Published: 30 April, 2024
Te Hoe Tū
Te Hoe Tū is a wānanga for rangatahi who whakapapa to Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui and offers an opportunity to come together and learn about our history, places, tūpuna and Te Ātiawatanga.
The latest Te Hoe Tū wānanga was held in April at Rākauroa (Anchorage) in the Abel Tasman National Park, ably led by Te Ātiawa Kaiako Tamu Mausii and Alena Beard and the awesome crew from Whenua Iti Outdoors.
We had an amazing group of 10 rangatahi from Pōneke, Whakatū and Motueka. The first day was all about whakawhanangatanga; we started with a pōwhiri onto Te Āwhina Marae and learned stories of our Whare Turangāpeke from Ngawaina Shorrock and Rōpata Stephens. We then headed off to Kaiteretere Reserve where we set up camp for the first night.
It was an early start the next morning; after packing up the tents and gear, we made the 14-kilometre paddle to Rākauroa on waka ama in the safe hands of Waka Abel Tasman. Some of rangatahi had never been on a waka before but they all managed to pump us around the coastline. Tau kē rangatahi mā!
We hit Rākauroa in about 3.5 hours and then it was time to set up camp and have a well-deserved kai and rest.
Over the next few days our rangatahi learned karakia, waiata, haka, and mau rākau, and each night shared their positives and negatives for the day – it was a beautiful opportunity for us to delve deeper into our purpose, identity, and learnings.
We had some of our kaumātua and partners join us for a day and our rangatahi showed their manaakitanga by helping host a pōwhiri and serving a hangi for lunch – tino reka te kai! Our young leaders were incredible hosts and were able to pull together to provide a beautiful occasion for our extended whānau.
After heading back to Kaiteretere the next day, we headed to the puna Riuwaka where we practiced a tohi rite in the awa to close our wānanga and then headed to Whenua Iti in Lower Moutere for the graduation, The tohi rite was an opportunity for us to uphold and engage with the traditional practices and tikanga of our people and to share that with the next generation.
The next Te Hoe Tū wānanga is being run in spring – keep an eye out for further pānui for dates and enrolment information – we’d love you to see more rangatahi get involved.
