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See below for English translation
Mō Josena Broughton, he nui ngā ara ako mō ngā hiringa o Te Ao Māori.
I whakawhanake ake ia i ōna mōhiotanga i tāna uru atu ki te kapa haka hei tū ki te ahurei o Ngāti Pikiao i te Hepetema o tēnei tau ki tōna marae, a Te Waiiti.
“I te timatanga i uru atu au me te whakaaro, he kaupapa tēnei e hāpai ake ana i te whakahono i ō mātou whānau me te ako i ngā waiata e hono ana ki tō mātou marae. Me taku hē hoki. I pōhēhē au he ahurei noa, ērangi he hiranga nui ake mō te whenua, me te mea hoki e waimarie, e pōuri ana nā tēnei i moemoeātia e ngā whakakitenga ō Papa Muriwai. He honore ki te whai wāhi i tōna moemoeā e puāwaitia nei.”
I tū te ahurei tuatahi o Ngāti Pikiao i tērā ngahurutanga ki te marae o Punawhakareia. He kaupapa tēnei e whakanui ana i ngā whānau, ngā marae, me ngā hapū ō roto i ngā pae whenua o Ngāti Pikiao.
He ahurei e whakaāhei ana i ngā whānau ki te whakahono mai anō, me to whakapakari i ngā tātai whakapapa. Ko ēnei ngā huatau i hau mai ai i a Josena ki te kapa.
“I puta rawa au i taku āhurutanga, ā, i te timatanga i uru au ki te whai wā hei mahi tahi me taku tuahine, nā te nui ā wā māua mahi i whakaaro au he kaupapa rawe tēnei mā māua. Mahue ake te wā, i maunu ia e ōna ake take.
I mānenei au ki te noho ērangi i whai whānau mīharo ahau, rātou i tauawhi mai, me te maumahara ahakoa i pirangi au ki te whai wā ki tōna taha, he ara anō tāku hei whāia. He kaupapa pai tēnei ki ako ko wai au, nō hea au, ā, ko wai tōku whanau. Nōku te māringanui ki te tū me tōku whānau.”
Ahakoa i pārekareka tāna noho tahi me ngā mahi o te kapa haka, ēhara ēnei mahi i te tihi o ngā tino runaruna me ng ā aronga o Josena.
“E kaingākau ana au ki te tākaro hākinakina, inā noa atu te whutupōro. E rata ana au ki ngā mahi tū-ā-nuku, te hīkoi me te hākoke. Kua tipu e au i taku aroha mō ngā mahi kapa haka. E kohara ana au mō taku aku ara tipuranga i roto i Te Ao Māori, me te mea hoki e whakaarotau ana au ki te ako tonu i te reo nō Te Pae o Kahukura.”
Ahakoa ēhara te ahurei i te whakataetae ā-rohe, ā-motu rānei, he wawana tonu tā te whakariterite mō te tū me te pakanga ki te atamira. “Me tae ki ngā wānanga i ngā mutunga wiki me ētahi whakaharatau i waenga i ngā wiki.
Mōku anō, me whakaharatau, me ako ia rā inā noa atu i te poi, nā te aha, ko tēnei taku tū tuatahi. He rite nei ki te Matatini. He nui rawa aku whakamiha mō ngā tāngata e whakataetae ana ā-rohe, ā-motu hoki.”
I waho o te kapa haka, he māmā a Josena ki āna tama tokowhā me he kaiako hoki. He ngākau whitawhita tāna mō te hākinakina me te whakapakari tinana, ngā mahi toi me āna mahi akoako. Erangi mo tēnā e matenui tonu ana te kaihāpai manuhiri rererangi tawhito nei ki te hāereere whenua.
Ko te aroha a Josena rāua ko tōna tāne he mea e kitea noa ki ngā kiriata. “I tūtaki au i tōku tāne ki te kāreti. I hono ai tāua, ā i whakaaro au he moemoeā noa, he hononga noa mō taua wā rānei, nā reira i karo au i a ia.
Erangi mo tēnā, i wewehe ai i ahau. I tīrara a māua ara mō ngā tau e 20, kātahi māua i piri ai anō.” Ā tōna wā, i whakahono anō a Josena rāua ko tōna tāne. Ko te toenga, he hītori.
I a ia i pātaitia e pā ana ki te toha māhirahira mō te anamata, mō ngā wā e whai wero ana rānei, koinei ngā kōrero akiaki a Josena. “Ko tētahi o ngā tino wero o te ora kua akona e au, he take tā ia mea me ngā mahi o roto.
Mehemean ēhara i te wheako pai, he akoranga mā tātou kia whakapakari ake noa i a tātou.”
Learning all that Te Ao Māori has to offer can come in a variety of ways for Josena Broughton.
Her journey of further developing her knowledge came in the form of joining a local kapa haka group to perform at the Ngāti Pikiao Ahurei held in September of this year at her Marae, Te Waiiti.
“I initially joined thinking it was a kaupapa where our whānau get to meet each other and learn the waiata that linked to our Marae.
“How wrong I was. I thought it was just an Ahurei but then there was a bigger significance to it being on our whenua and with the privilege and sadness of it being a dream of Papa Muriwai’s visions. It was an honour to be a part of his flourishing dream.”
The Ngāti Pikiao Ahurei was first held a decade ago at Punawhakareia Marae and is about celebrating whānau, marae and hapū within the Ngāti Pikiao boundaries.
It’s an event that enables whānau to reconnect and strengthen their whakapapa.
These concepts are what drew Josena to the group.
“I took a leap out of my comfort zone, and I originally joined to do something with my sister as we have both been very busy and I thought it was a great kaupapa for us both to be a part of.
“Over time she needed to withdraw, I was hesitant about staying but I found I had some amazing whanau who were so supportive and remembered that although I wanted to spend time with her, I also had a journey that I wanted to continue and this was a great way to learn about who I am, where I am from and who my whanau were and are. It was a privilege performing alongside my whānau”.
While she thoroughly enjoyed her kapa haka campaign, it has not always been at the top of Josena’s list of favourite hobbies and interests.
“I love playing sports, especially rugby. I enjoy the outdoors, walking and tramping.
“I have grown a love for kapa haka. I am passionate about my own personal growth in Te Ao Māori and this year made it a priority to continue learning Te Reo through Te Pae o Kahukura.”
Although the ahurei is neither a regional nor national competition, the lead up to the performance and the battle on the stage was just as fierce. “It required weekends of wānanga and some trainings through the week. For myself, it required daily training, learning the kupu and especially the poi as this was my first time performing.
“It felt like Matatini. I have a huge appreciation for people who compete regionally and nationally.”
Outside of kapa haka Josena is a māmā to four boys and a teacher. She has a passion for sports and keeping fit, arts and her mahi.
As an ex-flight-attendant, she hasn’t lost the desire to travel. The love story between Josena and her husband is something we only see in movies.
“I met my husband in college. One day we connected, and I thought I was dreaming or that it was just a one off, so I tried to avoid him.
“Little did I know, he fell in love me. We ended up going our separate ways for 20 years before we found each other again.”
Eventually, Josena and her husband reconnected, and the rest is history.
When asked about giving advice for the future or challenging times, Josena shared the following.
“One of the most challenging things in life I have learnt is that everything happens for a reason and if it’s not a good experience, then there is always a lesson we learn from it which will therefore only make us stronger.”