Panorama: Māori Affairs Committee room at Parliament

Panorama of the Māori Affairs Committee Room/Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga.

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Transcript of commentary by Wiremu Haunui, Kaiwhakamarama Reo for the Office of the Clerk.

A Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga, te rūma o te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori i ēnei rā

I hangaia a Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga, te rūma hōu mō te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori ki tētahi tūnga waenganui pū i te papa whenua o te Whare Pāremata, hei wāhanga o ngā mahi whakapaipaitanga anō i te Whare Pāremata i ngā tau, atu i te 1992 ki te 1996. Nā te Arikinui Kuini Irihāpeti te Tuarua i whakatuwhera i te 2 o Whiringi-ā-rangi, i te tau 1995. Ko tōna ingoa nō te Māui nāna nei, e ai ki te kōrero tuku iho Māori, Te Ika-a-Māui o Aotearoa i huhuti ake i te moana, nāna te rā i here kia āta haere ai, ā, i whiwhi i a ia te ahi.

I maiohatia kautia ngā Māori katoa mā te whakapaipai i te rūma ki ngā whakairo, ngā tukutuku, me ngā kōwhaiwhai o ngā hau e whā, o ngā iwi katoa rānei, me ngā kōrero tuku iho, ngā toa, ngā wahine toa hoki ki aua kōrero. I tohua mā ngā tino tohunga whao e toru ngā whakairo, ā, mā ngā rōpū wāhine raranga ngā tukutuku. E whakakite ana te whatitoka i ngā kōrero tuku iho a te tangata whenua, a Te Ati Awa, mō ngā āhuatanga e pā ana ki te rohe o Te Upoko-o-te-Ika, me te rohe o Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara.

Kei roto i te rūma ko ngā kaupapa hiranga ki ngā Māori katoa e whai ake nei arā:

• ngā Atua Māori (mō te taha wairua me te taha whakapono ki te Māori)
• te Moana me te Tuawhenua (mō Tangaroa rāua ko Papatūānuku)
• te Niho Taniwha (mō ngā paki waitara me ngā kōrero tuku iho a te iwi Māori)
• te Pātikitiki (Mō te rahinga o te ika, o te hua whenua, o te hua rākau)
• te Purapura Whetū me Matariki (E ā ana i a tātou kia whakaputa, kia whakarau pērā i ngā whetū i runga. Ko Matariki te tīmatanga o te tau hōu Māori i te mārama o Pipiri.

Ko Māui, ko tana whaea a Taranga, ko Hinetītama me Tānenuiārangi, ngā whakairo i te pakitara ki te tonga. E noho mai ana rātou i roto i ngā tukutuku e whakaahua ana i te haerenga o Tāne ki te tiki i ngā kete e toru o te wānanga, hei ako māna ki tana iwi.

E whakaatu mai ana i roto ngā whakairo me ngā tukutuku huri rauna i te rūma, ā, i runga i ōna poupou, ko ngā pūrākau, ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā akoranga a te iwi. Ā, e paiheretia ana te katoa o te rūma me ōna kōrero o roto, e Te Aho Tapu, he kōwhaiwhai motukore o ngā puāwai kōwhai me ngā puāwai ngutu kākā e huri haere ana i te āwhiotanga o te rūma.

I hangaia te rūma hei wāhi hui mō te komiti whiriwhiri take i te mea, ko tēnei kē tāna kaupapa matua.

Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga, Māori Affairs Committee Room

A new Māori Affairs Committee Room, Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga, was created in a central position on the ground floor of Parliament House as part of the refurbishment of Parliament House in 1992-96. The room was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 2 November 1995. It takes its name from Māui who, in Māori legend, fished the North Island of New Zealand from the sea, slowed down the sun and acquired fire.

All Māori are made welcome by decorating the room with carvings, tukutuku and kōwhaiwhai that are representative of the four winds (ngā hau e whā ), or all tribes, and legends and cultural heroes. Three male master carvers were selected for the carvings and women groups of weavers for tukutuku. The doorway displays stories of the local tangata whenua, Te Ati Awa, relating to features of the Wellington region and Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara (The Great Bay of Tara / Wellington Harbour ).

Themes of importance to all Māori in the room are:

• Ngā atua Māori (the spirituality of Māori)
• Te Moana me Te Tuawhenua (the sea and the land)
• Niho Taniwha (symbolizing the myths and legends of the Māori people)
• Pātakitaki (the abundance of fish and crops)
• Purapura Whetū me Matariki (urges us to “go forth and multiply” so we are numerous as the stars above). Matariki is the start of the Māori new year, in June.

Carvings on the southern wall show Māui, his mother Taranga, and Hinetītama and Tānenuiārangi. They are set in tukutuku panels, which represent Tane's journey to acquire the three baskets of knowledge, (ngā kete e toru) with which to teach his people.

The stories, legends (ngā kōrero tuku iho), and lessons of iwi are presented around the room and on its pillars through carvings and tukutuku. The entirety of the room and its contents is bound together by the continuous kōwhaiwhai of the kōwhai and ngutu kākā flowers around the circumference of the room &8211; Te Aho Tapu (The Sacred Thread).

The room is set up for a select committee meeting, which is its main purpose.