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Takoto whāroaroa te mana o te tuna hai ihiihi, hai whakawehi otīā hai whakakao i ngā rangatahi taketake nō te whenua Moemoeā me Hawaiki Tautau ki a tū taikākā.
Kai te haria e Nadine Toe Toe te rangatira whakahaere mō Kohutapu tētehi pahi rangatira tokowaru te rahi nō Ngāti Manawa ki Ahitereiria ā te Akuwhata tata nei.
Kua iwa tau rāua ko tōna makau a Karl Toe Toe e kōkiri ana i te kōnae pākihi turuhi taketake.
Kua mana te karanga ki ngā rangatahi o Ngāti Manawa otīā kua puta te reo pāoho ki te riu o Murupara whānui tonu.
Hai te wiki hou whakamōhiotia ki te whāriu ko wai mā te hunga ka whakakanohi atu i te hau kāinga.
He whakahonohono, he whakaohooho hoki i te manawa o te taipakeke ki te whenua, ki te taiao, mātua kia takahia hoki e rātau ngā takahanga tapuwae o ngā tuatahi kia rangona ai ngā pūrākau me ngā hītoria e mauriora ai te tangata.
Ko Tuna te kaupapa o te haerenga, whaihoki mā te tuna hoki ngā iwi taketake e tuitui.
Kua pakeke kē a Kohutapu ki te taha whakarite haerenga ā motu, ki tāwāhi hoki.
Nō ngā tau tawhito ko tahā kua hipa atu a Kohutapu mā ki Amerika mō ngā wiki e ono engari kāore e rite aua haerenga ki tēnei haerenga. “Ka hua ake te whakaaro nōku e noho ana i te hui nui whakaharahara i Perth, e noho atu nā ahau e whakarongo ana ōku taringa ki ngā kākā tarahae, nā wai rā ka hiki te kohu i taku rae – ka whakaaro ake nei ahau, ko te tāngaengae whakakotahi nei i ngā whenua e rua, ko te mana o ngā iwi taketake”.
E pūare ana tēnei haerenga ki ngā rangatahi nō Murupara, e kotahi tekau mā ono tae ki te rua tekau mā wha te rahi.
Ko te hunga e noho moumou ana ki te kāinga, ko te hunga kua tahuri atu ngā kanohi i te mātauranga.
Kua nanakia te roa a Kohutapu e mahi tahi ana me te hāpori o Murupara-Galatea kai ētehi taimā ka toro atu hoki te aka aka ki te rohe o Mataatua.
Ki te noho manuwhiri he tangata ki Kohutapu ka whāngaingia ki te hāngi.Ko ngā toenga kāinga ka whoatu ki te hāpori kāpuia katoatia ngā hāngi kua tukuna ki te hāpori kai te takiwā o te toru tekau mano hāngi. E tūmeke katoa ana te puku o Nadine ki ngā ōritenga ā iwi taketake nei, Whenua moemoā mai, Māori mai.
“Ko te pākihi turuhi ao taketake he huarahi e puta ai te rangatahi ki matahauariki. He huarahi whakawhanake i te uho o te tangata e whakahīhī ai ia ki ōna kānoi amokura”.
Ko te iwi Moemoeā e ai ki ngā mātanga tikanga-ā-iwi tētehi huinga tangata taketake rawa o te ao.
Kua tata ki te ono tekau mā rima mano tau rātau e noho ana ki te whenua tokerau o Ahitereiria.
Kāhore he iwi hai rite nei ki a rātau te noho tuturu i te ao.
Kua puta hoki te hau rongo o tēnei haerenga ki te ātea whānui o pukamata.
Kai reira hoki ngā kauwhau whakahawea ā ngā whito pakupaku, wheoi anō ko te kaupapa o tēnei haerenga he mana nui, kāore e take ana ngā ware ā te hunga maka kupu, whakaaro tautauhea.
Kāti, ka tae ngā waewae hakoke ki te Poipiripi (Melbourne) ka whakamanuwhiringia rātau e te hau kāinga.
Ka peka atu rātau katoa ki te whenua kowhatu, nā wai ka peka atu ki te whenua nehenehe nui tae ki te whenua nui te tote.
He wā kimi kai, whakangau kararehe hoki, otīā ko te noho Māori ki ngā ritenga o te tangata whenua. He wāhanga ako rongoā, ā, hai ngā pō he matira ika.
Ko Budj Bim te kāinga e tiaki ana i te hinaki koromatua o te ao hurihuri. E ai ki ngā tohunga pūtaiao kai te takiwā o te ono mano tau te rahi.
Ki kōnei te pahi iti nei ako ai ki ngā herenga whakapapa ā te iwi taketake Moemoeā ki te tuna.
Ka moe hoki rātau ki Lake Condah Mission ki kōnei ako ai rātau ki ngā hītoria o te whenua, mātua ko te parekura nui o Victorian Soil me ngā hua kino o taua parekura kai te mau tonu i te iwi kāinga, huri ngā rā, huri ngā marama, huri ngā tau.
Hai te hiku o Akuwhata kai te ihu o Hepetema ka haria e Kohutapu he pahi tokowaru te rahi nō te iwi taketake Moemoeā ki Hawaiki Tautau noho ai.
Ka whakamanuwhiringia te iwi Moemoeā e te Māori, nā, he matira ika, he whakangau kararehe he aha noa atu, he aha noa atu ngā mahi i kōnei e mōhio ai rātau ehara i te mea e tū mokemoke ana rātau i te papa o te ao hurihuri, karekau.
Ki tua o te moana tāpokopoko a Tawhaki te Māori e tū matahao hoa nei.
Kāore he utu o te haerenga, mā Kohutapu e awhina te hunga kore uruwhenua, kore hutu kehi hoki.
Ko tā te rangatahi ko āna ake moni hokohoko.
Kai te haere hoki he kotahi ringatohu Māori ki te ripene i tēnei haerenga, ka oti te haerenga ka whakawhiwhia e ia tangata he kōnae pakupaku, e rua tekau meneti te roa. Tokowaru hoki ngā pakeke ka haere ki te manaaki i te rōpū hakoke.
Haere pai rā e hoa mā, hoki kaha mai.
— Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
The humble tuna is the vehicle to connect indigenous rangatahi of Aotearoa and Australia.
Nadine Toe Toe, of Kohutapu Lodge at Lake Aniwhenua, is taking eight rangatahi from the Eel People Ngati Manawa on a cross cultural exchange to Australia in August.
She and husband Karl Toe Toe have been in charge of the indigenous tourism business for nine years.
Applications have been sought from Murupara rangatahi and the successful candidates will be known early next week.
The purpose of the trip is to utilise indigenous tourism to reconnect youth to whenua, taiao, identity and embark on a journey of truthful history, storytelling and healing.
The theme of this haerenga is “TUNA” …and it will be the tuna that connect the indigenous people of Australia, to the indigenous people of Aotearoa.
Nadine said Kohutapu Lodge had arranged trips all around the motu over the years and also a six weeks excursion to Florida in the United States but this is the first cross-cultural exchange.
“The trip came about after I attended world indigenous tourism sympsosium at Perth in March.
“I realised the indigenous synergies were in line with Ngati Manawa beliefs.”
The trip is open to Murupara people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are currently not in education, employment or training.
Kohutapu Lodge over the years has provided work and entertainment for the Murupara-Galatea community, although the boundaries can be extended to cover more of the Mataatua rohe. As part of the Lodge experience pre-pack hangi are provided to guests.
Any extras were taken and distributed around the district, amounting to about 30,000 meals.
Nadine was blown away by the similarities between the issues rangatahi in diverse communities faced.
“Indigenous tourism is a way to help them to a brighter future. In connecting with their culture and the taiao they find hope.”
Aboriginal Australians have lived in the Northern Territory for more than 65,000 years. It is the oldest continuous culture on earth.
News of the exchange has gone viral on the Lodge Facebook page, with almost 250,000 follows and it was shared 700 times.
Nadine said they ignored the few negative comments because the exchange was about life and love.
After landing in Melbourne the Murupara group will make contact with the indigenous people, travelling from Stone country, to Bush country, to Salt country.
Among activities the group will forage for wild foods, hunt, gather, participate in traditional smoke ceremonies, learn about medicinal plants, make possum fur cloaks and go night fishing.
Budj Bim is home to the oldest eel traps and aquaponic system in the world. They are more than 6600 years old.
It is there the Kiwis will learn about the Aboriginal connection to tuna, and how they have built a tourism business within their World Heritage Site.
They will also be staying at Lake Condah Mission, where they will learn about their colonisation journey, including the first massacre on Victorian Soil, and how this has, and is still, impacting on their people today.
At the end of August/beginning of September, the Lodge will bring eight Aboriginal rangatahi back to New Zealand to reciprocate the exact same itinerary, but through a Maori lens.
Product for product, experience for experience, and like for like – showing our youth the connection between indigenous peoples globally, and letting them know – they are not alone, and have a very important place in the world.
■The trip is free and the Lodge will help in getting passports and luggage. Participants only need to take their spending money.
A Maori film director will accompany the group and each rangatahi will receive a copy of a 20 minute documentary of their journey. Eight adults will accompany the rangatahi.
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