Reflection written by James Mose, Department of Internal Affairs
Retreat six was based on our connection to the fonua (whenua), and how this relationship has been severed: severed through colonisation, through greed, and through lack of trust in indigenous knowledge.
We were hosted by Ted Wihongi and his whanau for this retreat, and we were welcomed beautifully onto Kohewhata with a powhiri. I haven’t experienced powhiri many times before but this one was special, our sister Darlene responded on our behalf. Inside the marae we had our brothers Dan and Ben respond with pepeha and speeches in Samoan, a language they both were not confident in, so this made it a huge step for them and our cohort. Huge that it takes a lot of courage to speak in these sorts of settings and huge that us as a cohort helped to give them that courage to be comfortable to speak.
Over the duration of the retreat we visited some sacred and special monuments for the people of Ngāpuhi, but also some special sites in the history of Aotearoa. These visits, and the discussions that came from the visits, spurred conversations on forgotten or neglected knowledge that could lead the way to healing the land and people of the land.
The story that stuck with me the most from this retreat is the one of the whale and the kauri tree that was told by Fatu and our guide to Tane Mahuta. This story resonated with me because it was a reminder that our ancestors were geniuses and understood the world in a higher level than people thought.
Personally, this retreat had a lot of healing for me. It gave me the opportunity to tell my life story in front of others in a way that I had never shared before. The aroha and support I received was huge and something that I am extremely grateful for.
I left this retreat feeling rejuvenated and re-energised in myself and my path, but also feeling much more aware of the ways I need to engage with others to create belonging and acceptance while maintaining integrity in myself as a person of the moana.
James wrote this following Vā Fonua, the sixth retreat of seven in Tū Mau Mana Moana.
Tū means to stand, arise, be, to be upright in 48 of our languages – it is Austronesian in origin and one of our most ancient source languages. At its zenith, Tū or Kū is the archetype of humanity - of the god of war, of the realm of humankind.
Mau is in 47 of our languages and is linguistically categorised as Polynesian in origin. It refers to seeking, finding, persisting, holding on to, firmly and tightly. Mau is a well-known movement of liberation and a calling cry to reclaim power.
Together, these words create Tū Mau – to stand and hold, to be firm and seek. The approach and orientation of this programme is designed specifically for Pacific peoples seeking to lead in the public sector.
Find out more about Tū Mau Mana Moana here.