THE TIES THAT BIND

For Ngati Kahu, 2015 is promising to be busier than ever.  I suspect it’s the same for all strands of my whakapapa, and the activating principle that we all rely on to achieve everything we do is whanaungatanga; the relationship ties that bind and facilitate our best social interactions. 

We never take that principle for granted, but we do have utmost confidence in it, and for good reason.  Through its application this month alone, we have completed two major events, with numerous activities between. 

On Saturday 31^st our hui-a-marama happened at Ranginui marae in Kenana, the home of Matarahurahu hapu who are the mana whenua from Oruaiti through to Taipa.  There are more than 15 hapu in Ngati Kahu, and the focal point for them is their respective marae, each of which appoints two delegates to Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngati Kahu.  Whenever those delegates come together the process is termed ‘runanga’ and the entity is termed “Te Runanga.’ 

Both the noun and verb are only as effective as the quality of the whanaungatanga that drives them.

On Sunday 1^st February, Te Taumata Kaumatua o Ngati Kahu led a large ope on to Whitiora marae in Te Tii to pay respects to our whanaunga, Richard Parangi. Tangihanga are the quintessence of whanaungatanga.  It’s impossible to have one without the other.

Then from Tuesday 3rd to Thursday 5th February we and our whanaunga from Ngati Hine hosted the Taitokerau leg of this year's National Iwi Chairs' Forum hui at Te Kerikeri and Opua.  Again, with the tikanga support of Te Taumata Kaumatua o Ngati Kahu and the administrative support of the Iwi Chairs Forum Secretariat provided by Te Kaahui o Rauru from Whanganui, we were able to achieve our goal of delivering a hui that showcased and supported the best of everything we and Ngati Hine had to offer by way of manaaki, whakangahau, te kai mo te tinana, me te kai o nga rangatira.  That included Basil, the Tangaroa skipper during our Tuesday evening cruise, as well as the Martin whanau, Te Roopu Kapa Haka o Muriwhenua, and Russell Harrison, whose whanaungatanga hugely enhanced our Wednesday evening banquet.

Does whanaungatanga apply only to iwi Maori?  Kahore.  The National ICF would not have been as successful as it was without the wonderfully generous sponsorship of Living Nature Cosmetics and Makana Confections from Kerikeri, alongside that of Mana Kai from Awanui, and Carrington Peppers from Karikari.  And to top it all off, we enjoyed working with the Turner Events Centre staff led by Nicky, as well as with the Kerikeri RSA catering team led by Tracey.  They were worth their weight in gold to us. 

Waitangi Day was of course spent at Waitangi on Taurangatira in the Forum tent supporting our own Ahorangi Makere Mutu and her colleague Moana Jackson to present on the constitutional transformation mahi they are doing with Matike Mai o Aotearoa. And finally, our week closed on Saturday 7th February with the celebration of an out of court settlement with Carrington that will ensure no-one will ever again even attempt to build on Te Ana o Taite, one of the largest burial caves in Ngati Kahu.

Tini nga whakawhetai ki ta matou rangatira, kaumatua kuia, pakeke, taitamariki tamariki hoki o nga iwi katoa mo te whanaungatanga.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Driving the Awanui Straight recently, several of the roadside signs stood out, not just for their eye-catching clarity and colours, but for their unintended ironies and for the losses they represent.  

The first that caught my eye is a sign which, unlike its hapless subject, is still actually “on the job.”  

All irony aside, the fall from grace of Mike Sabin, former MP for Northland, is sad.  I don’t know the circumstances that led to his going on ‘gardening leave’ in December, and then resigning from Parliament and politics last week.  But I do know he has family and friends who love him and will be hurting for him.  I wish all the parties involved better days, and hope this sign of their times will soon disappear.

“Kaitaia Airport: Daily Flights – Monday to Sunday,” is another such sign.  But it’s one I hope will not disappear in April, along with the daily service it advertises that’s currently provided by Air New Zealand. 

If another aviation company doesn’t replace Air New Zealand that will be a grief.  But to me it’s just as grievous that we’ve already lost the fantastic service and smiling faces of the Air New Zealand managers at the airport, “aunty” Susan and Serge.  They always went above and beyond to make sure we caught our flights, found our lost items (keys and cell phones being my specialty), and had a friendly face to both send us off and welcome us home.  I wish them well in their new posting to Kerikeri airport, and hope for better days for our airport.

Are there any positive signs of gains, rather than losses, along the Awanui Straight or elsewhere ‘i te Norta’?  Absolutely. 

The Kai-Ora Honey sign is one which evokes a lot of spin-offs and connections into other positive signs of the times.  Initially it caught my eye for the fact that it’s also the name of a little Ngai Takoto girl I once taught Sunday School here in Kaitaia.  She is now a successful wife and mother, as well as the co-owner of Waitakere Funeral Services, along with her Te Rarawa husband. 

Back to Kai-Ora Honey.  The growing manuka honey industry in the north has seen the status of ‘ti-tree’ go from being good for little but felling and firewood, to being the source of many revenue-generating products for the region.  Kai-Ora Honey and the Manakai extraction factory in Awanui are evidence of that, and the fact that they too are owned and run by local Maori entrepreneurs are great signs of the times.

A final example of another such sign is something I’ve observed in recent years.  Of all the many businesses in the region, those that support and partner Maori are doing better nationally and internationally than those who putdown and oppose us.  And a large part of their success is attributable to the fact that their leaders have read, understood and embraced the signs of the times.