Auē, he atua!
Nā Piri Sciascia nō Ngāti Kahungunu
He kōrero ēnei mō nga kōhatu pounamu e rua i hikina mai nō ngā awa o Te Waipounamu hei mauri mō Te Māori.
Ko Te Māori te whakakitenga nui i kawea whānuitia ki ngā tūranga teitei o te ao. Hei aha? Hei mātakitaki mā tauiwi, hei kawe kōrero, hei rongo kōrero kia mōhiotia ai he iwi tātau, he tangata Māori nō Aotearoa. He mana motuhake! Tihei mauri ora!
Nā, i mua atu i te hokinga mai o Te Māori i tāwāhi, ka whiua rā ki te takere o Te Māori, "Me pēhea te takoha mō ngā iwi o Amerika nā rātau nei i manaaki ā tātau taonga i roto i ngā tau?"
Kāti, ka tīmata ngā kōrero, ā, ka puta mai te whakaaro me tuku pea he whakairo, he pounamu rānei. Ka whakaaetia e ngā kaiwhakahaere me tuku he pounamu. Nā reira ka hikoi haere te tira ki te ara pounamu i hōrapa mai rā i Wakatipu, i Murihiku.
Te hīkoi
I te ahiahi o te Paraire ka waea mai te kaitiaki o ngā whenua rāhui o Tītīraurangi, o Wakatipu, ka mea mai, "He paki ki tua. Me hara mai rā." Nā reira ka rere atu māua ko taku hoa mā runga waka rererangi, i te pupuhi o te hau me te marangai hoki o Te Upoko o te Ika, ka haere ki te kimi pounamu hei mauri mō Te Māori, hei koha hoki ki Amerika.
Ka whakawhiti atu i te Moana o Raukawa ki Te Waipounamu. Ka tae ki Otautahi, ka waea atu ki a Kera, ki a Naina, ki a Ngāti Waewae, kia tīmata mai ngā karakia mō tēnei tira hīkoi, hei whakatau i te tapu o tēnei rōpū haere i te ara pounamu. Ka tau katoa mātau ki Wakatipu.Tokorima mātau. He mōhio hoki te iwi kāinga ki ngā wāhi pounamu o ngā maunga, o ngā awa o taua rohe.
Ngā tohu
I Wakatipu ka kitea te whakaaturanga tuatahi. Ka puta te kererū, tau rawa ki runga i te kōwhai, ka kai atu i te pua. Ka mīharo ngā tangata nō rāua te kāinga ki tēnei mea. Kātahi anō rāua ka kite i tēnei manu mō tekau mā rima tau. Mau tonu ana te pīata o tōna kākāriki ki ōku nei kanohi.
Tuarua, he kurahaupō. Nā ngā tīpuna tēnei tikanga. He karakia tēnei i makaia ki te rā, ki te marama rānei. Ko te whakamārama, he tohu kua kitea rā te taonga, te tangata rānei, i ngaro, i mahue rānei.
Tuatoru, he moemoeā. Rere nei tētahi awa ki rō ngahere, kī tonu i te ika He inanga te āhua engari ko tōna nui, he rite kē ki te hāpuku.
Ka ao te rā, ka karakia mātau, ka haere. Kīhai mātau i kai, i inu tī rānei, engari ka whātoro atu te hinengaro o tēnā, o tēnā o mātau, kia mau ki te akaaka matua me tōna tapu. Kāti, ka haere tonu mātau.
Te Waipounamu
Ka piki whakarunga mātau mā runga i te reretopa, ka piki ki runga o ngā maunga teitei o Te Waipounamu, te Waka o Aoraki me ngā mahi a tana tamaiti mātāmua, a Tū Te Raki Whānoa. Ko te maha o ngā tihi, mā tonu i te hukarere me te hukapapa.
"Ei! ko Aoraki! ko Tītītea!
ko Tihei Mauriora! ko Tūtoko!
ko Takitimu! ko Te Koroka!
me te maha noa atu, Tītīraurangi e!"
Te ika a Ngahue
Kāore i roa ka tau atu mātau ki tētahi waerenga pakupaku i te taha o tētahi awa. Nō muri mai ka mōhio mātau ko Kāoreore te ingoa. Ka kuhu atu mātau ki roto i ngā wai makariri, rapurapu haere ai i tētahi taonga. I au e hīkoi ana i roto i te wai, ka tū, ka whakarongo ake ki te tangi a te wai, ki te kōrero a ngā maunga, ki te kōtatara o ngā manu. Ka huri rā te whakaaro ki ngā tīpuna, otirā ki ngā tīpuna o taua takiwā o Murihiku, o Takitimu, o Waitaha. Ka karakia atu au pēnei na.
"E ōku tīpuna, aroha mai koutou ki tēnei tira e whakahaere nei i ngā kaupapa o Te Māori. Mehemea ko tā koutou hiahia tēnei, whakaatungia he taonga ki tō mātau tira. Huakina hoki ngā mata o tēnei mokopuna kia kite atu ai ahau i tētahi pounamu itiiti nei, ahakoa pakupaku noa iho, hei kitenga māku."
Kāti, koianei te ia o āku karakia; me te maumahara anō ki ōku tīpuna o Murihiku i te taha o tōku whaea, ā, ko Mākere nō Ruapuke me Kutumaemae nō Aparima.
Kāhore i roa ka karanga mai tētahi o mātau.
"E hoa mā, haere mai. Anei tētahi kōhatu. He kahurangi, he nui hoki tōna āhua." Koirā te mea tuatahi. I āta kitea mai te kōhatu nei i mua o tēnei wā. E rua atu ngā tau i mua atu, ka whakawhiti mai tētahi o mātau i tēnei awaawa me tōna manga, ka kitea tēnei kōhatu. Nā, ka ea rā tētahi o ngā kī a ngā tīpuna, arā,
"Te kura pae a Mahina."
Nā, ka tae mai ki tēnei wā, ka kitea anō e mātau te kōhatu nei. He mea whakamīharo rawa atu. He taonga i whakahokia e rātau. Na te kōhatu nei mātau i ārahi ki konei rapu haere ai. Nā rātau tonu ā mātau kanohi i huri pērā, me ō mātau haerenga katoa i tiāki. He mauri nō ngā tīpuna hoki.
He ika anō
Ka huri tuarā mātau, ka hoki nātemea, kua tīmata te heke o te rā me te tau o te kohurangi. I tō mātau hokinga mai, ka hīanga tētahi o tō mātau tira. Nā te koa pea, nā te pai hoki o te rā, nā te pūrotu o te ngahere rānei. Ka rapurapu tonu ōna kanohi, ka mahue ko ia anake e tārere haere ana i muri. Engari, i tana karanga,
"E hoa mā, e hoa mā. Hoki mai koutou, hoki mai."
Kāore i mea mai mo te aha. Ka karanga ake tētahi.
"He aha tāu e titiro nā? He kai mā tātau, he ika pea?"
Ka kata atu me te rongo anō o te puku e ngau ana.
"Āe rā! He ika nui tēnei, he inanga. Haramai, kei konei ia, kei roto i te wai. He kōhatu pounamu anō."
Ka hoki atu tētahi o te tira ki te titiro, he pono rānei, he moemoeā rānei. Engari, i tōna kitenga atu ka mea mai,
"Āe rā hoki e hoa! Ai... he kōhatu nui. Kia ora koe, kia ora! E hika mā, me hoki mai koutou. He ika, ka rua ka riro i a tātau. Haramai! Anei anō tētahi pounamu ātaahua."
Ka ohorere tika tonu nei mātau i a ia. Engari i tō mātau kitenga atu, ka mīharo anō mātau mō tēnei waimarie. Ka whakawhetai atu ahau ki ngā tīpuna pēnei nā,
"E koutou mā i te pō e, te aroha noa, te mihi nui e."
Ka tangi au. Ka tū atu mātau mō tētahi wā poto, kāore he kōrero, kāhore he kōhimuhimu. Engari kei te mihi katoa mai te ngahere me te hau. Kei te tangi mai te wai me ngā manu. Āpiti atu ki tēnā ko te panapana ake o te ngākau me te hurihuri o ngā whakaaro. Āe, ka heke te roimata i o mātau mata. He roimata pūrena koa. He roimata whakamoemiti.
Ka hoki
He kōhatu taumaha ngā kōhatu nei. Ka amohia ake ki runga i te pokohiwi, kāore i roa kua heke te werawera. Nā reira ka mahia he kawe hei hāpai ake i tētahi o ngā kōhatu. Ka kuhuna ki roto i taku hāte, ka takaia ki te rau harakeke. Ka whakairia ki tētahi rākau hari, kia āhua ngāwari ai te hiki mā te tangata kotahi. Kāti, ākuanei, nā te taumaha tonu, me te makariri, me te roanga o te rā, kua ngenge anō te hikina. Ka hoki mai ngā hoa ki te tautoko. Oti pai ēnei mahi katoa i a mātau, ā, pērā anō hoki ki ngā kai karakia i te kāinga.
Ka nui rā te koa me te hari o te ngākau mō ā mātau kōhatu, ina hoki mātau. Ngata nei ngā tohu, kī tonu te whatumanawa, mākona ana te tangata. Nā, ka karakia mātau, ā, kātahi ka rongo i te tino kaha o tō mātau hiakai. Ka whiua mai he hākari nui. Ka kai katoa mātau, kore rawa he kongakonga i toe. Ā, ahakoa te hiakai, kore rawa i hiamoe. Ka roa te wā e kōrero ana mātau, e mīharo ana ki te āhua o ngā pounamu. Kāore i mutu taku whakawhetai ki ngā tīpuna nā rātou nei i whakapai te huarahi i haere ai mātau ki roto i te ngahere, ka puta pēnei mai ai. Kei whea rā e āku kaikōrero, he kōrero pēnei rawa te mīharo? I tohua hoki e
rātau?
Te kawenga
Nō te whitinga mai o te rā, whakaaro ana māua ko taku hoa takatāpui, kia hoki ki te wā kāinga, ki Pōneke rā, mā Waihopai, mā Murihiku. Ko te take hoki, kia peka ai ki te whare o Naina ki te whakaatu atu ki a ia i te āhua o ngā taonga nei.
Ko te pounamu tuatahi he mea tino whakamīharo, he rite ki te toki. Nā reira ka tapaia e māua ko Te Toki. Ko tōna ingoa whakamutunga ko Te Māori. Ko te mea tuarua he rite ki te manu. Nā reira ka tapaia e māua, ko Te Kererū. Ko tōna ingoa whakamutunga ko Aotearoa. Ka tae māua ki te kāinga o Naina, ka tangi mai te tāua rā. Ka karakia, ka kai, ka kōrero atu mō te haerenga ki roto i te ngahere me te awa o Kāoreore.
Rangona nei e te kuia te ingoa o te awa, ka nui rā tana tangi. Ko tana mōhio, kei roto i te Muhiama o Waihopai e iri ana tētahi pounamu. Ko tōna ingoa ko Kāoreore tonu. Ā, he taonga tuku iho nā tōna tipuna rongonui nā Tūhawaiki, rangatira o Ruapuke i ōna rā. Ka kōrero mai hoki te wahine rā, mō tētahi tohu i kitea e ia rāua ko tana tamāhine, a Rena. I te ata tonu i haere ai mātau, ka puta mai he manu ki te whare noho o Rena. Ka tau ki runga i ngā peka, kai ai i te pua. He aha hoki taua manu? Āe rā hoki, he kererū!
Mauri tū mauri ora
I riro ko tētahi o ngā kōhatu nei, ko Te Toki hoki, hei mauri mō Te Māori. Nō te rā whakamutunga o te wāhanga ki ngā tāngata o Amerika, nō te tīmatanga anō hoki o Te Māori ki Aotearoa nei, ka whakatapua te kōhatu nei, ka tapaina ko Te Māori. Na Tamati Muturangi tōna ingoa whakamutunga i tapa. I taua rā tonu i whakahokia mai e ngā Amerikana, te taonga whakamutunga o Te Māori ki a Pita Tapihana rāua ko Koro Wetere, ngā Minita Karauna o taua wā.
Ka karangatia te mauri ki mua o Te Hau ki Tūranga whare e te puhi o Te Ati Awa, e Erenora. Ka kawea, ka whārikitia ki mua i te whare e ngā āpiha tokowhā o Te Māori. Ka whakamanangia mai e ngā tāngata whaimana, e ngā kuia, e ngā koroua. Ka oti i a Wi Te Tau Huata te whakatapu, te tohi, te pure. Ka riro ko te kōhatu nei hei taonga mō te iwi Māori me te iwi Pākehā hoki, mō ake tonu atu. E kore rawa ia e rawakengia e te tangata, kore, kore rawa.
He mahara
E kore ahau e wareware ki te ngahere me te awa i kitea nei tēnei kōhatu. Ina te ātaahua o te hanga a Papatuanuku i te mauri ora o te Ao tū roa, Murihiku mana, Murihiku whenua. Ka rere nei tōna awa ki tētahi roto waikare iti, waikare moana, ko te Wai o Hinetū tōna ingoa. He tipuna a Hinetū nō Aparima, nō Kāti Mamoe, nō Kāi Tahu. Kei te kitea tonutia te āhua o te wai, he kikorangi, he kahurangi e makariri ana, e whakawiriwiri ana i te tinana. Ka rongo tonu atu te kōtatara o nga manu o te ngahere; te tui me te korimako, te tiwaiwaka "kūtia ai te mate", kia rere ko Ngā Kurakura o Hineenuitepō e kitea nei i Rakiura, i Te Waipounamu. He taonga nui ēnei kōhatu ahu mai i ngā whāwhārua hohonu o Murihiku, o Te Waipounamu.
Te karanga o te iwi
E tika ana te whakaaro o ngā pōua o Kāti Mamoe, o Kāi Tahu whānui, o Waitaha me Rapuwai, kia whakahokia te mauri ki tōna ūkaipō ina mutu ai a Te Māori. I reira katoa rātau ki te whakatau atu, ki te whakatau mai. Ka pai ki te hunga kāinga ki tā Te Māori whakarite, te karanga, te pōwhiri, te tangi, te whaikōrero me te karakia whakawhetai. Kāti, ka whiua ko te Tahua o Rongo, arā te hākari nui. Oti pai katoa i te whakaminenga ōna tikanga.
He maha tonu ngā waiata i waiatatia mai i roto o Hine o te Iwi whare, e te tangata whenua, e te hunga kaikawe. Ka tae noa atu ki te kōrero ātaahua a Te Kuru O Te Marama Waaka, rangatira o Te Arawa, nō Ngāti Tūhourangi. I a ia e whaikōrero ana, ka puta mai ēnei kupu whakamaumahara:
"No te tikanga atu, he kōhatu pounamu noa iho.
Erangi rā ia, nō te hokinga mai -
Auē, he Atua!"
Kāti, he kōrero tāpiri, he kōrero whakamutunga. I te ata i kawea ai a Te Māori ki roto i tōna whare ki te Muhiama o Waihopai e te whakaminenga, ka hua te whakaaro kia tapaina tētahi mere pounamu hei whakamaumaharatanga ake i te wairua o te hui, mō te whakahokinga mai o te mauri nei ko Te Māori, ki tōna whenua ūkaipō. Ka whiriwhiria ko te kī nei, "Auē he Atua", hei ingoa mō taua taonga. Kei ahau, kei a te kaituhi, te mere pounamu nei. Nā Ngāti Huirapa me Ngāti Kahungunu ngā tikanga. Nā Te Arawa, nā Tūhourangi tōna ingoa.