THE STRAIT AND NARROW PATH

Yesterday Te Rūnanga-a-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu placed on the record of the Māori Affairs Select Committee the rangatira response of our whānau hapū iwi to the kawana document, Te Hiku o Te Ika Claims Settlement Bill.  

Today I write to all the uri of Kahutianui and Te Parata who are either still very young children or have yet to be born. 

Ina pātai mai koe kia mātou, "He aha ai i tū koe ki mua i te Komiti Whiriwhiri take?” Ma mātou e ki atu, "I puta a Ngāti Kahu te whakaatuhia te tika me te pono ki mua ano i te aroaro o te Kaihanga, te whakaatuhia te tika me te pono ki mua ano i ngā iwi.”

Kaua e wareware koutou i te taenga mai o Tauiwi, ka tīmata ā rātou mahi tāhae i ngā whenua me ngā taonga o Ngāti Kahu.

Ahakoa te aha, ka mau tonu te mana whenua o Ngāti Kahu. No reira te Hakaputanga i raro nei i pānuitia ki te ao katoa:   

“Ko te mana, ko te tapu, ko te ihi o ngā hapū katoa o Ngāti Kahu i pouātia rawatia mai i a Ranginui i runga nei, ki a Papatuānuku e takoto nei; mai Te Whatū ki Maunga Tohoraha; whiti atu ki Hukatere kei Te Oneroa-ā-Tōhē; ki Te Make, ā, ka puta atu mā ēnei moana e hora nei ki Hawaiikinui. Mai te taha moana ki te tua whenua, ka haere mai ki Ngākohu, ki Ōkakewai, tae noa atu ki runga o Maunga Taniwha. Ko ēnei ngā pou whenua o ngā roherohenga katoa o ngā hapū katoa o Ngāti Kahu. Kei te pupuritia, kei te hakapūmautia nei te mana whenua me te mana moana e ngā uri hakatupu.”

E whakapono ana a mātou, kei a Ngāti Kahu tonu tōna mana ki te takutaimoana me te papa moana anō hoki.  Ko ngā rawa a Tangaroa me ngā rawa i raro i te Papamoana,  ngā rawa anō o Ngāti Kahu. 

E tā mātou,  kei roto katoa ngā rawa i raro i a Papatūānuku otirā ngā rawa katoa kei roto i te rohe ō Ngāti Kahu.  Tūturu ko te whakaaro nui nō ngā hapū o Ngāti Kahu te mana o ēnei taonga tuku iho.

Kāhore a mātou i te whakaae ki ngā ture e tūkino ana i te mana whenua me te mana moana o ngā hapū o Ngāti Kahu i roto anō i te rohe o  tēnei o ngā Iwi.  I takahia ai a Ngāti Kahu te ara kuiti i runga i to matou whakapono ki te Atua me tōna tika, ehara te Karauna me ōna teka.

No rēira, tēnei to mātou poroporoaki ki a koutou ngā uri o Ngāti Kahu, kaua e haere koutou i te ara o te hunga kino, engari ia i te ara tika, te ara kuiti.

Ki te whai taringa tetahi hei whakarongo, ka rongo.  Ki te whai kanohi tetahi hei kitea, e kite.

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.

RANGATIRA INFLUENCES

I write this sitting in my mother’s home office, a place from which has flowed rangatira influences that have impacted generations of whanau hapu and iwi – none moreso than my own.    

The results of rangatira influences are matters for reflection at this time of year as we review the past and plan the future.  And, because God is the Big Influencer, ko te amorangi ki mua, ko te hapai o ki muri is how we begin and end both exercises.

There were wins and losses for te taha o te Rangatiratanga in 2014.  

We lost many rangatira, including Merimeri Penfold, Mark Pikaahu, Nin Tomas, Pereme Porter, Sol Whata, Wayne Evans, Mary Shan, Sally Pikaahu, Mason Williams, Ataarangi Matiu, Terry Tepania, Matekino Hack, Luke Tipene, Agnes Campbell and Jane Waipouri.  

Haere e nga mate.  Haere, takahia nga tapuwae o te tini o te mano, kua huri ki tua o te arai. Haere ki nga rangatiratanga, ki nga mana, nga pukorero o nga hau e wha kua mene ki te po. Toitu he kainga, whatu ngarongaro he tangata.  Ko koutou tenei kua haere; ka ngaro koutou, nga kaipupuri o te Maoritanga, nga kaihapai i nga mahi—e rau rangatira ma, haere, e moe i roto i te Ariki.  May we rejoice when once again we meet over the way.

At the other end of mortality, in 2014 we welcomed thousands of mokopuna i te ao marama; every one of them trailing clouds of glory.  Miharo!  May we ever remember who they truly are.

In 2014 we also lost te rangatira mangai i roto i te whare miere kei Te Whanganui a Tara.  At the same time we regained a passionate activist and leader back on the ground.  E Hone, ko koe he rangatira tonu i roto i tenei ao mo nga iwi rawakore.  May you be blessed with success in that role.

In 2014 we lost some ground to those elements i roto i Te Kawanatanga who think a good and balanced relationship with Te Rangatiratanga is one based on a history of ‘peaceful settlement’ before 1840 and their control since then.

But we also made more significant gains like the Waitangi Tribunal’s reaffirming report into Stage 1 of Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry, and the increasing self-awareness amongst whanau hapu and iwi of our God-given Rangatiratanga.  May we always exercise that in Godly fashion.-

Overall 2014 confirmed that, to varying degrees we are all descended from rangatira of influence and each of us are, in turn, influential.  As such, my mother’s home and office were a great place to pen my final Northland Age column for 2014.

This Christmas season, may we use our influence to promote sacredness and safety within our respective whanau hapu and iwi, and may we ensure those influences flow into 2015.  Nga manaaki o te Atua ki a tatou katoa.

SOVEREIGN PARTS

Moana Jackson returned to Taitokerau last week to report on the findings of Matike Mai o Aotearoa regards constitutional transformation for the nations in this country, based on He Hakaputanga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, as well as Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga.

Over the past four years more than 250 hui were held around the motu at which whanau, hapū and iwi Rangatira imagined what life will look like under such a constitution.  Those hui were the first phase of this current transformation. 

In the second phase, a further round of 20 hui-a-rohe are being held, and the first two of those hui were at Miria marae in Waiomio last Friday morning, followed by Kareponia marae that afternoon.

I couldn’t get to Miria, so I made sure to be at Kareponia, and I was not disappointed in either the calibre of Rangatira who came nor the quality of the whakawhitiwhitikorero, especially the tautohetohe.

Unsurprisingly, given that He Hakaputanga was debated and signed in 1835 by the Rangatira at a hui of Te Wakaminenga, many northern hapū have a strong connection to that document; for them it is THE Constitution.

So when a Wakaminenga member suggested to the Kareponia hui that Ngapuhi ought to take He Hakaputanga and visit every hapū in the motu with it, I thought, “Tika āna to korero.  Kua mahi kē a Matike Mai o Aotearoa.” 

Because, although under tikanga interaction between an iwi and unaffiliated hapū is rare and risky, it’s very common and completely lawful for hapū to interact directly with each other, regardless of their iwi affiliations.  Ka puea ake tōna Rangatiratanga i āna pāhekoheko me te whānau hapū. 

However, that same Rangatira prefaced his tohu with this patai: ‘Is it possible that Matike Mai o Aotearoa is doing more harm than good?’ 

Again, it’s about that strong connection to He Hakaputanga.  Not only is it the first document using the English alphabet to record the simple reality that we were sovereign, it’s the foundation upon which we remain sovereign to this day. 

So, given that knowledge, how to answer his question?  In the words of Moana himself, let me answer it in parts, beginning with answering the question of another Rangatira at the Kareponia hui who asked, “What is our purpose?”

Te Mana Motuhake o nga Rangatiratanga me te Hakapūmautanga o nga hapū is our purpose.  Therefore it follows that everything else must uphold, reaffirm and enhance that purpose in order to progress it. 

The mahi we do in our whānau and hapū is the principle part.  The work of Te Wakaminenga is an upholding part.  The Waitangi Tribunal’s Report on Stage 1 of Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry is a reaffirming part.  The work of Matike Mai o Aotearoa is an enhancing part.

It is not accidental that these many parts are coalescing and coming together at this time.  

Me rapu tonu, me wewete mārire i ngā kōpaki, kia kitea ai te kai o roto. 

NGATI KAHU ROHE MAP

COMBINED CONCEPTS

Under tikanga there are many combined concepts that help us make sense of the universe and better manage our place in it.  

They often come in pairs or other multiples, and well known examples include tika pono and aroha, te iti me te rahi; and most fundamental, mana and tapu. 

The Rev. Maori Marsden, in his article `God, Man and Universe: A Maori View', defines mana in its double aspect of authority and power as 'lawful permission delegated by the gods to their human agents and accompanied by the endowment of spiritual power to act on their behalf and in accordance with their revealed will'. This delegation of authority is shown in dynamic signs or works of power.

He also warned: Authority and power in this sense must be clearly distinguished since it is clear that to exercise spiritual power outside the limits delegated is to abuse the gift, and results either in its withdrawal or in that power running rampant and causing harm to the agent and others.

He then used a beautifully simple analogy to make the distinction clearer. A person approaches a traffic crossing and the lights turn red. He has power to cross but no permission. The lights turn green but his car stalls at that moment. He has permission to cross, but no power. His car starts and the lights remain green. He now has both authority and power to proceed

Another set of combined concepts that has become increasingly important for us to understand are those of takohanga and kaitiakitanga.  The meanings of these two words encompass, but are not limited to, what the English call responsibility and accountability.  Without understanding these concepts, I would have been prone to believing the lie that Kawanatanga and Corporate agencies are responsible for everything, but accountable for nothing.

In a recent example of this lie, a murderous paedophile was released from prison on unsupervised parole, and was then enabled by Corrections, Police, Internal Affairs, and Customs agencies to escape to Brazil.  The resultant duck-shoving and buck passing from these agencies’ leaders is the complete opposite to Rangatiratanga.

So too is the behaviour of Corporate leaders who, having admitted to fraud, don’t offer to repay a single cent to their investors, but do instruct their lawyers to appeal the severity of their sentence.  Kei hea te kaitiakitanga?

Similarly oppositional to Rangatiratanga is the behaviour of Iwi Corporates who try to usurp mana whenua and kaitiakitanga from whanau and hapu, and then place those combined concepts under the power and authority of the Kawanatanga.  Kei hea te takohanga?  We may delegate it from time to time, but we will always remain accountable. 

An understanding of these universal truths can be taught to our uri in all places, times and things.  

But in my experience whanau and hapu councils are the best place to teach them, and the many combined concepts that exist and operate under tikanga help us to do that.

TIKANGA OUTCOMES

Tikangā is a body of God-given concepts and practices designed to uphold te ihi te wehi te mana te tapu me te mauri o nga tangata me te ao, and it is based on the fundamental principles of tika, pono aroha.     

Whenever any one or more of these principles is not present, or is in conflict with another, there is a violation.  Under tikanga, the ideal outcome to heal any violation is hohou-i-te-rongo, a reconcilation based on restoration of both the victim and the violator to a state of toiora.

I was once asked to facilitate a hui between a whānau where a wife had died and her estranged husband had returned to live in the home he’d built and paid for on her whānau land.  Her whānau wanted him off their land entirely, and he wanted them out of his house completely.

It quickly became clear that the whānau were there through heke tika (birthright), while the husband was there because he and his late wife had once loved each other enough for her to bring him on to her land, and him to build her the house.  But pono did not seem to be there at all, and so the two parties were at each other’s throats.

Finally, the wife’s brother stood up and told everyone off to a standstill for what each had contributed to the conflict.  He even told me off just for being there.  We could tell he was wild that he had to say these things.  But, most importantly, we all knew pono was in the house! 

Straightaway the dynamic of the hui changed and that whānau were able to hohouterongo themselves.

An alternative tikanga outcome to hohou-i-te-rongo is muru, which can be likened to restorative justice based on redistribution of assets.

In another case, two teenaged boys stole from their grandparents, and when confronted by their koro, they’d shoved and threatened both him and their nanna with even worse violence if he didn’t shut up.

At the resultant hui there was pōkēkē me pōhēhē aplenty from the boys and their whānau supporters, but no evidence of tika pono or aroha from beginning to end.  It was clear that hohouterongo was just not going to happen.

Finally, the whānau supporters of the grandparents appointed a taua which went to the boys’ house to perform the muru.  Ironically, the boys’ father called the police and his sons ended up being convicted in the Kawanatanga court on assault and theft charges.

When violators refuse to live or abide by tikanga, the only alternative is the lower laws of the Kawanatanga which can punish them, but will never heal their violation or restore them and their victims to toiora. 

Tikanga, on the other hand, is the only way to do that, because it upholds te ihi te wehi te mana te tapu me te mauri o nga tangata me te ao.  Enei nga mahi o te Atua me nga Rangatira hoki.

RANGATIRA RESPONSES

One of the realities of living under tikanga is that for every violation of mana there needs to be a relevant Rangatira response to redress the resultant imbalances in te tapu i te tangata me te mauri o te whanau, hapu, iwi.

Some recent cases highlight how tikanga administered by Rangatiratanga can play out in redressing those imbalances, either on its own or in tandem with statutes administered by Kawanatanga.

In the first case, last month an iwi leader facing charges for alleged sexual abuse of a young girl under the age of 12 was publicly named. 

He has pleaded not guilty, and under both Kawanatanga statutes and Rangatiratanga tikanga, is entitled to be deemed innocent until proven guilty.  But, apart from that important commonality, the two systems are very different. 

For example, unlike western justice, tikanga is not blind.  So once the accusation was made known, the status of both the alleged abuser and victim changed, and no-one could carry on as if nothing had happened. 

Also, because it is a higher law than statute, tikanga must protect the alleged victim from further potential abuse, and her peers from even the possibility of abuse.  So, for his own sake and that of all tamariki, rahui must be put in place that ensures the iwi leader is not left alone with or in charge of children, especially those under the age of 12.

Placing and enforcing rahui is mahi mo nga Rangatira at all relevant levels; whanau, hapu and iwi.  How he responds to it will define the iwi leader’s place on the Rangatiratanga response scale now and in the future.

In a second case, the father of a murder victim stood in the Kawanatanga Court, forgave his son’s murderers, and sought mercy for the men who had so terribly violated te tapu i te tangata me te mauri o tana whanau.  

I cannot imagine the depth and breadth of the journey undertaken by this father to reach that point.  But in the context of Rangatiratanga, his response registers at the highest levels.

In a final example, this Wednesday Chris Finlayson will compound the Crown’s historical thefts of Ngati Kahu whenua with the introduction into the Kawanatanga parliament of the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill which punishes Ngati Kahu for not letting him dictate what their settlement must be. 

Ngati Kahu’s response is already underway on the political and legal fronts and is being backed up by he mahi Rangatira. 

To return to the first case, the responses to it have mainly ranged from discomfort and embarrassment, to anger and grief; and yet shock and disbelief – not so much.  Where do any of these register on the Rangatiratanga scale? Under tikanga, unless they are backed up by he mahi Rangatira, they all register a big fat 0.  

Because the key to a Rangatira response is always going to be he mahi Rangatira i runga i te tikanga.

SOVEREIGN ASSUMPTIONS

There’s an insurance ad currently running on TV that shows a bunch of salesmen sitting around making assumptions about a client and passing judgments based on their frame of reference.  The problem for the salesmen is that their assumptions, judgments and frame of reference are all wrong. 

E whānau ma, the scenario portrayed in the ad has a familiar ring.  One that has echoed throughout the history of New Zealand, is still resonating in the present, and will likely segue into the future.  

I am talking about the judgments of people whose forebears assumed sovereignty over us based on a European frame of reference that was laid out in the 15^th century Papal Bull of Pope Alexander VI – aka the Doctrine of Discovery.

In past columns I’ve already covered the historical and present realities of those people and their wrong assumptions.  If you want or need to know more on the subject, my blog on http://hikoidiary.blogspot.co.nz/ is a starting point. For the present I address te kaupapa tuatahi. 

When it comes to other people’s assumptions and judgments about us, unless we caused or controlled them, we should only either watch them play out, or ignore them.  Any other response is a symptom of that psychological dis-ease called collective guilt. 

Next Tuesday is the 179th anniversary of the signing of He Hakaputanga o Te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni.  So it's timely to remember that we should either stay away from other people’s kutukutu ahi, or risk catching their dis-ease. 

We are better than that and have better things to do, like teaching and preparing our tamariki mokopuna to be Rangatira in all things, times and places. 

So, unless we are an affected party, or have kaitiakitanga over an affected party, Rangatira ought not magnify someone else’s faults. But if a fault or failing happens in our whānau or hapū, then we have a responsibility to reveal it rather than conceal it. 

Ultimately, because everything we do is based on intimate links with te ao wairua, our Rangatiratanga is a spritual endowment to us from the Gods in whom we believe. Tino hohonu.

Contrast that with those whose sovereign assumptions are based on a Western religious doctrine wrongly attributed to an Eastern God who most of them don’t even believe exists. Somewhat shallow.

Which brings us back to that insurance ad.  It ends when the client doesn’t fight or feed other people’s wrong assumptions about him, and doesn’t let their problem become his.  

Instead he simply exercises his Rangatiratanga within his own frame of reference and takes his business elsewhere.  

Ko tātou tēnā.

SOVEREIGN SYMBOLS

When teaching our tamariki mokopuna about He Hakaputanga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, it helps enormously that the oral traditions from our tūpuna are very clear about the context in which it was drawn up and signed, and that it declared our sovereignty.  

It also helps that those oral traditions have remained consistent in both content and transmission down through the decades, and have been recorded in a growing body of literature that accurately conveys the context of our sovereignty.

As early as 1808, many of our tūpuna rangatira i te raki had become concerned about the “hapū hou” (new tribes) arriving on our shores, and the impacts they were having.

By 1816 those concerns had grown to include the lawlessness of many of the British immigrants (the largest of the new tribes) and their refusal to adhere to the law of the land, tikanga Māori.

These concerns were discussed over many years by the rangatira in their respective rohe as well as at hui of Te Wakaminenga o Nga Rangatira o Nga Hapū.  In 1820, a delegation of rangatira led by Hongi Hika, visited the British King, George IV of England, and asked him to send someone to control his lawless subjects.  In 1831 Te Wakaminenga wrote to the new British King, William IV of England, again asking that someone be sent to control his lawless subjects.

In all their interactions with British royalty, our tūpuna rangatira were very clear that whatever controls they imposed upon their subjects, the mana of the rangatira and the hapū remained intact in its fullness; it was only the lawless British who needed to be controlled.

In 1833 King William acceded to their request and sent a British Resident, James Busby who in 1835 drafted He Hakaputanga which declared, among other things, that the many hapū of Māori throughout the country each maintained our own mana and that no other system of government would be permitted to exist over our lands, territories, peoples and possessions.

Although the English translation document was inaccurate, in that it declared that all hapū had formed a collective and that sovereignty of the country resided in the collective and would never be ceded to any other power, King William of England acknowledged and recognised the correct and signed document when he endorsed He Hakaputanga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, having earlier accepted the kara that the rangatira had chosen to signal the identity and authority of our hapū.

These, then, were significant events that brought Māori on to the world stage, and become pivotal in establishing and protecting Māori sovereignty and international trading relations.

Personalised versions of the sovereign kara were made and flown by different hapū from 1835 onwards, and some of those original kara can still be seen to this day. 

 

As symbols, they too are enormously helpful when we are teaching our tamariki mokopuna about He Hakaputanga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni.

CONSTITUTING SOVEREIGNTY

Te Whiringa-a-Nuku contains one of the most auspicious and important dates for sovereign whānau and hapū, in both Maramataka and Gregorian calendar terms.

In 1835, 28 October was a Tamatea-kai-Ariki day that coincided with Te Wakaminenga o Ngā Rangatira o Ngā Hapū, a longstanding hui at Waitangi of Rangatira from throughout Te Taitokerau. 

In 1835, it was also the day that 34 of those Rangatira signed He Hakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni. 

This Declaration says in full.

1. KO MATOU, ko nga Tino Rangatira o nga iwi o Nu Tireni i raro mai o Hauraki kua oti nei te huihui i Waitangi i Tokerau i te ra 28 o Oketopa 1835, ka wakaputa i te Rangatiratanga o to matou wenua a ka meatia ka wakaputaia e matou he Wenua Rangatira, kia huaina, Ko te Wakaminenga o nga Hapu o Nu Tireni. 2. Ko te Kingitanga ko te mana i te wenua o te wakaminenga o Nu Tireni ka meatia nei kei nga Tino Rangatira anake i to matou huihuinga, a ka mea hoki e kore e tukua e matou te wakarite ture ki te tahi hunga ke atu, me te tahi Kawanatanga hoki kia meatia i te wenua o te wakaminenga o Nu Tireni, ko nga tangata anake e meatia nei e matou e wakarite ana ki te ritenga o o matou ture e meatia nei matou i to matou huihuinga. 3. Ko matou ko nga tino Rangatira ka mea nei kia huihui ki te runanga ki Waitangi a te Ngahuru i tenei tau i tenei tau ki te wakarite ture kia tika ai te wakawakanga, kia mau pu te rongo kia mutu te he kia tika te hokohoko, a ka mea hoki ki nga tauiwi o runga, kia wakarerea te wawai, kia mahara ai ki te wakaoranga o to matou wenua, a kia uru ratou ki te wakaminenga o Nu Tireni. 4. Ka mea matou kia tuhituhia he pukapuka ki te ritenga o tenei o to matou wakaputanga nei ki te Kingi o Ingarani hei kawe atu i to matou aroha nana hoki i wakaae ki te Kara mo matou. A no te mea ka atawai matou, ka tiaki i nga pakeha e noho nei i uta, e rere mai ana ki te hokohoko, koia ka mea ai matou ki te Kingi kia waiho hei matua ki a matou i to matou Tamarikitanga kei wakakahoretia to matou Rangatiratanga. KUA WAKAAETIA katoatia e matou i tenei ra i te 28 Oketopa, 1835, ki te aroaro o te Reireneti o te Kingi o Ingarani.

By 1839 a total of 52 Rangatira had signed in behalf of their Hapū, and many more have since joined.

For some, He Hakaputanga is the only Constitution they will ever embrace.  For others, it is the foundation for a future Constitution which all may embrace.

Either way, 28 October 2014 is an Ōue day, and the annual hui of Te Wakaminenga at Waitangi is on again for all sovereign whānau and hapū.