As the Māori new year dawns upon us, Te Karere brings together those representing the best of our kāhui whetū, Matariki.
Continuing with the series, representing the winds of Ururangi is Te Rauhiringa Brown (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Kahu).
"E tū Ururangi
Ko te whānau pupuhi Tū te winiwini, tū te wanawana
Kia puta ko te ora o Tāwhirirangi
Koia!
Behold Ururangi
Of the family of wind
Of the shuddering and awesome winds
Reveal the bounty of Tāwhirirangi
Indeed!"
She’s a familiar face on our TV screens; from Te Karere to Seven Sharp. Her latest gig: a weather presenter on the country’s most viewed news bulletin – 1News at Six.
Te Rauhiringa Brown has made it her mission to decolonise and promote indigenous voices on mainstream television.
She is one of the first female weather presenters to push te reo Māori, as well as mātauranga Māori within the weather space. For Brown herself, the experience was just as inspiring as it was eye-opening, as she not only began to learn about the weather but also traditional methods of predicting weather.
“I haere au ki MetService ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara ki te āta ruku ki ērā kōrero... i taua wā, i timata hoki au ki te ako mō ētahi o ngā mātauranga Māori e hāngai ana ki ngā tohu huarere (I went to MetService in Wellington to take in the knowledge… however at the same time, I began to learn a lot more about the connection between Māori knowledge and the weather)."
The advice that was given to her as she was training for the position was to ‘be yourself.’ Of course, who is she without her reo? As a graduate of Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori, she made it her intention to ensure the language was being heard far and wide.
But right from the first bulletin, her determination was met with resistance.
She is one of the first female weather presenters to push te reo Māori. (Source: 1News)
“I taku whakamahinga o te reo… i toko ake te nui o te kaikiri (When I used the language, a lot of racist remarks were said).
“Ehara tēnei [kaikiri] i te mea hou ki a tātou te Māori… ahakoa te aha, i tino tautau tērā tūāhuatanga i taku ahi, kia nui ake taku whakamahi i te reo Māori ([Racism] is nothing new to us, as Māori. Although it did set a firing light in me that made me want to use our language even more).”
Brown was quick to reply that it was essential the next generation of tamariki rangatahi can hear our language, so they know it is thriving.
“Kaua ki Te Karere anake, kaua ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori anake, engari kei ngā whare Pākehā, kei ngā whare Māori, kei reira te reo Māori e rere ana. (Not just on Te Karere or at Kura Kaupapa Māori but in English homes, Māori homes, our language is flowing.)"
Brown also mentioned the importance of utilising the māramataka Māori in our daily lives. She challenged more of us to convert to the lunar calendar as more schools, organisations begin to adopt such practices.
“Ko te māramataka Pākehā, kāore e tino hāngai ki te taiao, he tino rerekē (The English [Gregorian] calendar doesn’t really align with our natural environment, it’s very different).
“Engari, mēnā ka whai tātou katoa i ngā mātauranga nō roto i te māramataka Māori, ka mauri tau, ka mōhio me pēhea, āhea te whakatā… āhea te haere ki te tiki kai, te hī ika, te ngaki māra (However, if we follow the Māori lunar calendar, everything is calm, we’ll know when to sleep, when to relax… when to harvest food, go fishing, cultivate our gardens).
“Just imagine a world where we could share that mātauranga on a platform like a weather forecast… to me it makes sense… I hope it’s something that we’re going to see soon,” she said.
As Matariki rises and the Māori new year dawns upon us, Brown feels as though Hiwa-i-te-rangi has made all of her wishes from past years come true.
“I tērā Matariki, me pono te kōrero… i tuku i taku wawata nui ki a Hiwa (Last Matariki i sent my biggest wish to Hiwa).
“I tēnei tau, i puāwai, i whakatinana mai tērā moemoeā, ko taku tama (This year, it blossomed, my dream came true with the birth of my boy).
“I feel like I have everything I already need with my whānau and my beautiful children... but it would be better outcomes for our people,” she says.
But until then the former Te Karere reporter believes there is so much more to be done for Māori.
By Kataraina Anneff
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