It's okay not to hongi: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

Ngahiwi Tomoana is chairmain of Ngatii Kahungunu Iwi Inc. Photo / File

Earlier this month we received the alert from the Prime Minister that four Covid cases were reported within one whānau in Auckland.

Since then Auckland has gone into level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country into level 2, confirming our fears that a second wave of Covid-19 would descend upon us.

Ngāti Kahungunu were rapid responders of the first wave and we have been at the forefront of discussions with ministers and more importantly, with our Taiwhenua, hapū, settlement trusts, whānau, and other networks.

From the iwi we respectfully urge all our people to be prepared once again to prevent a second wave hitting our whānau and communities.

We learned valuable lessons last time and we are prepared to work with all government agencies and all regional, and local agencies in bringing together cohesion and coordination for our people without causing clutter or static to avoid tripping over each other in our endeavours to do our best.

We sympathise with our whānau in Auckland. We re-emphasise the need to use the 'Kahungunu Wave', the eyebrow – 'Te mihi ā-Tukemata a Kahungunu'.

It's okay not to hongi. It's okay not to kiss. It's okay not to harirū, It's okay not to hug. Once again. It's okay not to go to tangi and not to go to hui. It's also okay to keep in contact with each other, and with those who are sick by communicating through text, Instagram, Skype, Zoom, and any other non-contact means.

We hope and pray for the best! But we must prepare for the worst.

Kia ngāwari, Kia ū, Kia ita. Be gentle, keep close, and keep tight.

Tihei mauri ora! Tihei Kahungunu!

* Ngahiwi Tomoana is chairmain of Ngatii Kahungunu Iwi Inc.