Whakaaturanga

This weekend was a very interesting. Sadly I lead into the weekend knowing that I wasn't going to be participating in the whakaaturanga. Having had to sit on the side for my rugby grand final I had accepted that the same thing was to happen so I was mentally prepared for that.

My aim was to go into the weekend helping where ever I could and be beside my brothers and sisters along the way for encouragement.

As the night went into day and the day into night I observed everyone learning the final moves, knowing where there places are, perfecting grasps of their rākau, preparing the marae atea, weaving and fitting kākahu, embodying the movements of their rākau, embodying what is looks like to be a certain bird, mastering the footwork, mastering moving as one,  thinking about the best place to stand, remembering lines, battling with egos of others, battling with your own ego, trying not to think about being hungry, working in the heat, sore feet, containing excitement of whānau that are coming to watch, thinking about what whānau will think,  working alongside each other and teaching what you know and have learned, protecting your ariki (if it was me again nope!, battle formations, remembering what side to go to or not, sparring, controlling your ihi,  karo, pao, ngā ahae mezmerized whānau, excited tamrariki, kina, kina, kina!!

The journey leading up to the whakaturanga is always special but I was blown away by the efforts of my brothes and sisters. At one point of the whakaaturanga a whole heap of smoke was blowing over the atea as I looked over one of the kids had pulled a few of the big rākau out of the fire and they created a heap of smoke. I went over to Bon and said "Oi!! you were supposed to be looking after the fire!' he seemed to be in a somewhat trance, he steps out of his trance and says 'nah sis i'm the audience at the moment." At that moment I turned to the all the people watching and every single person was mesmerized with what they were seeing. It was such a cool sight to behold and made me so proud of all whānau.
Ko tō manawa, ko tōku manawa.

Moonology - Taha Wairua

Thursday 30th May I flew up to Auckland to a meeting. On my flight there I decide to read a book named Moonology. Now before I go further I need to retell of my connections I have had with the moon.

As a teenager my friends and I would spend nights outside looking at the stars and watching the moon in all it's glory. At the time we were just being clowns and doing silly things like wishing on stars for jandels, counting shooting stars and just bask in the light of the moon. It is one of the mos fondest memories my childhood friends and I remissness about. On time I also remember a time my parents took my sister and our friends to Mahia for a holiday here we experienced one of the most amazing connections with the moon.

We had been hanging at the beach that day and the sun had set, it was a warm evening and we were all at the beach with my brother and a couple of the cousins. It had gone dark and the moon was high in the sky. The water was settled as the tide had slowly made its way out. One of the mates asked one of the cousins if it was ok to swim at night to which he said yes, so that was us! All 8 of jumped in the water. Without a word of a lie the moon was so bright it made the water crystal clear and we glowed. It was one amazing experience to be moon lit once again.

Fast forward to Hawaii 2018 I was in a situation where we were sitting at the beach once again under moon lit night but this time it was cloudy and I was with a group of our Hawaiian cousins. As we consumed our inu a couple of  Hawaiian whānau took a dip in the sea and the moon lit so bright while they were swimming. It took me straight back to my first night swim in Mahia, it was an amazing experience to see the similarities with our Hawain cousins.

While over in Hawaiki we went to a Kamehameha Community College, while we were there we were shown some beautiful art pieces which had a Hawaiian version of the Maramataka. I totally connected to that Māramataka that when I received my new classroom when we returned I painted a huge moon and I painted my own Māori Māramataka. 

Since that trip I have been exposed to a whole heap of experiences surrounding the moon which included a seminar with Rangi Mataatua. After his seminar I was totally inspired about how our connection with the moon was so strong. Now, intuitively I knew this because our whare is te Whare o Hina and over the years in our experiences we always refer to Hina and all her different phases and work under her guidance and light. Ngā Uri o te Pō e ara e.

Now going back to this book, as I was on my flight I was totally zoned in to the book and it was through reading this it confirmed to me that I need to work more closely with the moon, she has so much to teach me like.

- always take time to look up at the moon

- the moon puts on an elegant show different every time in shape, color and nuance.

Te Utanga Tutahi

Te Utanga Tautuhi

This weekend we had the honor of listening  and watching Te Utanga Tautuhi talk about his whare Te Ngākau o te Toka.

Te Utanga talked us through many aspects of their processes and tikanga that left me feeling intrigued of wanting to learn more about our art.

When we went onto the marae atea I was totally mezmerized throughout his wero display. He had every little movement perfected. Every little turn of his taiaha was purposeful. Every step he took was done with precision. He embodied every movement with poise. I was in total awe of his display.

Te Utanga's display has made me think about my understanding of our whare and how much I do know and how much I don't know. I have so much to learn.
Watching him has inspired me to take time to perfect my own practice when I pick up the rākau.

Te awa O Haunui-a-Nanaia - Taha Wairua

Te awa  O Haunui-a-Nanaia

On Friday night we took a long walk down to this river, as we sat on the side of the river and learned our karakia I had a huge urge to jump into the river but it was 1-2am in the morning and that's just crazy and it was freezing.
I was delighted that on return to the marae on Saturday afternoon we detoured back to the river. As soon as the detour happened I just knew we were going back to the riverside. At that point, I decided I was absolutely going for a swim!!!
As we stood with our feet in the water I felt the aches of my feet disappear. When Tipi called it was time to go I dived into the water. It was the most refreshing feeling, in that instant, I felt at peace with myself and one with the awa, my body felt at ease, and I was overcome with calmness. 
As I got out of the water I had a real urge to go back and bathe for a bit but we had to keep moving. E rere ana ngā mihi ki te awa  O Haunui-a-Nanaia.

Ko au ko te awa, ko te awa ko au!

Manahua te tapu - Taha Wairua

Manahua te tapu - Chris Winitana

Manahua te tapu o matua te kore

Manahua te tapu o matua te po

Manahua te tapu o matua te ao

Manahua te tapu o matua te hawa

Manahua te tapu o matua te iwi e 

Noho one had us all gathered on Friday evening on the marae atea. We were told that we had to each recite a karakia. For some of us it was nerve recking but for others not so. As the karakia started we recited many karakia that we had learned over the years. There were a couple of unfamiliar karakia and also some that I had forgotten parts too as well. It is time for me to step up and revisit those karakia. 
Believe it or not, I had been missing the 4am wake up in my life so sure enough, we awoke to learn a beautiful karakia that the sister Tania had recited the night before. As we recited each line feelings of reawakening and excitement filled me. A part of me that has been lying dormant for so long was starting to rise. I am so happy and grateful to be apart of this kaupapa again.