I ngā rangi tata nei, kua rere atu tōku wairua ki tōku kainga i Parihaka.
Me pēhea te timata i te kōrero nei?

I’ve just been tuning in back home to Parihaka – Toroānui marae where whānau have gathered for the beginning of Taranaki Tū Mai. I’ve been listening via Te Korimako o Taranaki and have been blown away by the kōrero of our whanaunga Ruakere.
It’s interesting because this kōrero, these waiata are not new to me but there was something about listening to the kōrero this time that really perked my ears up and helped me understand on a deeper level who my tūpuna of Parihaka were and what they stood for.
I am humbled and warmed by the kōrero that flows through the beautiful waiata E Rere Rā and Piukara – kōrero that cannot be explained in depth in english so I won’t even try, but I just want to say that what our tūpuna (ancestors) stood for was real – they were passive resistance personified and they lived this stance for many years and to this day we as a people honour our tūpuna and the legacy they have left for us.
One of the most important things I heard tonight from Ruakere was about bringing out those stories, those stories that our ancestors did not want our children to learn because they did not want to burden them. I agree – it is time to heal from our past, to really understand the legacy that our tūpuna left for us and live it. Really live it.
Perhaps this deeper understanding – “te reka mai o te kōrero”, the essence of what our tūpuna stood for and that they spoke about and left for us in our waiata – perhaps this is our starting point to heal.
Kei te haere tonu ngā mihi ki ngā mate o te wā, otira ki tātou e noho mai ana i ō tātou kainga maha. Pō mārie tātou.
Arohanui,
Jo x
PS – and how special this day is – the 11th of Nov 2011.