Feb. 8, 2023, 8:20 p.m.
183 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi was celebrated over an entire week, where the National Iwi Chairs Forum led into the Waitangi Day Dawn Ceremony. The Dawn Ceremony commenced under light rain showers with a 5am start. Bishop Te Kitohi Pikaahu conducted the stage like a well-skilled Māori orchestra.
The waiata ‘Houhanga Rongo’ was sung by Captain Hana Seddon, Envoy Anihera Carroll and Mr Ken Te Tau of The Salvation Army.
Karakia in multiple languages and waiata Māori carried the morning proceedings through to a moment where the Kapa-Kingi brothers, Eru and Tipene, gave a bone-chilling karakia which was from Te Whakaminenga, the Declaration of Independence. The brothers stood up in their own right to salute and reiterate the fact that Māori never ceded sovereignty.
Tautīnei spoke to Eru Kapa-Kingi exclusively and asked him to share his reflection on Waitangi commemorations this year. He responded;
“My main reflection from Waitangi this year - the evidence is clear we never ceded our sovereignty, but that won’t matter until we actually believe and practice exactly that. If we can’t be the rangatira of our own whakaaro, of our own minds, how can we genuinely live out being the rangatira of our whenua, of our whānau, tamariki, mokopuna, of our marae, of ourselves?
Some of the institutions we’ve long abided by, which are internal to us, actually don’t do justice to our rangatiratanga, and ultimately serve the Crown’s best interests. We need to break away from those, because they clearly haven’t worked. So my challenge for the Waitangi Day commemorations to come, is to disrupt and re-engineer what our day means and how we honour the mana of Te Tiriti, on our own whenua”.
Many gathered to experience an intimate performance to bring in the light and Ngā Tai o Tokerau Councillor, known more widely as Whaea Hilda, paid mihi in beautiful karanga to the rising sun.
At the first glimpse of light, Scottish bagpipes and then the didgeridoo could be heard echoing from beneath the flag staff. Our indigenous whānau from the Aboriginal community shared their respect in Corroboree, the Aboriginal traditional dance ceremony which may take the form of a sacred ritual or an informal gathering.
The waka Ngātokimatawhaorua was launched at 9am with a strong crew led by Joe Conrad. This is one of the most anticipated events of Waitangi weekend. The crew spend a lot of time preparing and synchronising their movements to move together.
Ngātokimatawhaorua is 37.5 meters long and was built of Northland kauri trees in 1938, to mark the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi’s signing which would fall in 1940. The caption of the photo above says;
"The photo of five men, who in five hours, hand-felled with axe and saw the 10-foot diameter tree. In front stands their leader and later joint-captain of the finished canoe, Te Hoe (Peta) Heperi, a chieftain of the Ngāpuhi people whose great-great grandfather, the High Chief Tapua, was one of those to welcome Captain James Cook to these shores on his re-discovery of New Zealand 180 years ago."
Te Tii Waitangi Marae field was full of stalls, kai, music, hauora and tamariki running around flying their Tino Rangatiratanga flags proudly. Performances bellowed across the grounds. Mohi, Mellowdownz, Troy Kingi and The Promises, Paige and Don Macglashan and The Others kicked off at midday creating a buzzing environment for whānau to enjoy.
"Regardless of this crazy weather, I had the coolest weekend in Waitangi," said Kingi.
Waitangi River Bridge and Te Tii Beach was full of beachgoers all weekend. The manu is usually the 'go-to' jump style but maybe the height of the bridge meant that most jumpers opted for a cannon ball or pin to save slapping their backs. When Tautīnei cheekily asked if they'd try to get some oysters once they jumped in, they replied;
"Later, you jump first," we did not get oysters.
Mayor Moko Tepania took to the stage for the very first time as mayor. When Breakfast asked him how he was feeling about the entire weekend, he responded;
“It’s so amazing to be sitting here with the Prime Minister and the Governor General. I tell my tamariki at kura that the blank spaces on my Mayoral medal that hangs around my neck are for them. It shows them that we can be in these spaces.”
Rueben Taipari spoke to Te Hiku Radio about the group hīkoi to Waitangi which began at Te Rerenga Wairua on the 2nd of February 2023.
"Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is as important today as it was almost 40 years ago. The issues that affect us today need to be solved and managed together. This NZ Government would remove all of the hard fought wins that our tūpuna dedicated their lives to for the benefit of their mokopuna. Hīkoi is an important aspect and is an opportunity for people from all over to come together and acknowledge the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi".
He paid respect to every iwi as the group travelled through Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Ngāi Takoto, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi ki Whangaroa, Ngāti Kawa, Ngāti Rahiri and Ngāpuhi. They stopped over at every noho whenua and arrived in Waitangi with a strong crew ready for the last leg with many supporters.
The next generation of kaupapa leaders, hīkoi veterans and Māori rights protectors are already shaping up to be staunch and resilient rangatahi, come rangatira. The Kapa-Kingi brothers have set a fine example of weaving the past and the future into the present;
“He aha te rongoā? Me whakapono, me whakapono, me whakapono! Say it until you believe it, then live it until you feel it - WE NEVER CEDED SOVEREIGNTY!” said Eru Kapa-Kingi.
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