The Ngarimu V.C. Essays

Tu Tangata, Issue 3, 1 November 1981, Page 28

The Ngarimu V.C. Essays

Puti Clarke Form 2 Ruatoki School

Ko tenei pakiwaitara mo tetahi tangata kaha kite rere i roto i te hau.

No Tuhoe tenei pakiwaitara mo Tamarau.

Ko Hape-ki-Turangi te rangatira i runga i te waka o Te Rangi-ma-Toru. I tau mai tenei waka ki Ohiwa. He nui hoki te kai i reira, te kumara, te ika, te kai moana me nga mataitai o te moana. I a Hape to mauri mo te whakato kai. He tangata tapu ia. Kei roto enei mea i ona ringaringa. I heke mai tana mauri i a Maui Tikitiki rano.

Ko Maui Ko Ue Ko-Tu-Mai Ko Po-Tahuri-ke Ko Te Puke Ko Rake Ko Tikitiki Ko Hape-ki-Tuarangi.

I noho a Hape me tona whanau ki Ohiwa. Karekau ratau e matekai ana, na te mea i a Hape te mauri mo te whakatipu kai.

I tetahi rangi ka whakaaro ia, me haere kite Waipounamu kite tiki pounamu ataahua. A, ka haere a Hape. Ka heke ia kite awa o Tarawera, ma runga i Kaingaroa, tae atu ia ki Kaimanawa. Ka titiro iho ia ki te timatatanga o Rangitaiki, heke iho ana ki Rangitikei, tae atu ki Porirua. Ka titiro atu ia kite pae MoanaRaukawa, katahi ka whakawhiti atu ia. Ka u ia ki Wairau, tupiki atu i runga i nga maunga o Kaikoura, ka tae ia kite Waipounamu.

Kote ahua o Hape, he tangata pai te hanga, he tangata e waru nga putiki o wana makawe i tona tikihope e mau ana ia e rua nga tatua, kei roto nga mauri, nga mana, me nga tapu. Ko Tamarau te ingoa o tetahi o nga tatua ra, ko Rawaho tetahi.

Ko Hape te papa o Tamarau raua ko Rawaho. Ko Rawaho te matamua o raua, ko Tamarau te potiki. I noho atu a Hape ki Te Waipounamu, mate atu hoki. I taua taima ra i te matekai tona iwi i Ohiwa. Karekau ratau kai e tipu. Ko te matao noaiho o te kumara i whakarerehia ki a ratau. I tera, ka whakaaro te wahine a Hape, a Ruahine. Me haere tama a Rawaho raua ko Tamarau kite kimi

i to raua papa. Ana ka haere raua, ka takahi i nga tapuwae o Hape. Tae atu raua ki Porirua ka ui raua kinga tangata o tetahiiwi, pena kua kite ratau i tetahi tangata taroaroa, e war ona putiki i wona makawe, e maui ana e rua nga tatua i tana tikihope. Ka whakahoki mai ratau, “kua whakwhiti aut ia ki tera o nga motu”. Ka titiro atu raua kite Moana-o-Raukawa. Ka kawea raua e nga atua horihori a Po-Tu-mai me Po-Tahuri-ke. Ka tae atu raua ki Te Waipounamu. I reira ka tutaki raua ki nga tangata o tetahi iwi ano, ka ui ki a ratau, pena kua kite ano ratau i tetahi tangata e warn nga putiki, he paite hanga, e mau ana e rua nga tatua i tana tikihope. Ka whakahokia mai e ratau “Ae, keikora, kei roto i te whare e uhia ana e te mawhai engari kua mate ke“. Haere atu ana raua kite titiro, ka kite atu i tetahi mea e kanapanapa mai ana, ka mohio ratau ko ana mana. Ka mea a Rawaho ki a Tamarau “E hao, taihoa, kaua e kuhu atu, me karakia ahau kia watea ai taua kite kuhu atu”, Ka korero a Tamarau ki a ia ano “kare ahau mo te whakarongo atu ki a koe”. Ka kuhu atu ia. Ka kite atu i tona popa e noho tu ana, kua kukuti ke tana kiri ki runga i ana koiwi. Ka noho a Tamaru kite taha o tana papa ka ngaua e ia tana taringa. I tera, ka uru atu nga mauri ki rooto i a Tamarau. Ka tango e ia nga tatua o Hape ka hunaia e ia ki raro i tana korowai. Ka puta atu ia, rokohanga e karakia tonu ana a Rawaho. Ka me atu ia ki a Rawaho “E hoa, te roa hoki o to karakia, whakamutua”. Ka mutu a Rawaho ka kuhu atu ia. Karekau ia i te mohio i te mahi hanariki tana teina. Ka tuku a Rawaho i tana ihu kite ihu o tana

papa ka hongi e ia. Ka pohehe ia kua riro i a ia nga mauri. A, ka hoki raua ka tae atu raua ki Porirua, ka kai i reira. Ka mutu to raua kai ka me atu a Rawaho kia Tamarau “Mau hei heri o taua kai, waiho ahau hei atua”. Ka whakahoki atu a Tamarau “a, kati Rawaho, haere, heria ou tapu hei kai mau”. Ka heke a Rawaho kite inu wai mana, ka noho tonu a Tamarau kirunga i te puke. Katahi a Rawaho ka tuohu kite inu wai, ka kite atu ia i a Tamarau e rere ana i roto i te hau. I tera ka mohio ia kua riro ke nga mauri i a Tamarau.

I mate raua i Ruatoki, i kawekawe ka tat atu he tangata ki taua wahi ra, ka rongohia he pahu, he tohu tena kua mate he tangata.

I pai i ahu tenei purakau nga te mea no Tuhoe te tangata tuatahi ki te rere.

Peri Hoskins Form 6 Whangarei Boys’ High School

Urban marae have come into being during the last few years to cope with the increasing urbanisation of the Maori people. At the beginning of the century the Maori were a predominantly rural people, thus their marae were situated on tribal land or in rural centres. However the pull to the city in recent times has had a great effect on the Maori population as a whole, hence today over half the Maori population is concentrated in urban areas. Consequently the Maori has left his marae and may now live too far distant to attend meetings. Therefore the advent of the urban marae.

The urban marae carries out all the functions of the rural marae, acting as a home and meeting place for its tribal members. Maori people who have become estranged from their tribal group through a move to the city have the opportunity to reestablish ties with friends and relatives through their urban marae. Maori people who know little of their heritage and ancestry through a life in the city can re-

discover their identity; on their marae in the city they will have what is important to all Maori people, “a place to stand”. They will be able to learn again their history, their whakapapa and perhaps most important of all, a sense of belonging. Here they will belong. The marae will fulfill all the necessary functions for those who wish to come, those of the tribe that need that support that only the marae can give them.

The merits and advantages of the urban marae are many and diverse in nature. The marae provides a centre for hui, weddings, tangi and more formal meetings as well. It can be said that the marae caters for most of the important social factors in the life of the average Maori. The marae can be used as a crutch, as a support in times of difficulty, a place where people are united and care for the members of the group. The benefits the marae provides cannot be expressed in purely physical terms. The effect of the marae goes much deeper than the physical, it is the heart of the Maori way of life, spiritually, socially and physically. It is an integral part of the Maori life-style.

In my opinion there are few disadvantages to urban marae. Some would argue that the urban marae does not fully cater for the needs of its members as it isn’t coupled with surrounding tribal land. Some would say that it is a farce, a feeble attempt at the real thing. Some would maintain that an urban marae could not be genuine without the presence of the Maori tribal elders to lead the way.

In my view all these arguments can be refuted. In this fast-moving and complex world it is not possible for many of the Maori people to live traditionally, near their ancestral lands or near their rural marae. True, the Maori are a rural people, but in today’s world the Maori must adapt, he must find employment where he can and often this means a life in the city. However he still craves and needs that support that the marae offers. Without it the young urban Maori can (and has done) fallen into bad ways. Many a young Maori has sought comradeship, that sense of belonging elsewhere, for example by joining a gang. He believes that by being part of a gang he will regain the sense of being part of a whole, of a common group when what he really needs is to be reunited with his people

through such a medium as an urban marae. In conclusion I would like to say that the great range of benefits the urban marae offers the Maori people is to a very large extent what the urban marae needs and wants. I believe the urban marae should be encouraged, that money and land should be made available by the New Zealand government. Every urban Maori should have his own tribal marae in the city, he should be made aware of what the marae can do for him and what he can do for the marae. Even the landless, unemployed and dispirited, the “morehu”, should have a place, a place to stand.

Each year the Ngarimu V.C. and 28th (Maori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board holds an essay competition for Maori school children in forms 1 to 7. Contestants can write in either Maori or English, and we reproduce here three of the prizewinning essays, one in Maori and two in English.