Kāhu ki Rotorua: Matauranga Maori creates spiritual space at birthings.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Mahi-a-Wairua
Nō te whānautanga o tana tamaiti mātāmua i ngā tau e rua tekau mā tahi o ngā tau kua pahemo, ka warea katoatia a Sarndra Mear ki ngā tikanga onamata mō te whakawhānau pēpi.
Ehara i te mea i noho Māori noa tēnei rangatira, e rua e rua. Ko tētehi waewae ōna, kai te huarahi Māori, ko tētehi waewae ōna, kai te huarahi o te ao hou. He ako tonu hoki nāna ki te mātauranga tiaki māmā, ki te mātauranga whakawhānau pēpi me te whakawhanake tamariki.
Tūturu kai te mau i a ia ngā kōrero tuku iho a tōna kuia ake. Kāti ko tēnei wairua e noho tika nei ki roto ki a ia, ā, moroki noa nei. ‘Ka kotahi tekau mā rua o ngā tau taku mahi mā ECE hai awhinatanga kia āta mātau ai a au ki ngā akoranga a tōku kuia a Te Ataihaiakirikowhai.’
' E tika ana, ko tōku kuia te pou mataaho o taku whare’. Nā tana whai mātauranga ka puta he nama ( Ko te ako Doula e rima mano te nama, ka rua, ko te Mātanga whakawhānau, e ono mano, e rima rau te nama). Ko te tikanga o tēnei rautaki ko te nanao atu ki ngā tohu Pākehā hai whakaū i ngā akoranga heke iho a tōna kuia. He wahine i whāngaingia ki te reo nōna e kohanga ana, kātahi ka uru atu a Sarndra ki karaehe reo rua, tana taenga ki te kura tuarua e noho rumaki ana. Nā reira tana whakamihi ki ngā kura kaupapa Māori me te mana o te reo taketake o tēnei whenua.
“Ko te whakapapa tētehi o ngā tino pou o taku Mahi-a-Wairua e rangatira anō ai te māuiui”. He kaupapa nānā tonu i whakaaraara i ngā tau e ono kua pahemo. “He wairua i heke iho i taku kāwai whakapapa, ko Te Raumāwhitu tōku tupuna kuia, tetehi wahine mātauranga nui ki tēnei mahi ka haere tahi māua ko toku koroua a Hare Wī-Kīngi me Te Hiko-o-te-rangi Hohepa me tōku kuia rearea hoki a Te Ataihiakirikowhai ko tāku he titiro, he whakarongo”.
He Ngai Te Arawa, he Tainui, he Whakatohea hoki a Sarndra. Tokotoru āna tamariki, tokorua āna mokopuna. He kāwai whakapapa hoki tō rātau ki Te Whānau-a-Apanui, ki Ngāti Kahungunngu me Ngāti Porou.
The whole whanau can be involved in labour and the birthing process.
I whānau a Sarndra i Rotorua, nōna e āhua rua tekau, āhua toru tekau o ngā tau ka haere katoa tana whānau ki Ahitereiria mō ngā tau e ono. He whakapono hoki nōna nā te whakapapa i tūhurangia ai tana huarahi haere. E rite tahi āna whakaaro ki te whakataukī kōrero, me titiro whakamuri te tangata e anga whakatemua ai. Ko ngā whakautu ki āna pātai huhua ka taka iho ki a ia e tū māia nei ki tō tātau taiao nei. He wāhi motuhenga nōna hai wāhi noho haupūaroaro ai. He whakamihi hoki nānā ki Te Papa Tākaro o Te Arawa. “Nā rātau taku herenga taiao i kauawhiwhi ai, nā rātau hoki i whakakotahi anō ai taku wairua ki tō tātau ao Māori. Kai reira tētehi puna aroha, tētehi puna manaaki, whaihoki he whare nui te mātauranga”.
E taitamāhine ana, ka herengia anō ia ki tōna pā taunaha ki te ātea nui o Ruamata engari ka mate tōna kuia me tōna koroua, ara te tūngane o tōna kuia me tō rāua tapeha tahi i te tau kotahi, ka hinga tōna wairua. Nā reira ka haere ia ki Ahitereiria, nā tana hokitanga mai ki te kāinga kua ū anō tana mana ki tōna pā taunaha. Kai te pae tawhiti āna whakaaro mō te kokenga o te iwi.’ Ko te pae tawhiti, ka wehe ahau i tēnei ao, kua Māori noa tā tātau whakawhānau pēpi, me ngā āhuatanga, tikanga katoa e pā ki te whare kohanga,e ihi anō ai te whānau, e kaha anō ai te whānau.
Me taku moemoeā nui ko te whakaū i te whakaaro matua ki roto ki te whatumanawa o tēnā o tēnā o tātau kia mōhiotia te whānau ko te oranga kai te whānau, kai ō rātau ringaringa, wheoi anō kia eke ai tātau ki tēnei taumata me whakapakaringia e tātau ngā tini whānaunga. He waimārie nō tātau kai te hāpori ētehi o ngā whānaunga e mahi ana, ināianei kai te whatitoka o te whare haumanu tātau e whakatakoto rautaki ana ki te awhina i te hunga ka tae ki te hōhipera. Ko te whakaaro mātua ki te pēhi i ngā taumahatanga kia kāua e nui atu ai te taumahatanga whai muri i te whānautanga mai o te pēpi’.
E ai ki a Sarndra, ko te mate pāpōuri-a-whakawhānau pēpi, ko te māuiui kare-ā-roto me te whakawhanaunga pēpi, hoa rangatira ai ētehi kaupapa tino taumaha ki a tātau te Māori. Ka hokia ki ngā taumahatanga o te māuiui korona kai te rangona tonutia aua taumahatanga, mātua ki te wāhanga whakawhānau pēpi.” Nā reira i taumaha ai ngā Māmā me ngā Pāpā kāore he awhinatanga e whakamāmā ai ngā whakapōreareatanga e whakawhānau pēpi ana te matua wahine. Ka nui ngā hapa e taumaha te whakaputanga ai o te pēpi i te ara tapu o Hine-te-iwaiwa, otīā e taumaha hoki ai ngā mātua.
He kupu itiiiti nei hai awhinatanga i a tātau katoa: Whakaorangia ngā tātai kōrero whakawhānau pēpi i mua i te moenga takapau wharanui, kai tēnā kai tēnā o tātau ēna tātai kōrero nō mai nō mai anō, ā, ara anō ētehi tātai kōrero kāore anō kia pūāwaingia. ' He mana, he wehi, he wairua toa kai ngā tātai kōrero onamata, me ngā kōrero kai te takiwā pae tawhiti. Kia manawa tika koe ki tāu e hiahiangia ai mō te whānautanga pēpi, ka moe tāne koe, ka moe wahine koe me rae pakari koe e rere ai te wairua ake ake ake’. —Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
Kua iwa tau te wānanga o Onekura e tū ana, ko te tikanga o tēnei wānanga he whakahonohono anō ai te tangata, te whānau ki ngā pūrākau whakawhānau pēpi, moe rangatira, me ngā karakia, tikanga me te kawa mō te whakatupu me te whakapakari tamariki.
Ko te whanau mai o te pepi he wa mo te whanau katoa.
E ai ki a Sarndra Mear, i toko ake tēnei whakaaro i tana kitehanga i ngā tini tangata e patua ana nō te wā rātau e whakawhānau ana.
' Ka hia kē aku tau mahi mā te whare ECE tae noa ki Oranga Tamariki kātahi nā ahau ka kite i ngā
tini hapa. Ko tētehi anō o ngā raruraru ko te korenga o ngā tikanga o tātau te Māori ki tēnei wāhi’.
He mana nui tō Onekura e mahi ngātahi ana te whānau me ngā wāhine hapū kia noho tata nei rātau ki ngā mātanga tae ki te wā whakawhānautanga.
“Kai tēnei wāhanga tonu e noho tapu ana ngā Māmā me ngā Pāpā e hoki mai nei ki a rātau tō rātau mana motuhake o tūāukiuki nā tēnei tikanga ka ihiiihi anō ai te whānau ka oti, ka tūāpapangia ngā poupou o tō rātau whare e Māori ai te timatatanga o tō rātau kuhutanga mai ki tēnei ao kikokiko.
E ai hoki ki a Sarndra, e taumaha ana i tēnei wā i te korenga nama hai hāpai ake i tēnei kaupapa ko ētehi o ngā take e whai iho nei.
■ Ko te tuatahi: Ko te kaupapa kē te kaupapa matua ki ngā wāhine mahi ehara ko te pūtea te take.
■ Ko te tuarua: Nā te mea he kaupapa hou tonu tēnei, kāore kau ana he māhere kē atu e rite tahi nei ki a ia hai whakarite, nā tēnei āhuatanga hoki e āta tīmatangia ai ngā wānanga pūtea e haere roa ai tēnei kaupapa.
' Kai te taupatupatu ahau mēnā ka āta kuhu mai te kaupapa moni me pēwhea te uta i te whakaaro o te moni ki ngā pakihiwi o te whānau tīnaku pēpi, kia kauawhiawhingia rātau e whakamāmā ai ngā pāmamaetanga onamata e tika te kawe ai i tētehi wairua mana nui ki te ao kikokiko nei nā reira ka ora iti nei ahau i ētehi atu wāhi mahi kai reira he paku pūtea e ora ai ahau – nā reira e tino watea nei ahau ki te kawe i tēnei mahi ki runga i te ngākau aroha noa’.
Ko te pae tata mā Sarndra ko te whakapūaretanga o ngā tatau utu kore e āhei ai ngā whānau te nanao atu ki ngā mātanga ki ngā nāhi otīā ngā wāhine mōhio ki tēnei kawenga mahi, mātua mō te hunga kai ngā hōhipera e whakawhānau ana.
Ko te pae tawhiti hoki māna ko te whakaara ake tētehi whare kōhanga mō Te Arawa nei e noho Māori ai tātau e āhei hoki tātau ki te whakawhanake anō ngā tini puna mātauranga onamata e pā nei ki te whare kōhanga, ka rua e tāea ai hoki e tātau ki te nanao atu ki ngā iwi whānui o te motu mā tēnei momo whakaaro e kaha ai tēnei kawenga mātauranga, kai Tūwharetoa tātau ināianei e noho tahi ana me te iwi o reira.
I whakaaraara ake tēnei kaupapa i tana kitehanga e ngoikore ana ētehi wāhanga i te ao whakawhānau pēpi kātahi ka tae tētehi hokinga māharatanga ki ahau ki te wā i puta taku koroua me tana kauwhau e mea nā e ia he iwi rangatira tātau, puritia te aka o Tawhaki kia ū, kia mau.
“Nā te mea ko ahau anō tētehi kai te pūtake o te maunga e noho tahi ana me ngā whānau kātahi nā ahau ka tino mārama mēnā tātau ka noho tonu ki te ao o te Pākehā nei e kore nei tātau e puta ki te pae o Tānenuitewaiora – kāore e tika ana tēnei āhuatanga hauora ki a tātau te Māori, wheoi anō nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā rima ka whāia e ahau te kaupapa hapūtanga, ara ko te oranga tonutanga o te whānau me ngā tini wāhine e hapū ana”.
—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
English Translation
Sarndra Mear has been in the space of traditional birthing practices since the birth of her first son 21 years ago.
She has spent time learning about western systems and in the sector of maternal health/perinatal/childbirth education and child development.
But it is the knowledge and guidance she learned at the knee of her kuia Te Ataihaiakirikowhai that continue to guide her.
“I worked in ECE for 12 years which really became the foundation for understanding a lot of what I was exposed to as a child with my Kuia.” “My Kuia was and still is my greatest inspiration in my path of life in general.”
Some of her work required training (Doula Training $5000, and Childbirth Educator $6500) but she saw that training only as a means of understanding inside a Western/Medical system what she already knew growing up in Te Ao Māori.
Sarndra attended Kohanga Reo as a pre-schooler, bilingual school through intermediate and Rumaki in high school.
That she sees as a reflection of the times and the movement towards what we now see for our tamariki – Te kura kaupapa Māori, so she has a real appreciation, Te Reo Māori.
“Whakapapa is something that I value immensely and underpins a lot of the work I do in the Mahi-a-Wairua space of healing intergenerational trauma.”
Sarndra set up that mahi-a-wairua space six years ago.
“The foresight came from whakapapa mainly – it started with a rekindling of who I was through a koroua who wrote about Māori symbolism and his daughter; my Kui Te Raumawhitu who used to travel doing the mahi I do now, my koroua Wiremu Te Ohu Kingi, exposure (as a child in the tender years of forming who we are) to Koro Hare WiKingi and Te Hiko-o-te-rangi Hohepa and my beautiful Kuia Te Ataihiakirikowhai.”
Participants at an Onekura Wananga share time weaving wahakura for pepi.Pictures / Supplied
Sarndra (Te Arawa, Tainui and Whakatohea) has three children, one grandson and another due next month. Her children have whakapapa to Te Whanau a Apanui, Kahungungu and Ngati Porou.
She was born and raised in Rotorua and spent six years in Australia in her late 20s early 30s.
She believes her current path is something that whakapapa has guided her to and she is extremely grateful for that.
Like the whakatauki, she most definitely does look back to the ways of old to find answers. Most of her answers are found by being present in Te Taiao – somewhere she goes daily to allow wānanga to help guide her.
Sarndra is grateful for the time spent at Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa. “My beautiful whānau there were instrumental in the rekindling of my relationship with Te Taiao and Te Ao Māori. These people are still ones I seek for support, guidance and advice.”
Sarndra was connected to her Pā Ruamatā as a child but following the loss of her grandmother, her grandmother’s brother and their cousin within a year disconnected for a few years.
Since returning from Australia, she has formed a strong connection with her Pā.
Sarndra is looking to the future.
“My succession plan is to ensure that when my work is done, purposeful procreation and strategic parenting are common practices again, that our conception, traditional brithing and child raising practices are in the safest hands possible – healed and whole whānau.
“My moemoea is that there isn’t a need to go to someone outside of whakapapa to have the supports and guidance we need to welcome our pēpi into this world and raise them in ways that allow them to meet their potential.
“To be able to achieve this I hope to have people upskilled and educated in our traditional practices, we already have whānau in the community able to access Wāhine trained to support, now we are having conversations with clinical entities regarding supports for whānau in the hospital.
“The hope is that with more whānau having access to this, the fewer issues we will see post birth.” Sarndra cites postnatal depression, post-partum mood disorders, and relationship issues with partners and pēpi .
She said covid had impacts and continues to impact our ability to support whānau in the hospital birthing space.
“It has also impacted on the hapū Māmā and Pāpā being able to have the supports they want during the labour and birth of their child – this has massive impact on our rites of passage for not only the pēpi but the Māmā and Pāpā also.”
She has advice for future generations based on her extensive experience: Heal your birth stories before you conceive your first child – we all carry the birth stories of the generations before us and those yet to come. “What a powerful sovereignty to have the ability to heal the stories of our tupuna of old and the ones yet to come. Be bold in what you want to experience from the birth of your child, when you do conceive, be tenacious in your desires for their lifetime and the legacy they will leave.”
“Allowing the birthing whānau to feel empowered during labour and birth.”
Onekura Wānanga have been running for approximately nine years.
This kaupapa was to share space with whānau who want to re-claim their connection with our purakau regarding conception, birth, rites of passage (child development and parenting).
Sarndra Mear said that, intitally, it came about because she saw so many whānau have traumatic birthing experiences.
“Having spent so many years working with children from ECE to Oranga Tamariki there came the realisation that there were gaps in care because we were not utilising our traditional practices.”
Whānau benefit initially from the kaupapa by having trained wāhine alongside them while they are hapū and during labour and sometimes birth.
“Through having this support the Māmā in particular and certainly the Pāpā and other whānau members present are held in a sacred space, where they have the ability to figure out what sovereignty means to them while they move through the phases and realms of laobur and birth.
“Through allowing the birthing whānau to feel empowered during labour and birth, it sets good foundations and confidence for parenting and child development.”
Sarndra said that, currently, there are no funding streams alongside this kaupapa; for a few reasons.
■ Firstly: it’s not about funding for the wāhine that do this mahi.
■ Secondly; as it is quite a ‘new’ concept and there is no other model like it, the discussions regarding funding for sustainability have only recently started.
“For me personally; I am not sure how to put a dollar value over a whānau being able to conceive a child, to have support that heals intergenerational birth trauma, and helps bring a new life into this world, so I mahi in other paid roles to allow me to do this mahi for free.”
The short-term goal for Sarndra would be to see whānau have access to the wāhine that do the mahi, especially when birthing in the hospital birthing suites and theatre births. The long-term goal is to have something sustainable for Te Arawa Whānau, for whānau to build their own practices regarding labour and birthing, and for us to be able to share with other Iwi across the motu what we have been doing to tautoko others (we are currently supporting our Tuwharetoa whānau regularly and other Iwi when needed).
The kaupapa was initiated due to Sarndra seeing so many gaps in our maternal model of care and being visited by her koroua in the early hours one morning reminding her of the greatness we all decend from.
“Being the person at the bottom of the hill for many whānau and recognising that to stay in those roles inside that system, I was also a perpetuator of a failed and broken system.
“So in 2015 I stepped out and decided to start putting time back into our own practices regarding not maternal care but hapūtanga (the welfare of the hapū whānau).”
