Kia hiwa ra! Kia hiwa ra!
Kia hiwa ra i tēnei tuku, kia hiwa ra i tērā tuku!
Kia hiwa ra! Kia hiwa ra!

E ngā waka. E ngā hau e wha. E ngā mana. E ngā iwi.
E ngā manu kōrero o runga i ngā marae.

Whakarongo! Whakarongo! Whakarongo!
Ki te tangi a te manu e karanga nei “Tui, tui, tuituia!”
Tuia i runga, tuia i raro, tuia i roto,
Tuia i waho, tuia i te here tangata.

Ka rongo te pō, ka rongo te pō,
Tuia i te kawai tangata i heke mai i Hawaiki nui,
i Hawaiki roa, i Hawaiki-pamamao,
i hono ki te wairua, ki te whai ao, ki te Ao Mārama.

Tihei Mauriora!

Be alert! Be watchful!
Be alert on this rampart! Be alert on that rampart!
Be watchful! Be alert!

O the canoes. The four winds. Great ones. The tribes.
Orators of the marae.

Listen! Listen! Listen!
Listen to the cry of the bird calling “Unite, unite, be one!”
Unite above, unite below, unite within,
Unite without, unite in the brotherhood of man.

The night hears, the night hears,
Unite the descent lines from Great Hawaiki,
From long Hawaiki, from Hawaiki far away,
Joined to the spirit, to the daylight, to the world of light.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha ka tuku mihi nui ki a koutou, ki a tātou katoa, i raro o te āhuatanga o Mahuru Māori me te wiki o te reo Māori. Nō reira, nau mai, nau mai, haere mai. Haere mai ki tēnei kaupapa, ko WaiNZ.

Ko WaiNZ tētahi wānanga ipurangi mā ngā kairangahau me ngā kaimahi ki roto o tēnei kaupapa, kia puta mai ai i ā rātou kōrero, i ō rātou whakaaro, i ō rātou moemoea e pā ana ki te taonga nei, te wai.

The great ones, the spokespeople, the many, best wishes to you, to us all, under the auspices of Mahuru Māori and Māori Language Week. Therefore, welcome to this campaign, WaiNZ.

WaiNZ is a platform for thinkers and doers in this space, to share their stories, their thoughts, their dreams for our treasure – water.

Herein we will explore people’s personal and professional relationships with water to highlight the importance of protecting and cherishing our waterways for health, social, economic, cultural and environmental reasons.

WaiNZ will comprise a week-long online conversation with blog posts and other media from influencers and researchers who work on ‘ngā ahuatanga katoa o te wai; mai ngā maunga ki ngā moana, mai ngā puna ki ngā pūahatanga, mai ngā tōuarangi ki ngā tai – all aspects of water, from the mountains to the oceans, from the springs to the harbours, from the rain to the sea.

This whakatauki expresses the importance of water, and embodies the force driving WaiNZ:

“Ko te wai te ora o ngā mea katoa – Water is the life giver of all things”

In a Māori worldview because there is only one set of primal parents, all things are related and we exist in a kinship-based-relationship with Te Taiao – the Earth, Universe and everything within it. Whakapapa is the central principle that orders the Te Taiao. Water appears early in the whakapapa, emerging while Ranginui and Papatuanuku are still locked in loving embrace:

Ā, ko Rū-nuku, ko Rū-rangi, ko Rū-papa,
ko Rū-take, ko Rū-kerekere,
Ko Rū-ngātoro ko koukou mataero, koi runga
Koai ū-whāio, Ko Rū-ngātoro,
Ko Wai-o-nuku, Ko Wai-o-rangi
Ko Wai-papa, Ko Wai-take, ko Manatu.

And, the Earth trembles, the Sky trembles, the Ground trembles,
the Source trembles, the intense trembles,
the resounding trembles, annoint the thin surface above,
Then numerous trembles, resounding ko Manatu, tremble, the ebbing,
the Waters of the Earth, the Waters of Heaven,
the Waters of the ground, the Source of Waters, the ebbing.
(From the writings of Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikaheke)

Nō reira, nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei haerenga ki te whakatewhatewha o ngā moemoea, ngā wawata, ngā pātaitaingia o maha ngā mea e pa ana te wai. Ko tō māua tumanako, mai a WaiNZ ka puaki te hā o te wai.

Therefore, welcome and join us on this journey of exploration of the dreams, the aspirations, the many challenges facing water. It is our hope that through WaiNZ, the voice and essence of the water will emerge.

Whano, whano! Haramai te toki! Haumi ē! Hui ē! Tāiki ē!

Dan & Siouxsie


About:

Dr Daniel (Dan) Hikuroa, a Principal Investigator at Te Pūnaha Matatini, is an earth systems scientist at the University of Auckland who integrates mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and science to realise the dreams and aspirations of the communities he works with. Dan’s many projects include the co-writing of the 2014 State of the Hauraki Gulf Environment Report.

Dr Siouxsie Wiles is Deputy Director (Outreach and Public Engagement) of Te Pūnaha Matatini. She describes herself as a microbiologist and bioluminescence enthusiast. As Head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland, Siouxsie combines her twin passions to understand the interplay between environment and infectious diseases.


What is WaiNZ?

Kia ora, Aotearoa. We’ve asked leading environmental, social and health researchers to share their personal and professional perspectives about the state of our water and what water means to us as New Zealanders. Follow their blogs right here at tepunhahamatatini.ac.nz and across social media with #WaiNZ.

Where possible, commentary will be backed up by data from Figure.NZ. Their incredible charts are based on data sourced from public repositories, government departments, academics and corporations. Check out their #WaiNZ data board and sign-up to create your very own data board on any topic that interests you.