TE HIRINGA
Te Hiringa was created during a series of wānanga led by Te Rau Tītapu.
He waka tīwai: the design and shaping of a functional river canoe out of kauri.
Te Rau Tītapu
Te Rau Tītapu aims to foster the tangata whenuatanga of the Waipoua people. To do this requires the facilitation of tangata whenua experiences. To observe and capture our experiences in analogy and metaphor is a tangata whenua practice.
When setting out to run this wānanga there were some key objectives and themes that we had in mind, these included:
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Kotahitanga:to unify the community upon a common kaupapa
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Te noho tahitanga ki ō tātou rawa whenua:to explore our relationship with our natural resources
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He oranga tō te mahi toi:To explore creativity as a vehicle for positive change
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Mahia te mahi i te tuatahi, mutu ana te mahi, wānagahia te mahi: practical application first, followed by reflection upon practice.
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Painting by Andrea Hopkins
He Waka Tīwai
The waka is an iconic symbol for Māoridom. In a physical sense they are vessels but as we found out they are also metaphorical vessels that carry within them so much about our identity, our history, our cultural mores and practices and future aspirations. On the surface this wānanga set out to shape a functional waka that would be used for fishing or transportation on the river. At a deeper level it was an exercise in connecting with our natural resources and with each other, it was about allowing practical experiences to teach us about who we are and exploring more deeply the value of metaphor to community transformation.
Written by Eamon Nathan
Image courtesy of Zoltan Grossman
Documentary by Tupu/Films
Contributors
Eamon Nathan
Alex Nathan
Dan Nathan
Andrea Hopkins
Laurie Joseph
Darrin Pivac
Michael Taylor
Will Ngakuru
Ngāriki Ngatae
Zoltan Grossman
Hayden Zabel