Te hiranga o ngā wāhi Māori ki ngā whare wānanga
E whakahīhī ana a Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa i tōna taiao ako o te kotahitanga, me te ahurea. Kua rite, kua horapa ngā wāhi Māori me ngā whare i ngā whare wānanga e toru o Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa hei whakamahinga mā ngā ākonga. Kei Tāmaki Makaurau ko Te Whare Taupua me Te Rau Tauawhi - te pokapū āwhina i ngā ākonga Maori. Kei Manawatū ko Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, he rūma rūnanga me te wharekai, ko Toi Te Ora, ka mutu kei Te Whanganui-a-Tara ko Te Rau Karamu Marae.
I whakatuwherahia Te Whare Taupua ki te whare Atrium o Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa ki Tāmaki Makaurau i te tau 2020. E tuwhera ana te wāhi nei ki te marea, ā, he wāhi papai tonu ki te inu kawhe, tī, mairo, me te takoto kōpiko i te tūru hāneaneaki te whakatā ki te whakaū akoranga rānei.
“Ka whakamahia ēnei wāhi mō te huhua o ngā kaupapa me ngā momo whiringa mahi hei whakanui tō tātou Māoritanga. Kia whakarārangihia e a au ētahi mea; ko Te Reo Māori me ngā tikanga (utukore), te mahitahi ki te rōpū Māori ki te whakatū i a Kai & Kōrero (utukore hoki), ā, mātua ake he kaha mātou ki te whakarite wāhi haumaru kia tika te tuku atu i ngā tautoko mō te taha wairua me te taha ako i runga i te tirohanga Māori”, te kī a te kaiwhahaere ākonga Māori, a Campbel Te Paa.
“Ko te hiranga o Te Whare Taupua kei roto i tana āhei ki te whakatutuki i ngā kōrero i whakaputaina i mua ake nei. Ko Te Whare Taupua he kāinga rua, ā, koia hoki te tākenga mai o tēnei whare. Ko te whāinga ia kia whai i tētahi wāhi Māori tūturu ake nei, pēnei i a Te Rau Karamu i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa ki Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, e pai ai te hāpai i ngā kupu taurangi o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te whakamana i te hiranga o te iwi me te ahurea Māori ki tēnei whenua o Aotearoa i ōnamata, ki īnamata, hei ānamata anō hoki”.
Hei tāpiritanga ki Te Whare Taupua o Tāmaki Makaurau, ko Te Pūtahi-a-Toi he whare mō ngā ākoranga Māori, ā, kua tuwhera mō te 25 tau. Ko te kaupapa o tēnei whare “he whāngai kaupapa ako hihiko hei kukume mai i ngā whakaaro hou me ngā tirohanga hou ki āu mahi”, ko ngā kōrero a Te Ahorangi me Te Tumuaki Māori Tuarua, a Meihana Durie. Kei Te Pūtahi-a-Toi hoki he rūma rūnanag, me te wharekai - a Toi Te Ora - he wāhi e pōhiritia ana kia whakangā ngā manuhiri, ngā ākonga, ngā kaiako anō hoki.
Ko te āpititanga hou ki ngā wāhi Māori ki Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa ko te marae o Te Rau Karamu, i whakatuwherangia i tēnei tau ki Pukeahu, i Te Whanganui-ā-Tara. Kua whakakaurerahi tēnei marae hei tohu matua i te kaha o Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa ki te hāpai kaupapa Māori me whakarite wāhi haumaru, he taiao pōwhiri hoki i te katoa kia nau piki mai.
“He mea tino nui kia whakarite mātou i tētahi taiao e tautoko ana i ngā ākonga katoa, ā, e whakapono ana ahau ka whakatutuki tēnei mārae i aua hiahia, kaua noa mō ngā ākonga Māori, ēngari mō te katoa. He mea whai hiranga kia tū he whare e whakamana ana i tērā hononga o Te Tiriti”, hei tā Minita Robertson.
“Ko te marae me tōna whare, a Te Whaioranga o Te Whaiao, ka whakaawe ake i te taiao o te wāhi ako o te whare wānanga e pai ai te hui tahi a ngā kaimahi, ākonga, hapori, ka pai hoki te hui mai ā ngā hoa ā-iwi ki te hui me te wānanga”, te kōrero a Te Ahorangi me Te Tumuaki Māori Tuarua, a Meihana Durie.
Ēhara i te mea ka āwhina noa ngā wāhi me ngā whare Māori ki te whakarauora i te reo, ngā tikanga, me te tuakiri o ngā ākonga Māori, ēngari he wāhi haumaru i runga anō i te whakaute me te whakapapa. Kua whakamahia ēnei wāhi hei whakataka kai, hei whakaaroaro ki ngā tīpuna, hei wā karakia hoki.
“Ka āhei te tauira Māori te kuhu atu ki ēnei wāhi me te mōhio pū ka pōwhiritia ia i runga i te manaakitanga me tika, hei Māori. E mārama ana mātou ki tēnei mea te noho takitini, me te mōhio he tikanga o te Māori ake, ā, i kaha kitea i ngā tau kua pahure nā te mate KŌWHEORI-19, aha atu, aha atu. He mea nui ēnei wāhi Māori i te whare wānanga kia pai tonu te whai ā ngā ākonga i ngā tikanga o te whanaungatanga me te whakakotahitanga”, te kī a a te kaiwhahaere ākonga Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau, a Campbel Te Paa.
“Mō te katoa ēnei wāhi, ēnei whare. Māori mai, Māori atu, iwi taketake mai, iwi taketake atu. Whakaritea mai tō mihi “kia ora” i te mea kua rite ā mātou mihi!”
The importance of Māori spaces on campus
Massey University prides itself on being an all-inclusive, culturally rich learning environment. Across all three Massey campuses, Māori spaces and facilities are available for students to use. Our Auckland Campus has the Te Whare Taupua, and a Te Rau Tauawhi – the Māori student support center. Manawatū boasts the Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, a rūnanga room and a wharekai – Toi Te Ora, and the Wellington campus has the newly built Te Rau Karamu Marae.
Te Whare Taupua opened in the Atrium building on Massey’s Auckland campus in 2020. The space is open to everybody and is perfect for ‘enjoying coffee, tea or milo, and curling up on the couch for some study or chill’.
“These spaces are used for various events and opportunities to celebrate being Māori. To name a few things; we offer Te Reo Māori me ngā tikanga (free of charge), we host Kai & Kōrero in collaboration with the Māori Student Associations (also, free of charge), and ultimately we provide a safe space where pastoral & academic care can be delivered and achieved, whilst taking into account the Māori worldview,” says Māori student coordinator, Campbell Te Paa.
“The significance of Te Whare Taupua lies within it’s ability to provide what has been talked about above. Te Whare Taupua translates to ‘temporary house’, by which is the nature of this whare. The intention is to have an authentically Māori space, such as Te Rau Karamu on the Massey University Wellington Campus, which serves to acknowledge commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and recognise the importance Māori people and culture have had in the current landscape of Aotearoa, as well as the future landscape.”
In addition to Auckland’s Te Whare Taupua, Manawatū’s Te Pūtahi-a-Toi is a building dedicated to Māori studies and has been open for 25 years. The kaupapa of this space is to “offer an engaging course of study, bringing new insights and new perspectives to the work that you do,” says professor ad Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Māori, Meihana Durie.
The Te Pūtahi-a-Toi also includes a rūnanga room and a wharekai / dining room – Toi Te Ora, where visitors, students and staff can learn, relax and be welcomed.
The latest addition to Massey’s Māori spaces is the Te Rau Karamu Marae, which was opened this year on the Pukeahu campus in Wellington. The Marae has been hailed as a significant representation of Massey’s commitment to kaupapa Māori, and creating an environment that is welcoming of everybody.
“It’s really important that we provide an environment that supports all students and I believe this marae will do that for Māori students and others as well. It’s really important that there is a place to recognise that Te Tiriti relationship,” says Minister Robertson.
“The Marae and its Whare, Te Whaioranga o Te Whaiao, brings to campus an immensely inspiring space in which our staff, students, community and Iwi partners can now gather together for hui and wānanga,” says Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori, Professor Meihana Durie.
Māori and cultural spaces on campus not only aid in enhancing the language, culture and identity of Māori students, but provides a safe space based on respect and connection. These spaces can and have been used for making kai, reflecting on ancestors, and providing opportunities for karakia.
“They provide a space where tauira Māori are guaranteed to be welcomed for their uniqueness as Māori, be understood and welcomed. We can all appreciate the sense of community which we all long for, and have realised is essential to the way we operate, markedly so considering the past couple of years during COVID-19 etc, having Māori spaces on our campuses facilitates these fundamental principles of whanaungatanga and the togetherness it brings,” says Auckland Māori student coordinator, Campbell Te Paa.
“These spaces are for everyone. Māori mai, Māori atu, iwi taketake mai, iwi taketake atu. Have your ‘Kia ora’ ready as we will most likely have ours!”