Inspired from within, Iri is ready to give a big welcome

While many voices will be heard at Waitangi, none will be more haunting than that of the kaikaranga, the voice that calls visitors onto Te Tii Marae.
Edrys, who also goes by the name Iri, Matanga is one of two whaia - women elders - who will perform the welcoming karanga at Te Tii in the lead-up to Waitangi Day.
The karanga is the exchange of calls as a visiting group moves onto the formal meeting area. The cry, at the start of the powhiri, is nearly always initiated by the hosts and carried out by women.
Mrs Matanga has carried out that duty at the marae's big occasions for many years.
"You just grow into that role, you don't choose it," she said.
She is not particularly nervous about the prospect of calling Maori king Te Kingi Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki or Prime Minister John Key onto her people's home ground - but "nervous" would be the wrong word anyway, Mrs Matanga said.
Although her karanga will start with "haere mai" she doesn't always know beforehand what else it will include, she said. The words flow through and out of her; a composition of the moment, yet rooted in the past.
"The karangatia," she said, "holds the tradition, mana, the ihi (life) ... everything of your marae, you project. It is the other reo, the language behind the voice. It's more than just a sound."
She has never worried her voice might let her down at the crucial time.
"When you take that role it is something that is inspired from within you. If you lost your voice, if it were only a physical thing, then it is not your role, it is not meant to be you."