Piripi Wānanga
We hope you are all staying warm as we noho through the long nights of Puakame Matariki. As we write this pānui kōrero for you all, we sit under a very full Hina Marama, Rākaunui Pipiri, known as the Strawberry Moon in the Northern Hemisphere for the time of strawberry harvests in North America.
Here in Aotearoa, i roto i te takiwā o Mako, we know it is the time of Puaka me Matariki -instead of harvesting strawberries, we harvest reflections and insights from the past year, make preparations for the seasons ahead and stay close to home, warm with our loved ones. We remember those who have passed in this solar cycle and are now being cast into the cosmos by Taramainuku, captain of Te Waka o Rangi. Kua wheturangihia rātou - kei maumahara tātou. They have now become stars -we remember them.
Enjoy this summary of the first Wairewatanga wanaka for this solar cycle.
The first Wairewataka wanaka, originally planned for the weekend May 29-30, was postponed due to the 'red alert' rain storms that swept Waitaha that week. Not to be put off, our poutangata Kelly Barry had the next dates organised and on the weekend of June 19- 20. All in all, more than 50 whānau members came out to the marae to get involved and whakawhanaukataka.
In a packed out 36 hours, whānau of all ages connected with one another. We remembered whose aunties were sisters and whose Taua and Poua had 16 kids, reminisced about childhood games on the atea and took private moments to acknowledge those ones hanging on the walls of the where .
Kelly Barry says the best thing about the wanaka was “seeing faces we hadn’t seen before”. “They reflected back to us how much they had been wanting to reconnect, and the wanaka gave them the opportunity to do that. “I was feeling emotional the entire weekend. I kept taking moments to stop, look around and could really see it was something special we were doing.”
We were so blessed to have whānau along to tautoko and lead in their respective spaces. Ngā mihi Iaean Cranwell for leading out whakatau and mahi tinana, Patti-Anne and Linda for facilitating our raranga workshop, Manea Tainui for supporting our Manaaki Kai crew and facilitating the kai budgeting workshop, Charisma Rangipunga for facilitating an incredible session on waiata and sharing pūrākau o Mako and of course, Jackie Barry for getting the games night on!
Thank you to Awhina McGlinchey and Jamie from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu for the Whānau Emergency Preparedness workshop - it was invaluable, awesome to see the tamariki engaged and the resources are mean!
Lisa Williams heard the karaka and came out with her daughter Sofie, 6, and her partner Luke. It was her first time weaving, it was her tane’s first time on a marae and it was the first time Sofie got to play with her multitude of cuzzies. “I haven’t been out to the marae for a long time and my daughter hasn’t been there since she was a baby. I didn’t feel like I could after my Mum moved to Ozzie, but after the weekend I felt without a doubt we belong there. It just felt right. “It was such a reconnection for me and now it’s the pathway for Sofie. The weekend brought back so many memories of my Poua and Taua, they were all right there.”
