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Inspired for WAM
BestStart Raumati joined close to 300 other tamariki for the second annual Wellington and Kapiti WAM, wearable Arts and Music festival.
Our inspiration for our performance was………..
Hutia te rito o te harakeke,
Kei whea te kōmako e kō?
Kī mai ki ahau;
He aha te mea nui o te Ao?
Māku e kī atu,
he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata
If the heart of the harakeke was removed,
where will the bellbird sing?
If I was asked what was the most important thing in the world;
I would be compelled to reply, It is people, it is people, it is people.
This whakatauki (proverb) is a reference to the harakeke plant as a representation of a whanau - where the plant is well-rooted, and the rito (central shoots, representing the children), are protected from the elements and adverse forces by the older surrounding shoots - the matua (parents) and tupuna (ancestors). This whakatauki claims the most important thing, through a Māori lens, is people in the sense of those individuals you see before you, alive and breathing now, but also those to whom they are connected - their tūpuna (ancestors). In other words, this whakatauki refers to WHAKAPAPA as the most important thing - the people to whom we are connected - and the idea that we are people through other people, and all that they represent in terms of knowledge and experience.
This whakatauki is one that we here at BestStart Raumati have embodied in our Centre Philosophy with the words "He aha te mea nui o te Ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata." Our tamariki have made korowai from harakeke. They have helped out in every aspect of production. The process has been long ...... we have harvested harakeke from our Centre gardens and from Kaitawa Reserve (learning about and following the correct protocol); the tamariki have helped to strip and shred the harakeke and observed the harakeke being dyed different colours ... all this in preparation for designing and creating their very own korowai for our performance at WAM.