With Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po’s second koroneihana on the horizon, the nannies of the Kīngitanga have spent weeks preparing their waiata tautoko.
Many ask the question: how are they so waiata perfect? And what pushes them to wake up in the early hours of the morning to support any kaupapa when called?
Te Ao Māori News talked with these dedicated ruruhi on their commitment and regimen leading up to Koroneihana that has spanned generations.
Ruruhi travel far and wide to practice and support
Some days start at 3am for the cohort of kuia who jump on buses from as far as Te Kuiti to the north of Tāmaki Makaurau to attend Poukai, tangihanga, and any kaupapa in between that requires them.
Now they are travelling two nights a week to Hopuhopu and Auckland for their third wave of in-person practices this year to go over their waiata.
Why they turn up
Parehiwa Totorewa says it is not easy work, but the kaupapa not only serves the Kuini and communities, but also her own hauora.
“Ko tēnei kaupapa he rongoā ki au, he rongoā mōku”, she says.
“Nui te wā ka haere ki te parakatihi, e whakaaro tāu, e ngenge ana au… mutu ana te whakaharatau, kua ora anō.”
Totorewa says many are hungry to learn the mōteatea and waiata tawhito that have been passed down for generations. Like herself, many will always find a way to turn up out of love for the kaupapa.
“Ko tēna taku hiahia, kia haere tonu mai. Mehemea kua pāngia te mate, haere tonu mai. Ahakoa ka karanga mai, me mate au… Kāore aku taringa i te mea he rongoā tēnei mōku”.
She says she believes practices like these started in the 1970s and remembers kuia being more dispersed before they became one group. Now, she says the numbers are above 100 consistently, but can go up to 300.
Co-facilitator, Sonny Te Ako Tahi, says practices like these have been around for a long time, and the purpose is not only for kaumātua to support but to continue to learn and hand down knowledge.
“Mai rā anō ngā mahi e haere ana, i au e tamariki ana e mahi ana mātou i ngēnei tūmomo wānanga i roto i a mātou o Kāwhia Moana”, he says.
He says it is only one small aspect of the broader work that goes on to preserve taonga tuku iho, but it has helped to knit those involved closely together.
“Kia waiatangia i ngā waiata kia kotahi ai te hoe, ēnā tūāhuatanga katoa, hei aha? Hei hāpai ake i te Kīngitanga nō te mea ko mātou anake he kaitiaki o te taonga nei nā te motu katoa tēnei taonga, engari ko ngō mātou mahi kia tika ā muri, kia tika ā mua, kia mahi tonu ngā mahi hei painga ake mō ngā iwi katoa.”
Poukai
Poukai are an annual series of events where marae are visited by the Māori monarch around and beyond the Waikato region. This tradition dates back to the late 1880s during the reign of Kīngi Tawhiao.
Te Ako Tahi says themahi contributes to a wider picture of helping communities and causing unity.
“Hei whāngai te puna tangata me te puna atua, hei whāngai atu i te pouaru te panu, te rawa kore, kia noho tahi ai rātou i mua i te ariki o aua wā tae noa ki tēnei wā ki te tuku atu i ngā rātou kōrero hiahia akiaki awhina rā anō ki a ia mēnā he hāpaitanga ōna ki te marae e whakatū nei i ngā poukai, he mea anō hoki mō ngā marae poukai, ngā whānau o ngā marae poukai”.
Just as it has gone on for generations, it is hoped to continue.
“Kia whakarite ai tātou mō āpōpō, mō te āpōpō ake tonu atu ngēnei mahi”.
Koroneihana celebrations will begin on Sunday 30 August at Tūrangawaewae marae in Ngāruawāhia.
