Te Reo Maori - My Right!

A photo of a poster advertising Te Reo classes, Maori language at the recent Waitangi Day celebrations.

To the right of this blog is my mihi, my pepeha - my formal introduction in Maori.

I have tribal connections with Te Rarawa, Maniapoto & Te Atiawa. My father's mountain is Taranaki, my grandfathers river is the mighty Waikato and my grandmothers body of water is Te Oneroa A Tohe (90 Mile Beach).

I have enrolled in Maori language 101. I have asked to be part of the tangata whenua on my campus when we have visitors. I want to learn more waiata (Maori song) and more about my origins. My canoe, my ancestors voyages across the oceans from far away lands. I want to visit my homeland this year. I need to go back to go forward. Life is like that sometimes.

I don't feel that it is 'going back' per se, but I do not think I can move another step without better understanding my whakapapa. I am fortunate my grandmother will help me. I will call her soon and we will korero about this.

It is becoming increasingly hard to move in any direction without confronting the absence of certain aspects of my makeup.

My heart breaks because I know my journey is wrought with pain. My native language was beaten out of my grandmother when she was a child. She in turn, did not want to disadvantage my mother, so my mother was brought up 'white', without her language and culture. In just two generations, the knowledge was lost. To go back is to confront a whole spectrum of personal as well as political issues that still spark off intense debate and crossfire in my country.

I find it difficult myself, because I am an 'inbetweener'. In the pakeha (European) world, I am very Maori. In the Maori world, I am very westernised. I am comfortable with my identity in myself, because God says I am 'wonderfully made' (Psalm 139). I know this to be true of all of us. But it gets me deep in my gut to think that a wide canyon exists between the cultures of this country, and that sometimes, I am not welcome in either camp.

I love my life - my education, the 24 hour supermarkets, the cafes and lattes, the clothes I wear, the many cultures that make up this land and my access to university. I think technology is great otherwise I couldn't do my blog for instance. No, I'm not anti western culture. I also love those who pursue to maintain the culture, the customs, ways and beliefs of their ancestors. Those who are passionate about all things Maori. I owe them a lot. Those who went before to try and secure land for the tangata whenua, to establish kohanga reo (language nests) and kura kaupapa (schools) where te reo is the first language. Those who choose to live at the settlements, who maintain the upkeep of the marae and urupa's. Those who forsake a material lifestyle to retain these taonga (treasures), the fisheries and forests. Those who become demonised for being passionate about retaining their way of life. The 'radicals' who lay their reputation on the line. Got to appreciate people who are willing to lay it down for a real cause. I understand passion. I understand fighting for a cause.

I think I was born a fighter in so many ways. Injustice gets right up my nose. One of my favourite stories is of my grandmother and her brothers doing the haka (war dance) on the road outside her school because they would get sent home from school for not having shoes. She grew up when times were hard. Her father did a runner and left her mother and many many children to fend for themselves. He would turn up on pay day, take the money and disappear. I can see my grandmother as a small girl watching her father ride off on his horse leaving her mother and children to run a dairy farm. I can only imagine her heartbreak and disappointment. So my grandmother and her siblings learned to do the work of men. When I was a child, she was never still. Always putting down posts for a fence, nailing the tin back on the roof, ripping up and sowing new gardens, helping the kaumatua (elders) of our community, sewing, baking, ironing, washing, knitting, walking everywhere. She never complained about her work, she carried it well.

She was a member of the local branch of Mana Motuhake - a Maori political group in those days. She would stand and speak on marae even though women were not strictly allowed the floor and so a woman speaking in the marae was often frowned upon. I guess I am like her in this. No one can shut me up when I have something important to say. I am now the kid on the road who can haka with the big boys.

Still, the challenge is to direct all that strength and energy into places where it can be of the most use. Coupled with wisdom and maturity, I believe that people like myself can influence outcomes. We can take this knowledge and advocate so that our children will not be foreigners in their own land. I am only joining thousands of others who have gone before me.

Indeed globally, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Ghandi are great examples of passionate people who believed in something and worked hard to bring it about. At great cost. We have people like that in this country. Bishop Brian Tamaki and Tame Iti are two men from my people that I admire. I don't always understand necessarily where they are coming from, but I do know that when we shut up and listen, we hear something that makes a lot of sense.

Fear is a killer. People fear what they don't understand. I know I do. I also know my curious nature and intensity makes me look for more understanding. To tip something upside down and shake it, see how it's made, really look at it until I gain more information.

So, the question remains ... I am 36, I have always felt this stirring in my spirit to do something great, and this is what's on top.

When I was in college, I was an awful student. I asked hard questions, I didn't like teachers superiority, I challenged everything and everyone, and drove some of my teachers to tears. My geography teacher Mr Tucker was a bit limp in my eyes. So I used to be a pain in the ass in his class. Had a smart mouth and stirred up the others in my group. We gave him a hard time. One day he pulled me out of class and shoved me up against a wall. He took a tight grip on my collar and looked me straight in the eye and said something to the effect of ...

"Right now you are nothing and even if what you say is true, no one will listen because you are nothing. Why don't you make something of yourself and then people will have to listen!"

Ashamedly, I don't think I stopped giving him a hard time but I have definitely remembered what he said. It is one of those sparkling moments, when truth comes in and a seed was sown.

Contact with Native Americans last week helped pull certain things into perspective too. I needn't cringe about my children not knowing their culture. This is a global issue for all minorities and indigenous peoples.

My teacher who obviously wasn't as lame as I thought, threw down a giant challenge back in the days . "What are you going to do about it Rachelle?" And in my spirit, that is what I hear these days. It is getting harder to sit on the fence about things. All my reasons are starting to sound like excuses.

And honestly, I don't know. I strive to have a positive effect on this world, to be self aware and contribute positively to my environments. I have learned to relax and enjoy my life, and not run around looking for new dramas. When I make a mistake, I am quick to apologise these days and can laugh easily at my own silliness. In short, I have it pretty cruisy. Life is pretty good and I am loathe to upset the balance. And although I know the general direction that my heart is pulling me in, I still can't say I have a clear vision, goals or direction per se.

So what do I do? I don't have any easy answers but I saw something last week at my institute, an attitude I didn't like, it didn't leave me feeling safe and I am now dealing with it. It is scary and it forces me to deal with things that potentially could get unpleasant. I am taking my time, have taken some advice and now need to put together a proposal. It probably isn't a big deal for most people and it needn't be a drama if it is handled correctly, and both parties are amenable (which I believe they will be). However I am operating in areas that I don't feel I have the answers to myself. It is a cultural issue and it does leave me feeling a little raw for now. I am scared to be labelled 'radical', 'angry Maori woman', and 'shit stirrer'. That's what happens when we stand up and say we don't like something in our country. When we offer solutions. It's not unusual to be villainised by the majority when you try to change things.

Attitudes of "Why do have to learn that Maori stuff anyway, why can't I want learn about my own culture instead?" or "Why do I have to learn this shit, it has nothing to do with me?" or "Maori's are sooo lucky" or even having my colleagues tell me "I don't have a problem with Maori, I like Maori people." Just sometimes, these attitudes and the underlying current is a little too big to swallow.

Sweeping generalisations, not really. Comments like this have come from people I respect and care about. But sometimes things bother me a little too much and to do nothing is a worse crime. It means the next hundred people after me will have to deal with something I could influence and change.

Well, I signed up for my language this week. That's my start. And I pray that God will reveal the rest as I need to know.

Waitangi Day

Dear Queen
There seems to have been a misunderstanding
Perhaps I can explain.
You see
When I say 'family', I do not mean my mum and dad, my brothers and sisters;
I mean everyone I know who I value and am connected with, tied by love and not necessarily just blood;
When I say 'land', I do not mean this asset I possess,
I mean our land, the place where we belong, our connection to the earth, most vital to our spiritual well being;
And when we said 'yes'
We did not give you permission to strip us of our rights and property; to steal the land; jail our men; and displace us from our homelands.
We meant "We have plenty and you can share it with us. There's enough for everyone."
So please could you put everything back where it belongs
And leave things bloody well alone!

Today was Waitangi Day. The day we in New Zealand celebrate the establishment of the Treaty, an agreement between the Crown (English) and the Maori over 100 years ago. Unfortunately the Treaty was never honoured and still remains a thorn in many peoples sides. It is our own country's internal struggle. My own views are varied on this hot topic - so much hurt and injustice occurred and there's much restitution and healing yet to be done. Our city had a celebration of sorts and here are some pics I took today as I roamed the grounds at the local high school.
Close up of a sculpture in the sculpture competition. Sorry No. 14, I didn't get ur name, but I liked your concept best. Maybe not the tidiest execution of materials but definitely the most evocative given the purpose of the day. A few of my staunch sisters came up alongside, and the European artist nervously apologised "I don't mean to offend anyone" says she. Well, us Maori folk all unanimously agreed this was the best sculpture due to: her use of te reo (our language) and the symbolism of a crown over the words (for us anyway it symbolised oppression). We all rushed over to the table and voted for her piece. I hope she won. (PS. All materials supplied by Trash Palace).
A wall of flower brooches.
Some little taonga (treasures). I bought my son one of the Mother Of Pearly koru (spiral) pieces at the bottom. He needed his own Taonga. It cost me $8.
Some metal renditions of classic Maori designs. I'm not sure that I like these, preferring traditional materials in this instant but I can understand their appeal. My son probably would've liked these too but I like the pearl ones, they have a different glow.
I asked this lovely lady if I could photograph her Pacific Island jewellery stand but I like this photo of her better. You can see why Captain Cook and his fellow sailors were captured with the Pacific.

Some of her lovely wares including a fabric flower and turtle earrings made with coconut shell and a fibre braided through them. Flowers are a big deal for Pacific Island women. They are a symbol of beauty and are worn behind the ear for all occasions, much like jewellery. But make sure you know which ear to put it behind, for one side is for married women, and the other signals a woman is single(which makes it handy for guys to know that a woman is available). These fabric flowers are great because we are not a tropical country and exotic blooms are not in abundance here. Samoan hair clips.

What is it about these evocative sounds and dusky men with long black hair. It's quite sexy actually. I took a photo of their cd, hoping to post their name, but alas the photo was blurry, so sorry lads but you were nice to look at and listen too. I swear, I will one day be able to afford lovely handmade shoes. I will even get them fitted to my feet by the maker. After being alongside a 'handmade shoe' workshop last year, I came to appreciate the value of good shoes, and they needn't be boring either. I must admit, none of these really appealed to me, except maybe those lime green and turquoise ones at the end.
Being a textile artist, I was drawn to this table and this new take on an old idea. Miriona was lovely as she talked about her work. There were at least six people behind the table with her and when I asked if these were her whanau (family), she laughed because she reckons that was only a quarter of them. She did this nifty thing with driftwood and wove some string up it. I think her flowers are cheerful and unique. I must admit, I was looking for Maori artists and crafts - where the heck are they? This is Porirua, Polynesian Central in the Capital for goodness sake! Then my husband pointed to the front of the stage and all the Maori's sitting there watching the shows. "There they are," he said, "they're all eating." So ok. But I do get a bit pissy seeing all the same old trades folk out selling caps, commercial jewellery, balloons etc and I understand you all have to make a living, but given that it is WAITANGI Day, I figure there should be more representation from our side as well.

See, weaving flowers from flax is something I do with my mother-in-law when she comes to visit. We experiment. She's half Tahitian and half Cook Island, and merge this with Maori weaving styles, I have learned some amazing skills from her ...

I found a tiger.
A cool hat.
Some fish.
An Indian!

A flock of Indians. No bull, I really want some of these wing things myself. I can just see myself in these. Aren't they beautiful. They were flogging their cd's from a metal briefcase. The irony. But they really are beautiful.
A fale (Polynesian hut) ...
Where they sold half a pineapple stuffed with ice cream for $5. yum.
And finally, I was determind today to get at least one picture of myself, so theMan faithfully grabbed the camera and caught these shots. My favourite feather earring. I felt so connected to my Native American brothers. Me and theBoy2. Give me some of that slushy! (What is a slushy? Shaved ice and flavoured syrup of course). Notice he wears his taonga.
TheMan sits smiling. I took off to do my art thing while he took the boys on the fair rides, fed them and then followed me around as I finished off my rounds. Unflappable he is. Now finally we are where he likes to be. Being a musician, the stage and music is always his drawcard at these shows, that is, if he isn't standing on it singing himself.
The Wellington Ukelele Orchestra. So kitsch. I loved the girl in the frock on the end with the flower in her hair. She wore bright red lipstick and shoes, and played and sung with gusto. The energy this group gave off was fun, clever and very entertaining.
And finally a bit of Polynesian styles. Admittedly we came late, so we missed all the other acts but here is a church choir doing some form of a siva (dance). ...That was my day at park. There are more photos, but I just wanted to share a glimpse. A bit late posting because my mum read my blog and was so passionate about it, she rang and we talked for nearly FIVE hours tonight. Um, she's in Brisbane, Australia and I'm in New Zealand. I could've flown there and back. My son's are back at school tomorrow after their summer vacation. I need some sleep. Going for coffee tomorrow with all my friend's at Aunty Daisy's, a cafe down by the beach. Looking forward to it. We're celebrating the kids being back at school. Cafe's and long chats are not conducive with children. And the food's so expensive, I can't afford to take my two, do you know how much they eat?? Apopo ra (until tomorrow)...