Bridging the gap of partnership and the people
In the small town of Waitangi, there is a bridge that closes the gap between Te Tii Marae and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
Just before dawn yesterday morning two ceremonies began either side of the bridge, one with a small crowd of 100 by phone light at Te Tou Rangatira near Te Tii Marae, and the other at Te Whare Rū nanga at the Treaty Grounds attracting hundreds, including leaders from across the motu, dignitaries, as well as the cameras.
While one plays to a national audience, the other talks directly to the descendants of those who signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Both serve meaningful purposes – fulfilling the obligation of partnership on one side while, across the bridge, honouring tū puna who signed up to a promise.
Waitangi Day is back at Waitangi after a hiatus in 2022 due to Covid. It came back with a few minor tweaks, nothing to write home about, but enough to send a few political pundits wondering whether they could wax lyrical on the taumata. Spoiler – they could.
The crowds gathered again to commemorate the 183rd anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Addressing the crowd at the Treaty Grounds, Waitangi National Trust Board chairperson Pita Tipene said he was ‘‘thankful for our blessings this morning’’.
‘‘I did come here at 5am this time last year with my mokopuna. We were the only ones here and we conducted karakia on behalf of everyone.’’
Across the bridge, at Tou Rangatira the chairman of Te Tii Marae, Ngāti Kawa Taituha, said that the service held there was more ‘‘organic’’ saying it is where ‘‘the real people are at’’.
He said that while the Treaty Grounds is where the treaties were signed, Tou Rangatira was where decisions were made and where hui and wānanga are still held.
As descendants spoke at Tou Rangatira of their tū puna, dignitaries addressed the crowd at the Treaty Grounds.
Afterwards, kai was served up to all those who made it to the ceremonies.
A few hours later, on the shores of Te Tii, a reprieve from political speak, as the annual Waka Parade launched.
Hundreds from both ends of the bridge came together on it, to watch as the 10 waka glided gracefully across the moana.
The big drawcard was the launch of Ngātokimatawhaorua, the world’s largest ceremonial waka, built in 1940 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the
Treaty. Pauline Allan-Downs (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) watched from the shoreline as her tamariki and mokopuna paddled in a waka taua for the parade.
‘‘I’ve got a daughter, a son and four mokopuna out there.
‘‘From when they were little children they used to come with their dad and be bailers.
‘‘The two little ones are bailers still.’’
Allan-Downs said her son was on Ngātokimatawhaorua, but her daughter was paddling with the wāhine from the Netherlands.
‘‘There [are] heaps of people from the Netherlands who came over specifically to paddle because we took a waka over there four years ago – it’s reciprocal.’’
Back at Te Tii, the heavy hitters of te ao Māori continue to lay out evidence of systemic issues that are yet to be addressed to an audience of those who have lived experience and those who don’t.
Waitangi Day 2023, continues to bridge the divide between races, faces and ages and, like the bridge that acts as a hononga or bond between Te Tii and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, it proves that partnership and tino rangatiratanga can co-exist.