Tena Tatou katoa
Mihi tuatahi ki to Tatou matua nui I te Rangi, nana nei I hanga nga mea katoa kia whakapainia te ingoa, mihi tuarua e nga mate haere, haere, haere atu ra
Kia ora te whanau e nga rau Rangatira ma
I would like to talk about a Whakatauki (proverb) and it is called HUTIA
Hutia te rito o te harakeke kei whia te ko moko e ko
Ki mai ki ahau
He aha te mea nui o tenei au
Maku e ki atu
He tangata he tangata he tangata
Tihei Mauri ora
This proverb is known all over the country and it means
If you clean the heart out of the flax where will the bell bird sing
The most important thing in the world is, and I say, The people, the people, the people.
I relate this whakatauki (proverb) to Hau Ariki marae – we the people are the bell bird, the heart of the flax is the marae. As long as we have a marae the bell bird has a place to sing.
Hau Ariki is a place for all people to have a voice, no matter what race, creed, colour. We invite you to visit with us and take the opportunity to understand our Tikanga, (customs) and kawa, (protocols)
Feel free to join one of our meetings on the first Monday of every month or email me for more information.
We are also keen to talk to folks willing to help us to build our community and maintain our beautiful marae so it is around for future generations. As I think about how important the marae is to our community, to our whanau I am reminded of another saying “Ask not what your marae can do for you, but what you can do for your marae”, JF Kennedy. I’m sure he is Maori (we are every where!)
I would like to finish with another whakatauki, this was written by Heemi Henare:
Kua tawhiti ke tau
Haerenga mai kia kore e haere tonu
He tina nui rawa ou mahi
Kia kore e mahi nui tonu
We have come too far not to go further
We have done too much not to do more
Na naku
Greg Hawkins
