Tairāwhiti kai mirimiri Tui Milner returned from a successful overseas event with Ngā Whare Oranga O Te Kura Atuatiratanga and now wants to bring the benefits to her home region. Photo / James Pocock
Tairāwhiti kai mirimiri Tui Milner returned from a successful overseas event with Ngā Whare Oranga O Te Kura Atuatiratanga and now wants to bring the benefits to her home region. Photo / James Pocock
A group of rongoā Māori practitioners already have their eyes on the next steps to elevate their vocation and Aotearoa’s place on the world stage after returning from a successful international competition debut.
Rita Tupe, from the Aotearoa contingent, came second in the category, while a Te Kura Atuatiratanga team, which included Tairāwhiti woman Tui Milner, were eighth out of about 40 teams.
Milner has been a kai mirimiri (mirimiri practitioner) since 2016 and operates a small clinic in the suburb of Elgin in Gisborne.
Te Kura Atuatiratanga [The School of the Gods] is a Whakatāne-based kaupapa Māori organisation made up of independent tohunga.
Māreikura, tohunga ahurewa and director Marie Stewart said representatives from 58 different countries attended the event, and it was exciting to have a Māori framework recognised.
“We were the first group of Māori who took a very traditional framework from our Māori matauranga, Māori wairua and Māori atuatiratanga,” Stewart said.
“We weren’t expecting to come in the top 10 of the world. We went mainly for the experience, firstly, and secondly to introduce our up-and-coming young kaimirimiri, who have the desire and the gift.”
Kristina Tuwairua, left, filling in for Rita Tupe of Ngā Whare Oranga O Te Kura Atuatiratanga, who came second in the wellness category at the the World Championship in Massage event. Photo / Ryan Hoyme
Stewart said Tupe was from Waiohau (southwest of Whakatāne) and had been practising traditional methods for more than 40 years.
The next step for the organisation was to bring New Zealand on board with participants from 160 other countries for the 2025 World Wellness Weekend event, which will run from September 19 to 21.
Participants hold events promoting wellness over the weekend. Te Kura Atuatiratanga will start in Gisborne and work its way around the coast to Ōpōtiki and further.
Milner said “small miracles” and karakia helped get the team to the event after their flight, which had a stopover in Doha, Qatar, nearly cancelled due to conflict in the Middle East.
“Our māreikura - Aunty Marie - and Rangi McLean gathered everyone around and started karakia. As soon as they started karakia, we were back on our plane again,” Milner said.
“Hours into the air [after the stopover], on our way to Copenhagen, Qatar was bombed.
“That is the power of karakia. That is what this team has that makes us different from others out there.”
Members of Nga Whare Oranga O Te Kura Atuatiratanga, a group of rongoa Maori practitioners largely based around the East Coast and Bay of Plenty. Photo / Nga Whare Oranga O Te Kura Atuatiratanga
Milner said there was a demand for the kaimirimiri to return overseas to work in Europe and elsewhere.
“We had many people come up to us asking if we wanted to go on their tables and the reverse, because they wanted to experience it after seeing it and hearing different countries talking about it,” she said.
“We haven’t had that before, where our Te Ao Māori mirimiri, romiromi and all of those beautiful crafts of wellness, our rongoā, have been recognised to that degree.
“We had little rongoā packs we brought with us, beautifully done up. On the first day, they were gone in 10 minutes. People who want our rongoā in their high-end day spas, in their beauty centres, in their hotels, because they could see the products working for them.”
Milner encouraged other wellness services in NZ to get involved in the World Wellness Weekend alongside Te Kura Atuatiratanga.
She said the aim was to elevate the country, its people and its wellness spaces.
“My kōrero is this: Come. The world wants to know what NZ can do. This is not a time to be whakama. We are strong in this, and this is our kaupapa.”
Milner said they were making a bid over the next two years to bring the World Championship in Massage to NZ for 2027.
