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See below for English translation
Huihuia nuitia te kotahi tekau mā rima mano tangata ki Waimana a Te Aranga, ko Te Hui Ahurei o Tūhoe te take.
Ko matemateāone te kaupapa. Tētehi o ngā kupu mana nui ki ngā uri o Tūhoe. Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e whitu tekau mā tahi i tu ai te Ahurei tuatahi ki te marae o Mataatua ki Rotorua.
He tino kaupapa tēnei e taea ai e ngā rangatira o Tuhoe ki te whakakao i ngā tini whānaunga ki te whakahonohono hoki i ngā hapū ki tā rātau reo me ngā tikanga katoa o Tūhoe kia kāua ia e rite ki te iwi o Maruiwi. Wheoi anō nō mua rānō i te Ahurei tuatahi e huihuia kētia ana ngā uri o Tuhoe e noho tāone ana.
Ko Te Tira hou tērā e noho nā i Tamaki Makaurau, ko Te Ika tērā e noho nā i Te Whanganui-a-Tara. He whakawhānaungatanga te take. Nā ēnei huinga ka kitea e ngā kaumatua he huarahi kaha tēnei e taea ai e rātau ki te whakamātātarahia ngā taura tāmī o te Kawanatanga e pēhī kaha nei i ō rātau na uri. Nā te rangatahi ka hua ake ko Te Hui Ahurei o Tūhoe.
Nō reira tēnei kaupapa whakaharahara e kawea tonuhia ana e ngā tamariki me ngā mokopuna huhua o te kohu.
Ka pau te rima tekau mā tahi o ngā tau, e whiwhita māia tonu nei te hui ahurei o Tūhoe.
Engari anō ia he waka kawe i te mana o te kāinga, he waka kawe hoki i te ahurea o ngā tupuna, he waka whakakotahi i ngā uri o te tāone ki ngā maunga kōrero o te kāinga, whaihoki he waka whakapakari i te pae tawhiti e ora ai te tangata engari he kaupapa kai te kawea iho e te tangata.
He kotahi tekau ma waru katoa ngā tima whakataetae. Nō ngā tai huhua hoki o te motu. Ko Mahora ki Waimana, Ngā Potiki O Uta, Oruakorau, Te Hono A Te Kiore, Tūhoe ki Poneke, Tūhoe Ki Waitaha, Mataatua Ki Rotorua, Ngā Uri a Te Taniwha, Ruatahuna, Te Karu, Tuhoe Ki Kawerau, Waikaremoana, Ngati Haka Patuheuheu, Ohinemataroa, Tawera, Te Tirahou, Tūhoe Ki Te Tai Rawhiti, me Waimana Kaaku.E ai ki te pae tukutuku o Te Hui Ahurei.
He ātea hoki te ahurei e puta ai te tini whakaaro o te iwi, e nanao atu ai te iwi ki te ao hou, whaihoki e tukituki ake ai tō rātau ahurea e māturuturu ai tō rātau mana Motuhake.
Koia hoki nei ētehi o ngā pou o te ahurei. Ko te tuatahi, he whītau raranga tangata. Ka kitea tēnei tūāhuatanga ki runga ki te ātamira me te papa tākaro hoki. Ko te pou tuarua, he marae tahia, he tahitahi haere i te onamata ki te aroaro ki te ātea o naianei. Ko te pou tuatoru, ko te kura nui, ko te kura roa, he kura tangata. Ko te tikanga o tēnei whakaaro, he whakamihi ki te ao hou engari tonu he poipoi i te mana nui o te ao tawhito. Nā te māuiui urutā kua aua noa atu te wā ki te ahurei.
Kua hori ngā tau e toru, e wera ana ngā waewae ki te haka, kai te kakamā hoki ngā reo ki te waiata, kai te hiakai ātamira te tini.’ Ka whakamihia hoki e tātau ngā mate o ngā tau maha moroki noa nei. Ka kite kau te iwi i a tātau e tū ana, ka kite hoki rātau i ngā tini mate’.
He wā pai ki te tūtakitaki tangata, ki te whakatoutou hoki i ngā pūrenga kāinga. Atu i te tū haka, ko tētehi anō wāhanga ko te tukituki ā whīrā. Kua pau i ngā tima ngā wiki e whia kē e tuku toihau ana e rere ai ngā wairua o ngā pou tito waiata otīā ngā rangatira katoa. He wā hoki tēnei ki te whakanui i tō tātau ahunga.
Nō reira e kare mā tahuti mai, nau mai piki mai ki te Ahurei nui o Ngai Tūhoe.
— Na Raimona Inia i whakamāori
Fifteen thousand Tūhoe are gathering in Waimana this Easter Weekend for Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe.
The kaupapa is Matemateāone – a word used by Tūhoe to show their relationship and yearning to be with their whenua, to be with each other and to restrengthen kinship ties.
The first Ahurei was held at Mataatua Marae, Rotorua, in 1971.
This gathering of urban Tūhoe presented leaders with a key opportunity to develop an inter-generational strategy that would see Tūhoe repatriate, revitalize, and reconnect succeeding generations to their traditional homelands, their reo and tikanga, and develop a vision to strengthen the cultural identity of urban Tūhoe.
Even before that first event Tūhoe young and old from Auckland known as Te Tira Hou and from Wellington known as Te Ika had been gathering on regular social events.
As a result of these gatherings, Tūhoe elders looked to address the growing despondency in Tūhoe as a result of urbanization and the assimilation policies of government.
It was the young people who gave birth to Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe, and so it is today, the children and grandchildren of those pioneers who continue that legacy.
Fifty-one years later, it continues to be a strong unifying force for Tūhoe and a vehicle for upholding the cultural traditions of urban Tūhoe and is a key contributor to an economic future that is determined by, for and with the people.
There are 18 teams participating this weekend, from all over the motu. They are Māhora Te Waimana, Ngā Pōtiki O Uta, Ōruakōrau, Te Hono A Te Kiore, Tūhoe ki Pōneke, Tūhoe Ki Waitaha, Mataatua Ki Rotorua, Ngā Uri a Te Taniwha, Ruatāhuna, Te Karu, Tūhoe Ki Kawerau, Waikaremoana, Ngāti Haka Patuheuheu, Ōhinemataroa, Tāwera, Te Tirahou, Tūhoe Ki Te Tai Rāwhiti, and Te Waimana Kaaku.
According to the website Te Hui Ahurei is the platform where Tūhoe can facilitate new ideas, embrace new challenges and cultivate traditional values as a people.
It reflects who Tuhoe are as a people, who they have become, and what remains possible for Tūhoe in the future.
He whītau raranga tangata is what we do on stage, on the sports fields. He marae tahia is what we do sweeping the past into the future.
Ko te kura nui, ko te kura roa, he kura tangata embraces the new, acknowledges evolution and cultivates traditional values.
This Easter there is heightened interest in the Hui Ahurei because the past three years were disrupted by Covid.
“We want to make sure we acknowledge all of our loved ones who have passed between 2018 and now, and we want to take them spiritually onto the Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe stage to acknowledge them there.”
It will prove an ideal time to catch up with whanaunga from all over and make new connections.
As well as the full kapa haka programme there will be a chance for young and old to participate on the sports fields.
Teams have had weeks of intensive haka training to revive and relive the glory of songs from the past to acknowledge past composers, past performers and past supporters. It’s also a way for us to reminisce about the past.
An eradication programme has won a $750,000 government grant to get it started.
