Whakawai Flashcards
Pūkenga maunga, rerenga wai.
Where there are peaks, water flows.
Knowledge flows from our mountain as does water and where there is water there are people. This whakatauki is a reflection of our inter-dependence with manga Taranaki as a source of sustenance and life. This is also a reminder that we are a communal people. Traditionally we have clustered our lives, communities and livelihoods in connection to water. These water sources, this interpersonal connectivity to mountains and rivers, are markers for our collective identity and our shared responsibilities in maintaining our environment.
Ngati Maru Tuatinitini
The multitudes of Ngäti Maru.
Charlotte Maxwell of Ngäti Maru often spoke about how she had high aspirations for her iwi. That uri (descendants) would return to their whenua, revitalising te reo and re-populating their papa with kaikaranga and kaikôrero.
Several years later at a te reo wananga, Rata Pue presented his future vision for Ngäti Maru; when asked how many people affiliated to Ngäti Maru, he responded
“In the millions because our people are so much at one with the environment that you have to count all the trees in the forest and all the eels and fish in the water.”
Rukuhia ngā wai whakarauora o Te Rere o Kapuni.
Dive into the cleansing and revitalising waters of
Te Rere o Kapuni.
Te Rere o Kapuni is the waterfall, and wai tapu on Taranaki mountain that for centuries has been a principle component in kawa ceremonies for all of Taranaki.
In the 1800’s, Te Rere o Kapuni was where Te Ua Haumëne, leader of the Pai Marire movement ,enacted the naming ceremony for the second Māori King Matutaera, to King Tawhiao. In more recent times Te Rere o Kapuni has been used in tohi rites for children and adults of Taranaki in a bid to return to traditional ways of naming and celebrating a commitment to Mãoritanga, Taranakitanga, te reo, moko, mau räkau and a myriad of other traditional practices. This sacred place has even be used for rituals in contemporary times to commit to smoking cessation.
This pepehatanga körero can be adjusted to suit general Taranaki e.g. “Rukuhia nga wai whakarauora o o tatou tüpuna o Taranaki” - “Dive into the cleansing and revitalisiing waters of our ancestors of Taranaki” or it can be used for specific rol e.g. “Rukuhia ngä wai whakarauora o Waiwhakaiho” - “Dive into the cleansing ar revitalisiing waters of Waiwhakaiho.
Tukuna ngā roimata kia heke, whiua te hūpē.
Ka haruru te tapuwae ki te marae
Ka ea, ka ea, ka ea.
Express your emotions, let tears flow, mucus run; and gather together for support and recovery.
A traditional whakatauki kōrero which highlights natural and necessary components of a healing process. The expressions of grief and the processes embedded in indigenous cultures in relation to death, grief, anguish and loss are some of the most enduring and surviving collective practices of healthy cultural expression. The normality of expressing emotions, expressing the full range of feelings and the encouragement to be unbound to do so are key aspects of this whakatauki.
Kei te korokoro o Te Parata tātou.
We are in the mouth of the whirlpool.
A traditional pepeha that memorialises the misfortune that befell the Aotea waka on its journey to Aotearoa. When people are in trouble or encounter adversity, this pepeha is quoted. Often the same karakia that were used to uplift the Aotea waka from ‘Te Korokoro o Te Parata’ are performed in the form of waiata in modern days to assist with finding a way forward out of hardship or to conclude a difficult hui or discussion.
Me whiu ko te poi hei whakarahi ake i te iwi
Pākehā, nāna nei i takahi te Tiriti o
Waitangi.
Let our poi songs ridicule the Pākehā, they who trampled underfoot the Treaty of Waitangi.
An excerpt from a traditional waiata recited and performed in South Taranaki entitled “Nei ka noho i roto o Patea”. This particular line speaks to the power of waiata, the power of the poi and in particular, the combination of the two in waiata poi carries history and knowledge to coming generations while transmitting the emotions of that time. Here the poi is employed as a non-violent protest to mock the attitude and behaviour of the Pakeha in their breaking the pledges laid out in the articles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
I rokohina atu rā ko te āiotanga
I riro iho ai Nga Kete o te Wānanga.
Tāne discovered ultimate tranquility and thereby gained the baskets of knowledge and wisdom
According to Ruka Broughton, this is the Taranaki version of the famous karakia regarding learning, contemplation and wisdom “Tenei Au.”
Many rohe and iwi throughout the motu have a version of this karakia but most versions have a reference to “lo te Matua Kore anake” - “lo the Supreme Being alone.” The Taranaki version has no reference to any ‘supreme being’ but states that Tane ascended the different levels of Ranginui to eventually find a place of ultimate tranquillity and serenity where he gained Ngä Kete o te Wänanga - The baskets of knowledge and wisdom in order to distribute them upon the earth for humankind.
E Rongo! Whakairia ki runga kia tina! Tina!
Hui ee! Taiki ee.
O Rongo! Embodiment of peace and balance. May your mana reign! Reign supreme! Agreed! So say we all!”
While there are some slight variations in wording, this is the most common conclusion to karakia of Taranaki, recited in the last 40 years. The true essence and meaning of this phrase that everyone participates in at the conclusion of the karakia is summed up in the translation.
Firstly, it acknowledges Rong, an extremely important atua in Taranaki. Not only because Rongo is the spiritual and elemental embodiment of peace and balance and antithesis of Tümatauenga, the atua of conflict, but also because in various whakapapa in Taranaki, Rongo is considered to be the first born of Papatūanuku and Ranginui.
Secondly, there is an element of agreement, of consent, to this karakia conclusion.
If the people do not agree with the sentiment put forth in the karakia, the option is there to not join in with the chorus of “Tina, Hui ee, Taiki ee.” If the communal response lacks strength, either the person conducting karakia or the kaupapa of the hui is considered to be lacking support or of little worth.
Me waiho te tihi mā ngā atua.
eave the summit of Taranaki only for atua.
There are many reasons for this but the most relevant is that as tangata whenua of the Taranaki region, we consider the mountain to be our tūpuna. The pinnacle of the mountain would be the head, the most tapu part of the body according to Māori worldviews. This is the reason tourists who have violated this sanctity have come under a lot of criticism from iwi and hapū of Taranaki. It is a sacred place and, out of respect, should be left only for atua.
Whakamahia te taiao hei tākaro mā te hunga ririki.
Use the environment as toys for children.
In one of the many wänanga in Taranaki in the 1980’s, Tahuaroa was using plants as improvised toys for the childern. He used korari[1] to make little waka for them to play with in pools of water, he used toetoe plumes to fill poi and he used harakeke to make the string for poi. Perhaps he had an inkling then that young generations, ‘te hunga ririki’(2] could become more disconnected from the natural environment, atua, tüpuna, Taranakitanga and their Maoritanga. Tahuaroa believed that a disconnection between people and their natural environment woul be detrimental to the wellbeing of the next generations, limiting their ability to ta responsibility for the duties of the marae as holders of Taranaki Mäori knowledge
[1] Flower stem of harakeke
[2) This is also the name of the wharenui of Kairau marae. It was there that the wänanga was held. ‘Te hunga ririki’ is a Northern Taranaki term for children and youth.
Rukuhia ngā wai whakarauora o
Wai-o-ngana, te wai i horoia ai a Rauru e Rongoueroa.
Dive into the cleansing and revitalisiing waters of Wai-o-ngana, the water in which our tupuna kuia Rongoueroa bathed her baby Rauru.
This is an example of how Tüpuna links and iwi narratives can be included to make this pepehatanga korero more specific for iwi and hapù. Rongoueroa who begat Ngä Rauru, shows the tuakana/teina relationship between Ngä Rauru and Te Ātiawa.
Another example of the use of this pepehatanga kôrero to recall ancestral history is: “Rukuhia ngã wai whakarauora o Raoa, te wahi i tata Raoa ai a Turi” - Dive into the cleansing and revitalisiing waters of Raoa so named when our ancestor Turi (the captain of Aotea waka) almost choked on a fish bone or “Rukuhia ngã wai whakarauora i kauria ai e to tatou tupuna a Ruaputahanga” - “Dive into the cleansing and revitalisiing waters where our ancestor Ruapütahanga swam”.
Haere ki te whakarongo ki nga korero a te moana.
Go and listen to what the sea has to say.
“Go and listen to what the sea has to say” is an encouragement to go to a place of serenity, of healing. Relax, spend time with your tüpuna and atua, Tangaroa, Täwhirimätea and Papatüänuku. Unwind, be calm and seek a more balanced space to deal with whatever troubles lay ahead. A place of contemplation, of reflection and healing could be by the sea for some or it may be the ngahere, maunga, roto or awa for others.
Taranaki Tītōhea. Tītōhea a runga, Tītōhea a raro.
Taranaki the barren mountain. Barren above as it is below
Taranaki tupuna maunga is often referred to as “Taranaki Titöhea”. The word tītöhea’ is uncommon and here means ‘barren’. Taranaki is considered a barren lountain for two reasons. Firstly, above a certain altitude, vegetation stops rowing in abundance. It is simply too cold. But secondly, with nearly all of aranaki lands confiscated by the Crown, the mountain can be said to have no solid oundation beneath it, because the connection to Papatüanuku, our Earth Mother, severed, which has resulted in all Taranaki iwi experiencing economic adversity Ind physical disconnection to their homelands. A natural question which emerges rom this disconnection to whenua could be: how does one exist as Tangata Mhenua with no whenua?
A te wā nei ka titiro koutou ngā uri whakatipu hei ngã purapura kata.
In times to come, all the future descendants will be like the speckled potatoes.
Purapura is a seed/tuber, in Taranaki it is used in relation to taewa (potatoes). It is also a term often used to describe the younger or future generations. Purapura are speckled potatoes.
In explaining the term purapura, Tiki described some of the korero pertaining to gardening that he had heard from his tüpuna whea, “Kaua mauria mai o ena taewa ki könei, he Päkeha taewa te kata, hari ki ko” (Don’t bring those spuds here, they are all Pakeha, take them over there). This was to prevent the ‘Päkeha’ and Mäori potatoes from cross breeding and creating purapura (speckled potatoes).
He also talked about the fact that our tüpuna knew that it was inevitable that cross pollinating would happen, they foresaw this in relation to their mokopuna, that the coming generations would be like the speckled potatoes, a combination of whakapapa Māori and Päkeha, and that there was little that they could do to prevent it. He described the Māori potato as being ngäwari (affable), that it like ourselves, gives way, is tolerant and flexible and the Päkehā breed is over powering and rigid.
He reminded us that regardless of our speckled state, we have the potential to embrace and manifest the positive aspects of both whakapapa lines and to be mindful of the overpowering nature of Päkehā characteristics.
Ahakoa whakapiri koe ki a tauiwi, E kore e taka te ingoa Maori i runga i a koe.
Although you may align with the Pākehā, the name ‘Māori will never fall from you.
Both Te Whiti and Tohu could foresee a time when Taranaki Mäori would question their Maoritanga, their Taranakitanga and their status as Tangata Whenua with the constant strain against the colonial greed for Taranaki land. Over 160 years ago, the Parihaka leaders and prophets Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Käkahi foresaw the future of Taranaki Māori. Their philosophy of Mana Motuhake and Tino Rangatiratanga was carried through the generations in the form of the haka
‘Mangumangu Taepō of Parihaka. Although this is often written as ‘Taipö’, it has been written in accordance with an explanation by Dr. Te Huirangi Waikerepuru (“He tipua, he taniwha, he whakahopohoporānei ka tae mai i te po - käore kë i te tino kitea - Something unknown, something dark and fearful that arrives under the cover of darkness).
