“He wahine te kaitohu i te tapu, ko te wahine hoki te kai-whakanoa i te tapu.”

I runga ngā kōrero whakawhiti a tōkū tumuaki o te Kura a Rohe o Uawa me Kahukuranui, ka kōrero hoki ki ētahi o ngā kaumātua / pakeke, otira mai ngā kai korero katoa, mai i te hāpori o Uawa ka whakaurahia te tauihu o tēnei kaupapa, kia tūteitei ai ki ngā whakangarungaru o te ao hurihuri nei, kia ora mo ake tonu atu. Ka karapinepine i ngā māramatanga me ngā kōrero tuku iho ā rātau mā ka whakatakoto i waenga i ngā reiputa o te iwi o Te Aitanga a Hauiti kia whiriwhiria mai ngā whenu o te karanga.

I au e whakaritorito i ngā pūkōrero, ngā kai kōrero, ki ngā kōtiro hoki mai te whārua o Uawa, ka tō te aro, ki te hanga he rauemi, ki te whai take a hangarau, ki te pāhekoheko ki te ahurea wānanga, ki ngā horopaki o tēnei wā, ko te karanga hei ako. No reira, nā runga i te rongo i te karanga a te kura, te karanga a te hāpori kei te mimiti te reo karanga ki runga i ngā marae, ka pūmina ake te whakaaro, “he reo reitū” te kaupapa.

Ko tōna tikanga ka āhei te ākonga ki te whanake, ki te whakapakari, ki te whakangungu, i runga i te tika me te pono, ngā whenu o te karanga. Ko rātau hoki te reo reitū, mo apōpō, hei kanohi mo te reo okawa, hei pupuri te reo mana-aki o te marae, kia ora ai tēnei taonga ki tua o pae.

No reira ko te ahunga o te reo reitū kīhai ki ōku tīpuna, koinei te reo ka rangonatia ake e te ao wairua kārekau rawa e ōrite ana ki te kōrero ā-waha.

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About the author

name: Mere Waaka

Having grown up in a small Māori community Rūātoki situated in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, where the first language is Te Reo o Tūhoe, inevitably I was groomed to become an advocate of te reo Māori and its traditions. The marae was the castle, the focal point for all the whānau from dawn to sunrise, the homes were sleeping quarters. Each morning our elders and mothers would rise early and prepare breakfast at the marae, for the children before going to school. At the end of each day,  get dropped off by the school bus we would all rush into the marae hall to have our afternoon tea, freshly fried bread, or scones and fermented or whakamara puha will be served. Our main form of transport was our horses, you had to be pretty rich to own a car in the 50’s and 60’s. The playground was the river in summer and Te Urewera National Park in winter. Ohh how simple life was back in those years, we were raised to care for each other, more importantly, to maintain our identity.  Little did we know this way of life was going to be disrupted by the urban shift in the late 60’s early 70’s.  I purposely mentioned these early times of my life, to demonstrate how we were being educated with Mātauranga Māori from conception to time we left our Native School. I had the best of both worlds in terms of my education, the marae provided learning for Māori practices and school for western teaching.

Following school, I worked in several places, from Tūhoe Trust Board to NZ Income Support, Television NZ, and for twenty years as an independent producer/director broadcaster. I have held roles that involved managing people, planning and developing projects, working under pressure, as well as fostering and maintaining relationships with whānau, hapū, iwi, and key stakeholders. I have been an advocate of Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga in all the projects that I have been involved with and have forged some wonderful relationships.

In the last chapter of my working career, I decided to retire from broadcasting and enter the education system. I bring my experiences and knowledge into the classroom and make a difference to help students reach their potential, while also eliminating educational inequality in Aotearoa. To do this, I applied to Te Ako Mātātupu (Teach First NZ) programme to teach for a minimum of two years, completing all elements of the programme, including the Master of Teaching and Education Leadership (MTEL), delivered with their tertiary partner, The Mind Lab. After gaining the master’s degree, I am currently employed by Tolaga Bay Area School and Kahukuranui as the Senior Leader for Kahukuranui. I teach Te Reo Māori and Media Studies to students from level 7-13.

I am a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother who has been and will forever be supportive and passionate about championing te reo Māori me ōna Tikanga. I believe to survive in this climate knowing who you are, where you belong, is paramount. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head, if you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart.” (Nelson Mandela).  No reira he kōrero whakamutunga. ahakoa kei hea koe, no hea koe, me mau ki ō tikanga kia pono, kia ū kia tika ki tau e manako ana, hei oranga hinengaro, oranga tinana, oranga wairua. “Iti rearea teitei kahikatoa ka taea.”