Ko te Tira Mōrehu Reo o Moeraki
At our last wānaka over Queen’s Birthday Weekend, we spent some time going over waiata that we have composed over the last few years and putting them to a poi and a haka.
We don’t know how long it has been since our whare, Uenuku and wharekai, Te Wairutu-a-tai last heard a Moeraki haka or poi written by us, for us but we felt pretty good about our efforts by the end of the weekend, and completed it with a performance to Nan and Pōua.
We deviated slightly from our usual mahika kai expeditions and had a bonfire instead, where we roasted marshmallows on a clear star-lit night, before the children proceeded to wake the rest of Moeraki up with shrieks and laughter as the traditional game of ‘marae spot-light’ ensued.
Another positive outcome of our hui was having the time to think about the next part of the journey, and how we might encourage more of our Moeraki whānau to come home to learn the reo and our kōrero.
To support this, we have decided to extend our planned wānaka in the first week of the September/October school holidays to a wānaka reo, based on the Kura Reo model, having Moeraki graduates of Te Panekiretanga attend as teachers. We will start with a heke to Aoraki on 28-29 September, returning to Moeraki on 29 and starting our kura, which we are naming “Te Tira Reo o Moeraki,” 30 September-3 October.
We will put out a more detailed pānui in the next Te Pānui Rūnaka but we wanted to sow the seed of thought early, so people can start looking at their diaries.
We would like to thank Tihou for helping our men work on the haka and of course, Nola and Patrick Tipa – our Pā whakawairua, who have continued to keep the home fires burning for us, so that when we return our whare is always warm and welcoming, our food is delicious and is all the children can talk about on the journey home. The feeling of aroha and whanaukataka means we leave with sad hearts but it already has us thinking of the next trip. He whānau e ako tahi ana, he whānau ora.
Nāia Te Tira Mōrehu Reo o Moeraki e mihi atu ana ki a koutou, kā whanauka e noho ana i kā tōpito o te motu. Ko te whānau e ako tahi ana, he whānau ora, ā, ko tēnei te whānau o Moeraki e whai tonu ana i tā mātou kaupapa ako i te reo Māori me kā tikaka a tō mātou papa kāika o Moeraki. Ko whā tau mātou e haere ana i tēnei huanui, ā, ia wā i hoki mātou ki te haukāika, he oraka wairua, he oraka hinekaro, he oraka tinana. Ahakoa te tokoiti, he nui tonu te hiahia i tēnā, i tēnā o mātou ki te whakarakatira i kā taoka a pōua mā, a tāua mā i tukuna iho mai ki a mātou.
The Tira Mōrehu Reo o Moeraki sends forth our mihi to all of our relations in the many corners of our land. The whānau who learns together is a healthy whānau, and this is the Moeraki whānau who are continuing on our journey of learning our language and our customs and traditions of our home of Moeraki. We have now been on this path for over four years and every return home is reviving in spirit, mind and body. Although we may be small in number, the desire in each and every one of us to celebrate and value the treasures passed down to us by our ancestors, is strong.
To finish off our little pānui, we will end with the words of some of the waiata we composed during our wānaka, to celebrate the life and accomplishments of our tīpuna, Matiata Tiramorehu, so here are the words for one of our latest which we have broken up into two waiata; Ko Tīhore te pō roa and Te Wehi o Tēnei Ao:
Ko tīhore te pō roa
Ko heia te kōpaka whakarakau ki Puari
Wero i te ninihi, Wero i te kokoto (kai ruka)
hei irika roimata mō kā huāka
Raraua te kiko e te niho makā
Ka puta ko te rei,
Whakareia tō waka
Watua ki te toka
Aratakina tō kauika, he tira mōrehu
Aukaha, kia kaha, i kā kaha o Āraiteuru
Au ahi, au ora,
au moana, aua noa atu.
The long night has cleared
The hoar frost has set at Puari
The winter stars are above
A suspended mantel of tears for the relations
The flesh is mauled by the barracuda tooth
The leader (whale tooth) steps forward
Adorn your canoe
Go ahead to the South
Lead forth your pod, a party of survivors
Strengthen the lashings of the bulwark of Āraiteuru
Where there is smoke there is life,
But the current of the sea who knows?
Te wehi o te ao kōmiro
Horo ana te whenua o ō tūpuna
Te rohi-ā-uta, wairutu-ā-tai
He whenua houkura, ki Matuatiki, ki Moeraki
Uia kā pou o Ōmanawharetapu
Matiaha e, takina tō tūtū kārahu
Tō mana ki te raki,
tō reo ki te papa
Tō haumāuiui he kuru pounamu
Tau ana i to poho o tō iwi e.
How fearsome the changing world
Your ancestral land is eroding
The lament of the land, the lament of the tides
Behold the peaceful land Matuatiki, and Moeraki
Seek guidance from the posts of Omanawharetapu
Oh Matiaha, lead your war dance
Let your mana be to the heavens
And your voice be to the land
The toils of your work are a prized greenstone
That rests upon the breast of your people.
The beautiful whenua.
Moeraki whānau gathering together.
The males during a haka practice.
Tamariki gathering around the bonfire.
Three generations, from left, Sarah-Jane Tipa with Te Arani, Pōua Darkie and Nan Tipa and Mary-Anne Tipa.
Giving the poi a go.