were scene-stealers. The littlies were so serious about their mahi. Or totally disengaged.
Te Whanau Haira, a tira full of seasoned performers, set the bar high. Corey Ruha, te pou taiao for the Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, introduced his whanau. I attended Whaka School with some of them so I knew they belonged to us, but many people were amazed.
Corey said that was probably because the whanau had moved away and spent more time with their Tai Rawhiti whanaunga.
Hinemihi had a huge roopu and Apumoana Marae joined Te Whanau Makiha.
Some people stood with more than one roopu and that was fine too.
There were Tuhourangi ki Otukawa from Te Puke, Tuhourangi mai i Tarawera and Nga uri o Pohiri raua ko Kaihau.
The name Nga Ngarara o Hinepapa threw me but when they appeared I laughed.
The group comprised the whanau of the late Frank Maika. Led by their matriarch Mihi they performed their own compositions and finished with their version of a slightly risque song I remember from my misspent youth.
