Te kūreitanga o Taranaki, maru ana i te kai, kōpā ana i te kāinga, pōkia ana e te tāngata. Tūpono noa te kurukurutanga o te uru i te taiwhakararo, ripiripia e te mumu, haehaea e te āwhā. Ka pakū te ngutu parera, ka horo te pā, ka kāwhakina te kāhui whakarau ki tawhiti. Riro ana te puia taro uri ki Kāpiti, whakarērea mai te puia tautau māhei. Puea mai he rongomau, houhia e Pōtatau rāua ko Matakātea ki Ōrangituapeka, whakaeaea mai he manawa nui, he manawa roa. Kāinga tahi ka mate, kāinga rua ka ora, he pā whakaruru mō Rongo, Rongo-marae-roa. He reanga i whanaua iho ai ki te māra o Tū, ka puta he poropititanga i tua i te rangi tāwhangawhanga, he putanga ariki, he putanga tauira, Huripokina te ao, taupokina te pō, ka ao, ka ao-ātea.

The Taranaki region, rich in resources, densely populated and thick with human existence. Then the region’s desolation from northern bounds, lives torn apart within the tempest, ripped to shreds in the storm. The concussive force of the musket resounded, fortifications fell, their inhabitants made captive and taken afar. The vulnerable removed themselves to Kāpiti, the primary root left behind resisted. The potential of peace was conceived, bound by Pōtatau and Matakātea at Ōrangituapeka pā, giving rise to new hope and fortitude. Settlements of the past faded and new forms of community arose, they were sanctuaries of collective prosperity. This was a generation born in the depths of war that gave rise to prophets of inspired vision, breaking from their constraints with concepts of empowerment and transformation. Through this upheaval, despair was eased and light shone once more.

Tuputupu rautāpatu te kawa ora ki runga o Taranaki. Ka paiaka te Pākehā ki Taranaki, he whenua te take. Te rongopai a Waitere, te kauhau a Minarapa, tatū te kāhui hipi a Rīmene e tataki nei i te rangimārie o Te Atua, ki tā te kupu Paipera, ko te whakapono, te tūmanako me te aroha. Maunu mai te iwi whakarau i te koanga, kitakita nei te tarakihi i te raumati. He huanga nui nā Rongo-mā-tāne, i te hiringa ā-nuku, i te hiringa ā-rangi, ka hua ko Tū te ngana-hau. E pari ana te tai o makiri, he kiritea, he tai horonuku, he horo whenua, taukiri e. Ka pupū te rau ki te Ruru-mā-heke, ko te puia taro uri ka hoki, e rarau. Huripoki te whenua, parapara te whenua ki te ūkaipō. Ka ara, ko Te Kurupū, ko Pātūtūtahi, ko Kumea-mai-te-Waka, ko Taiporohēnui ki Manawapou, “ka herea te whenua, ka herea te tangata”, “tangata tōmua, whenua tōmuri”. Taranaki whenua poapoa ki te hoko, poapoa ki te Kāwana.

This wave of prosperity swept the region. Settlers made their home in Taranaki, land their intent. The good word conveyed by Whiteley, the sermons of Minarapa, the established flock of Riemenschneider, carrying the peace of God and the Bible’s text espousing faith, hope and love. Those enslaved were liberated in the promise of spring, those in hiding had freedom in the warmth of summer. Flourishing with the rewards of cultivation, of collective action, inspiration and resilience. The king-tides carried waves of settlers, eroding the earth, consuming the land, and deep concern builds. Numbers swelled with return migrations of the once vulnerable who resettled, tilling and fertilising the soil, gardens of occupation. Statements of assertion defined boundaries for land to be retained, commitments were made, bound by oaths, people would be lost before their lands. The value of Taranaki land enticed buyers, and enticed the Government.

Ka hikahika, he ngutuahi ki te ngutuawa Waitara, ka korakora a Pekapeka te pū o te riri, ka tutū te ngārahu ki Te Kōhia, ka kātoro te ahi ki te motu. He mate i a tuanuku, he haehae i a papawhenua. Te hinganga o Kaipōpō, ko Te Hanataua, ko Kukutai, ko Paratene, papanga iho he kāhui kāhika. Whakangaro Warea, rukea e te manuao. Mumura ana te ahikā, kīhai i tineia, murua rawatia te whenua. Tou te kai, tou te tangata, he kāinga putuputu, ka turakina, ka tūngia ki te ahi. Me he raupō piko i te hau, ka ara. Tērā Tamarura ka heke i te pae o Rori Wētere, ka puta te Atua ki Taranaki, ka iri a Riri, ka iri a Ririkore ki Kaitake, ki Te Iringaniu. Ka haramai ngā tahua a te kōrero Atua, ka ara ngā manu e rua, warakī i te atatū, ko Mumuhau, ko Takereto ki runga o Repanga.

Friction to inflame hostility at the mouth of Waitara, sparking tension in Pekapeka the seat of conflict, embers stoked in Te Kōhia, a wildfire razing the country in deep desire for land, covetous of land. With Kaipōpō so too did Te Hanataua, Kukutai and Paratene fall, a loss of respected leadership. Occupation rights were fanned alight, never extinguished but all confiscated. Food was sowed while people were buried, in a succession of settlements, destroyed and torched. Like reeds rising when wind abates. Tamarura revealed with the incident of Lord Worsley, spiritual guidance revealed to Taranaki, violence contrasted with non-violence at Kaitake and elevated on Te Iringaniu. The potential for peace revealed in Christian tenets. So rose the two birds, calling at dawn, Mumuhau and Takereto landing at Repanga.

Ka ruku aurere rā ki Waikoukou, whakaeaea aumihi ki uta o Waitotoroa. Ka puea Parihaka ki te haeata. Ka kuhuna te patu kia kore e kitea. Ka puru te toto, ka tū te tikanga, ka topa te toroa, ka puta, ka ora. Rāngai mai ana te tekau mā rua a Tāwhiao, rauhī mai te kāhui i ōna hēpara ki te Atua i runga rawa. Ka hanga whakahere hei whakakakara ki tō rāua Atua. He tau pai te tau, he tau ariki te tau, he tau āhuru te tau, nō te rēme te tau. Kua tukua te punga whakawhenua o Ihowa ki te whenua. Huhua mai i mārakiraki, i mātongatonga me te marangai, marara i te muru, tītaria e te ture. Ahu te rau, ohu te mano. Te haupū ā-rongo ki te whenua, he maunga ā-rongo. Hua te kai, hua te kōrero mō te whakaaro pai ki te tangata, kia utua te kino ki te pai. Kei te pakanga kē te matamata o taku arero nei hei taonga mō ngā whakatupuranga. Ko rātou hei kainoho i te rangatiratanga mō ake tonu atu.

Submerged in the pain of Waikoukou, surfacing again with relief in the upper reaches of Waitotoroa. Parihaka emerging in the glimmer of a new dawn on the horizon. Weapons were sheathed, far from sight. The flow of blood staunched, principled practice realised, an albatross takes flight, a way of life. The twelve of Tāwhiao sent out, the shepherds gather their flock with guidance of Christian beliefs. A commitment with their God was made firm, this would be a time of good, a time of great consequence, a time of solace, a time for the most vulnerable. Amassed from the north, south and east, scattered by confiscation. The hundreds gather in teams, working as a collective. Cooperative cultivation of the land ensues. The essence of peace. Food is produced, words are spoken, goodwill to all people, responding to hatred with kindness. This battle is one fought with the tip of my tongue, fought for future generations. For they are the basis of self-determination far into times ahead.

Ka torona ki te parau ka riro taku tīkapa, riro i te herehere, riro i te ture. Parau kau, tū kau, he ranga kahawai, he taiepa tiketike i te tūpuhi. Ka kōpenu te ihu o te toa, ka tū te pono o te kōrero teka. Ka torona te whenua, ka torona te tangata, ka hau te whenua, ka hau te rongo, he manawanui, he manawaroa nō Tāwhiri-mātea. I whiua au i runga i Te Tikanga, i whiua ki te piu o te ture, ki ngā ngaru whakapuke o Raukawa, wāhia ki te rīpeka mahi nui i Otākou, i Rīpapa ki Whakaraupō, i Hokitika ki Te Ika a Ngahue. Ko Hīroki, ko Pōtiki-roroa te ika, i tahia i Waitōtara ki te hōpua, te maru nui o Tohu, o Whiti. Te hōkai a te hōia ki te hōkai a te tātarakihi. Te hāpai a te hōiho mā i a Te Paraihe ki te hāpai nui a te whaene, he tahua kai. Kua hari, kua koa. Ka puni a Pungarehu ki Te Pūrepo, whakaweriweri, whakawehiwehi, kīhai i wehewehe. E runga, e raro nukunuku mai. E uta e tai nukunuku mai. Te mahi a te kurī, kua hari, kua koa ki te pāhua tuatahi. Opehia taewatia te tangata. Opea noatia te kōpae hēki ki raro i te kātua, kāore he kai pīpipi, kāore he kai kōkoko, ka herea te kaha me te uaua ki te rangimārie. Kūpapa e te iwi. Utaina Hinemoa, e tū tamawahine i te wā o te kore. Kei te kairuru, kei te kaikaha. He pae kawau hoki i a Tiki whakakōtata. Te hau whakamōmotu nei i te weherua o te pō.

The plough goes forth, my people are taken, taken captive, taken by law. Ploughing with non-violence, moving in unison, fencing out hostility. Noses of the brave are broken, and untruths are made real. As the region was reclaimed, people were reclaimed, land was ploughed, and the news travelled, of determination, of resilience, reminiscent of Tāwhiri-mātea. I am condemned on account of my Tikanga, punished with the lash of law, put upon high seas between islands, separated with hard labour in Dunedin, on Rīpapa in Lyttelton, in Hokitika on the West Coast. Hīroki, like Pōtiki-roroa, made the target, a fish corralled to shallow water, the shelter of Tohu and Te Whiti. Soldiers marched upon children’s play. A white horse bearing Bryce’s hostility pushing through the hospitality of mothers. They are resolute and assured. The camp of Pungarehu relocated to Te Pūrepo, with intimidation and havoc, together Parihaka remained. The act of a dog resolute and assured in the first plunder. People bundled as potatoes, yet without food. The hen pulling her brood under her protection, there is no food for them out there, rage and thoughts of retaliation constrained in peace. Subordinated for higher ideals. What Hinemoa’s cargo has taken, women must carry. Left in hunger and yet found strength. Womanhood brutalised by the basest of human character. This destructive wind borne at midnight.

Heke i te kaipuke, heke a te kaikamo. E ngata tō puku e te kaiwhakawhiu, mōku te kino, mōu te pai. Te maunutanga i te herehere, rorea rā ki te tūmatakuru o Kāwana. E karapoti nei te mounga i te rori, i te taiepa kōpiko. Taranaki tītōhea a runga, tītōhea a raro. E rere e te kīrehe o te rangi ki runga ki ngā puna wai koropupū, koropupū mai. Te aranga i te hae o te mate, te kaihari i te oranga. Te rongo o te poi ki Toroanui, te piu o te arero ki Paraahuka. Ngātata kau ana te riu i te taukume, he pou atua, he pou whenua. Ara mai Rangikāpuia, ara mai Te Raukura. Kumea e nuku, kumea e rangi, tū kē wehe kē, te hōkari o te wae, te whākana o te waha. Kīhai i wetekina te ioka. He kahu taratara, he rāpaki. Rangahia mai ngā hanga o te ao, ka hika, ka hiko, ka puta, ka ora. Tūtakina rawatia ngā tatau rino o te whare Kāwana. He mangumangu taepō nei hoki tātou.

They have disembarked from ships, moved by sorrow. The hunger of the punisher for now appeased, the worst for me, the best for you. Prisoners have bindings removed, yet strict constraints remain in place. The mountain encircled by road and angled fences of occupation. Taranaki is again desolate. Small birds of the sky flock to the source of strength, a spring flowing high up on the slopes. This revival from near death, makes life more precious. The poi’s beat and tongue’s sway on Toroanui and Paraahuka. There is a rending of the waka with debate, spiritual leadership and community leadership. Rangikāpuia rise tall, Te Raukura rise tall. Pulled upward and drawn downward, each standing apart, the pounding of feet, the commotion of voices. Yet the yoke remained tethered. These are coarse clothes of mourning, hitched high for work. The innovations of the world installed to vibrate and spark anew to the world. And still the Crown’s iron doors remain firmly shut. We are but demons conjured in the shadows.

E tō e te rā, te rukuhanga a Tamanui, a Tamaroa, a Tama i te ao mārama. Te ruruku ki wehe o tupua, te wehe o Tangaroa, te ao huna ki te uru, te Uru tonu o Tonganui. E rongo rānei te tohe a Pōtoru, kīhai i haere numinumi. Ka rau matomato te tupu, ka tiritiria, ka poupoua ki Te Parewanui, ki Te Maungaarongo, ki Rātana. Ka kāinga rua, kāinga i te pono, kāinga i te tika. Ka tō te rangapū ki ngā rori kirikiri ki roto o Pōneke, pūehuehu kau te mahuetanga mai. Hunā ururua, hunā mokoroa, hunā pakikoke, hunā kāho, hunā hāhani, hunā kōpiro. Te morehutanga iho te waha o te pere, he uri nō Hōhepa i te tina, i te tī, i te parakuikui.

The sun does set, he dives into night, his life-giving light lost to the world. The rituals sent you both beyond, lost into Tangaroa, hidden into the west, to the very gable of Tonganui. The deep dissensions of Pōtoru were paid no heed, and you did not recede from our memory. It continued to grow and flourish afar, nurtured afar, at Te Parewanui, at Te Maungaarongo, and at Rātana. Subsequent settlements of belief and sound moral values. The political paths on gravel roads led to Wellington, I am dust-covered in the wake. Engulfed in bramble, consumed by borer, wasted in deprivation, flushed with alcohol, embattled with abuse, silenced with scorn. The remaining few caretakers of the bell, the embodiment of Joseph, fed the people with the little they had.

Wherawhera mai a rauwhārangi, puakina mai tērā i te hāngū, ka rongo te turi keakea, ka mātaki te matapō. Ura te rā, ko Uenuku i te rangiānewanewa, taratara mai rā ngā hihi, e ngungu nei ngā aho ki koko whēuriuri, ki koko whēkerekere. Ka ao, ka ao-ātea, ka ao mārama. Tahia te marae, tahia te kōrero, tahia te kura. Te kura i huna, te kura i tiki mai i Hawaiki, he kura toroa, he piki raukura, he poi raupō. Hāmama ake rā ngā waha ki te rangi, tō rāua nei Atua kaha rawa, te rangatira o te maunga ā-rongo, kei kino, kei poke, kei whakanoa i tōna tapu. He aha rā te manu? Ko taku poi te manu. I whano ai ki reira, i whano ai ki ngā whakatupuranga. Koia kei Te Whakaputanga te wāhinga, mā Te Pāhua e kapi ai, he pāhua whakamutunga. E tū ai te hunga ririki i puehu ai i te kino ngaro, māna nei te mutunga.

Pages have laid bare that which silence has suppressed, that deafened have heard, that blinded have seen. First light reveals the spectrum of Uenuku, with piercing rays and refracted light the deepest and darkest of recesses will know colour. Dawn breaks and the sky has opened, the world is enlightened. Clear those marae long forsaken, reveal their lore, uncover their learnings. Bodies of knowledge yet unseen, drawn from our earliest beginnings, the quest for peace, a flight feather, a tradition of poi. Speak up and speak with resolve, the God almighty they received, the guiding light of lasting peace, to avoid hatred, to avoid moral debasement, to avoid a complete loss of dignity is his legacy. What is the bird? My poi is the bird. It has flown out to travel over the generations. Battles remembered on the day of the Declaration of Independence may be redeemed with peace in memory of the Pāhua, an eventual peace. The meek, demeaned and impoverished, will stand, they will succeed.

Whakarongo ake, hei hinu koa ki runga ki hō koutou pane, he pakanga i waiho ake e ō koutou tīpuna. Ahakoa whakarumakina e te hoa, ka puea anō, e ngāngana mai rā i te puke, ka kite te iti me te rahi. Whakaeketia te moana waiwai, te moana tuatua, te moana oruoru, koi whakatupuria he kawa ora. Whakaterea te ara rau a Tangaroa, pakeke kau te ara tapokorau o nehe, unuhia te ara ruiti a Tāne. Tā te hae ka nawe, tā te pai ka tau, i te hari, i te koa. Me he pōpoko i te rua, me he tātara-moeone i te rua, whakaeaea ki te hau. Kīta, kīta i te wiwī, i te wawā, kei mou ki taihua, te ākinga ā-tai, te paringa ā-tai, i te taimaha, taikaha o te ao. Ko tōku kaha me tōku reo, hei reo whakahaere ki tēnei whakatupuranga, hei tangata whakaaraara koe mō ngā iwi e rua. E kore tōu reo e tāea te pēhi e ngā mounga nunui, e kore tōu māngai e tāea te kōpani e ngā mounga nunui, e ngā pukepuke o te motu nei. Ka haepapa i tōu reo, ka whakahaere tikanga koe mō te kino kia mate i te pai.

Listen, for you have a role to fulfil, it is a challenge left to you by your ancestors. Though you may be overwhelmed by your neighbour, success will come, a glow will be on the mountain skyline, to be seen by all. Go out on open seas, unsettled and surging seas to find new and bountiful existence. This commitment has set sail on Tangaroa of limitless paths, refraining from the arduous and boggy paths we once travelled, allowing them to pass from this world. Violence scars, while that shown care will be strong, self-assured and confident. As an ant in the burrow, as a juvenile cicada maturing in the earth, to emerge into the open. Be surrounded with the cacophony of confidence, lest you be confined to the shore, pulled by tides, swamped by waves of all that is heavy and harsh in this world. All my strength and my voice is guidance to this generation, that you be the empowerer of both peoples. Your voice cannot be smothered by the authorities, your voice cannot be silenced by the powerful, nor the turbulent events of this land. Should your voice be abolished, you will use tikanga to respond to the hatred, overcoming it with kindness.