A tribute beyond measures!

The recent passing of Sir Paul Reeves stirred the whole nation, both Maori and Pakeha into national mourning. His contribution to the country has been beyond the capability of any person these days, being the Maori Govennor General of New Zealand, and the Archbishop of Aotearoa, plus many other positions. The tangihanga at the Holy Sepulcre and his funeral at the Cathedral drew many local and international media interest wanting rights to covering the funeral of this great figure of New Zealand. However it was Maori Television who provided the country with front seats to the state funeral of this great man. Covering funeral services is nothing new to Maori Television.

2006 the passing of Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu was the very first for Maori Television to broadcast live from Turangawaewae Marae. Scenes that are very clear to my mind are the multitudes of people standing on the banks of the Waikato River watching their queen being guided on the river by Waka Taua leading her to her final resting place on Taupiri Mountain. Barely a month later saw our relations from Tonga mourning of HM Taufa ahau Tupou IV who passed away here in Auckland and returned to Nuku Alofa to be mourned by his subjects. Again Maori Television had the priviledge to broadcast live, giving the opportunity for our Tongan relations who were not able to return for the funeral to watch from their homes.This also gave Maori and New Zealanders an insight in Tongan traditions and protocol. The year later, It was thought that all of the islands of the Pacific were in sorrow, as it was now Samoa who was mourning the passing of their head of state, Malietoa Tanumafili. Maori Television had the honour of broadcasting the funeral of this monarch of the Pacific. In 2009 Maori entertaner, Sir Howard Morrisons tangihanga at Tamatekapua, Rotorua drew many Iwi on to Rotorua to pay tribute to this rangatira. Maori Television again gave the country the opportunity to feel the atmosphere from the comfort of their homes by providing households with live coverage. From 2006 to present, Maori Television has provided the nation this resource, enabling those who werent physically present the chance to be part of these momentus occasions, giving everyone the opportunity to grieve with those who mourn. When the pain heals, family can reflect on these funeral services as being shared with everyone, knowing that the pain they are feeling, is heard by all. Maori television has gone outside the boundaries to provide this resource, something that Mainstream media has yet to consider. This is truly a fitting tribute beyond measures.

Waka Huia; A new direction. Is this the right direction?

Every Sunday after church, we would come home to catch the weekly dash of Waka Huia, which was a ritual. Being bought up heavily influenced by my maternal grandparents, I was priveledged to be explained what was being mentioned or discussed on Waka Huia. The most grasping aspect in regards to the show and in Te Ao Maori in general is that Maori Kaumatua never ever tell a story in great detail, which leaves the audiences wanting more. This was evident in all Waka Huia programs.

First aired on New Zealand telelvision in 1987, Waka Huia was born under the guidance of the late Ernie Leonard and Whai Ngata who after the great Te Maori exhibition of the early 1980’s felt that there was a need to set up a resource in which would firstly collate korero tukuiho (ancestral knowledge) from Kaumatua around the Motu, and secondly viewing these taonga on air for the country to appreciate.

From 1987 to 2010, Waka Huia collated 800 hours of 1 hour advertisement free episodes captured for ever, showing visual interviews of many kuia, koroua who have passed on. This resource will be here for future generations and for Iwi to utilise in the many years to come.

It saddened me to here that Waka Huia had been shortened from an hour to ½ hour episode which makes me wonder, does this mean that the whole focus of what Waka Huia was established has changed? The main objective that made Waka Huia unique was that, the kuia and koroua determined how the show would role. Now that there is a time constraint, does this mean that the information which is given by Iwi is now restricted? Is this the direction where tikanga Maori is overridden by convenience? Thoughts???