What moments shaped you in 2025?
Ngāroimata | Kaikohe
Ngāroimata reflects on a stand out moment from 2025, te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti.
“Ko te mea i hari, i whakaharihari i ahau, ko te hīkoi.
Arā te hīkoi ka taea e ngā iwi katoa te toitū mō tō rātou ake iwi. Ko te take i harihari au, tā te mea i kite au i te māia, i te kaha, tā te mea e mōhio ana rātou he aha tō rātou tūranga mō tēnei ao.
Ahatia he nohinohi i hīkoi ia tepe, i rongo au i te aroha mō tō rātou reo Māori, mō tō rātou whenua. I rongo au i te pōuri erangi i rongo au i te harihari, i te harikoa o ngā tāngata kia whawhai, kia oke tae atu ki tō rātou hā whakamutunga. Āe, e kore rātou e neke.
Ki a au nei, he tauira tērā mō ngā uri whakaheke kei te heke mai. Pēnā he hīkoi anō, kāre e kore ka tū māia ahau, kāre e kore ka hoatu au i te aroha ki tērā mahi. Ko te akoranga nui i ako ai au, ko te tū ki tō ake mana motuhake. He kupu whakahirahira tērā, te mana motuhake.
Pēnā kāre koe e mōhio ana tō ake mana motuhake, kāre koe e mōhio ana ko wai koe, kāre koe e mōhio ana nō hea koe. Nō reira, ki a au nei ko taku akoranga me tū ki tō ake mana motuhake.
He mihi whakawhetai tēnei ki waku pakeke katoa. I ngā rā o mua i mataku au ki te titiro ki tētahi kāmera, ā, i āwangawanga au ki te kōrero ki tētahi, erangi nā koutou i whakatupu i te māia ki roto i ahau, te manawaroa, ahatia kei wāhi kē, ka taea ahau te tū ki roto i taku mana ki runga i taku ake mana motuhake. Nō reira, he mihi aroha tēnei ki waku huānga anō hoki i tautoko i au, i tū hei pou whirinaki pai rawa atu.” (See comment section for the English translation)
English translation:
“What brought me joy, what made me joyful was the hīkoi. At the hīkoi all the people were able to stand firm for their own people. The reason I was joyful is because I saw the courage, the strength, because they know what their role is in this world. Even the little ones walked each step and I felt the love they have for their language, for their land. I felt the sadness, but I felt the joy, the happiness of the people to fight, to fight until their last breath. Yes, they were staunch.
To me, that is an example for the descendants to come. If there’s another hīkoi, without a doubt I will stand courageously, without a doubt I will give my love to that work. The most important thing, the great lesson I learned, is to stand in your own mana motuhake. That’s a significant word, mana motuhake. If you don’t know your own mana motuhake, you don’t know who you are, you don’t know where you’re from. So, for me, my lesson is to stand upon your own mana motuhake.
This is an acknowledgement to all my elders. Back in the days, I was afraid to look at a camera, I was anxious to speak to someone, but you grew the courage within me, the resilience, even while in other places, I can stand within my mana, upon my own mana motuhake. Therefore this is a loving acknowledgement to my relatives as well who supported me, who stood as good support pillars for me.”
