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Pāpā te whatitiri hikohiko te mate urutā ki uta a Grant Marunui e pae ana – e paru ana te tōu, e noho kore mahi nei me te mea hoki tokowha āna tamariki hai whāngai ki te
kai, ki te pueru me te kura.
Ka pēwhea e ea ai tēnei taumahatanga? Ko te tau, e rua mano, e rua tekau ka rāhuingia katoangia a Aotearoa kua ū mai te mate urutā ki te Ika a Māui. Ka katia e Te Puia ōna tatau mahi.
"He ahakoa ko te wā kore mahi e rua, e rua, ae e hinapōuri ana te ngakau, engari he aha pea ngā kura huna kai te takere o toku waka totohu nei?". " Ko te Pikopiko o rangi mōku kia tu hai pou whakairo mā te iwi, nōku i Te Puia e mahi kua ana mātou kihai i whai taima mātou ki te awhina i te iwi".
Kua eke ki te kotahi tekau mā rima o ngā tau a Grant e hahau whao ana. E wha ngā whakairo nui mā Te Kaunihera o Rotorua kia whakatutukingia e ia, whoi anō kia tu hai tumuwhakarae ki te rori o Tukiterangi e anga atu ki te Wharenui o Tuteata i Scion.
E toru ngā marama mātou me te kaunihera e whakawhiti kōrero ana, na wai rā, ka māturu noa te pūtea hāpai ka rewa te ihu o te waka ki te matahauariki.
He kūwaha te whakairo nui tuatahi ka tū ki te ihu o te rori o Tarawera ko wēra atu he pou. He whakamihi ki te mana whenua ki a Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi ki a Ngāti Taeotu me Ngāti Te Kahu.
Whoi anō ko te mahi tuatahi māku he rangahau kōrero. Ka pau i a au e toru marama noa iho he rangahau, he rangahau kia tika rawa tēnei kaupapa rangatira. Ka oti i a ia tana rangahau he hui tahi me te iwi me te kaunihera. Ki te whakaae mai te iwi ka rere noa te waka.
Ko te pae otinga hai te hiku o te tau nei. I whānau mai a Grant Hamarama Smith Marunui i Te Papaioea engari i whakatangata mai i Ngapuna. E toru tekau mā wha ōna tau. Ko Te Keepa Pipi Marunui me Cecelia Te Maungarongo Tame Pohe ōna kaumātua poipoi i a ia. He Hurunga Te Rangi, he Ngāti Te Kahu, he Ngati Whakaue, he Ngati Rongomai, he Ngati Manawa me Ngati Rangiteaorere i te taha o tana Matua tāne.
Nō Rangitane ki Manawatu tōna māmā e whai herenga atu ai ki a Rangitane ki Te Waipounamu me Kati Kuia.
Nō tōna koroua te ingoa a Grant ehara ko tonu koroua ake engari tōna taina ka nui tana whakahīhī kai te kawea e ia tēnei ingoa, ka rua, he tamaiti ia nō Ngapuna .
"He kanohi kitea ōku kaumatua, ko Nan te manu karanga e whai reo ai a Hurunga Te Rangi rātou ko Apumoana ko Ngāti Rongomai, engari he manu māharo ka peka ki tēnā marae, ki tēnā marae. Ko koro te waha kōrero – katahi rā!"
Ko Cynthia Taputoro tana mākau rangatira. Nō Whanganui ia. Ko tā rāua mārenatanga kai te pae tata a taihoa ake nei. Tokowha ā raua tamariki. Ko te mātāmua he kotahi tekau ma rua ngā tau, ko te tuarua he kotahi tekau, ko te tuatoru e waru ōna tau, ko te whakapakanga e rima te rahi.
Ki te kore rāua e mahi ana ka mātao te pūrenga. Hai te whā o ngā haora hai te atapō rawa tāti ai a Grant ki te whakairo, māna hoki ngā tamariki e kohi i te kura, māna hoki e kawe ki ngā tini kaupapa tākarokaro.
Ko te kai, e i māna hoki e tahu. Nā te kore mahi i Te Puia kua tino pīataata mai te wairua māia o Grant kai te kitea hoki e ia i etehi atu o ona taonga kamehameha-a-wairua, a-tinana nei. Ko Te Taonga Maori Art Ltd. tana kamupene hou. I timatangia ai te huarahi whakairo rākau i te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā tahi, he ahakoa tēnei painga ehara i tona tino wawata.
"I timata kē ahau i Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, ka tonoa e ahau ki Te Puia, nā wai – ka waimarie taku tono". Ko tona tino wawata ki te kirituhi me te whakawhānui i tona mōhiohio ki ngā tuhinga kirituhi.
"Ka kī mai te wahine taupaepae o Te Whare wānanga kia haere atu ahau ki te tutaki ki a Shannon Wafer". E noho tauira ana, ka rangona te taumahatanga o te nama e rāua ko tona hoa rangatira a Cynthia.
"E hoa mā i heke te nama o taku utu mai i te, e iwa rau tāra ki te putea iti nei e toru rau e rima tekau tāra ia wiki, koia nei ko te ngoikoretanga o te karahipi, nā reira i haere ahau ki te mīra o Tachikawa ki te mahi pō kia ea ai ngā taumahatanga".
E pia ana ahau i Te Puia tokorua anahe a rāua tamariki na wai rā ka whānau mai tā rāua tuatoru ka tino kore rawa atu te moni. I ora ahau i ngā mahi o te wiki ki Te Puia ka piki te nui o te moni. He whakamihi nui ki ōna tohunga whakairo rākau.
Ko te tumuwhakarae a Clive tōna tohunga tuatahi, ko James Rickard te tuarua, ko Tony Thompson te whamamutunga. Ko Albert Te Pou te tohunga whakairo mā te kamupene tauhou me ngā toa hoko taonga, ka noho ahau i a ia i etehi taima. Ka nui tona hiahia ki te whakahoki aroha ki tōna hāpori.
"Tokorua aku tauira i mua o te taenga mai o te mate urutā, ka roa ahau e whakaaroaro ana, ka mea nei ahau, ehara pea i te taima tika kia tu ahau hei mahita me aro torotika ahau ki aku tamariki".
Ka oti i a Grant tēnei kaupapa nui āna ka nui te hiahia ki te whakatu kaupapa awhina rangatahi, ko tana pukenga nui ko te whao nā reira te whakaaro mā te whao rātou e manaaki.
"Ko tetehi o ngā kaupapa he tārai waka, ka oti kau ka hoea te awa o Puarenga he whakahonohono i te hunga ki ngā whenua kura. Muramura kau ana te pae tawhiti mōku whoi anō he āhua whakarehurehu tonu ana".
"Ko te ia rā tāku e arongia nei, ko te ngākau whiwhita kai roto i ahau". E mea ana te pepeha ko ngā rākau a te Pākehā hai kame māu, nā-reira anō a Grant e titiro whakatepena ana.
"Titiro ki ngā tohunga toi, ki ngā tohunga whakairo rākau e kaha rāweke nei i ngā kame o te ao hou, Three D mai, Four D mai, me te aro atu hoki ki te Non Fungible Token (NFT) hai taonga tenei mā ngā ringa toi – ka whakahuringia ai nga whakaahua whakairo hai NFT hei kirimana mātau ka tuaruangia te hoko atu ka whakawhiwhia e koe ki tetehi putea itiiiti. Anā te pae tawhiti! Muramura kau ana ngangahu e!
Covid arrived and in a flash, carver Grant Marunui had no job. But he still had four tamariki to feed, clothe and to educate.
It was 2020 and the first lockdown of the covid pandemic. His employer, Te Puia, closed its doors.
"Getting laid off was the low point but proved to be a blessing in disguise. It made me look at what I wanted to do.
"The highlight of my career is being able to carve for my people because I rarely had the opportunity at Te Puia as we were too busy carving for whole country."
He has "been on the chisels" for the past 15 months working on four major pieces for the Rotorua Lakes Council to march along Titokorangi Drive to the Wharenui of Tuteata at Scion. The commission came about after months of dialogue.
The first piece, which will stand at the junction with Tarawera Road is a kuwaha or entry, and the others are pou representing mana whenua, Ngati Hurunga Te Rangi, Ngati Taeotu and Ngati Te Kahu.
There was some lead-in time before work started and that followed about three months of research to lay foundation for the project. Grant had to do a couple of presentations to the hapu and another to the council because of numbers at hui were subject to covid restrictions.
The work is scheduled for completion mid year.
Grant Hamarama Smith Marunui was born in Palmerston North 34 years ago and raised at Ngapuna, Rotorua, by his koro and nan, Te Keepa Pipi Marunui and Cecelia Te Maungarongo Tame Pohe.
Through his father he has ties to Hurunga Te Rangi, Te Kahu, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Rongomai, Ngati Manawa, and Ngati Rangiteaorere.
On his mother's side his whakapapa is to Rangitane ki Manawatu, Rangitane ki Te Waipounamu, and Kati Kuia.
Grant is proud to be named for his koro's brother and to have been raised by his grandparents.
"My koro and nan would go to every hui and tangi in our rohe. Nan was the kuia karanga for Hurunga, Apumoana and Rongomai, although she used to call at a number of marae.
He would speak and she would karanga. It was beautiful."
Grant and his fiancee Cynthia Taputoro, who hails from Whanganui, plan to marry and have four children aged 12, 10, 8, and 5.
They both need to work to provide for their children so Grant starts his day at 4am in order to be available to pick them up after school and take them to their various activities and start getting tea ready.
Cynthia works in retail and has a more structured workday.
Grant's enforced layoff has turned into a special journey where he has learned more about himself and his people.
He also set up his own company, Te Taonga Maori Art Ltd.
Grant began his carving journey in 2011 but that was not what he intended doing.
"I started at Te Wananga o Aotearoa and got a reference to study at Te Puia. I was successful in winning a place."
Grant always wanted to be a tattooist but wanted to know what the designs meant.
"The lady at the reception desk at the wananga pointed me to the carving tutor Shannon Wafer."
Taking up a carving apprenticeship at Te Puia came at a price for Grant and Cynthia but he was determined to follow his dream and she supported him.
"I went from a pay of $900 a week down to $350 on the scholarship so I worked nightshift at Tachikawa sawmill to make ends meet."
When he started at Te Puia they had two children and then the third came along so money was tight. Luckily, he said, Te Puia had weekend shifts so he was able to make a bit more money.
Grant says his tutors at Te Puia helped him along the way — Clive Fugil in his first year, James Rickard year 2 and Tony Thompson the third. "Albert Te Pou was a production carver while I was there and I helped him out on a project."
Grant would like to give back to his community.
"I had students for two years before pandemic but I thought it wasn't the right time to be a tutor as raising children was taking all my energy.
After his Scion work is finished Grant would like to try to get project going at marae and involve rangatahi to have a go on the chisel.
"We could carve a waka. Have a ride on the Puarenga. Connecting with our awa and lake. "Things are looking bright for me as a carver, but future still uncertain.
"I just try and live everyday. And the passion inside me is still strong."
Grant is taking a closer look at technology because advances are making their work known all over the globe.
"Already see it now, artists out there now using technology to produce their art. Three D, Four D. New thing they are getting into is Non Fungible Token, (NFT) artistic people could use it.
"Photo of carvings can be turned into NFT smart contract if sold again get a percentage. Seems pretty bright."
A motorcyclist overtook a car and struck Paige Johnson on a pedestrian crossing.