Ngā Uri o Metapere ki Arahura

Well, what a fantastic whānau hui that was.
Uri o Metapere Ngawini Barrett spent Show Weekend on the West Coast absorbing as much Ngāti Waewae kōrero, whakapapa, whakawhanaungatanga and kai as we could, and we loved every minute of it. We had a thoroughly enjoyable trip over the hills to Arahura, where we had the chance to reignite our flames with the ahi kā.

Reading over the evaluation forms the highlights for our whānau hui were:

1. Seeing our whare tūpuna, Tūhuru, staying on our marae and learning about the kōrero of those who adorn the marae
2. The ‘I Spy’ game and the awards night
3. Looking for pounamu along our awa, Arahura
4. Learning about our whakapapa and our connection through Tāua Metapere to the West Coast
5. Intermingling with our Arahura whānau, particularly the crack-up kaumātua who I know had a wonderful time with us too.

E kore te puna aroha e mimiti ki a koutou Ngāti Waewae. Nei rā te mihi a ngā uri o Metapere Ngawini Barrett ki a koutou te ahi kā o Arahura.

A JOURNEY IN LIFE of WARRIORS OF EMOTION

(Title by Barbara Bowen and Rosa Gillespie)

When the golden dawn streams in as light
Shadows of the dark have no need to fight
Each with their own purpose no wrong or right
Like the sun and moon – Day and night

What we carry around and choose to let go
If it’s not respected how do we grow
Don’t look for sufferings that bring you low
Be like the tides that – Ebb and flow

We all have our obstacles we need to face
Needing to distant and have our own space
And if in doing so we find wisdom and grace
Then the start and finish – A different place

It doesn’t matter how heavy the load
It’s our responsibility to carry down the road
And when we’ve released then nothing owed
Time to move on to – The next episode

With so much chaos that’s happening around
We can get so caught up our emotions are wound
For those that are caught in the battleground
We are here – And in love we surround

The dark will keep coming it’s not a threat
The peaceful warriors have no regret
They rise above and offer the sunset
In words of remembrance – Lest we forget.
Nā Lesel Flutey.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Maui Uenuku Rakei Ora Brennan (Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Ngāti Whakaue-Te Arawa) who has once again had a successful academic year at St Bedes College, Christchurch. He is 17-years-old and is in year 12. Maui is tuakana to Matteo Brennan who is a year nine at the same school.

Some of Maui’s academic achievements for 2015 include excellence in religious education, economics and English; and first in music (level 2). He also gained merit marks in accounting and mathematics. In addition, he was awarded first place for music and religious studies.

Maui also succeeded in some of his extracurricular activities. He performed for the Fourth Order quartet, which won the South Island Barbershop Championship 2015 – they also placed fifth at Barbershop Nationals. He also formed the St Bede’s seven-member jazz band, which went onto receive a bronze award at Jazz Quest. In addition, Maui played in the chamber music group, Follow the Lieder, which qualified in the South Island Chamber Music finals. Well done Maui, your whānau are proud of you.

Mother Earth

(An excerpt from, Lethals Insights)

My feet dig deeper into mother earth
I feel her distress like she’s about to give birth
From side to side I feel her sway
Like she is mad and has something to say
Upon her heart I place my ear
I need to listen need to hear
Thump thump the beats are very strong
Thumping too fast something feels wrong
I begin to massage to ease her pain
Her tears come down it begins to rain
I soak up her tears by rolling on the ground
Every inch of my being I know we are bound
I taste her tears within my mouth
While acknowledging East, West North and South
I let her cradle me in her breast
The rain stops, it’s time for a rest
I tell her my concerns, she kisses my hands
She whispers in my ear, a mother understands.
Nā Lesel Flutey.

Hāhi Rātana wānanga

All are invited to attend our Hāhi Rātana wānanga to be held on Sunday 8 November at Tuahiwi Marae. At 11am we will begin with whakamoemiti and this will be followed by shared kai at 12pm.

The wānanga will start at 1pm and the purpose of this hui will be to learn the history of the hāhi, to recruit āpotoro akonga, āpotoro wairua, āpotoro rehita, āpotoro āwhina and kātipa, band players and new members for the choir; and above all to have fun.

To end the day we will have dinner at 6pm and it will be a shared boil up. Please bring enough kai for two not 22 and we can sample the different types of boil up.

If you would like more information please contact Aroha by email: [email protected] or text: 021 880 678.
Nā Aroha Reriti-Crofts.

Tawera Ahu Whenua Trust

On Saturday 7 November, the Tawera Ahu Whenua Trust will be holding our annual general meeting at 10am at Tuahiwi Marae. We are looking for more trustees so all members of the Tawera Ahu Whenua Trust are encouraged to attend. Any queries should be forwarded to Aroha Reriti-Crofts (secretary) at: [email protected] or text: 021 880 678. Pānui on behalf of Charlie Williams (chairman).

More news from the marae

Kia ora, hello, how are you all? Neat, I thought you were…My condolences to all who have lost loved ones.

Where will I start, I know…glass dishes – it’s not good enough, we still have not received any of them back, so I hope whoever has them is feeling guilty.

We recently went up to Te Papa for our Matariki weekend and what a lovely weekend it was. All the youngies, oldies and those in between enjoyed themselves, and of course I am one of the youngies (I wish).  [Read more…]

He pēpi

Henare Te Aika-Puanaki and Rhea Waretini would like to announce their new pēpi, Te Maiaorere o Ngā Whakaaro Tiki te Aroha Te Aika-Puanaki Waretini (Maiao for short). He was born on 10 April weighing 6.3lbs. He is a great moko for Teresa Te Aika and first moko for Lynne Te Aika. He is a healthy young boy and was an early gift as he was born a month before his due date. His iwi are Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kahungunu.

Thank you all for the kind wishes and congratulations.

Rā whānau

On 13 May, we celebrated the 90th birthday of Aubrey Pohio affectionately known as Uncle/Pōua Bob. He spent his special day at lunch with his youngest sister Meri Jacobs, followed by a visit from his two nephews Clifford and Todd Jacobs (sons of the late brother, Henry Jacobs).

Clifford Jacobs said he was always there to help dad and asked for nothing. Todd Jacobs spoke of how Uncle Bob had always lived and been close to them all their lives – usually within walking distance. “He misses our dad a lot too as they did a lot together.” It was a joyous day enjoyed by all and I’m delighted to say that he was happy, healthy and in high spirits. Here’s to plenty more birthday celebrations for you Uncle Bob. Nā Reriti Tau.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Anneke Topia for her achievements in the Southern Lights Salon Culinary competition. Anneke made Michelle Phillpott’s tomato soup with cheesy cherry tomato scones and scored a mighty bronze award. On behalf of the entire pā, we send you our congratulations and we look forward to having a taste of your award-winning kai at the next hui; especially when Reriti is back in town. Good luck with your future endeavours of becoming a chef, and smashing the competition next year with a gold as well.