Māori and Christianity go hand in hand, according to Reverend Dr Te Hira Paenga , after graduating with a PhD in theology from the University of Otago.
His thesis, which analyses the links between kapa haka and theology, is the first theology PhD to be written in te reo Māori.
“Neke atu i te rima tau au e ngana ana ki te whakatutuki i tēnei kaupapa. Nā reira kua ea.”
(I have endeavored to complete this [thesis] for the past five years. It is fulfilled.)
However, this journey started long before then with the encouragement of his elders.
“Ko tētahi tino ihopūmanawa, tētahi tino taniwha i a au i te kura, ko Āti Rikona Takuta Hone Kaa. Nāna au i āki kia whai i tēnei kaupapa.”
“Ko tāna ki a au “E Hira, kei ahau tō kaupapa, ko tāu mahi he rangahau i ngā mōteatea, i ngā poi i ngā haka o Ngāti Porou. Rapua, rangahautia te theology o te waiata rā. Ka rua, tuhia ki te mita o Ngāti Porou.”
(One of the greatest leaders during my time at school, was Archdeacon Dr Hone Kaa. He encouraged me to pursue this work.
He said to me, “Hira, I have your assignment - your job is to research the laments, the poi, the haka of Ngāti Porou. Find them, research the theology of those songs and write them in the dialect of Ngāti Porou.”)
Paenga referenced haka like Tihei Taruke composed by the late Mohi Turei, which illustrates the arrival and impact of Christianity within the Waiapu Valley.
“Kei reira ngā kapa, ngā kaitito, e tūhonohono ana, wherawhera ana i ngā kurahuna mai i te karaipiture me ngā hāngaitanga o ngā ariā o aua mātāpono ki te ao e noho nei tātau i tēnei wā.
(The groups and composers are there, connecting and exploring the hidden gems from Scripture, and the direct connection of those concepts and values to the world that we live in today.)
Paenga says faith has been embedded in his whānau for generations.
“Me kī kei roto i te toto, nō mai anō, kei roto i te whakapapa.”
(You could say it’s in the blood - since way back, it’s in our genealogy.)
But it wasn’t until his second child was born in 2004 that he had an epiphany about his faith.
“E mahue ana i a au tētahi mea, [mai] i te wā o taku koroua me tōku kuia - ko te taha whakapono, ko tō mātau whakapono Mihinare tērā.
(I am missing something [from] the time of my grandfather and grandmother - it is faith, it is our Anglican faith.)
Despite less than a third of Māori identifying with Christian denominations, Paenga says it goes hand in hand with te ao Māori.
“Ko tō mātau Mihinaretanga tērā. E ū ana ki te reo, ki ngā mātāpono Māori, ki ngā kaupapa Māori. Me kī ka whakahoropakitia, kua korowaihia ngā ihoiho Karaitiana kia Māori te āhua, kia Māori te reo, kia Māori te tikanga i roto i āna kawekawe.”
(It is our Anglican faith that stays true to the language, to the Māori values and concepts. You could say these Christian values are shaped the same as Māori - to be Māori in nature, in language, in customs, and the way that we carry them out.)
He encourages Māori to be open to these concepts.
“A taihoa tērā whakawhiu, taihoa tērā whakapae, i runga i te mea - ko ngā ihoiho Karaitiana ehara i ngā ihoiho a te kaitāhae whenua.
Ngā mātāpono o te Atua, kei reira te ngākau whakaute, te aroha, te manaaki tētahi ki tētahi. Ko te anamata kia tuwhera ai ngā karu me ngā ngākau me ngā hinengaro o ngā tamariki ki ngā hua nui a te Karaiti.”
(Wait before making those disparaging comments and assumptions, bearing in mind that Christian values are not the same values of those who stole our land.
(The values of the Lord are respectful, loving and caring towards one another. In the future we must open our eyes, the hearts and minds of our children to what Christ has to offer.)
Paenga plans on doing further study soon, linking te ao Māori with Christianity.
“I tuhia tēnei rangahau ki te reo Māori, ko te wero hei ahea au ka noho ki te whakapākehā i ngā kōrero, kia huraina ērā kōrero ki te ao.”
(This research was written in te reo Māori, so the challenge is [deciding] when I will translate it, to unveil these findings to the world.)
