Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
E hoa, kua kitea e koe ngā whakamiharotanga kai te pae o Māori+, koia ko te pae matihiko o Whakaata Māori.
Kai reira ngā wāhanga o Te Pāmu Kūmara e whakapaohongia ana. He reo Māori katoa, e ono ngā whakaaturang , he kotahi tekau mēneti te roa o ia whakaaturanga.
He whakakitenga hohenga taiohi, he whakakitenga whakaataata hoki.
He kaupapa nā Te Māngai Pāho i tautoko. Ko Tai te ūtahi o te kaupapa, he kotahi tekau mā rua ōna tau , ko te roanga atu o tōna ingoa ko Owairea Tawera, he kōhine māia, engari kai te pēnā hoki tana whānau katoa.
He ahakoa he whānau tuahangata rātou e noho māuri tau ana, e paru ana ngā matiwae. He whānau hoko kūmara rātou engari me pakari tū rātou kia kāua e riro tō rātou whenua i ngā ringa whenako o ētehi pae tata mai, pae tawhito hoki.
E ai ki te Ringatohu o Kura Productions ko Te Ataraiti Waretini, he whakaputanga nui a Te Pāmu Kūmara.
"Kāore rawa tēnei kaupapa, tēnei whakaputanga i ngā tau e rima kua pahemo. Mō ngā whakatupuranga e whia kē te hunga whakapau kaha ki te tiaki me te whakakaha i te reo ki a tupu Māori ake nei ngā tamariki i tetehi ao kōrero Māori, wheoi anō te hokitanga ki ngā kāinga, he mātakitaki kau i ngā whakaaturanga Pākehā.
"Kai te kaha hāngai a Te Pāmu Kūmara ki ā tātou tamariki me te painga ake, he kaupapa reo Māori anake".
Ko tētehi mea nui o te whakaaturanga nei ko te huringa o te wā, ka nui rawa atu ngā mātanga tuhituhi reo Māori, ka nui hoki ngā ringatohu, me ngā poumahi atu i ēnei ko te hunga whakaari e kimikimi ana i ngā kōrero mana nui hai whāngai ki ngā korokoro pakiki o ā tātou tamariki.
Nō Te Ataraiti e noho ana ka hoki ōna māharatanga ki tētehi taimā e mahi ana. Ka puta te pātai ki tētehi o ngā tamaiti, "Pēwhea ō whakaaro ki tēnei āhuatanga, ko te mahi ki tētehi wāhi Māori e reo Māori anake te whakaaturanga?", Ka mea nā te kōhine, "He ngāwari kau, nōku te ahurea nei me te reo".
"Ehara kau noa iho ko te kawe o te reo kia rangona whānuitia engari ko te mahi ki tētehi ao Māori.
"E tika ana kia whakatūria ēnei tūwāhi mō ngā tamariki kia hākoakoa ai te wairua, kia whanake ake te wehi me te wairua tūmatarau".
Nō Tūhourangi, nō Ngāti Awa me Tainui waka a Te Ataraiti Waretini. Koia tētehi ika-ā-Whiro o te ao pāpaoho ki Aotearoa nei me ngā tōpito huhua o te ao, kua pau te kotai tekau noa atu o ngā tau a ia e kawe nei tēnei tūāhutanga mahi.
Wheoi anō ko ngā poumahi o Te Pāmu Kūmara ko:
TAI KAHU – Ko Owairea Tawera, 12 ( Nō Te Rarawa me Te Whānau-a-Apanui)
He tangata whakaari hoki ōna mātua wheoi anō kua wāia kē tēnei kōhine ki te ao mahi nei nōna e kōhunga ai ko tana mahi tuatahi ko Night's in the Garden of Spain. He mōhio ki te kapa haka, ā, ko te reo Māori te reo kōrero.
NAN – Ko Kararaina Rangihau ( Nō Ngai Tūhoe me Te Arawa) Kai Waikaremoana tōna kāinga noho, kātahi nā tēnei uri o Hinepūkohurangi. He niho roa ki te oranga tonutanga o Tūhoe me āna kawekawe huhua noa atu.
AMAIA – Ko Rawinia Morehu ( He Ngāti Hine, he Te Rarawa, He Ngāpuhi, he Ngāti Porou, he Tūwharetoa) Ko Tai te hoa takatāpui, hoa tata o Tai. He reo tuatahi hoki te arero, kua whitu o ngā tau ia e manu taki ana mō ngā kaupapa whakaata.
NĪKAU – Ko Kanoa MacFie (He Waikato, he Ngāti Ranginui,he Ngāi te Rangi, he Ngāti Kauwhata, he Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, he Ngāti Pāoa) Ko ia te tuakana/taina pea o Tai, ko tētehi o ēnei, wheoi anō he kōrero Māori hoki tēnei tangata, e ngākau whiwhita ki te waka ama, me tana whakahīhī hoki ki tana tūranga rangatira hai toa kua pakekengia i Aotearoa nei.
MARAMA -Ko Awhina-Rose Ashby. Koia te matua wahine o Tai me Nīkau. He mātanga, he niho roa hoki tēnei wahine mana nui i te ao pāpaoho.
MIKAERE – Aniwa Whaiapu Koloamatangi ( He Te Rarawa, he Te Aupōuri, he Waikato, he Tonga hoki) Ko Aniwa tētehi kiri tata pakeke o Amaia. Nōna e tauira ana i te kura tuarua o Western Springs ka puta mai tōna muri aroha ki te ao whakaari. GRACE – Ko Acushla-Tara Kupe( Nō Ngāti Maniapoto). He māminga, he tangata hoko tēnei tangata ko Te Pāmu Kūmara tōna hiahia. Wheoi anō kātahi nei a ia ka oti i tana mahi ako i Te Wānanga o Takiura. He wānanga kaupapa Reo Māori, kātahi nā ka puta ake tēnei tūranga mahi hai awhinatanga mōna ki te whakakōrero i a ia me te whakarauora i te reo.
PĀORA – Scotty Cotter ( Nō Tainui, nō Ngāti Kahu me Whīti). Ko Pāora te hoa heahea o Grace. Kua tata ki te rua tekau o ngā tau a Scotty e mahi nei i te ao pāpaoho. Kua puta hoki ia i te whakakitenga rongonui ko Shortland Street, ko Brown Brothaz hoki tētehi, ko Whānau anō tētehi, ko The Sounds, ā na wai rā ko te wāhanga tuarua o Kura. Ka kitea hoki tēnei amokura i te whakaaturanga o My Life is murder S2.
Kāti rā, e te iwi kāua e kumu tōtō kia wawe kē kotou ki te tautoko i tēnei kaupapa whakaharahara. Tēnā koe e te kaupapa.
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Psst ... Have you seen what's happening on Māori+, the digital platform of Whakaata Māori.
That's where all six 10-minute episodes of the first 100 per cent reo Māori action scripted children's drama Te Pāmu Kūmara, (The Kūmara Farm) has its home.
The series, funded by Te Māngai Pāho, is centred around Tai (12-year- old Owairea Tawera) and her superhuman whānau who run their local vege shop from their kūmara farm, and must protect their whenua from those who desire it for their own ends.
For Kura Productions' managing director Te Ataraiti Waretini, Te Pāmu Kūmara is a game changer.
"This programme wouldn't even have been possible five years ago," says Te Ataraiti.
"For generations, many have fought hard for tamariki to be raised with te reo Māori yet, when they come home, those tamariki have had only Pākehā dramas to watch.
"Te Pāmu Kūmara is a show specifically for our tamariki, something that reflects their Māori values and is in te reo Māori.
"Importantly, it shows a changing of the times, we now have more experienced Māori writers, directors, crew and cast in drama who want high quality content for tamariki."
On set, Te Ataraiti recalls a particularly poignant moment.
"One of the kids was asked, 'How is it working on a Māori set for a reo Māori show?' She answered, 'It's easy because it's my culture and my language.'
"It's not just normalisation of te reo Māori but the Māori working environment. Our tamariki absolutely deserve fun, magical drama all in te reo Māori, which they can relate to."
Te Ataraiti (Tuhourangi, Ngati Awa, Tainui) has an extensive background in the television industry, having worked both in New Zealand and abroad for well over a decade.
She was born and raised in Rotorua and maintains strong ties to her whanau.
The cast is:
■ TAI KAHU – Owairea Tawera, 12 (Te Rarawa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui)
The daughter of actors, Owairea had a small role in New Zealand movie Night's in the Garden of Spain when she was a baby. She is also a Kapa Haka performer and is fluent in te reo Māori.
■ NAN – Kararaina Rangihau (Tūhoe, Te Arawa) lives inWaikaremoana. She is a dedicated Tūhoe tribeswoman committed to the preservation, protection and restoration of Tūhoe epistemology, and devoted to ensuring that Tūhoetanga continues as a living practice in her community.
■ AMAIA – Rawinia Morehu (Ngāti Hine, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Tūwharetoa)
Amaia is Tai's best friend. Fluent te reo Māori speaker, Rawinia has several years of presenting experience under her belt.
■ NĪKAU – Kanoa MacFie (Waikato, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Pāoa) Kanoa MacFie plays Nīkau, Tai's brother. He is a fluent te reo Māori speaker, a passionate waka ama paddler and a proud participant in this country's largest longitudinal study, Growing Up in New Zealand. ■ MARAMA – Awhina-Rose Ashby Awhina-Rose plays Marama, māmā to Tai and Nīkau. She has an extensive acting CV.
■ MIKAERE – Aniwa Whaiapu Koloamatangi (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Waikato, Tonga)
Aniwa plays an older cousin of Amaia. He discovered a love for performing during his time at Western Springs High School.
■ GRACE – Acushla-Tara Kupe (Ngāti Maniapoto)
Acushla-Tara plays Grace, a scheming real estate agent desperate to get her hands on Te Pāmu Kūmara. She recently finished a year a Te Wānanga o Takiura – a full immersion reo course and found that her role in Te Pāmu Kūmara was a great experience to help her on her reo Māori journey.
■ PĀORA – Scotty Cotter (Tainui, Ngāti Kahu, Fiji)
Scotty plays Pāora, Grace's half-wit sidekick. He has been working in entertainment for over two decades. He has appeared as a core cast member on shows such as Shortland Street, Brown Brothaz, Whānau, The Sounds and more recently in Kura Season 2 and My Life Is Murder S2 as Vincent.
Armed police stood guard as the patched members were led out in handcuffs.