THE FEATHERS OF KNOWLEDGE

Ngāti Kahu te Iwi are about to end another busy month with many highlights and a few challenges; all part of being a sovereign nation.  As I reflect on three of our key activities which capture the essence of what that looks like, I am very mindful of the hakatauki which says, ma te huruhuru ka rere a te manu ki tana tauranga.  Loosely translated it signifies, with the feathers of knowledge, the bird will fly to his landing place.

The first of those key activities is the ongoing buzz around our recently published book, Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation.  Second is our engagement with the research being currently undertaken by our Ngāti Kahungunu whanaunga, Dr Moana Jackson, who is updating his seminal 1988 report on Māori and the Criminal Justice system.  And third is the programme of rangatiratanga services we offer to our people. 

This week, I consider our book, the korero takamua (preface) of which opens with:

“This book is the culmination of several lifetimes of listening, learning, leading and teaching. It is the message that a number of our treasured kaumātua and kuia (elders) and our rangatira (leaders) have left for their beloved whānau (extended family), hapū (group of whānau) and iwi (group of hapū, nation) of Ngāti Kahu. It tells our stories, our histories and our traditions as they have been handed down through the generations, hapū by hapū, and for all of Ngāti Kahu.”

Then in the korero takamuri, we read:

“There remain many stories still to be told of each whānau and hapū. Within [the book] are many tantalising snippets of a much larger and more complex picture … stories of interconnecting hakapapa abound but have not been set out in detail… Then there are the myriad place names, wāhi tapu, fishing grounds, our resources of the seas, rivers and forests and all the kōrero that goes with them. Some are in the book, others have yet to come. Along with that are the horrific experiences of the trampling of our mana motuhake by Europeans in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi that plagues us to this day. While some of these breaches are detailed in the book, details of the remaining areas await the enquiry of the following generations as they ask their kuia and kaumātua to tell them more about what they see told here.”

Although it does not and cannot tell our whole story – no one book can –  Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation has already become a part of the libraries of all the Kura Kaupapa Māori in our rohe, one of which has made it core curriculum.  It has also been added to a number of bilingual and mainstream units’ and schools’ libraries, and that number is growing. 

We have hope and expectancy that our book will be joined over the coming years by many more.  Because, in order for all people to fly to their landing place, they need the feathers of knowledge.