"Success is not the work of one, but the work of many."
Leadership is a vital component among our whanau today and this presents itself in many different forms. It can be seen with our koeke who karanga and lead the paepae, and acknowledged in sport or cultural occasions where a clear focal point is needed. So then, what happens when one of our own leaders is attacked and bullied?
A couple weeks back, Maori TV played a series called 50 Haka Moments. This show looked back at Te Matatini 2013 and highlighted moments that they considered worthy of being picked, replayed and commented on, much like Fashion Police on the E Channel.
While presenting a candid look at kapa haka and attempting to celebrate the art form, many who saw the show cringed. We heard korero (talk) around Hot Dog groups, who are roopu that hit the stage and immediately whanau in the crowd say, 'Oh, that group's no good, must be time to go and get a hot dog.' Another was Panda Eyes, which is said of performers who have huge make up rings around their eyes. Many of our cousins who love kapa haka understood the inside joke but did not like hearing these demeaning things said.
Then came number seven. I won't go in to the exact detail but can say that a good bro, Raimona Peni, was made fun of. In what was seen as a deliberate attempt to whakaiti (belittle) a dedicated kapa haka leader, the kaitataki tane was put under the spotlight for his performance in Nga Potiki a Hinehopu. During the performance, Raimona momentarily collapsed on stage, recovering after a short few breaths and resuming his commanding position as leader. What 50 Haka Moments did was nothing short of demeaning.
Shortly after the airing of the show, Facebook lit up with complaints and challenges. What an absolute disgrace, some whanau wrote, putting down a committed young Maori leader and denigrating his entire team by laughing at what happened. One of the commentators laughed the entire time, shaking as they played the fall in slow motion. What the show did was laugh at the fall rather than commend him for getting back up. That episode of 50 Haka Moments was quickly down from Maori TV online. No one in Te Arawa was happy that night, and for good reason.
Raimona is a humble leader, a well-respected teacher and a nice bro to be around. You can feel his passion for te reo Maori mo ona tikanga and everyone who meets Raimona feels like encouraged, positive and happy.
Maori TV came all the way to Mourea to apologise. Some of the senior management team came on to Te Takinga marae, heads held low, looking to say sorry to Raimona, his roopu, his iwi and to all who were offended. On our side, some of the young toa (warrior) wanted to settle things in the old way. Had it not been for Koro Te Ariki Morehu joining the manuhiri (visitors), things may have gone a little differently.
If Maori TV had pointed out my brother or my son in a disrespectful way, I would have moved heaven and earth to push them into hell. Some of us come from the old school, where insults are met immediately. What was at stake for Maori TV was the threat to remove them from recording the Te Arawa Kapa Haka Regionals coming up in May. This is still a possibility.
After the powhiri, a few of the performers said that they were encouraged to see that Maori TV had come all the way from Auckland to front up; others would not forget the insult and instead stood to support a good bro and a humble man. That is the true mark of a leader - who sticks around to back you up when the times get tough.
So to our bro Raimona - kia kaha e te tuakana and a huge mihi to your roopu and to all other roopu who came to support. Nga mihi aroha ki a tatau.
And to Maori TV, please make sure that respecting the mana of a person is held to a higher regard than just looking for fast ratings.
Potaua Biasiny-Tule is a Te Arawa Standing Committee member and an IT expert.
