Kāi Tahu whānui, tēnā koutou katoa. Nei rā te owha te whakamiha hoki a Kāti Māhaki ki Makaawhio ki a koutou katoa. Nei rā hoki te poroporoaki ki kā tini aituā kua hika mai, kua hika atu. Nō reira e kā mate huhua mai i Muriwhenua ki Rakiura tae noa atu ki kā motu kē o te ao, haere, haere, haere atu rā.
Haere koutou ki te taha o kā mātua tīpuna ki tua o te ārai, moe mai koutou i te rakimārie. Rātou ki a rātou, tātou anō ki a tātou. Tēnā anō tātou katoa.
Raumati has continued to bless Poutini with fantastic, balmy weather. A week of much needed heavy rain early in March has ensured that our water tanks are full again and the brown patches are green again.
Wānaka marae
We held a wānaka marae in February, which incorporated manaaki manuhiri ‘in action,’ waiata, karaka, whaikōrero and Māhakitaka. Although small in numbers, the wānaka provided an excellent opportunity to kōrero about our kawa and tikaka, roles on the marae and our whare tīpuna.
The reunion provided the opportunity to put into practice manaaki manuhiri and a trip to our awa, provided the right environment for our wāhine to karaka.
We have had a number of hui covering a range of kaupapa but one of our important annual kaupapa is the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, which this year was held at Westland High School in Hokitika on 14-15 February. Our fundraising kai-baked potatoes with coleslaw and corn on the cob went down a treat with whānau and other teams, and we were able to bank a good donation for the cause.
More than $41,000.00 was raised and the pūtea will be used by our local Cancer Society.
Marie Mahuika-Forsyth and Toihi Mahuika-Wright walking the first leg for the Makaawhio Mauriora-Relay for Life team.
eam Makaawhio serving the kai.
School hosts kapa haka group
In February, we also supported Westland High School when they hosted the Waitaha kapa haka team, Te Ahikōmau a Hamoterangi at the school. The team visited Hokitika for their final practices and preparations for Te Matatini.
Whānau were privileged to experience a dress rehearsal and the bracket the group performed at this year’s Te Matatini kapa haka competition in Christchurch. The exposure for our budding kaihaka to see national level performers was priceless.
Tourism guide
We would like to acknowledge Kahurangi Wilson-Mahuika who is our very own Kāti Māhaki head guide on the Ngāi Tahu Tourism, Whakatipuwaitai Track. Not only is he our first guide, that is, since the Rangatira Tūtoko himself but he is also the youngest. Here is a picture of him on his second trip as head guide. Ka mau te wehi.
Kahurangi Wilson-Mahuika.
ANZAC commemorative service
We will be marking ANZAC Day again at our marae on 25 April, with a commemorative service and a get together with whānau.
Communication
You may have noticed that our webpage is out of commission at the moment. We have almost finished the reconstruction of the site and had planned to launch it Waitangi Weekend but thanks to a couple of small technical glitches, we have a little more work to do before we can share it with everyone. Watch this space.
Keep checking our blog site as this is being updated regularly. If you have not signed up to receive updates automatically, please do so. It’s simple, just add your email address into the space provided underneath the “Follow by e-mail” prompt.
Soon we will be doing a mail out to members but we need to ensure we have your correct address details. Please contact us to check your address, phone number and email address.
Please contact us on: www.makaawhio.maori.nz; Facebook: makaawhio.blogspot.co.nz; Twitter: makaawhio.blogspot.co.nz; phone 03 755 7885 or 0800 955 007; [email protected] or [email protected].
Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki. Mauri ora.