Trilingual interpreter embraces Whangārei's Matariki festival

Friday, 21 June 2019

Find out more about the Matariki at Hihiaua Festival in Whangārei, with NZ Sign Language interpretation.

Whangārei's Matariki festival on Saturday is believed to be the first in the country to offer a trilingual interpreter.

Margaret Davis will translate from both spoken te reo Māori and English into NZ Sign Language, so the Northland deaf community can participate in the event.

A particular focus for her will be the three whakatau, the welcomes traditionally spoken in te reo.

Trilingual interpreter Margaret Davis will translate from te reo Māori or English into NZ Sign Language during the Matariki at Hihiaua Festival.

With only a handful of te reo Māori/NZ Sign Language interpreters, Davis believes this has never been offered at a festival of this calibre before.

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Exhibition curator Lenny Murupaenga says the gallery space at Hihiaua Cultural Centre provides diversity.

'I've got huge applause to the [Whangārei District] Council and organisers, they've been so keen to put in place what is needed for the deaf community to be able to understand.'

Davis said many hearing people wrongly assumed deaf people can lip-read, but words often get jumbled. Many deaf people also had problems with literacy.

Hihiaua Cultural Centre student Te Kaurinui Parata adds feathers to a taiaha in the centre's laboratory.

'A lot end up quite isolated and not just ill-informed but not informed,' Davis said. Having an interpreter was like 'the difference between the sun and the moon'.

This year's Matariki festival in Whangārei was special not just because of the interpreter, but because it marks the opening of stage one of the Hihiaua Cultural Centre, set up to promote, preserve and display Māori culture.

'Our Māori cultural identity is at risk of being lost, and lots of elements have been lost in the past,' project co-ordinator Janet Hetaraka said.

Stage one of the new cultural centre included a whakairo (carving) area, a raranga (weaving) floor, a laboratory for experiments and learning, gallery space, plus commercial kitchen.

An extension of the building would incorporate a waka shelter, enabling waka building and storage, plus a large gantry to allow easy waka launching, Hetaraka said.

But, due to a delay with steel production for this extension, it will not be ready for the opening, she said.

The $2.2 million project was funded by a $1m injection form the Government's Provincial Growth Fund, $500,000 from Whangārei District Council, $675,000 from Foundation North and ongoing support from Te Puni Kokiri.

Stage two of the Hihiaua Cultural Centre will include a 700-seat theatre - the largest in Northland - plus a stage that could face an outdoor arena of up to 10,000 people.

MATARIKI AT HIHIAUA DETAILS

Where: Hihiaua Peninsula, central Whangārei. The ends of Herekino St, Lower Dent St and Reyburn House Lane will be closed to vehicles.

Entry: Free.

What and when:

8.30am: Official opening of stage 1 of the the Hihiaua Cultural Centre. Guests include MPs Shane Jones, Peeni Henare and Shane Reti, and Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai.

10am-3pm: Stage performances including kapa haka and special guests like Smashproof; free fun activities for tamariki including kite-making; Matariki market including kai, rongoā (Māori healing products), toi Māori (arts), craft and information stalls; cultural and art performances.

6pm-9pm: Tohunga talks - a series of talks by local experts.

The event is zero-waste and plastic bag-free.