Ngati Ruahine Whānau Rhythms
Being a part of this beautiful community of people continues to be one of the greatest joys and privileges of our lives. My goodness, how much we have learned about God, creation, life and love as we’ve journeyed together! My fellow trustees at the marae have become some of my closest friends.
Over the last year, we have continued to see the restoration of precious things that had been lost in the aftermath of injustice and betrayal over many generations. Last weekend, a kaumatua I hadn’t met before turned up at a family gathering. He hadn’t been to his home marae in a few years and was astounded to see the number of young people present learning and growing together. “It’s so wonderful to see our young people gathered back within the safety of their own homelands, covered by the dignity of their ancestors,” he said. Wow.
Levi and I sat there drinking in his words, sticking out like a sore thumb of course, the two of us as white as can be! LOL! We’re not Maori, and we’re not trying to be Maori because no one down home at the marae needs us to be Maori. They know who they are, and because of that, they embrace us for who we are. That’s the thing about people who walk confidently and humbly in their unique cultural identity; being near them makes you want to do the same.
The particular hapū [subtribe] we’ve been grafted into has a rich history in the Ringatū faith, an Old Testament-based Maori tradition born in the late 19th Century. This hapū exists uniquely because, at a particular moment in time, many other religions were making their way into the tribe, and a small group felt that they were to remain staunchly, solely faithful to the Ringatū tradition. That small group of men and women branched off and became Ngati Ruahine hapū of Waimapu Marae.
Fast-forward to early 2024, many generations later, and the richness of those foundations had almost been lost. Fortunately for all of us, Io Matua Kore [Supreme, parent-less God] loves to resurrect precious things.
Over the last few months, we’ve been gathering together on the weekends to be instructed by a particular kaumatua, who had the treasures of this tradition instilled into him as a child. He’s been teaching us the karakia [prayers], the waiata [hymns], and the rhythms of the ancient faith the ancestors held dear. These are the traditions that got them through incredibly difficult times, and it looks like the current young people of Ngati Ruahine will now also have the opportunity to draw strength from them as well. This stuff gives me chills, big time.
