Launch of He Ringa Toi Whakaari, He Waewae Toi Kanikani

Speech notes for Mahara Okeroa's address at the launch He Ringa Toi Whakaari Toi Kanikani (Arts Resource for Wharekura - Secondary Schools). College of Education, Victoria University, Wellington

Kia ora koutou,

Greetings to everyone gathered here today.

Congratulations to Rawiri Toia and Rawiri Hindle and your outstanding team at Victoria University of Wellington, College of Education, and all of the contributors for this delightful te reo educational resource.

It gives me great pleasure to be here today to launch He Ringa Toi Whakaari, He Waewae Toi Kanikani” a performing arts resource for wharekura. This resource celebrates Maori performance arts through the lense of pre-European Whare Tapere, early and contemporary kapa haka styles, dance and drama arising from strong Maori perspectives.

I’m sure this resource will inspire and motivate teachers and students in wharekura to move out of the box of performing arts, to make paradigm shifts in terms of Maori performing arts.

I’d like to present my perspective of performing arts….

In the beginning there was only Te Kore, the Darkness, the Nothingness. From this Nothingness came Papatuanuku, the Earth mother, and Ranginui, the Sky father.

As descendants from Papatuanuku and Ranginui we are connected to the environment around us, the land, ocean, sky and forest.

Life essence flows in our rivers, our streams. Life force flows through our mountains, our forests, our sea. This life force provides our natural world with life sustenance. Without this life essence there is no life. Life force is interconnected to the natural world, and the life force of people.

The life essence, the mauri of the world around us is the same mauri that sustains every human being. Our existence is expressed through our relationship with the world around us, with the landscape and people. This is how we make sense of ourselves, where we sit in the widest sense of the spiritual, physical, intellectual and cultural space.

Papatuanuku, Ranginui, Tangaroa, Tane Mahuta and Tawhirimatea as our tupuna, creators of the environment around us have gifted us with all forms of life whose genes we all carry. We are the children of our tupuna. We share their genes. We share each others sustenance. Our joint heritage, our whakapapa is to be treasured, nurtured and respected.

Interconnectedness and sacredness of our environment draws out inspiration for artistic expression. We can draw inspiration from the natural world and from our people gone before us. Our stories about the mist, land, moana, sky, maunga, awa, wind, rocks, the moon and stars that surround us inspire us to create music, waiata and dance. We sing waiata, understanding words, gathering meaning and symbolism of who we are. Our stories in our own language keep alive our history and our reo.

The resource in itself will help the development of te reo. Not only is it in te reo, will be taught in te reo but it brings forward kupu pertaining to performing arts. The resource makes direct links to the learning objectives of the Nga Toi curriculum with the intention of broadening student knowledge about performing arts.

It will help students to critically analyse their own and others performances. The kupu within the book is from experts in kapa haka, dance and theatre. The DVD shows beautiful korero about experiences of these experts. I am sure the resource will inspire a passion for performing arts and kupu that goes with each genre.

I believe this resource nurtures mauri, wairua, ihi, wehi and wana, those aesthetic dimensions that connect us to our environment and each other. This multidimensional concept is excellent for learning experiences and defines the individual and group. This shared life essence is our whakapapa, the basis of our artistic expression. From these ancient genealogies and ancestral lands, this taonga is inclusive of past, present and future generations.

This resource embraces the historical, cultural, political, social and economic elements that make us great people. I believe this taonga will navigate time and space, the past, present, and so paves the path ahead.

We are a people of great talent, a nation with potential.

I am so proud and encouraged that this resource will draw inspiration from Maori worldviews, inspire our teachers and kids to make paradigm shifts, and to push boundaries in terms of kapa haka; theatre and dance.