Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Hei aha i a rātau ngā tōhunga whakatere waka, hai aha hoki i a rātau ngā tūpuna onamata te hunga haere moana, nā reira i puta ai tātau ki runga ki te mata o Hāwaiki Tahutahu e takoto nei.
Anei nā tātau ngā whakatupuranga e wehi tonu nei ki ngā pūkenga ki ngā wānanga a rātau mā.
He ahakoa kai te ao kikokiko nei tātau e takatū haere ana, tērā anō ētehi o tātau e whakapau kaha ana ki te whakarauora i te puna mātauranga whakatere waka kia kāua ia e rite ki te iwi o Maruiwi. Nō te wiki kua pāhemo i whakaaraara ake ai te wānanga Te Hahau Waka o Te Arawa me te kōingo o te ngākau ki a whai waewae tonu ai tēnei momo wānanga.
Ko Haimona Brown te parata o te waka koia tētehi o ngā pia whakamutunga a Sir Hekenukumai Busby, te tōhunga whakaotinga pea o ngā tōhunga hahau waka, tōhunga tātai arorangi, otīā tōhunga whakatere waka.
“Ko ahau tētehi i whai wāhi ai ki ngā rekereke o tēnei mātanga nui o te ao tawhito, ā, i whai wāhi atu ai ahau ki Te Aurere.
“Ko ahau hoki tētehi i puta i te kura kaupapa Māori, tāpirihia ki tēnei ko ngā pūkenga a tōku matua tāne ake, ara ko te matira ika me te mahi kai, nā reira ko te wānanga whakatere waka te ana whakatemua o tōku ao”. E ai ki a Haimona, ( he uri nō Ngāti Whakaue, Ngai Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Te Aupōuri) ko tā tātau wānanga nei, he timatatanga noa iho.
Ka aro ngā taura ki te tārai waka, te tua rākau, te ako ki te momo o te rākau, mātua ka mātai anō te wānanga ki ngā momo waka haere moana, pēnei i te tētē, te waka tauā me te waka hourua.
‘Kai te takiwā o te toru tekau taku pakeke ināianei, ko te aro o taku mahi he ako waka ki te hunga e hiakai nei ki tēnei wānanga, āpitihia ki tēnei ko te whakapakari i te whare kōrero ki a kāua e monenehu tēnei mātauranga – e tika ana kia whakaaraarangia tētehi wānanga pēnei ki te tākere waka o Te Arawa, he karanga wairua hoki tēnei ki ngā momo tangata e whakaaro pēnei ana hoki ki a kōtahi mai, kia kāpuia katoatia ngā tini māngai kia kōtahi e mana anō ai ngā rotomoana o te takiwā nei’.
Ko ētehi o ngā kaupapa kai te puku o tēnei wānanga, ko te hahau waka, te orokohanga mai o te waka, te whakairo waka, te tātai arorangi, ko te tuitui waka me te Maramataka hoki. Nā tēnei wānanga i whakapūare ai ngā kanohi o Haimona ki te tauriparipa o te ao kikokiko nei. ' He kaupapa e rangatira ai te hunga tangata he ahakoa ko wai, he ahakoa nō whea.
Kai kōnei hoki ngā tini āheinga e tomotomo atu ai te tangata ki ngā whatitoka tūwhera huhua o te ao. " Ka rua rangi te roa o tēnei wānanga he kaupapa nā Te Pou Herenga Taonga i nama, whaihoki e pūare nei ki ngā pūmanawa huhua o Te Arawa’. Kāore e kore ka oti ana te wānanga ka tūwhera anō tētehi huarahi hai oranga mō te ake tonutanga o tēnei wānanga.
Engari rā mō te pae iti nei, ko te whakakotahi i ngā kanohi o te hāpori ki a kotahi mai, e mārō ai, e pakari ai ngā rangatira kawe i tēnei momo mātauranga ki te pae tawhiti. Ko te pae tawhititanga e kōrero nei e ahau, hēnā kia noho noa a Ngai Te Arawa ki te taumata o te rangi o te ao whakatere waka, hahau waka puta noa te motu puta noa te ao’.
Ka oti ana, he ahakoa kai te noho takiwā nei tēnei wānanga ko ana herenga whakapapa ka pā atu ki ngā mana nunui o te motu me Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.
—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori tenei purongo
We venerate our ancestors who came to Aotearoa in their canoes all those generations ago. We marvel at their skill and knowledge.
Now there is a concerted effort to keep alive the skills and knowledge of those tohunga who created the waka.
Te Hahau Waka o Te Arawa wānanga at Ohinemutu last week was the first of, hopefully, many so that the knowledge of waka building and its associated mahi flourishes within our iwi.
Spearheading the movement is Haimona Brown, who counts himself privileged to have learned from the inspirational Tohunga Tārai Waka the late Sir Hekenukumai Busby.
“I am one of so many who have been privileged to learn from him and the legacy of Te Aurere.
“I come from a whānau who are Kura Kaupapa Māori graduates coupled with that is the fishing and food gathering knowledge our father has taught us. Therefore, waka is a natural progression.
Haimona (Ngāti Whakaue, Tuhourangi/Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Te Aupouri) said it was an introductory wānanga about Tārai Waka for Te Arawa and the knowledge base that comes with building waka; the traditional philosophy and engineering of waka Māori, from the felling of rākau, to the building of all classes of waka, from waka tētē, waka taua to waka hourua or voyaging canoe.
“I’m in my mid 30s now and it’s about teaching waka, but more so about growing practitioners so that our waka and tūpuna knowledge lives on in the coming generations. “Being Te Arawa, it made sense to introduce it and from there perhaps bring like-minded people together, who share a common aspiration to have waka māori visible and thriving on all our Rotomoana.`
Subjects covered in Te Hahau Waka o Te Arawa included: Waka building, waka origins, whakairo, celestial navigation, waka lashing, and māramataka.
Haimona said the wananga opened a whole lot of new horizons for participants.
“Everyone can benefit from this kaupapa, there are so many opportunities; from solutions to climate change issues to activating Māori spaces and places.”The two-day wānanga was resourced by Te Pou Herenga Taonga, and open to all Te Arawa Whānau.
Haimona feels that following the success of the wananga a compelling package can be put together to attract funding for further forums.
In the short term, the kaupapa is about growing a community of waka experts and enthusiasts in Te Arawa “Long term ... it is more of an aspiration — to have Te Arawa waka be the Waka capital of the world (dream big).”
“Ko te pae tawhiti, the long-term goal is to normalise the building of Waka from forest to waterways.
“Te Arawa are eclectic and our home here is the Māori cultural capital of the world, why not extend that to include Te Hahau Waka as well.”
There are 93 horses still facing an uncertain fate.