Whakarewarewa School hosted the Te Arawa Returned Services League parade and service.
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See below for English translation
Ka maumahara tonu tatau ki a ratau
Rā te haeata takina mai ki runga ki te tihi o Whakapoungākau, nā te kaha o te mātao ka wawe oku waewae ki te haere tū.
Kīhai au i puta ki Muruika, ka peka kē atu ahau ki te karakia i Ngapuna i a Hurungaterangi. Me te mahana hoki o te parakūihi. Ka ora taku puku. Ka oti te kai o te ata i a mātau, ka takahia te rori ki te kura tuatahi o Te Whakarewarewa he tuku mihi aroha ki ngā hōia te take.
I pōwhiringia mātau e Ngarepo Eparaima me taku whakahīhī hoki ki ona kame kikorangi ngangahū, hai tā ētehi o oku hoa ehara kau i a ia ngā mea kikorangi anahe engari he pea kura hoki kai te kāinga. Wheoi anō, pai ki ahau ngā pueru mangu e tika ana enei pueru ki ngā pakeke o Tūhourangi. He pōhēhē nō te marea, ko ngā pueru mangu mō te tangihanga anahe, ehara!
Mō ngā kaupapa nui whakaharahara hoki. Mai i te kura tuatahi ka heke mātau ki te pā taunaha o Te Whakarewarewa mō te rā nui. He wā noho tahi me ngā tini whānaunga katoa, ko ngā uri o te hunga kua whakairongia o rātau ingoa ki te kūwaha e tū kōperu ana ki te piritā o te pā. Nā tā mātau mokopuna nā Matariki ngā parekawakawa i tuku iho hai whakamahara i tō mātau taina a Mahara, he hōia hoki ia.
Engari ko mate noa atu. He whakahīhī nōku ki te kaha o te pā ki te waiata, engari nā te anu mātao i tāronatia ai ngā kaki o te hunga waiata e waiatangia ana i te waiata mō ngā hōia ko Āuē,E Ihu, he rite kino nei ki ngā hau pūkerikeri. He kotahi anahe te waiata, kāre kau kē atu. Engari anō te waiata takitahi i waiatangia e Nikau Grace he rite ki te kōpara tangi ata.
E noho puku ana, e hoki ana ōku mahara ki ngā hōia o te ao tawhito engari anō ki te momo o te rangatira i hoki mai ki te kawe i te mana o te kāinga. E huri nā ngā whakaaro ki te mana o tātau i enei rā ka tae mai te āmaimaitanga ki taku manawa.E whakapau kaha nei te paepae o Te Pakira ki te whakapakari i tēnei whāwhārua.
Hui katoa Te Pukenga o Te Arawa ki te poho o Tamatekapua. Nā te raruraru nui i Te Matatini ko hori te take i hui ai ngā koeke. Nō mua i tō mātau taenga ki Te Matatini ka whakaarangia e ngā rōpū o Te Arawa te wahakōrero . Wheoi anō, ka tae a Te Arawa ki te hui, ka tū tō tātau tangata, ka noho, kātahi anō ka maranga he rangatira anō ki te whaikōrero.
Ko te whakatau a Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wahiao nā tēnei tūāhuatanga ā ngā hui nui haere ake nei, mā Tuhourangi-Ngāti Wahiao tō mātau ake tangata e whiriwhiri. E kitea ana e ngā koeke, kua raruraru nui a Ngai Te Arawa i te korenga o tetehi rangatira tika hai whakakanohi i te iwi, engari ka ara ake te pātai ki te runanga. He aha tō tātau hiahia e Ngai Te Arawa. He māngai, he tangata tū kōrero e tika ana hoki tana tātai?
Ko te ritenga o tēnei whakaaro i hua ake i te mōhiotanga ko te hunga kaha ko te hunga kawe mātauranga kai ngā taina. Kai te whakatupuranga hou.
I kitea hoki e ngā pakeke me uaua kē e ū ai tātau ki te kawa me ngā tikanga i te korenga o ngā kākā wahanui. Ko te take, kua riro te nuinga o rātau i kaupapa kē atu.He aha rā e te iwi. I te korenga o ngā rangatira tika ki te tū kōrero me tahuri pea rā e tātau ki te hunga mātauranga-ā-kura?
He aha hoki rā tēnei hanga? E rite pea tātau ki te iwi o Maruiwi i toremi ai ki Te Reinga? Pēwhea hoki rā ngā tamariki noho pā taunaha ? Wheoi anō - He kaupapa whakatenatena kau i a hine atamai e hoa mā. Ko tāku noa e wawata nei ki a kāua tātau e noho roa e whakaaro kau ana.
Ki tua ko te marama o Mei. Me te rearea hoki. He hui nui ā te Taite a te wiki hou e rua rā te roa o taua hui, whaihoki he wānanga whakahirahira ka tū ki Te Pakira ko te mate a kikokiko nei te kaupapa.Kai te kōkiringia e Lynette Walmsley.
The Anzac service at Muruika before dawn breaks.
Ko te kaupapa tuarua tēnei o tana waka whakapiki mātauranga ki te kaupapa o te mate. Nānā hoki he wānanga nui i kawe nō te tau ko hori. E kī rā kai te kawe pukapuka hōtaka tonu nei ahau he ahakoa kai te kaumatuatanga kē ahau e pae ana. Inā hoki te rahi o āku mahi.
He hui anō tāku ā te wiki hou. Māua ko taku pōtiki a Lara Taylor ko te tunu keke mamao tiakareti te kaupapa. He rangatira a Lara ki te rangahau kai te arahina hoki e ia he kaupapa rangahau ka tū ki Ohaki inākuanei.Ko te whakaaro matua kē kia rua ngā wānanga e hāngai kau ana ki te pūtaiao pākehā.
He hoa mahi tahi a Lara me Takuta Dan Hikuroa ko, “Enabling Kaitiakitanga and Ecosystem-based Managaement” tetehi o a rāua kaupapa, whaihoki he hoa mahi hoki ia i te ao BioHeritage, wheoi anō rā ko te tikanga ki te whakakotahi i enei waka e rua ki a kotahi mai hai whakamātautau i o rāua whakaaro me ā rātau kame Tiriti e ora ai te taiao. Ka nui taku harikoa ki tēnei kaupapa. Kai konei ahau e tatari ana ki ngā hua.
Hai te tuangāhuru o Hune ka tū hoki te kaupapa whakamaumahara ki ngā mate i parekuratia i te hū o Rotomahana nō te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau, e waru tekau mā ono.
Kai te whakaritea e te pā taunaha me ngā rangatira te āhua o tēnei rā. E tika ana hoki ki a noho tahi me Ngāti Rangitihi. Nō reira e hoa mā whakarāhuingia te kotahi ngāhuru o Hune ko te rā tēnei ka tū te Ahurei o Tūhourangi. Kua hui kē te ohu mahi, kua mana ngā waiata me te kaupapa nō reira e hoa mā kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā. He whakataetae kai te haere. Mō te wā nei, kai aku rangatira ka nui te mihi atu, tēnā rā kotou katoa. —Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
English Translation
COMMENT
Anzac Day dawned crisp and frosty and got me moving quickly.
I didn’t go down to Muruika but instead went to the small dawn karakia at Hurunga Te Rangi marae. We shared a lovely breakfast and touched base with whanau then headed off to Whakarewarewa School for the Te Arawa Returned Services League parade and service.
Ngarepo Eparaima welcomed us all and I couldn’t help but admire his really cool, iridescent blue winkle pickers. And I have it from reliable sources that he has an equally impressive red pair too.
It’s just as well I like black outfits because that is what Tuhourangi kuia are expected to wear.
Black is not just for tangihanga but for any occasion when we are representing our paepae or hapu.
From the kura we went to Whakarewarewa for our main parade of the day. It was a chance to catch up with whanau and mourn the loved ones whose names are inscribed on the memorial at the bridge. Our mokopuna Matariki laid the wreath in memory of our youngest sister Mahara, who was a gunner in the army.
I have always been really proud of the singing at Whaka but I’m afraid Aue, E Ihu sounded like a dirge and there was only one verse printed on the order of service and no others were sung. But I did love the solo by Nikau Grace and I told her so.
Reflection on the lives lost to war also brought to mind the huge gaps in the ranks of the living, particularly our leadership.
The Te Pakira paepae is taking steps to address the issue of leadership of Te Arawa.
We had a hui about this matter ahead of a meeting of Te Pukenga Koeke o Te Arawa at Tamatekapua today.
It came about because of an incident at the pohiri for Te Matatini at Auckland in February. Before the teams went to Tamaki Makaurau a combined Te Arawa hui chose a speaker. At Te Matatini he spoke and then a koeke took it upon himself to speak as well.
Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao has decided that in future we will hui to find a speaker.
Our hui acknowledged that there is a vaccum at the top of our iwi, but the question was posed do we want a mangai (mouthpiece) or a leader by whakapapa.
Much of this comes about because many of the most knowledgeable speakers are our teina — the younger generation.
It was pointed out that quite often it is difficult to follow kawa or tikanga rules because the most appropriate speakers are not available. This could be because of work or other commitments.
In the absence of leaders by whakapapa, do we turn to the world of academia or commerce?
What about pa kids? Are we a dying breed?
This is all food for thought and I just hope we don’t end up with indigestion.
May is also promising to be a busy month.
Whakarewarewa bridge memorial.
Beginning next Thursday is a two-day national iwi chairs forum and then for us at Te Pakira is a day-long wananga led by Lynette Walmsley on preparing for death. This is a follow-up of an excellent wananga she ran more than a year ago arising from her thesis on natural burial.
I never dreamed when I retired that I would need a diary or electronic calendar to keep a track of my commitments.
I have a date the following week to teach my niece Lara Taylor how to make my special chocolate steamed pudding.
Lara is a published researcher who is co-hosting a research wānanga at Ohaki marae — our Ngati Tahu marae on the Waikato River between Rotorua and Taupō.
This wānanga was initially an idea for two projects in different National Science Challenges (Lara’s in Sustainable Seas with Dr Dan Hikuroa “Enabling Kaitiakitanga and Ecosystem-based Management” and a colleague’s in Bio Heritage which is more focused on building cultural capacity and capability in tangata Tiriti) to get together and test their ideas and tools for enabling Tiriti-centric ethics of care for our taiao. This is an area in which I have become truly interested and I look forward to participating.
For Tuhourangi descendants June 10 is the most important date on the calendar, when Tarawera erupted on June 10, 1886.
Plans are not confirmed yet for June 10, but in response to requests from rangatahi, it is hoped to have walks down the mountain.
There is also ongoing consultation with our Ngati Rangitihi whanaunga.
