Hawaiki Kura founder Kiley Nēpia is confident that his whānau enterprise specialising in Māori leadership through the arts fills a huge cultural gap in the Malborough region and he's observed some significant change in the raatahi of the wānanga.
Te Ao Māori News reporter Whatitiri Te Wake spent the day with the wānanga rangatahi, who are committed to strengthening their knowledge of te ao Māori.
They do such things as infusing Māori performing arts with international dance styles like salsa.
Student Te Ao Mārama Nēpia sees the wānanga as a hub for rangatahi to build confidence.
“Ki oku nei whakaaro ko ngā hua e puta mai ana i tenei wānanga. Pitomata otira ki Hawaiki Kura ko te tu o te rangatahi.”
“I think there are many benefits of the wānanga. Pitomata and Hawaiki kura is rangatahi having their feet firmly in the ground."
“The biggest benefit for me is seeing how our students stand after the wānanga, the transformation that they have. They are strong within their own individual self and their collective self,” she said.
Nepia says that in the past two years more than 300 young people have participated in the programme. While there aren’t many opportunities like this for rangatahi, he’s committed to ensuring te ao Māori and all its teachings are available to the young people of Wairau.
“Ko tenei taone a Wairau nei e kiia nei ko Blenheim he taone mā rawa atu. Heoi ano kei konei tetahi hunga e ngākau nui ana ki te ao Māori me to mātou whakapono ki te tahuri atu mātou ki ngā taonga tuku iho he rongoā tērā.”
"Blenheim is a very white town. But there is a small number of us who are passionate about the Māori world and we have a strong belief that, if we turn to our Māori knowledge, then there is healing in that," he said.
The wānanga isn’t limited to young people but this year saw a new wānanga series start, focusing on male mental well-being, creating a safe space for tāne to heal and to be better examples in their whānau.
“Ko te hiki o te kauae ko te tū poho kereru. Ko etahi o ngā rangatahi i tupu mai i roto i te reo Māori me ona tikanga katoa. Ko etahi i noho pohara kaore o rātou mohio ko wai rātou no hea rātou.”
“It's to lift their chins, to stand proud. Some of our young people we raised immersed in the culture and some come from poorer backgrounds with no connection to their identity.”
