A WORLD OF CONFUSION

Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou; seek after wisdom for the sake of your wellbeing. This whakatauki (saying) teaches that in a world full of noise and confusion, wisdom and wellbeing will come when we ask questions with a genuine desire to understand the answers. 

However, another whakatauki says, hanga te oko tahanga te haruru nui; the empty vessel makes the most noise.  This teaches that if we don’t really want to understand or even hear the answers, our questions will only add to the sense of noisy confusion and contention already in the world. 

All cultures and religions advance wisdom and understanding as virtues, while confusion and contention are universally seen as vices. 

For example, the Bible teaches, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”  And in the Koran we read, “God grants Wisdom to whom He pleases … But none remember except men of understanding.” 

On the other hand the great Chinese philosophers taught, “Settle a small conflict quickly, and you will keep a hundred others at bay,” while the Bible teaches, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”

Whenever our status quo is disturbed, our natural impulse is to ask questions about it.  Whether those questions contribute to wisdom and wellbeing in ourselves and our world, or generate more confusion and contention, depends a lot on our inner state of being and on our motives for asking the questions in the first place.

To illustrate on the large scale; faced with the refugee crisis in Europe, some have asked, “Whose fault is this?” or, “What about our own homeless people?” with the intent of justifying why they choose not to help. 

On the other hand others have asked, “What caused this?” with the intent of working out how they can best help both here at home and in the world at large. 

On a smaller scale, faced with the direct action of Ngāi Tohianga and Patu Kōraha hapū at Kaitaia airport, a few have asked, “Why can’t those blankety-blanks just be New Zealanders?” with the intent of dismissing them and their cause out of hand. 

But many others have asked “What is behind this action?” without fear that the answer may discomfort them.

While we all have the potential to be vessels of confusion or seekers of wisdom from time to time, it is always better to be wise than confused.

So instead of imagining what might go wrong in the future while ignoring past wrongs, the wise acknowledge past wrongs while working to build a better future.  

And rather than attacking the personalities and downplaying the principles involved, they address both with respect. 

But most importantly, the wise mahia nga mahi ki runga i te tika, pono me te aroha, (they work in the spirit of truth, faith and love) to live in and at the same time transcend a world of confusion.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

What is the most important and best thing a man can do for his children?  

Last week our beautiful mother, Gloria Herbert, died after many years of ill health.  This week I pay tribute to her and to our father, Jim Herbert, for his contributions to her extraordinary life and to the lives of their uri (descendants).    

Apparently when she married him, our mum could neither boil water nor milk a cow. But under the tutelage of our dad and his kuia and kaumātua, and motivated by her own drive for excellence, she became a confident farming partner, astute businesswoman, and skilled homemaker. 

Our mother was, by nature, an intellectual destined for public life.  Initially her sphere was our dad and us.  But at her funeral, Pa Henare Tate very appropriately based his kauhau (sermon) on the parable of the talents, because throughout her life she not only used and honed the God-given talents she was born with, she obtained many others besides. 

As she grew, her talents overflowed to bless her hapū and iwi until, eventually, she became nationally and internationally active.

There were challenges and tragedies along the way for our mum, the hardest being having to deal with the backbiting and gossip that all public figures in New Zealand endure at times.  However, endure it she did, with dad’s support.

At the end of mortality, mum’s resume is broad and deep.  To reflect that, we chose Proverbs 31:10 – 31 as the reading for her funeral because it describes her to a T.  He wahine purotu, he wahine humarie, he wahine matauranga, he wahine toa (a pleasant, gentle, skilled and strong woman).

Those who came to the tangihanga bore witness to what our mother had done, endured and achieved.  But our father’s presence beside her bore witness to how she had done it. 

Shortly after her own father’s death in 1986, mum wrote in her diary, “Jim is the anchor who both grounds me and allows me to fly high and far.” 

If there is one incident that epitomises that, it was at a hui in the 1960s when, in the middle of her korero, a man told mum, “E noho! Turituri!” (Sit down! Shut up!)  And then pointed at our dad and said, “Kei kōnā to mangai!”  (There’s your mouth!)  At which our dad stood and said with uncompromising steel in his voice, “My wife has her own voice.”

Kahore tō mātou pāpā e kī mai ki a tātou, me pēhea te tū o tō mātou wairua. He wairua kē tōna, ōku noa i titiro ki ōna pūāwaitanga.  Our father never told us how our spirit should stand. He had a spirit of his own, and we simply watched its actions blossom.

The best thing our father ever did for us, his daughters and his sons, was to steadfastly and faithfully love our mother.  

We will continue to love and honour him as he loved and honoured her.  That is the most important thing. 

DESCENDED FROM GREATNESS

E kore au e ngaro, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea.

I will not be lost, I am a seed descended from Rangiātea.

Many years ago I chaired Te Kao Area School’s Board of Trustees and one of my fondest duties was supporting our rangatahi (youth) to spread their wings and fly.

 

In 1992 one of our students took part in the inaugural voyage of Te Aurere.  On the day of his departure, the school held a poroporoaki and I was called to attend at short notice.

I was conscious that the occasion required more than for me to simply turn up.  It required giving our rangatahi something to remind him of where he came from and who he was becoming in the greater voyage of his life.  But what that could be and how to find it at such short notice was beyond me.  So I prayed.

For those who know Te Wairua Tapu (the Holy Spirit), it will come as no surprise that I was led into the ngāhere (forest) where I found an unusually smooth piece of tangiwai (serpentine) that had no business being there other than to be found and given to our rangatahi.

Fast forward several weeks to the pōwhiri for our returning rangatahi who amazed us all with his mature telling of tales from the voyage, including a landing made at Ra’iātea from whence comes the whakatauki above.  There he was prompted to lay the tangiwai at the long-deserted but still sacred temple of Taputapuātea.

I know there were reconnections and awakenings that needed to be made that were helped by the symbol of that tangiwai as it journeyed from its source in Aotearoa to our earlier source in Ra’iātea. 

I know that this was just one occurrence of many occurrences in one life of many lives that happened for an unknown reason at the time, but that became known at the right time. 

I know we all unconsciously have such experiences every day and that they are reminders that all things work together for good to them that love God. 

These knowings are what God meant when he told the imprisoned Prophet Joseph Smith Jnr, “If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren;

… if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way;

… if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou … that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. 

The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?”

For Maori, these knowings are consciously summarised as follows:

Kei te mahi tahi ngā mea katoa i te pai mo te hunga e aroha ana ki te Atua.

All things work together for good to we who love God. 

He kakano tātou, i ruia mai i Rangiātea

We are seeds, descended from greatness.

THE CHOICE TO CARE

I have written in the past and at length about child abuse.  Today my focus is upon elder abuse, especially where those elders are no longer able to care for themselves.

Age Concern defines neglect and abuse as a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust and care, which causes harm or distress to an older person. 

Because there are more examples of abuse and neglect than there is space in this post, here are only four representative, but real, cases of physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse of elders.

The whanaunga (relation) who has barged into the home of a kuia to verbally abuse and physically intimidate her over some perceived offense; that whanaunga is a bully and an abuser.

The paid caregiver who has told a continent but non-ambulatory kuia to mimi and tiko herself instead of asking to be taken to the toilet, thus breaching the HDC Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights Regulation 1996; that’s not a caregiver, that’s a bully and an abuser.

The people who have pressured an elder for financial gain, such as giving a loan, selling their house or letting a family member move in for free; those people are not caregivers, they’re bullies and abusers. 

Predators who have exploited the elderly for sexual gratification are not only abusers, they are criminals worthy of the harshest penalties enforceable. 

What can you and I do about elder abuse?  First of all we can get really clear about what it is and what it looks like.  Age Concern and others have published some of the signs to watch for. 

Any unexplained injuries, bruises, fractures, or even something like broken spectacles can be a sign of physical abuse. 

Sudden changes in behaviour by an older person that mimic dementia such as rocking, sucking, or mumbling to oneself can indicate emotional abuse.

Bruises around breasts or genitals, vaginal or anal bleeding, torn, stained, or bloody underclothing; these are consistent with sexual abuse. 

Sudden changes in the elder’s financial condition like unpaid bills when they have enough money to pay, or ATM withdrawals when the account holder is bedridden, these may signify financial abuse.

If you suspect elder abuse is happening, please tell someone you trust, because silence can be a killer.  And if you see or know an elder is being abused, do not hesitate to call Age Concern and the Police.

In their 2004 paper, Drs Mere Kēpa, Paul Reynolds and Ratana Walker of Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga at The University of Auckland, argued that if a community cannot care for its most vulnerable members, then the community has lost the capacity and capability to care for itself.

We cannot be ‘a little bit abusive’ or ‘a tad neglectful’ of our elders.  We can be either givers of trust and care to them, or bullies and abusers of them.   Which will we choose to be?

DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMEONE

In his speech last month during the third reading of his Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill, Chris Finlayson signalled his hopes that in the not too distant future, someone will do in Ngati Kahu what his friends in other iwi have done; settle all our claims right up to 1992 in a spirit of cooperation.

Whenever a Minister utters his hopes in his House, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that steps are already being taken by various public servants to transform those hopes into the here and now. 

But in this case, there are some serious obstacles to the Ministerial hopes.  First, the head claimants of Ngati Kahu’s well-founded claims have consistently refused to turn their backs on the full and final settlement their tupuna instructed them to get.  And second, the majority of Ngati Kahu’s marae have steadfastly declined to accept the Crown’s 2013 settlement offer as full and final. 

So, how are the public servants doing so far on removing those obstacles?  Well, they’re trying.

Last year Ngati Kahu’s marae were asked by their negotiators whether they would accept the Crown’s 2013 version of a full and final settlement, or stick with their tupuna’s instructions as laid out between 1997 and 2000.  Because the Crown offer when measured against the tupuna’s instructions can only be negotiated as a partial settlement.

But instead of framing the question accurately, local public servants manipulated it to make it seem like it was a straight out choice between either a full and final settlement or a partial settlement. 

What’s the bet that marae who opt to answer this manipulated question will be encouraged to believe that full and final looks like the Crown’s offer, and not their tupuna’s instructions? 

With respect to the head claimants, on Sunday 27^th June, a high-powered team of Wellington-based public servants arrived at a hui on one of our marae.  Neither the head claimant nor the kuia of that marae (all of whom are actively involved in their claim) had a clue they were coming until they walked in the door.  

The result was not a happy one, especially for the public servants who were told by the head claimant, “It’s not often you get things right, but you got it wrong this time,” and more forcefully by the kuia, “Ngati Kahu will not settle.”

On a lower level, another local public servant recently used an appointment with one of Ngati Kahu’s kaumatua to pass on a scurrilous lie to him about his iwi’s Chief Negotiator. 

Under the Public Service Code of Conduct, all public servants are required to disclose any conflict of interest, or potential conflict, before they commence employment and during employment if such a conflict arises.  

While most public servants have enough integrity to steer clear of claims against the Crown, because they know they are conflicted, the same cannot be said about those who are desperately seeking someone to cooperate and settle Ngati Kahu’s claims on the Crown’s terms.

PICKING THE BEST PATHWAY

Earlier this month we were up at Kaitaia College as grandparents, taking part in an NCEA workshop run by Jaqi Brown from the Ministry of Education.  Now I’m not dumb, but before that workshop I knew almost next to nothing about what the National Certificate of Educational Achievement was, how it worked, and what it meant for my mokopuna. 

For example I did not know that there were qualification certificates to be gained over 10 levels, with the first three levels of NCEA being the minimum that our tamariki mokopuna will hopefully leave school with, and then moving on up through Certificate courses (levels 4 – 5), Diplomas (level 5), various Degrees (levels 6 – 9) and Doctorates (level 10).

The fact that I didn’t know this stuff causes me to wonder how many more of our whanau are in the same boat.  Maybe only a few, but I’m not willing to bet on that.  Because one thing that happens when we do know this stuff, is we get a clearer idea of how we can help our children find and follow the education pathway that is best for them.  And that is the nub of the Ngati Kahu education plan.

So I came away from the College workshop and put my CEO hat firmly back on.  As a result we are holding an NCEA workshop on Monday 13^th July in our offices on 21A Parkdale Cres for local whanau and their tamariki mokopuna who are at secondary school, and who want to know how they too can pick the best education pathway. 

We are a very small team in Ngati Kahu, and our job is to put and keep the power and authority to make decisions and take actions firmly in the hands of the whanau. We do that job without Crown funding, because almost invariably such funding compromises our integrity and autonomy as an iwi, and disempowers our whanau and hapu.

However we are happy to work with Crown employees who don’t try to undermine our tikanga.  Jaqi Brown is such a one, which is why we’ve invited her to work alongside us to empower our whanau with the knowledge. 

Some of them may still choose to go another route than NCEA, but at least they will have the facts on which to help them pick the best educational pathway for their children.

I used to wish I could clone myself.  Yes, I can hear the gasps of horror at the very thought from several quarters. 

Relax folks, I don’t wish it anymore, because I’ve learnt to trust that there is always someone out there who is the right one to find and pick the best pathway for us in every wonderful opportunity that comes our way; from education to commerce, and everything before, between and after.

REVIEWING THE RECORD

The mission of Ngāti Kahu is Kia Pūmau Tonu te Mana Motuhake o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Kahu (to steadfastly uphold the sovereignty of Ngāti Kahu’s hapū).  Our means of doing that is to negotiate, demonstrate and resist as needed, in that order.  Not the other way round.

Since the arrival of Tauiwi (English people) and the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the record shows that that is what we have consistently done.  And in spite of the fact that Tauiwi built their capital off the resources they stole from us, it’s what we continue to do.

In the late 1990s, as soon as we knew he had arrived in Karikari, we opened negotiations with the former owner of Carrington, an American investor.  The fact that those negotiations failed and the consequent battles we had with him in and out of court are also on the record. 

In 2013, as soon as we heard he’d sold Carrington to a Chinese investor, we opened negotiations with the new owner.  The cooperation agreement we now have with Shanghai CRED balances their rights to complete the development at Karikari with our responsibilities to protect nga waahi tapu, te ao taiao me nga tangata katoa (the sacred places, environment and people). 

As part of that, last week Professor Margaret Mutu and I led the first Ngati Kahu-Shanghai roopu whakawhiti (cultural exchange) to China.  At our next hui-a-marama we report the detailed results of that visit directly to our hapu and iwi.  

While we were in Shanghai, the US Senate voted down President Obama’s attempt to fast-track legislation that would have authorised his administration to conclude negotiations and then sign off the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without going back to Congress for anything but a “YES” or “NO” vote.

Some commentators suggest that, because the TPP excludes China, it is being used by the US as a means to contain or limit China’s influence and activity in the Pacific. 

Knowing America’s foreign relations record that may well be so.  But the reality is that, through investment, diplomacy and trade, China already has a large and growing presence in the Pacific. 

Therefore, even if it survives this latest setback (and there are ways that it could), without China inside the fold, the TPP could be a lame duck free trade agreement anyway. 

Ngati Kahu opposes the TPP.  Our reasons for that are on the record.  However, unless there are major changes in the government’s legislative record and attitudes, or in New Zealand’s voting record and attitudes, then both foreign investment and development will continue to be realities in our rohe long into the foreseeable future. 

Therefore, even under the cooperation agreement we have with Shanghai CRED, it is on the record that our mission and our means are ongoing.  Kia Pūmau Tonu te Mana Motuhake o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Kahu.

WE ARE BETTER

Earlier this month two separate and very different incidents took place in Kaitaia that portrayed the best and the worst of our rangatahi.  They also brought out and reflected the best and worst amongst the adults of our town.

On Thursday 7^th a video was posted to facebook showing a female student in Kaitaia College uniform assaulting a smaller girl who was clearly special needs.  Just as bad as the assault, if not worse, were some of the comments made by a very few local adults judging and threatening violence against the violator. 

Most of us chose not to share that video or to comment on it.  Instead we contacted the Board of Trustees, the Principal and the Police and left them to do their jobs.  Then we did our jobs to promote changing the narrative from one of fear and hatred to one of tika pono and aroha.

On the same day that assault happened, I was in a local shop when an older woman came in just before it was due to close.  Very unsteady on her feet and smelling strongly of alcohol, she struggled to enter her eftpos PIN and pay for her purchases.

Two young men behind her in school uniform asked, "Are you OK whaea?" She reckoned she was and kept trying but was getting flustered.  The lady behind the counter said, "It's alright whaea, no hurry."  Then another young couple said, "Whaea we can pay for it." She insisted, "No, no, I got the money."   And sure enough the payment went through. We all smiled.

I offered to take her to her next destination, but she said no she was OK and off she went, unsteady but dignified by what had just happened. We all were. And it started with those two rangatahi.

The next day someone started a thread on facebook of “praise and aroha for our tamariki … to focus our attention on all those cool kids out there [who] far outnumber those children that have temporarily lost their way.”

People posted with love and pride about their students and their children, including the youth who was recently honoured for saving someone from drowning, the many rangatahi who attended recent ANZAC Day commemorations around the district, and the Kaitaia College students who are organising a pink shirt mufti day with an anti-bullying theme for the upcoming Youth Week.

Since then, the new College Principal has communicated his thanks to a community that has responded with our best to the assault.  In return I record our thanks to a Principal who has shown he is open to our tikanga support.

 

Our society is made worse by the kino narrative that is too often whipped up on social media, or between different peoples.  It is made better by the higher narrative of faith, hope and love in thought, word and action.

In my heart I know we all have it in us to do and be better, because at heart we are better.

WE ARE MORE

Ka marama i roto, 

Ka tiaho ki waho, 

He kaitiaki Mauri Ora e.

Last year Ngā Tauira Māori o Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau filmed and broadcast Maori in the 21^st Century – An Open Letter. 

The presenters in the video are all from the Kohanga Generation who know with utter clarity that, regardless of the many labels stuck on us, as Mana Whenua we are so much more.

Schooled and skilled in the seven imperatives of Mauri Ora, the Kohanga Generation are immunised against the dis-eases of interpersonal, institutional and / or internalised racism.

Mauri, Mana, 

Tapu, Tikanga, 

Wairua, Whakapapa, 

Me te reo Maori.

These imperatives enable Mana Whenua to extend our greatness to all our Manuhiri.  They also lay the foundations for the innate greatness of our Manuhiri to be expressed. In the past, those imperatives were rejected and resisted by our Manuhiri on purely racist grounds, and the ability of Mana Whenua and Manuhiri alike to show our greatness was limited and slowed.

Pana Kareao in his tuku whenua transactions experienced that when he underestimated the greatness of the Mana Whenua and overestimated that of the Manuhiri.  As a result, for one who dreamed of greatness, Pana died a sad man.

He moemoea, 

He kaupapa, 

Mauri ora ki te Whanau, Hapu, Iwi.

Since the time of Pana Kareao, local Mana Whenua have done more than dream of our greatness; we’ve worked long and hard to uphold it, and the Kohanga Generation are amongst the sweetest fruits of our work. 

The foundation members of that generation are now in their early 30s and are amongst the world’s most confident innovators and achievers.  This fact coincides with the arrival of other new and confident Manuhiri with no inbred racist prejudices towards us as Mana Whenua.

For Ngati Kahu it’s a happy co-incidence on which we have built a relationship with the new owners of the Peppers Resort and Estate Winery on Karikari Peninsula. 

Heke iho i nga Atua, 

Enei kupu ki te Tangata, 

He kaitiaki mo Te Ao Hurihuri e.

Unlike their predecessors, our Chinese Manuhiri have accepted and embraced the Mauri Ora imperatives with ease.  In fact, the only resistance continues to come from a few New Zealanders who supported the former owner against us, or are still dis-eased by racism of one form or other.

That can be seen in how a few of them are showing their dis-ease regards the Chinese development plans at Karikari.  Where were they and their dis-ease when the American was planning an even bigger development that included 12 houses on top of our burial cave?  No thanks to them or the former owner, Te Ana o Taite is now protected forever.

He moemoea, 

He kaupapa, 

Mauri ora ki te Whanau, Hapu, Iwi.

The truth is the dis-eased racists amongst us no longer have any power to limit or slow our greatness as Mana Whenua, only that of their own.  Because, as the Kohanga Generation know, we are so much more. 

 Ka marama i roto, 

Ka tiaho ki waho, 

He kaitiaki Mauri Ora e.

MORE THAN MERE SURVIVORS

My father is a fan of Winston Peters.  In fact instead of giving the stray cat that turned up a couple of years ago the usual lead between the eyes treatment, he kept and named it Winitana because he reckons that, like its namesake, “it’s a survivor with style.” 

However, being on the Maori Roll, my father has never cast a personal vote for the New Zealand First leader.  But I think, given the chance, he would have in the recent by-election. 

Clearly a number of Northlanders did, either before or on Saturday 28^th March.  That was also the hui-a-marama of Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngati Kahu where, if anyone was on the General Roll, no-one was owning up to it.  But even amongst Ngati Kahu, there was a degree of interest in the outcome of the by-election, with the closing comment in the poroporoaki being along the lines of, “Ka wini Winitana!”

The by-election result is now history, and National didn’t lose Northland so much as Winston went out and took it off them.  But now, what next?

For the red blooded leftist parties the reality is largely unchanged.  Although Winston won Northland with their support, and may even win it again in 2017 with their support, the majority of active voters in the electorate remain blue blooded to the core.  Winitana will have to do more than merely survive to change that reality.

Similarly, the reality for Mana Whenua is unchanged, albeit for different reasons.  Regardless of who holds the general seats, the majority of people in them are pro-Crown, and will never allow Mana Whenua to sit within their political system as anything other than servants to their Crown. 

Why then would Maori want to share power with such people and within such systems?  It seems contrary and unnatural.  But is it?  I can think of at least two reasons why, in spite of the huge amount of evidence that it’s a waste of time, many of us participate in the Crown’s electoral systems. 

The first is to do with colonisation, which can be likened to what happens to the cage-bred offspring of wild animals.  They may retain many of the characteristics of their wild relations, including language and hierarchical behaviours.  But if they are returned or introduced into the wild, cage-bred animals invariably have difficulty adjusting to "fending for themselves” and often don’t make it, either dying in the wilderness or returning to their cage. 

And even if they are accepted by their wild kin, while the gene pool is expanded, so too is the risk of introducing new and devastating diseases into the wild population.

This is a very close analogy to Maori who claim the title of Mana Whenua, but have been cut off from its systems for so long they cannot adjust to “fending for themselves” under it, but prefer to remain within, or return to, the familiar framework of the Crown systems.

These Maori are easy to spot, because wherever they go amongst Mana Whenua tuturu, they introduce their own internalised dis-ease, dissent and doubt about Mana Whenua systems.

The second reason some of us take part in the Crown’s electoral systems is to do with hope.  In spite of its past and present criminality against us, some of us continue to hope that the Crown’s recidivism can be curbed if we have a few of us inside its systems. 

These ones can be identified in at least three different ways:  Their exhaustion from trying to reconcile Crown and Mana Whenua systems; their frustration that it ain’t happening; and their halos as they forgive everyone, including themselves, for that fact. 

Kei a ratou.  Kahuri.

Whether its colonisation or hope that motivates any of us to take part, for me the Crown’s electoral processes have now become matters for passive observation, and my active participation is reserved for mahi Mana Whenua because that’s what brings me and my whanau wellbeing and happiness. 

And, as even our newest MP for Northland will know, being well and happy is much better than just being a mere “survivor with style.”

A PILL CALLED PRIDE

Life inside an iwi provides many reminders to beware of pride.  This was a lesson I finally and fully learned in 1975 when, as trainee nurses, my sister and I did a two week Public Health stint in Whangarei. 

This involved doing outpatient work in people’s homes.  Who knew that an amputee could live in such squalor that his stump became a happy home for generations of maggots?  This spectacularly gory lesson, and other more mundane ones, were firsts for us both.  But there was more.

My sister’s then boyfriend lived in Whangarei, and each night he’d take us out.  At the time The Big O was newly opened and The Grand was still worthy of its name.  Of course, bearing in mind that the height of flash for us up to that time had been a do at Davina’s in Awanui, we were dazzled.    

But it was on one of those nights out in Whangarei that we both learned this great truth on the dangers of pride; Kei riro ta koutou taonga i te maminga a te tangata e mea ana ki te whakaiti i a ia, ki te karakia ki nga anahera, ka noho i roto i nga mea e kitea ana e ia, ka whakapehapeha kau noa, he mea na tona ngakau kikokiko.  And this is how it happened.

We were at The Settlers Tavern when a stranger sat next to me and asked if I was a nurse. "Yes," says I. Then he asked, "Do you drop tabs?"  I had no idea what he was talking about until it came to me that he was speaking in code and tab must actually mean the T.A.B. 

"No," says I happily, "I don't bet on horses." He looked at me strangely and moved away.

Then he approached my sister who suddenly looked around, sidled over to me and whispered, "Have I got my mate?" I checked and told her, “No.” then asked, “Why?”  "Because," says she, "that guy just asked me if I dropped my tampon."

He may have thought we were a complete pair of nanas, but we knew he was a real rorirori. 

Later that night he fell off the balcony and someone said he’d overdosed on pills.  But when we took him to the hospital, all he had was a very high blood alcohol reading and an empty prescription bottle for amoxicillin in his pocket. 

I always remember him when I hear men either talking up themselves and what they’ve done, or talking down others and the mahi they do. 

Like the tab-dropper they are so puffed up by their own fleshly minds they wouldn’t know humility if it fell on them, reality if they fell over it, or an angel if it blew its trumpet right in their ear. 

I teach my mokopuna, when you see or hear such men personally attacking others, leave them to it.  They’re just tripping on a pill called pride.

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.