Te Arikinui Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō is following in the footsteps of her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, after being named the Kāuru or Toihau of Te Kōhanga Reo.
Today, that legacy was honoured as delegates and representatives from across the motu gathered at the Kōhanga Reo National Trust office in Wellington to witness the appointment. Tamariki and mokopuna were also present, marking the significance of the occasion.
Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Co-Chair Rāniera Procter says the appointment is a momentous occasion for the movement, strengthening the intergenerational ties that underpin its kaupapa.
“He rangi whakahirahira tēnei kua tae mai te Ariki hei toihau, hei kāuru mō te Kōhanga Reo.”
Kīngitanga involvement with Kōhanga Reo
The late Te Arikinui Te Atairangikāhu was the first patron of the Kōhanga Reo movement, appointed alongside northern leader Tā Hēmi Henare.
A staunch supporter from the outset, she was also a close friend of Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, who led the movement from its inception and was renowned for meeting whānau where they were as Kōhanga Reo spread across the country.
Following Te Atairangikāhu’s passing in 2006, the patronage was passed to the late Kīngi Tuheitia, and has now been succeeded by Te Arikinui Kuini Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō.
Co-chair Rāniera Procter says she not only continues her whānau’s legacy but also embodies the dreams of the movement’s original pioneers.
“He puāwaitanga ia o te kaupapa, Rāhui Pōkeka Kōhanga Reo, ko tana kuia, ko Te Arikinui Te Atairangikāhu, nānā te kaupapa nei i hora ki te ao. Koia ko te pōhiri i a ia kia hoki mai ki tēnei tūranga ōna, e rongo ai te kaupapa i te reka o āna puāwaitanga.”
Te Reanga Kōhanga Reo
I roto i ngā tau tata kua mahue ki muri, arā noa atu te hunga i tipu mai rā i te Kōhanga Reo kua puta atu hai rangatira ki ō rātou anō wāhi.
Pērā i a Rāneira Procter, heamana takirua o te Kōhanga Reo, Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clark, mema pāremata o Te Pāti Māori, rātou ko Te Arikinui Kuini Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō, te ariki o te motu.
Hai tā Rāhui Papa, māngai o te Kīngitanga i tēnei whakatau ki a Te Arikinui, e ora tonu ana te aho tāngaengae o te Kīngitanga me te Kōhanga Reo, ā, ko Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō tērā.
“Kua hoki tuarua mai, kua hoki tuatoru mai, kua hokihoki mai rā ki te whakamānawa i te kaupapa o te Kōhanga Reo.”
Ka mutu, ko tā Procter e mea nei, ko te mahi a ngā uri o te Kōhanga Reo, he pupuri i ngā taonga nō tuawhakarere e hāpai ake ai te noho ki te ao tūroa nei.
Koia rā e whakatinanahia nei e Te Arikinui me tāna whai i ngā tapuwae a ōna tīpuna.
“Ko mātou ko te reanga Kōhanga Reo e tipu nei, e whanake nei, ka anga atu, ka whakamau ā kanohi atu, ka whakahīhī Māori i tana ekenga. Otirā, ko tā mātou he manaaki, he morimori i tērā rangatiratanga. Waiho ki a mātou ngā mahi, ki a ia te mana me te rangatiratanga ka oti i a tātou ngā mea katoa,” te kī a Procter.
