Award-winning former journalist and news presenter, Oriini Kaipara (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Rangitihi), is in Paris with the New Zealand Olympic team in her new role as pouwhiringa assisting the NZOC in their Ao Māori journey.
Kereama Wright (Rotorua) sat down with Oriini (Paris) ahead of the opening ceremony to chat about the mahi that they are doing and the response from Aotearoa’s Olympians.
Tuatahi e te whanaunga, e mihi ana ki a koe. Tēnā whakamāramahia mai tō tūranga?
Taku tūranga mahi ki tō mātou whare, te whare o Pou Tangata, ko au te Pouwhiringa.
Nā wai tērā kupu, tērā ingoa i tapa ki runga i tēnei tūranga? Nā Tā Derek Lardelli tonu, hei tūranga kaiārahi i ngā kaupapa Māori katoa, engari ko te whāinga matua o tēnei tūranga, ko te whakawhanake kia puāwai ngā wawata, ngā hiahia a te komiti Māori o tō mātou whare, mō tēnei mea, te whare o Pou Tangata.
Ehara i te mahi māmā, engari, mō te momo i a tāua i pakeke mai i roto i te pūāhurutanga o tēnei mea o te kōhanga reo, o Te Aho Matua me ō tāua marae ake, ō tāua iwi ake, kei roto i a tāua ngā manatunga e tōmina nuitia ana e tēnei whare. Ā, ka mutu, ko ngā kapa katoa kua rarau mai ki roto i tēnei whare.
Kua kite au e pukumahi ana koutou i tēnei wiki ki te āta whakarite i ngā whare i ngā wāhi rerekē puta i Wīwī mō ō tātou kaipara. He aha te hiranga o aua mahi, kaua ko te whakarite noa i ngā whare, engari ko te whakawātea, ko te karakia, ko te whakarite i ngā pōhiri?
Ka hoki anō ki taua kupu, ko te manaakitanga. Nā, i roto i te manaakitanga ko te marutau, ko te noho haumaru o ngā tāngata katoa ā-kikokiko nei, engari, ā-wairua nei.
E mōhio ana tāua te Māori, kāore tāua e noho ki tētahi whare manene, rerekē rawa atu mehemea kāore tāua e mōhio ki ōna taketakenga, te whenua, e tū nei tātou.
He nui ngā pakanga nē, ngā riri whenua, ngā hurihuringa o te ao kua tau mai ki tēnei whenua, ko mātou e haere manuhiri mai ana, nō reira, ko te whakaū i ētahi tikanga e mōhio nei mātou, ā, ko Tā Derek hoki te kaiarataki i ērā tikanga hōhonu o tō tāua ao Māori.
Ka heria mai ki konei kia tū tangatanga ai ō mātou whare ki runga i tēnei whenua, engari, kia haumaru ō mātou tāngata, kia manaaki nuitia te kaupapa me ōna wāhanga katoa.
Kia kaua hoki e noho ko tēnei mea te tikanga Māori ki te haka noa iho, engari ko te whakawhanake kia nui ake i te haka, i ngā miramiratanga e rata nei e te tauiwi, e te rāwaho. Āe, he wāhi nui ērā i roto i te kapa engari ko ērā atu kei te tiaki i te mauri, i te wairua, i te kiko o te tangata kia tika ai, kia motuhenga te karawhiu i ā tātou tikanga, kia mōhio hoki te kapa, ngā pākehā, mai i runga ki raro, mai i roto ki waho, ehara i te mea he mahi paraoa noa iho tēnei, te ahurea Māori.
He aha te urupare a te kōmihana matua o tō tātou tira o Aotearoa, otirā o ngā kaipara ki ēnei momo āhuatanga?
Me pono, ko au pea i whakaaro kei kore pea rātou e hiahia mai ki te mātotorutanga, ki te hōhonutanga o te ao Māori, engari me pēhea e kore ai e ngana ki te whakauru atu i ētahi atu ātaahuatanga o tō tātou ahurea Māori. Te mutunga iho, e tuwhera ana ngā ngākau o ngā kaimahi katoa, o te taha ki te poari, ngā komiti whakahaere, ngā kaipara, te kōmihana, kei te kite rātou katoa i ngā hua.
Ki te pātai mai koe, he aha te hua? Ko te hua, he kokonga whare e kitea, engari ko te kokonga ngākau e kore e kitea. Kei te kite i te tatūtanga mai o ngā kaipara me ā rātou hāpai ō ki konei, ki te pā kaipara matua i Parī nei, ka pōhiritia mā roto i te haka, te mihimihi, te karanga, ko te karakia, ka kite e heke ana te roimata, e tū ana te ihi, te wehi i a rātou, i a mātou hoki.
Koirā te mea matua e kite nei mātou i waenganui i te katoa, Māori mai, tauiwi mai, pākehā mai, kaimahi mai, ringa raupā mai, tūao mai, ringawera mai, te katoa. Ko te haka, ko te ahurea Māori te homaitanga nui ki roto ki tēnei kapa.
Ka mutu, me mihi au ki a Tā Derek i te mea nāna tonu tēnei ara i para i te wā o ngā taumāhekeheke hoa whenua ki Birmingham. I whakamātauria e rātou ngā reka i hoatu e Tā Derek ki a rātou i reira, ā, ko tā mātou, he whakawhanake.
Nō reira, i roto i ēnei tau e toru, kua kitea te whanaketanga o ngā kapa kua kuhu mai, ko hoe waka tētahi, ko te kapa haupoi tāne, ko ngā kapa poiwhana. Katoa ērā hākinakina kua ako i ā rātou ake haka, kua tito i ā rātou ake waiata, kua whakawhanaunga i roto i ngā tikanga Māori. Uaua ka kitea tērā tūāhua i ngā tau i mua atu, engari, ko rātou kua hau mai ki te kī, “kua rite mātou ki te whakahoki ināianei”, kaore i pērā e toru tau i mua.
Hei te paunga o tēnei wiki, hei te 26 o Hūrae whakapuarehia ngā taumāhekeheke nei. He aha ngā āhuatanga Māori, otirā, ngā āhuatanga ka kitea i tō tātou tira o Aotearoa i taua whakatuwheratanga?
Ko te mea ka kitea e ngā karu e hia piriona huri i te ao, ko ō mātou kākahu. Koirā te hirahiratanga, te rangatiratanga o te kapa ki tērā taumata i te pō whakatuwhera matua. Ko Māhutonga ka mau ki ngā pokohiwi o te kaihāpai wahine, ko Te Hono Ki Matariki te kākahu hou i whakamānawatia e Kīngi Tūheitia i tēnei tau, koirā ka kākahu i te kaihāpai tāne, tua atu ko te pouhaki anō hoki.
Heoi anō tāku, mōhio koe, i kawea mai e au ētahi poi. I tae tōmuri mai te tono “he tekau mano wāu poi?” Nō reira i ora ahau i tā tātou kōtiro i a Georgia (Latu) i Pōtiki Poi, nāna te 1000 poi i waihanga. E mihi ana hoki ki taku tuakana ki a Te Raina, nāna tētahi 200 poi i mahi hei kawenga mai māku, hei toha ki ngā kaipara, engari hei toha ki ngā iwi katoa kua tae mai ki Parī.
Hei aha? Hei whakatairanga anō i te ahurea Māori. he pai hoki te whakarere i te poi, ka haere mai te tangata, ka pātai, he aha tēnā? Koinei taku matapihi ki te kōrero, “Tēnā koe, he Māori tēnei.” He whakatairanga tērā, ka mutu, ka tino hiahia ngā iwi katoa ki te mōhio, “nē, he ahurea tō Aotearoa?” “Oh āe, he iwi taketake mātou, ka mutu, anei ā mātou koha.”
Ka kī ētahi, “ka pēhea te haka?” Ko tāku, hei aha te haka! Ka pēhea te poi, ka pēhea te toki, ka pēhea tēnei? Ko tā rātou, “whoa!” He nui kē atu ngā manatunga a te iwi Māori kaore anō kia rangona, kia kitea. Nō reira kei te āhua pērā taku kuhu ki roto i ngā mahi cuz.
Heoi anō, te tūmanako ka whakaaengia te rere o te poi ki runga i te waka, i te mea kotahi rau e hia poti ka tere i runga i te awa Seine hei te pō rā. Me pēhea te kite i a Aotearoa? Anei, he poi. Ka rere te poi, pea!
For more information on the opening ceremony click the link below.
https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/the-games/ceremonies/opening-ceremony