I te tau 1940, ka mānu ake te waka hou o Ngātokimatawhaorua ki Te Moana o Pikopikoiwhiti ki Te Pēwhairangi, ka ū ki Waitangi.
Arā noa atu ngā whakamiha o te motu ki te waka tauā roroa nei e mau nā i a ia, ko te ingoa o tētahi o ngā waka tūpuna tapu o Ngāpuhi.
Ko te mea kē, ehara i a Ngāpuhi te mana whakairo. He mea whakahaere te waka o Ngātokimatawhaorua e te tohunga o Waikato, e Piri Poutapu.
Nā Te Puea Herangi te kaupapa i ārahi. Nō te putanga ake o te kōrero, tērā a Waikato te hanga i te waka tauā o Ngātokimatawhaorua, ka tahuri a Ngāpuhi.
Ka puta te whakatau, mā Ngāpuhi anō tētahi waka e hanga, ā, me hua hoki ia ki tērā ingoa tonu, ki a Ngātokimatawhaorua.
Ko ngao pae, ko ngao matariki, ko ngao tū
Nā Re Kauere rāua ko Toki Pangari te waka nei o Ngātokimatawhaorua i hanga, i whakairo.
Te mutunga iho, e rua ngā Ngātokimatawhaorua i tere ki Te Moana o Pikopikoiwhiti i te huringa tau kotahi rau o Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te tau 1940.
He tohu rangatira, he tohu mana nui te terenga o ngā waka e rua i te wā kotahi. He mana nui tō tētahi, he mana nui anō hoki tō tētahi.
Erangi ka pūrero ake he kotahitanga, ātia he waka rerekē, he hanganga rerekē, he tohunga whakairo rerekē.
Ka mau tonu atu te mana o ngā waka e rua i te wā kotahi. He ingoa kotahi, he iwi tahi, he waka rua.
He aha kei tua?
I te taupokitanga o ngā mahi whakanui ki Waitangi i tēnei tau, ka whakaraupeka ahau i aku mahara ki ngā kitenga-ā-kanohi, ki ngā hopunga-ā-taringa, ki ngā maunga-ā-whatumanawa.
Nōku ka whakatoitoi atu ki te tau 2040, kātahi te māharahara ka tupu ka rere. He wā tōna ka rongo te wairua i te ōhia ake o te motu ki te kotahitanga e kawea nei e ngā ngutu o Ngāi Moroiti, o Ngāi Tuiariki.
Ko te kotahitanga a te Māori ki te Māori. Ko te kotahitanga o te whenua o Aotearoa. Erangi e kore ahau e huna i ōku whakaaro.
I tēnei wā, te hanga nei, e takahi ana tātou i te ara o Papatoiake, ko tōna mutunga iho, ko Tawhānui. Me pēhea e ara mai ai he kotahitanga hei te tau 2040 i tā tātou takahi ake i te ara piere nuku nei?
Kia tārewa tū aku wari mō tētahi raro pōtehetehe.
Rarau mai anō ki te papa o Te Tī
E nui ana a roto i te hokinga o ētahi mahi whakanui i a Waitangi ki te marae o Te Tī.
Ko te kawe mate tērā i hoki atu ki reira me te whakaeke o te ariki o Ngāti Tūwharetoa a Te Rangimaheu Te Heuheu ki te marae.
Ko taua āhua hākoakoa anō hoki tērā e whakamonoa nei, i te hokinga a Te Kāwana Tianara, a ngā iwi taketake o te ao, a te iwi hoki o Ngāi Tahu kua rua ngahuru tau rawa te korenga, ki te marae o Te Tī.
Nō te whakaeke a Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po ki te pā o Ruarangi, ki te aroaro o Te Whare Rūnanga, ka rongo anō te taringa i te kotahitanga e whāia nei.
Ko te mea kē, ka whakatinanahia te kotahitanga e kōrerohia ake ana ki te rau o te aroha.
Nā Te Arikinui nei te whakatau, he pūtea āwhina ka tuku ki ngā iwi o Ngāti Wai me Ngāti Hine, e māuru ake ai te mamae i te kororiwhatanga o te whenua i a Tāwhirimātea i ngā rā o mua atu.
Ehara tērā i te tohu tiwha noa. He whakatutukitanga tērā i te whai a tōnā pāpā a Kīngi Tūheitia, kia tutuki te awhero o te kotahitanga e arumia whānuitia nei, e whakapuakina pūrarahia nei.
Ka eke te ao tōrangapū ki runga o Waitangi
Ao kau ana te rangi me te ua pūnehunehu i te ata o te Taite, kātahi te rae o te kotahitanga ka haea ki te anumātao o te ao tōrangapū.
He kupu whakatonu i puta i ngā rangi tata o mua atu e meinga nei he raru ka pūrero ake. Ko te wairua mai o te kōrero e mea ana he porotū, he porotēhi, he poroporoiere ka kitea ka rangona. Erangi kē ia, he porotiki kē te oka haehae.
Kohea ake ana e te ringa pāremata, he toto Māori, he toto Tiriti, he toto rangatiratanga kua heke i te oka, i mua i tana whakahokinga ki tōna whakatakotoranga.
Ko tā te hau kāinga he kōrero pono, he kōrero tika tonu atu ki ngā mema o te pāremata i ngā aukume o te ngākau Māori e pōuri nei, e auhi nei, e huamo tahi nei.
Ko tā ētahi mema pāremata he kōrero ueue i ā te Māori momohe. Erangi anō ā ētahi atu. He whakapākehātanga rerekētanga tā Te Rakihana i te rangatiratanga kia eke ki tā tōna pāti e mātāpono ai, ki runga i te papawhenua o te rangatiratanga i oatitia ai i te tau 1840.
He pito whakahokia tā Te Tirohanga Tuaatu ki tana kaupapa kua tānoanoatia whānuitia. He toheriri noa te whakawhiu a Te Petera ki te tī ki te tā.
Erangi ko te oka ruatotoetanga o Te Māori ki Te Māori tērā e whakapūmau ana i te anipā. Nā Kura Moeahu, pūkōrero o Te Atiawa, te kī i te rangi o mua atu, “Ko te ao mārama tēnei, ko te pō āpōpō.” He tika hoki pea tāna? Pō, pō, pō i raru ai a Waitangi?
E ao te rā!
Māria, nā te karakia o te ata pō a Wairua Hopohopo i āhua tau ai. Ko te kotahitanga tērā i āta kitea i te kupu kauwhau, i te kupu karaipiture, i kupu karakia.
Whāia, nā ngā mahi ā ngā kaihoe o ngā waka tauā i te ata nui o te motu whānui taku Waitangitanga i whirikoka ai.
Ka whanganui, ka whangaroa te takitini ki te mānutanga o ngā waka ki Te Moana o Pikopikoiwhiti, me te ūnga o ngā waka ki Te Tī Waitangi.
Nōku ka mātirotiro ake ki ngā waka e tere mai rā, kua kōmuri anō te hokinga o ngā mahara ki ngā Ngātokimatawhaorua e rua i kōrerohia ake i runga tata ake nei.
Me kī noa ake ahau ki konei, e rongo ana ahau i ētahi iwi e kimi ana i te ara ki te iwi kotahi ki Aotearoa.
Ko tērā kotahitanga he kotahitanga kē. Kāhore ōna nei tirohanga ake ki te mana o tētahi atu, ki ngā āheinga o ētahi atu, ki te rangatiratanga o tētahi atu.
He ūnga pōhēhē ki tā Ngāi Pōhēhē e mea nei, ko te kupu a Hopihana ‘He iwi kotahi tātou’.
Ko te kotahitanga e whāia nei e te Māori, he kotahitanga Māori tūturu tonu. He kotahitanga e whakapūmau ana i te mana o tētahi atu.
Mā tōna mana, mā tō mana, mā tōku mana, ka ora a Aotearoa. Ko tēnei kotahitanga e kōrerohia ake nei e whakaū ana i te kupu tūturu a Hopihana i te tau 1840 e mea nei “He iwi tahi tātou.”
He iwi mahi tahi, kōrero tahi, wānanga tahi, tohe tahi (me te moe tahi hoki hei whakatutuki i te huripokitanga o ngā waka tauā!!!) He rite tonu ki te kōrero mō ngā waka e rua o Ngātokimatawhaorua i tere tahi i te tau 1940.
Ko te ruarautanga o Te Tiriti tērā e kainamu mai nei. Ki te kore he whakakitenga i te kotahitanga e wawawatia māoritia nei, he Aotearoa kē tērā te tatū mai rā.
He Aotearua ka pua, ka puta. Ka ngaro te Aotearoa e arohatia nei e. Ka ngaro te kotahitanga e wawatia nei e. E te iwi e. Kōkiri!
