Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Ko te ara o Tānetewaiora te take e pupū ana te hauora o tētehi wahine kua roa e whakapono nei ki te rongoā me te puna mātauranga motuhake o tūāukiuki, mātua ko tana aronga nui ki te romiromi me te whitiwhiti kōrero.
Kua herea te ngākau o Wikitoria Oman ki tēnei kaupapa whakamīharo, ara ko te wānanga o te ao tawhito, ko tāna hoki he ako, he tuku i te wānanga kia kāua e rite ki te iwi o Maruiwi. Nō te e rua mano mā tahi ka tīmatangia tana akoako. Ka pau i a ia e whitu tau e noho tauira ana i ngā whare wānanga o Tamakai Makaurau. Ko ngā wānanga ēnei e whakahaerehia nā e Papa Hohepa Delamere. Nō te tau e rua mano mā ono ka mate a Papa Hohepa Delamere nā reira ka whakahope atu a Wikitoia ki a Ruatau Perez. Nō te tau e rua mano tekau ka puta a Wikitoria ki Rotorua he kawe i tana mahi te take.
Nō taua wā tonu ka whakapūarengia e ia tana wāhi mahi.’ Ka toko ake te whakaaro ki roto ki ahau, ki te hoki ahau ki taku turangawaewae, ka kaha atawhaingia ahau e taku hapū me aku whanaunga’. Tūturu he mokopuna tēnei nā Rt Rev Pererika Bennett te Pihopa Māori tuatahi o te hāhi Mihinare o Aotearoa. Otīā he Ngai Te Arawa he Te Ati Awa ia.
' Ko Pihopa Pererika Bennett tōku tūpuna. Ka moe i tana makau rangatira, ko Hana Te Unuhi Paaka nō Te Ati Awa.( Kai Muruika ia e takoto ana). Ko Rawinia tōku kuia, wheoi anō koia te mātāmua o a rāua tamariki kotahi tekau mā iwa’.
E ora tonu nei tōna kuia. E waru tekau mā whitu ngā tau. He ahakoa kua mate mate katoa ōna tuakana me ōna taina, ko tōna matua tāne me tana tamaiti hoki. He nāhi tana tamāhine kai te whenua o Ahietereiria, kai Perth e mahi ana. Kua moe tāne, whaihoki tokorua ā rāua tamariki tāne.
Kāti, i whānau ia i Tūranga nui a Kiwa engari i pakekengia i Tamaki Makaurau. ' E hoki ana ngā māharatanga kia rua tau ki muri e tū ana te kāwanatanga o Reipa ka whakaarangia e rātau tētehi kaupapa ako rongoā Māori ka tāpiringia tēnei kaupapa ki ACC nā reira i pūare ai ngā whatitoka mahi ki te tini ngerongero’. Ko Cran Cage, tētehi nāhi rēhita tana hoa mahi. Kai Te Roro-o-te-rangi ki Te Kuiarau ki te pā taunaha o Ōhinemutu rāua e mahi ana.
E pūare ana te wāhi ki ngā tauira nō ngā hau e whā. He ahakoa he Pākehā he aha noa atu. E nau mai ana māua ki te hunga hiahia ki te ako. Nō te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā tahi timata ai tana kawe wānanga. Ka pōwhiringia ia e ngā hau o te ao, nā reira kua tae ia ki Ahitereiria, ki Hawai’i, ki te whenua o Tiamana me Kotimana hoki.
Ko te pae tawhiti manako te tuku mātauranga ki ngā whakatupuranga o te ao hou. ' Ko tēnei wānanga nō te Orokohanga mai o te ao ehara i ahau tēnei waka mātauranga. Nā Papa Hohepa te whakahau kia horahia atu ngā kura o tēnei wānanga ki te waha tieke o te ao kikokiko, nā reira e pūare kau ana ngā wānanga ki te iti, ki te nui, ki te poto ki te rahi.
‘Kua tūhia kētia te huarahi o te tangata. Ko ngā mahi kua mahia e te tangata nōna e ora ana, kāpuia katoatia hai kete wānanga māu. Ka rongo ana te tangata ki te karangatanga wairua ka tutū te pūehu ka parahutihuti te haere, kātahi ia ka mana nui hai pou wānanga, hai poutokomanawa mā te iwi otīā mō tātau katoa te tangata’. Kia hokia ki te whakataukī a Papa Hohepa e mea nā e ia, ' Tihei ki te Maaurea a te Mauri ee’
Ko te huarahi ki mua o Wikitoria inaianei ko te huarahi o te reo. Nōku e taitamāhine ana nō te rau tau e whitu tekau ka whakahope atu ahau ki Nga Tamatoa. Ko taku mahi he whakahaere i te tari o Pōneke. He tino ho tata māua ko Hana Te Hemara.
Kātahi nei ka whakanuia te rima tekau o ngā tau te roa tātau e pakanga ana, me te mea hoki kua oti i a tātau te tuku i tētehi pepa mana nui he mea i mokoa e te toru tekau mano tangata e mea nei whakamanangia te reo ki ngā kura katoa o tēnei motu. ' Ko taku mātāmua ko Hemi tētehi o ngā tamariki tuatahi o te kōhanga reo’.
A journey to self-healing has blossomed into a career and life-long commitment to traditional Maori rongoa.
Wikitoria Oman is passionate about the kaupapa that comes from ancient wananga.
She trained from 2001 for seven years in Auckland clinics run by the tohunga, Papa Hohepa Delamere.
The Ngati Whakaue-Te Atiawa uri is a mokopuna of the first Anglican Maori bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt Rev Pererika Bennett.
“My great grandfather was Bishop Pererika Bennett and his first wife was my great grandmother Hana Te Unuhi Paaka from Te Atiawa. (She is buried at the front of St Faiths church at Ohinemutu). My grandmother Rawinia was the eldest of Pererika’s 19 children.”
Wikitoria’s 87-year-old mother is still alive but she has lost her siblings, father and son. Her daughter, a senior psychiatrist, lives in Perth with her husband and two sons
She was born in Gisborne and grew up mainly in Auckland.
“About two years ago, under our Labour government, trained Maori Rongoa Practitioners were added to ACC so that opened up our mahi to so many people.”
Currently Cran Cage, an ACC registered Maori practitioner, joins her as a co-facilitator for workshops they hold at her pa, Te Kuirau, at Ohinemutu.
Tauira from nga hau e wha, including pakeha, are welcome to register for upcoming workshops to learn the safe practice of traditional Maori healing . Wikitoria has been offering workshops since 2011 in Aotearoa and by invitation Wikitoria has presented workshops in Australia, Hawaii, Germany and Scotland.
Long term her goal is to pass on the knowledge to the next generation
“I didn’t initiate the kaupapa as the Romiromi kaupapa comes from an ancient waananga. Papa Joe told us to take the mahi out to the world. So the teachings are open to anyone who feels a calling.
“I think some things are simply in your destiny and all your life experiences once accepted open up your future path. Once you find your passion you enhance your own life and can be in service to greater humanity.”
For Wikitoria the future looks busy as more people turn to our traditional wellness practices.
She would like to share a quote from her late mentor Papa Joe Delamere: ‘Tihei ki te Maaurea a te Mauri ee’
‘Acknowledge the preciousness of the mauri that is our waananga (recognise the gift)’.
Part of Wikitoria’s future is learning more te reo.
“When I was a teenager in the late seventies I joined Nga Tamatoa and ran the Wellington office. Hana Te Hemara was my dear friend and mentor.
“We have just had our 50+ commemorations since submitting 30,000+ signatures on the petition to parliament to introduce Maaori into schools.
“My son Hemi was one of the first Kohanga reo tamariki.”
Club operations manager Rachel Beckett wants to attract events and functions.