Engia kua toa te kōura: Ko tā Rawiri Paratene nō ngā tau e 50 i muri i te petihana reo Māori
Friday, 9 September 2022
Kua mau i a Rawiri Paratene (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) tētahi poraka kakī-honu mā me tētahi koti tukurua i a ia e hīkoi atu ana ki te Pāremata.
Rawiri Paratene (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) was wearing a white turtleneck jumper and a second-hand coat as he marched towards Parliament.
Read this story in English here.
Ko te kōanga, engari he kaha nō te ngau o te hau i Pōneke, kua mate te katoa kia mau kākahu mahana.
It was spring, but the biting Wellington winds meant everyone had wrapped up warm.
**READ MORE:
* We've come a long way as a nation, using te reo Māori more and everywhere
* A story about a photograph, love, and a lifelong te reo Māori journey
* New waiata video honours te reo revolutionaries
**
Tērā te wā he ākonga tonu te kaiwhakaari kounga nei, he mema hoki o Ngā Tamatoa, tētahi rōpū whakatūtū e noho ana hei hoa haere mō ngā ingoa pēnei i a Syd Jackson, te kaiuniana ahumahi rongonui, rāua ko Tame Iti, te kaitoi me te kaiwhakatūtū nō Tūhoe.
The critically acclaimed actor was a young drama student and member of Ngā Tamatoa, an activist group synonymous with names like well-known trade unionist Syd Jackson and Tūhoe artist and activist Tame Iti.
I te hīkoi tahi a Paratene rātou ko ētahi anō kia tukuna te petihana reo Māori ki te Pāremata. I hiahia rātou kia whakaakona te reo Māori i ngā kura.
Paratene, among others, was walking to present the Māori language petition to Parliament. They wanted te reo Māori to be taught in schools.
Kua roa te ara e tae ai ki konei, kāore e oti i a koe te kohikohi i ngā waitohu 30,000 i te pō kotahi.
This moment had been a long time coming, you can’t collect 30,000 signatures overnight after all.
Hei tā Paratene, i tīmata tana takahi i te ara o te petihana rā tōna hoa, tētahi kaiwhakatūtū anō, ko Tama Poata.
In the case of Paratene, the story of the petition began through a friendship with another young activist, Tama Poata.
“Kua ngaro atu ia,” hei tā Paratene.
“He’s gone now,” says Paratene.
“Engari he tino hoa ia… i whakatū mātou i tētahi peka o Ngā Tamatoa, he mea ki Tāmaki, he mea hoki ki Ōtautahi, engari kāhore tētahi ki Pōneke.”
“But he was a fantastic friend… we started a branch of Ngā Tamatoa because we had one in Auckland, and we had one in Christchurch, but we didn't have one in Wellington.”
Mea ake nā, kua tūtaki Ngā Tamatoa ki Te Reo Māori Society. Mea rawa ake, kua pupū ake te huatau mō te petihana reo Māori, tāna whakamahuki mai.
Ngā Tamatoa would soon meet up with the Te Reo Māori Society. The idea for the Māori language petition was born soon after, he explains.
“Pai mutunga, i tino pai tā rātou kohi waitohu, me te kauhau mō te hua o ngā akoranga reo,” hei tā Paratene.
“They were fantastic, and they were really good at collecting signatures and talking about why we should have te reo classes,” says Paratene.
“I rawe, nē. I te toro atu mātou ki ētahi wāhi whai rawa pēnei i Karori. E hia kē nei ngā waitohu i whāia e mātou.”
“It was great, you know. We were going to some really flash areas like Karori. We got a lot of signatures.”
Korekore, kīhai te katoa i tautoko i te kaupapa.
Of course, not everybody was on board with the kaupapa.
“Tērā ētahi ka tūtakina noa te tatau, engari he tokomaha… ka whakahohe mai. Ahakoa pea tā rātou whakatau kia kaua e waitohu.”
“Some people would just close the door, but lots of people … mostly they would engage. Even if they decided that they didn't want to sign it.”
Ka kainamu te 14 o Hepetema, 1972, ka whai whakamaherehere a Paratene i tōna whaea kēkē mō te tuku mihi i te Paremata.
As September 14, 1972, approached, Paratene got advice from his aunty about doing a mihi on the steps of power.
“I toro atu au ki a ia me te kī, me kōrero tāua, anā, i whakaako mai ia kia pēhea. Ko tāna kī mai, me pēnā i tā tō koroua.
“I went to her and I said, I need to speak, so she coached me on how to do it. She was saying to do it like how your grandfather does.
“Ka hīkoi atu, me hīkoi whakamuri… kaua e huri pohane atu…”
“When you walk away, you walk back… don't turn around with your bum…”
Ka tae ana te 14 o Hepetema, ā, ka tau mai te wairua kaha me te kotahitanga, hei tā Paratene.
September 14 arrived and, with it, a feeling of strength and togetherness, says Paratene.
“Engia, kua toa te kōura i ngā Taumāhekeheke o te Ao, e hanga pēnā ana.
“It was like, I don't know, we won a gold at the Olympics or something like that.
“I pēnā, nē, i pēnā. Ka mahara au ki tērā rangi, me tērā wā, mō ake tonu.”
“I felt like, I felt like that, you know. I will always remember that day and that time.”
I reira, mātakitaki mai ana i ngā arawhata o Pāremata, ko tētahi tokowhitu mema Pāremata, tae rā anō ki ngā MP Reipa Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan rāua ko Matiu Rata.
Watching from the steps of power was a group of seven members of Parliament, including Labour MPs Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan, and Matiu Rata.
“Ko te mea nui e hiahia ana mātou, ko te kitenga a te marea i te oranga o te reo Māori, ka mutu, kāhore e tūpono nei ka mate,” koia tā Paratene kōrero ki te arapāho i tērā wā.
“The most essential thing we’re trying to achieve is to make the public aware that the Māori language is not dead and has no real hope of dying,” Paratene told media at the time.
“Kei te ora pai te reo Māori… koia tērā te reo matua o te marae…”
“The Māori language is a very real and living thing … it’s the prime language of the marae …”
Kātahi ka pōhiritia mai ngā kaiporotēhi ki te whare kia ōkawa te pānui me te tuku i te petihana, tā Paratene.
Protesters were later welcomed into the building to formally read and present the petition, says Paratene.
“Kei te whakaaro ake au ki a Hana Te Hemara rāua ko Syd Jackson, anō hoki tō rāua pai.”
“I'm thinking now about Hana Te Hemara and Syd Jackson, and they were fantastic.”
“Kua ngaro atu rā rāua.”
“They're both gone now.”
Ka tirohia tētahi whakaahua tawhito nā te Auckland Star nō ngā pūranga o Puna. Kei te kitea tētahi Paratene rangatahi, me tana ringa ki te pūkoro o tana koti.
He looks at an old Auckland Star news photo from the Stuff archives. A young Paratene can be seen on the left, with his hand in the pocket of his coat.
Ki tōna taha, me te hamarara ki tōna ringa, me tana neketai e tīrepa ana i te hau, ko Paul Kotara.
Next to him, with an umbrella in one hand and his tie flapping in the wind, is Paul Kotara.
“Kua ngaro atu ia.”
“He’s gone now.”
E ai ki te tapanga o te whakaahua, ko Te Ōuenuku Rene te kaumātua e ārahi ana nō mua.
The caption on the original image identifies Te Ōuenuku Rene as the kaumātua leading from the front.
I a ia e tiro ana ki te whakaahua e rima tekau tau ki mua, kua poho kūkupa pai a Paratene.
Looking at the image fifty years on, Paratene feels immense pride.
Kua noho ia ki te takiwā St Heliers ki Tāmaki Makaurau. Kua pāngia ia e ētahi ikura roro, me te mate whakangū, nā reira kua taumaha i ētahi wā te whai i ngā kupu.
He now lives in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers. He has suffered a series of strokes and has aphasia, which means he can sometimes struggle to find his words.
Ahakoa tēnei, hīkoi ai ia i ia rā, me te aha anō, he rite tonu te tau mai a ngā tāngata me te kī, “Kia ora.”
Despite this, he makes sure to go for a walk every day, and says people will often stop to say, “Kia ora.”
He rongo motuhake, he mōhio nōna kua whaiwāhi te petihana ki tērā momo.
It’s special to hear, partly because he knows the petition had something to do with it.
Ka mutu – hei tā Paratene – he wāhi whairawa tēnei, he wāhi pōtihia ai a Nāhinara. E noho nei ki te rohe pōtitanga i ōna wā nā Robert Muldoon.
Also – as Paratene points out – this is a rich, National-voting area. It sits in the electorate once held by Robert Muldoon.
Tērā tētahi taha e kīia nei kua whakakapi a Paratene i a Te Ōuenuku Rene i te whakaahua niupepa o mua. He rangatira e ārahi ana i te whakareanga o āpōpō.
In some way, Paratene has now assumed the place of Te Ōuenuku Rene in the old newspaper image. A rangatira leading the next generation through.
“Kāore au mō te kī he rangatira au, engari kua pai noa te tapanga kaumātua,” tā Paratene.
“I don't think that I would call myself a rangatira, I’m happy to be a kaumātua,” says Paratene.
“Katoa ngā Māori… ina kitea au, ka meinga te matua, ā, e pai ana tēnā ki au, nē. Ka meinga raini te koro, he mea whakaute.
“All the Māori… when they see me, they just call me matua, and I like that, you know. Or koro, because they are terms of respect.
“Engari anō te rangatira, kua hiahia kia pēnā te tapanga hei te wā kua whai anō i tōku reo.”
“As for rangatira, I would like to be called that when I've got my reo back.”
He whakamāoritanga nā te Kaihautū Reo Māori ki Puna, nā Taurapa.
Translation by Stuff Kaihautū Reo Māori Taurapa.