Haerenga ki te Tairāwhiti: In the footsteps of Te Rongopai

Photos by Bella Pollock

Earlier this month, a group of eight congregants from Blueprint Church and St Tom’s, Newtown had the opportunity to take part in a haerenga ki te Tairāwhiti at Rauru Marae in Ruatoria, Gisborne, the tūrangawaewae (standing ground) of Ngāti Porou. This haerenga (journey) was an opportunity to learn some of the legacy of Ngāti Porou and the community of Ruatoria, a township that lies below Mount Hikurangi.

They spent the weekend there, from the 7th to the 9th of August, as a result of their developing relationship with Karuwhā Trust, an organisation that facilitates opportunities for people in Aotearoa to engage with the history and identity of the whenua in which they live. Their kaupapa revolves around "knowing the story you are part of". The haerenga that Karuwhā create enable a myriad of different communities across the country to connect, kōrero, and wānanga (learn) from tangata whenua.

For three days the group sat at the feet of Reverend Pane Kawhia and her whānau at Rauru Marae to learn about the whakapapa of the gospel in this region, which is steeped in deeply prophetic lineage. The weekend was full to the brim with waiata and kōrero that was given by the haukāinga (hosts), guest speakers and cornerstone community members including Reverend Matanuku Kaa, the minister of St Mary's church in Tikitiki.

Cat Webb was one of the people to take part in the haerenga, and shared some of her thoughts on the significance of the weekend:

It was beautiful and eye-opening to build relationship with this iwi and whānau who just love God and can see Him moving among them.

My heart is so full from this experience, even some weeks later. Something that continued to take my breath away for the entirety of the trip is just how present the Holy Spirit was throughout the weekend, in every waiata we sang together and in   every discussion we had about the history of the whenua, about reconciliation between tangata whenua and tangata pākehā, and about what it means to be tangata Te Tiriti (people of Te Tiriti o Waitangi).

I was also just really taken by the way in which the tangata whenua hold such deep-seated emotions in tension. There were many times where we would be talking about a topic that is significantly grievous, and in the same moment be laughing about a spark of joy or a flicker of divine coincidence in that same conversation, without diminishing the seriousness that was also present.

It was a blessing beyond words to spend time with people from different communities across Aotearoa who are all at different stages of engagement in te ao Māori. The beauty of going on a noho marae with many strangers is that you spend the weekend all up in each other's space, and that allows for so much quality time to whanaunga (connect), debrief and externally process, and learn from one another too.

By Cat Webb and Holly Morton