28 Jun Maiea Tupuānuku

Maiea te tupua
Maiea te tawhito
Maiea te kāwainga o te rangi
Maiea ki runga Tupuānuku
Mana nui, mana roa o te pihi nuku, o te māra tautāne
Nau mai Whānui
Nau mai Rongomauī
Nau mai, e te tini o Panitīnaku.

Māringanui ana a Toi Tangata i te whai wāhitanga ki te reka o te kūmara e whanake haere nei i tēnei tau. I tae tētahi o ō mātou kaimahi, a Ranginui Rikirangi-Thomas, ki te hauhaketanga o ngā kūmara, he kaupapa i whakahaerengia ai e Healthy Families Rotorua. Ko te take i hirahira ai tēnei kaupapa, ko te hauhaketanga mai o te momo kūmara e kīia nei ko te Taputini me te Huithuti. Ko tētahi o ngā kōrero, ko te momo tēnei i haria mai ai e Whakaotirangi i tāna kete i Hawaiki rānō, ka whakatō ai ki Maketū, ki Mokoia, ki hea rānei, ki hea rānei. 

I kitea te mahinga ngātahitanga o te iwi, te whakaoranga o ētahi tikanga kūmara, heoi i konei rea anō ai tētahi kaupapa i kōkiri tahi ai a Toi Tangata ki a Healthy Families Rotorua, arā, ko te Toi Ako: Ana Kūmara. He pānga nui hoki tō tēnei kaupapa ki tētahi atu o ngā kaupapa e kōkirihia nei e Ranginui i ia tau, arā, ko te Umu Kohukohu Whetū mō Matariki.

Toi Tangata was fortunate to be a part of the development of practices and knowledge pertaining to kūmara this year. One of our Pouārahi, Ranginui Rikirangi-Thomas, attended the harvesting of kūmara, an event organised by Healthy Families Rotorua. One of the reasons this gathering was so unique, was the inclusion of an ancient cultivar, the Taputini and Hutihuti. It is said that this is the variety that Whakaotirangi brought with her in her basket, that were then planted in Maketū, Mokoia, and so forth.

Collaboration was evident as well as the revitalisation of some practices pertaining to kūmara. This has initiated another partnership opportunity for Toi Tangata and Healthy Families Rotorua: Toi Ako – Ana Kūmara. This has relevance to an overarching kaupapa that Ranginui has delivered through Toi Tangata in recent years and continues to champion, the Umu Kohukohu Whetū for Matariki.