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Tu tu poiahaha maranga ra e te iwi nanaohia nga poi ririki, nanaohia nga poi waeroa hai aha?
Hai hapai i te mana o nga wahine toa purei whutuporo te haere ake nei. Ko te whakataetae nui ka tu inakuanei kua tae, kua tau!
He karanga tenei na Pere Wihongi te manukura no roto mai i te pokaitara Wa Poi e whakakotahi ai nga tini rau tangata katoa o te motu kia kotahi ai, hai aha?
Hai amo i nga wahine toa o Aotearoa kia tu mataaho ai ratou ki te mura o te ahi.
E ai ki te paetukutuku Wa Poi ko te tino tikanga o tenei kaupapa ko te kawe i te wairua hakoakoa, wairua maoriori o te poi me ona ahuatanga katoa.
Ko te papatu o te poi, ko te pako o te poi, ano nei ko te tukinga ngakau o Aotearoa e tapatahi ana, e kitea whanuitia te mana me te ataahuatanga o tatou te Maori otia te wana o Aotearoa.
I ata takahia tenei ara tataramoa e nga rangatira kawe i tenei kaupapa. Ka hui ratou me te mana whenua a Ngati Whatua Orakei me nga mangai Maori ma te tima whutuporo a Luke Crawford me Pere he whakatakoto rautaki e pai ai te kaupapa hirahira nei.
Me te hiahia o nga rangatira katoa kia tino tika ai te whainara ka tu a te kotahi tekau ma rua o Noema.
Ka nui te pirangi o nga rangatira nei kia kitea iho nga poi e rere kau ana i te paka nui o Eden i te atea nui o Waitakere ranei te atea nui o Whangarei.
Kaore he paku aha ki ahau ki te hunga kawe i tenei taonga ko te mea nui me rangatira te tu.
E hoki ana aku maharatanga kaore tetehi e whakaaro nui ana ki te mauri o te poi i puta iho i nga huihui nui penei me te kapu matua o te whutuporo.
Wheoi ano kai te korero au i te kaupapa netiporo i tu ki te pota o te whenua o Peina.
Ko te kotahi mano e iwa rau, e whitu tekau ma iwa te tau. Ko te wahine kawe i te poi i taua wa ko Watu, taku taina.
Ka whakahope atu matou ki a Edie Vercoe ko ia tetehi o nga tangata tiaki i te hunga matakitaki netiporo mai i Aotearoa ki Mehiko, a, tae ki te Caribbean.
Ka puta mai ki te pota i te whenua o Peina me te tokoiti hoki o matou ka horomia o matou hamamatanga o matou kupu whakaakiaki i nga waiata me nga taonga puoro o taua iwi na.
Ka tae ki a matou te mohiohio me kaha ke matou engari me pewhea ra? Kua wharowharo katoa nga kaki na reira i mohio ai matou kaore e take ana te haka ko te waiata ranei.
Ana e noho tahi nei maua ko Watu i nga rangi tonu nei, kai te miharo tonu maua ki te take i pehwea ra i whakaarongia e ia ki te kawe poi waeroa ki rawahi i te mohiotanga ka kore pea e whai take ana te karawhiu i ana taonga whakangahau, wheoi ano, e waiata ana te whakaminenga haruru kau ana nga patu o te atea nui rara, ka tu a Watu, ka karawhiua ana poi waeroa, kaore i rata mai te hoa ngangare ki a ia, me te aha! Ka whiua rawatia ana poi, takitahi, takirau, takitoru, na wai ra kua takiwhangia te rere o ana poi, na e rere kau ana ana poi, ka tu mai tetehi Maori ki tua o te koti na wai ra ka mohio ai matau he nati te toa nei, ana kua pakaru ki te haka kowiri e ngaueue ana te tinana te pakari hoki na tana haka ka tu katoa te iwi kainga he ahakoa kai Peina tatou, e noho wehewehe ana, kua rangona te wairua o te hau kainga, kai tetehi kokonga o te koti e waiata ana nga Maori, kai te haka etehi na ki tenei taha mai ko Watu me ana poi waeroa, rere ana te wharawhara.
He ahakoa te whakaputanga o te ihi kaore tetehi o nga tima i puta. Tu rangatira katoa ai a Ahitereiria, Aotearoa, Trinidad me Tobago taurite katoa ana.
Kare kau ana he whainara wheoi ano ka tahuri ke nga tima ngahuru nei ki te whakataetae. He whakataetae nui, katahi te whakataetae whakamiharo hoki.
Ehara i te mea ko matau anake nga 'Whaka blondes' i tenei haerenga ko Rangiatuhi ' Honey' Mikaere hoki tetehi. I whanau mauiui ai ia, a, e whakamiharo hoki ana nga takuta ki tana kaha i tana ekenga ki tana taitamarikitanga.
Ko Kahoki, ara, ko Pipo tona matua wahine nana i tono mai kia haria i a ia, tana tamahine kia kite kau ia i nga ataahuatanga katoa o te ao. Ko Bernadette Hiini no Murihiku ano tetehi ko Dada tona hoa rangatira wheoi ano he whanaunga tata noku. He tino wahine hoki a Bernadette na reira i tae ai matau ki tana rua tekau ma tahi, Ko Bev Roberts ano tetehi no te nota ia ka haria mai e ia ana tamariki tokorua ko tetehi o raua ko Mikey Havoc. Na te mea he ahua mauiui a Honey ka haere hoki nga tohunga whakatika ngakau kai hinga pea a Honey.
Kati e tu tonu ana tenei wahine kaha, tokorua ana tamariki me te tini hoki o nga mokopuna, a, e kapakapa ana te wairua o te whakangahau ki to ratou na whare.
No te wa i eke ai a Rotorua ki tona rautanga kai te kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e waru tekau te tau ka puta nga wahine o te pa taunaha ki nga koko katoa o nga moana he ako poi te mahi ki a matau ai te marea ki te poi, ara, ki te poi waka e takoto ai nga wahine i nga ngohi na e rerere kau ana nga poi, kai te titaha e oioi kau ana nga pou hapai poi, wheoi ano he tino wa nui taua taima ra.
He mohio noku ki te pui poi engari ano ki te whakataetae ehara! Ko taku mahi he whakatangi ukulele na te mea e mohio na ahau ki te rarangi o nga waiata.
Kai tetehi taumata ano te poi inaianei. Engari ko te whainga o te poi kai te mau tonu. He whakaatu i te ao taketake me te wairua toa o tatou te Maori, e tika ana ma te wahine tonu e kawe e mana ai tenei whakaaro.
No reira e te ti e te ta, kaua e whakama hohoro ra, kia tere na ki te whakaki i nga tahataha e tu te winiwini ai, e tu te wananwana ai nga wahine toa o te whutuporo e ihiiihi ai ano tatou mo Te Matatini ka tu a te kaupeka hou nei ki te paka nui o Eden a te Pepuere te rua tekau ma rua tae ki te rua tekau ma rima. Hoake tatou.
Swing those poi. A screenshot of the Rugby World Cup poi team in action.
The Rugby World Cup 2021 kicks off at Eden Park tomorrow.
File picture.
Come on Aotearoa, grab your poi to show your support for our wahine toa in Rugby World Cup 2021 which kicks off in Auckland tomorrow.
That's the urging from musical artist Pere Wihongi who leads the team in Wa Poi (It's Poi Time) aimed at uniting rugby fans globally.
According to the website the Wa Poi movement is designed to create an unforgettable atmosphere in stadiums, filling the stands with the unique sights and sounds of poi, reflecting the beating heart of Aotearoa and sharing the beauty of Te Ao Maori with the world.
The organisers were careful to seek cultural guidance from a number of advisers including Ngati Whatua Orakei, NZ Rugby Maori Cultural Advisor Luke Crawford, and Pere. They wanted to ensure the Cup, whose final will be played on November 12, is tika (culturally correct).
I will love to see rugby fans swinging poi at Eden Park, Waitakere Stadium or the Whangarei Events Centre. I won't really mind who is on the field.
Tikanga and cultural sensitivity were not considerations the first time I saw poi being twirled at an international sports event.
The event was the World Netball Championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The year was 1979.
The poi dancer was my teina, Watu, and we had joined Edie Vercoe who led a group of netball fans from New Zealand to Mexico and on to the Caribbean for the event.
In the Port of Spain stadium we were woefully outnumbered and our screams of encouragement were lost in a mix of calypso and steel drums. We knew we needed to make an impact but how?
We were hoarse from barracking. A song or haka were out of the question.
Today Watu and I have no idea how she came to have four long poi in her luggage.
All we remember is that when the partisan fans were in full voice she stood up and started swinging the poi. The opposition didn't like it but she was undeterred.
She continued with a number of moves, going from double, triple to four poi.
As if the poi were a signal we saw a man from the other side of the court stand up and start performing a haka. (We later learned he was from Ngati Porou.)
Soon various New Zealand contingents were joining in and Maori songs soared round the court.
The only thing about that tournament was that there was no outright winner.
Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago shared the title as there were no finals, instead the top 10 teams played off in a round robin. Each of the top three teams won eight out of nine matches, losing once, to one of the other two.
That was a magical trip to a truly exotic location.
We weren't the only Whaka Blondes in our group. Our cousin and next-door neighbour Rangiatuhi "Honey" Mikaere came with us.
She was born with serious health issues and the doctors were amazed that she had made her teenage years.
Her mother, our aunty Kahoki (better known as Pipo) asked if we could take her with us so she could see some of the world.
Also in our group was Bernadette Hiini from Bluff, whose husband was our whanaunga Hato, better known as Dada.
Honey was popular with our group and she invited people to her 21st birthday the following January. Bev Roberts from the North Shore brought her two young sons one of whom became known as Mikey Havoc to the party.
Heart specialists who had treated Honey came from all over the country to the party because they believed she could not survive her health issues.
Well, she's shown everyone how wrong they are. She has two children and a handful of mokopuna.
Our families have a heritage rich in kapa haka and poi.
When Rotorua marked its centennial in 1980 women from our village concert parties were sent around the lakes to teach the canoe poi to the other hapu and we put together a combined concert.
I'm a competent twirler of the poi, but not a real poi dancer. My job for that campaign was playing the ukelele because I knew in what order the songs came.
The poi has evolved over the years but its aim to illustrate the grace and skill of our performers is ongoing.
So fill our stadiums with poi during the Rugby World Cup to practise for Te Matatini2023 at Eden Park from February 22 to February 25.
He'll perform in 13 centres, including Rotorua on November 21.
