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Kōrero

Te Rau Aroha marae, 21 April 2006

Tihei mauri ora!
Ka kitea ki te Tonga, ko taku raukura, he iti kahurangi ei!
Papaki kau ana ki runga te maunga, Aoraki e koro ei!
Tu ana ki te rangi, heke ana ki te papa, ko taku turanga ei!
Ko Te Waipounamu, e Tahu Potiki, e te tūpuna ei!

Ko te mihi tuatahi ki te Atua kaha rawa, nāna nei ngā mea katoa i hanga, kororia ki tana ingoa tapu.
Ko te mihi tuarua ki a Ranginui ki runga, ki a Papatūānuku e takoto ana ki raro, tēnā korua.
Ko Paparoa te maunga, ko Mawhera te awa, ko Rangitikei te waka. Ko Jeffrey Paparoa Holman taku ingoa, nā reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
E te whare e tū mai nei, te whare rau o Te Rau Aroha, tēnā koe. He whare rau whakahirahira tēnei, he mea mīharo ki a mātou nei ki te kuhu mai ki roto, i waenganui i a koutou. Ki ngā pou wahine, ngā tūpuna wahine o Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Kāti Kurī, Kāi Tahu whānui hoki, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
Ki ngā tangata tokowaru, ki runga, ngā tangata hoki i haina Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki konei, tēnā koutou katoa. Titiro ki ngā tangata mau pene, pērā ki a mātou nei, ngā kaituhituhi o tēnei rōpū.
Ki te hunga mate, ō koutou, ō matou, haere, haere, moe mai rā.
Ki te pae tapu i pōwhiri i a mātou, ki a Dean, te kaikōrero, ki te kaumatua nei, rau rangatira mā, mihi mai, mihi mai, whakatau mai rā. Ki te kaikaranga o te   rā nei, ki a Jacqui, te kaiwhakahaere, ki ngā ringawera hoki, tēnā koutou katoa.

He mihi anō ki ngā rōpū i tautokohia te kaupapa o te hui nei mā ō rātou putea: arā, ko Creative Communities (Southland), ko Southland District Council, ko Te Rau Aroha Marae, ko Toi Rakiura, ko Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makarau (University of Auckland). Nā reira, tēnā koutou katoa.

He mea mīharo ki a mātou nei, ki te tae mai ki Murihiku, ki tēnei marae ātaahua. Kua haere atu te rongonui o Te Rau Aroha, ki tēnei motu, ki tērā atu motu, mai i te tau 2003 i whakatuwheratia e Te Pirimia Helen Clark, tae noa ki nāianei.
Ko te tino take o te rōpū nei i tēnei wā, ko te whakawhānaungatanga, hei haina he tiriti hou i waenganui i a koutou, he mea aroha. Nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Waiata (text of Ka Huri) –

Ka huri taku reo
Ki te hiku o te ika
Ki te hiku o te rangi
Ki runga rawa e!

E koro, e kuia
E tama, e hine
Ka huri mai
Whakarongo mai.

Translation of the mihi:

Sneeze, it is the breath of life!
Look to the south, to my plume, my precious jewel ( ie, jade)!
Blow gently on the mountain, Aoraki, the old man.
Up to the heavens, down to the earth, this is where I stand!
This is Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island), Tahu Potiki is the ancestor!

The first greeting goes to Almighty God, who made all things, glory to His holy name.

The second greeting is to Rangi the sky father above and Papatūānuku the earth mother lying beneath.

The Paparoas are my mountains, the Grey is my river, I came (to New Zealand) on the SS Rangitikei. My name is Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, therefore greetings to you all.

To this house standing here, Te Rau Aroha, I greet you. This is a splendid and magnificent house, and this is a wonderful thing for us to enter inside, into your midst. To the carved women, the female ancestors of Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Kāti Kurī and Ngāi Tahu, we greet you all.

To the eight persons up there (over the door), to the ones who signed the Treaty of Waitangi here, greetings. Look at these ones who grasp their pens, just like us, the writers of this group.

To the dead, your dead and ours, farewell, go thither, sleep there.

To the distinguished speakers who have greeted us: Dean, for your words of welcome, to the elder with you, to all the chiefly persons assembled, greetings, greetings. To the one who called us on today, to Jacqui the organiser, to the cooks also, greetings to you all.

We acknowledge also the organisations supporting the purpose of this gathering with their funding: Creative Communities (Southland), the Southland District Council, Te Rau Aroha Marae, Toi Rakiura (Stewart Island Arts) and the University of Auckland. We thank them all.

It is a wonderful thing for us to arrive at the Tail of the Fish, and to this beautiful marae. Since its opening in 2003 by the Prime Minister Helen Clark, until this very day, the fame of Te Rau Aroha has spread throughout the land.

The real purpose of our gathering here is to experience a sense of family and belonging, in order to sign a new kind of treaty in amongst you all, one of love. Therefore we acknowledge and greet you all once more.

Waiata:

Ka Huri.

My voice turns
To the tail of the fish
To where the sky ends
To the uttermost south.

Old men, old women
Boys and girls
Turn to me
Listen to me.

I whakamāoritia, i whakapākehātia e Jeffrey Paparoa Holman; nā Jeanette King te mahi whakatika.

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Last updated 2 July, 2006