Te Wānanga Tuatahi o Kia Pai Te Reo ki Onetahua
Despite heavy rain, more than 60 whānau braved the Tākaka hill to attend our first Kia Pai Te Reo wānanga at Onetahua Marae over the weekend.
Kia Pai Te Reo is a reo revitalisation pilot program that will move across Ngāti Rārua marae in Te Tauihu this year, it aligns with Tērā Te Awatea – Te Kuru Tangiwai o Ngāti Rārua – a reo strategy that aspires to see Te Reo o Ngāti Rārua become a primary language of communication for the people of Ngāti Rārua by the year 2062, and Kia Pai Te Noho – a strategy aimed at bettering the lives of Ngāti Rārua families across Aotearoa.
Pou Reo Pohe Stephens said the weekend was amazing.
“Me mihi ki a Ngāti Tama, me mihi ki a Te Atiawa, me te marae o Onetahua i te nui o te manaaki me te pārekareka o ngā kōrero me ngā kai i whāngaihia mai, ka mutu, e ora katoa ana taku ngākau i te tōpū tahi mai o Ngāti Rārua ki te whakarauora i tōna anō reo, mai i te taikōhungahunga, tae rawa ake ki te tairūruhi, taikoroheke o te iwi” he said.
“Rere kau ana ko ngā kōrero tuku iho, ko te reo whakawhiti kōrero, ko ngā reo waiata me te wairua hākoakoa.”
Pohe was also thankful for the support from kaiako Nadia Marshall, Vivienne Ruwhiu and Levi Ngawaka.
“Three kaiako supporting the wānanga meant that different levels of te reo could be catered for, and to have their skills and expertise available was awesome.”
The learning levels are named after different ocean tides – Te Reo Taipari, the full tide (Levels 1 & 2), Te Reo Taiope, the strong tide (Levels 3 & 4), and Te Reo Tairoa, the long tide (Levels 5 & 6). The lessons where all groups come together are called Te Reo Tainui (the great tide) which has a focus on Tainuitanga and Ngāti Rāruatanga. The aim is to see each learning group move up a level every year.
Sunday Haerenga
While rain kept whānau indoors on Friday night and Saturday; Sunday saw the sky’s clear for a haerenga to old Ngāti Rārua pā sites, te waka o Anaweka, te urupā o Tamati Pirimona, and Onetahua (Farewell Spit).
“Kāore he kupu hei whakaahua i te rerehua o te rangi – it was the perfect way to finish the weekend.”
Pukapuka Tautoko
Participants in the wānanga also received a pukapuka tautoko that includes pre and post heke Ngāti Rārua whakataukī, pepeha, kīwaha, kupu, karakia and waiata, as well as the history and whakapapa of Te Waka o Tainui, and our eponymous ancestress Rāruaioio.
“The pukapuka was heavily influenced by Tainui manuscripts, writings, and scholarly articles, as well as past conversations with Tainui kaumātua. It is a resource that will increase the knowledge base amongst our people about their Ngāti Rāruatanga”
The only way to get the pukapuka tautoko is to do the wānanga, Pohe says.
Registrations for next year’s program will open later in the year.
