July

Inspiration

I do very much appreciate the colours of the tarapouahi on the left, but also I appreciate the wearer in so many ways.  During the time she discusses in the article, I was a teenager and remember the times very clearly.  'Islanders' were not considered very highly. I remember feeling out of place in the area I grew up in because there weren't many people around that looked and sounded like me and my family.  People said alot of racist and offensive things quite regularly and we didn't hear the music we liked or felt reflected us on the radio.

In my raranga journey, I have attempted to cease defining myself in terms of pākeha ideas of what my 'culture' or 'race' is.  I used to say I was Māori, Tongan and Irish.  Through my research since beginning raranga, I have come to see myself as a descendant of the Te-Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, a bridge or connecter between places and also a child of navigators.  I was especially delighted to find out that my maternal Grandfather Hank Cavendish, is descended from a very well-documented maritime whānau that were known global explorers in the 1500's, this 200 years before Cook and even Tupaia were born, in the foreword to the first edition of, We the Navigator's, The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific (Lewis, 1972).

In my diploma research, I learned that Tongans and Hawaiians are indigenous to Tonga and Hawai'i, through shared ancestry, and that in his book Marking Indigeneity, Tavita O. Ka'ili, discusses the idea that indigeneity is marked more by travel, than it is by being connected to a specific area (Ka'ili, 2017). This idea resonated.

I love the browns and oranges, they remind me of the volcanic activity present when I lived on O'ahu in the 80's.  Kilauea erupted periodically in those times and it was said that the fire goddess Pele was stirring.

I also love the simplicity of the white kākahu by Kiri Nathan in modern materials.  It is very feminine and delicate.

Me te toroa e tau ana i runga i te au.

Like the albatross nestled upon the current.

This month has been ridiculously wet, impossible to harvest, so I take that to mean it's not time.  I have been struggling with my physical wellbeing so it's working out fine.  My journey has shown me that I will get there but patience is needed and if I'm not feeling well, forcing it won't work, so just rest and wait for that moment.

Yesterday there was finally a moment.  I did a major harvest around about 100 rau from a plant I have extracted from before, so I knew there was plenty of muka inside.  Well, after extracting the whole lot, I ended up with only a quarter, if that, of the usual bucket I use to soak my whenu in.  A pitiful amount.  I am incredibly disappointed and I realize, it's not enough that a plant yields muka.  I assumed wrongly that it would yield plenty of muka and boy was I wrong.  What I am happy about though, is that my extraction is quick and I got through the whole lot in less than a day.  This is important information for me to go ahead, as it allows me to feel hopeful that I can do it again, and do it with a plant that is a lot more fruitful in the muka department.

On reflection, as I was testing this harakeke, I tried with a one cm, then a 15mm and then lastly an 18mm haehae.  The 18cm one was the one I went with as this was the one that gave me the whenu size that I was after.  This meant that I could only really expect 2 whenu from each rau and about a quarter of the harvest were quite short.

August

Poipoia te kākano kia puawai.

Nurture the seed and it will bloom.

08/08/2022

Still WET!!!!  Also I have been in an extreme struggle with my internal wellbeing.  I have been feeling physically challenged for a very extended period.  It is so uncomfortable and I believe it's hormonal and age-related.  I feel exhausted a lot and don't have the energy or drive to go and exercise.  This has also impacted on my ability and desire to weave.   My craving for sugar is through the roof on some days and so I have been attempting to roll with it and not beat myself up too much.  I seem to cry a lot also, at the smallest things.  I wonder if I am experiencing some grief.  I definitely feel sad about the aging process and feel fearful that I won't have the strength to do the things that I love doing.  In saying that, I am able to bench over 70 kilograms in my morning workouts and can cycle for 50 minutes in a high intensity spin class, so my ideas and expectations around strength and fitness might be a little distorted... I'm also scared that I will become unlovable when I am less able to do things for my loved ones.

Mahi has been intense, the stress leading up to my class beginning this year was extreme.  The enrolments this year were very low, some combination of Covid-19 hangover fears, actual sickness in the community, and an inability, due to extreme safety measures, to go out and physically connect with the community in the usual ways, kanohi ki te kanohi at events and markets all around Tāmaki.   I had fears that i would possibly lose my job and lots of scary thoughts can snowball from that thought.  

My reading of late has been extensive and I've fallen down a rabbit hole and become obsessed with the Roman Empire and also the Greeks who provided a template for what Rome went on to do.  

I found out that the island of Britannia became the 45th Province of Rome after many attempts firstly by the very well know self-proclaimed Emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar and then a succession of Roman Emperors over a hundred year period.    I read this in an awesome book I found by accident in a cafe by the very former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill , A History of the English Speaking Peoples (Churchill, 1956).

It was fascinating to me to realize that the UK had been an island kingdom at the furthest reaches of the known world at that time (known by the 'most technologically advanced' people on the planet), populated by tribal peoples, and yet Polynesia, the pacific or Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa had been busily traversed by it's people for unknown millennia.  

Gaining an understanding of our colonizers' history is part of  my own concientization.  Realizing that the colonizer had been colonized gives a different framework for understanding.  When Professor Rangi Matamua spoke about time being the biggest colonizer of them all, finding out that London (formerly Londinium) central time was what all western world time conforms to, and that 'time' as we know it had been created by the Romans?! A system of managing an empire for war and business!  Wow, mind blown. I can't help but be impressed by the genius of it all, which makes me uncomfortable, I'm not allowed to be impressed by colonizers.  

Then there's the knowledge that what made it all possible, was the people power of slaves, a touch of brutal force backed up with steel on horseback and sometimes elephants.  This was an ordinary part of Greek and Roman life.  There is much evidence of it in the art of the times and in the histories written.  While this makes it all rather abhorrent, I must also look at my own indigenous people's history and critically observe that we too were guilty of conquest and slavery.  Maybe this is a part of the zeitgeist of the times and the necessary ingredient these great and powerful dynasties needed to utilize to progress their scientific, political and navigational aspirations.

On Wednesday of last week, I had a meeting with my boss, well the national boss for my discipline.  She took me and another out for lunch but also spent some one on one time with me.  She noticed how mentally stressed and delicate I was and I was able to share some of what I've been going through.  We spent time doing a hauora plan and she suggested after I take some leave and have a good rest, I take myself along to the Ancient Greeks exhibition on at the Auckland Museum.  This was such an awesome idea and I did it.  I wasn't disappointed at all.  

The art was exquisite and so powerful.  That it had lasted over 2000 years and had travelled so far was astounding.  I originally had thought that the $25 cover charge a bit steep but when I thought about what it would have taken to curate and ship, I began to realize it was a total bargain. I found it all quite overwhelming and did get a bit sick of all the war.  However I do accept that as a reality of the times and the way that Greece grew was through conquest, as all the empires I've ever read about have enlarged their boundaries.  In those times, if you wanted it, you took it, armies were bought and sold, the poor a mere pool of labour for those in power.  

Another thing that stood out was that the art was all commissioned by the rich.  It made me think of advertising and propaganda.  These were tools that the elites could utilize to influence perceptions and to garner support for whatever campaign they were undertaking.  Like the movies, they often show only the beauty and prosperity and often gracious, contemplative nature of their owners.  I have very little doubt that slaves played a major role in the development of the art of this age.  It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out if you look at the sheer size of the Parthenon or some of the Corinthian Columns in the Classical period.

This brought me back to raranga and made me think of our great navigators.

This is a constant theme for me, especially in my desire to constantly acknowledge, not just my, but our collective history that at some point or many points, passes straight through Polynesia.

I don't like to use the term Polynesia, as it is not a kupu that comes from the Moana but according to the New World Encyclopedia online (Da Silva, 2019) and many other sources, from an 18th century French philosopher called Charles Du Brosses in a time that was heavily influenced by the ideas of the German physician, physiologist and anthropologist who came up with the terms Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid.  These terms were used to classify people based on the shape of the skull, which also took into account their colour and consequently decided their character traits.  I was upset to read in the 'Maori and Polynesian Their Origin, History and Culture', as if you could sum it up in one book (written by Harvard scholars in 1907), a repetition of these ideas "and it is the Caucasian medium-head that follows both.  It is headform that permanently marks race...but in addition to the medium-head, the Caucasian is generallly marked by much and wavy hair, light complexion, and sea-migratoriness, as contrasted with the Mongoloid and the Negroid",  it goes on and on like this until I want to scratch my own eyes out.  

At some point it also says that the polynesian could not navigate until he met the caucasian, terms in my opinion are clearly racist, reductionist and based on dodgy science and therefore do not suit my own internal framework for use in the naming of intelligent, industrious and creative masters of Tangaroa, Kanaloa & Tangaloa.  To be fair though, it takes guts to posit theories and put them up for people to prove or disprove them and I thank these people and respect them for the time and energy they put into their fields of research.  I take for granted the enlightened era that I have been born into and forget there was a time when some of the things that are common knowledge to me, were completely unknown by most humans 100 + years ago.

The other thing I thought of though was how raranga, whatu and whāriki can also be used to denote great wealth and prestige and I am reminded of the stories that are woven into each and every piece.  Dependant on weaver or commissioner of piece, raranga/whatu is used to elevate those adorned or show respect towards those it is worn in front of, but why wouldn't an ambitious leader use it to create an aura of power? Or to manipulate people into joining their crusade?  I remembered a story I read about Tupaia the famous Tahitian navigator that assisted Cook in finding his way around the pacific and a red maro that he wore.  The story goes that people had been sacrificed as part of the creation of this maro and it instilled both fear and awe in those that saw it (Druett, 2019).  It gave the wearer a certain energy.

The Greeks, the Romans, the Nazis, all created an image that was portrayed through the media of the time to uplift, control, seize power, dominate those that they ruled, this is the idea that has come through very strongly for me. The other thing that comes through strongly is how present all of these empires still are in so many ways today.  Israel continues to colonize Palestine as we speak.  Many of the modern Israelis are descendants of Hitler's genocide, it makes sense that they would seek out a safe haven after thousands of years of suffering at the hands of the Romans and maybe many others further back in history where I haven't gone yet.  The Palestinians consider themselves the indigenous people of the area and claim an unbroken 4000 year history there (Masalha, 2018).   Who's right?  Russia attempts to take Ukraine back to her just as Rome did all those centuries ago to Britain.  They all seem to be the continuation of an idea.   What's the idea?  Is it a good idea?  Who knows?  

15/08/2022

Last week I held my first tutorial on campus.  It was lovely.  I had built up quite a bit of anxiety as it's always scary being with a new group and getting to know each other. 

On the weekend we had our first one day wānanga.  This is a 10 hour tutorial which I have planned a month in advance.  I took my tauira to the Manurewa Botanical Gardens and introduced them to the pā harakeke there and some very basic tikanga.  Unfortunately I was right in the middle of my own monthly cycle and while I am able to practice tikanga around not harvesting and weaving while I am bleeding, unfortunately, my paid mahi cannot stop.  I went through the motions and we had an awesome wānanga, however, the next day I felt like I had been hit by a bus and a day later, not much different.  It seems paradoxical and absurd that I stand in front of my tauira preaching tikanga and self care and awareness while in Te Whare Pora, while simultaneously feeling faint and exhausted from extreme hormonal swings in my body.  I must soldier on and justify the spending of the institution and the applications put in place a month prior to the outing.  Girl power and equality and soldiering on and being a productive member of society, No Matter What, were pounding through my mind all day and I kept a stiff upper lip as I internally wilted.

As a kaiako of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa , I understand that I must follow through with what I have promised our tauira, as I have made that commitment in Te Wānanga's name, using their space, vehicle, petrol and putea. As a kaitiaki of TWoA I am responsible to maintain the relationship between TWoA and our tauira and ensure the respect and mana of both are upheld in anything that I do, this is the essence of Te Aroha and Te Whakapono straight from our tauira handbook.  This can be an exhausting task, especially when I am not at my physical best.  

This is a reality of modern life, whereby we attempt to live by our ancient tikanga, progress and productivity and the colonized corporate frameworks that require constant justification of spending and threats of losing the funding should the justification not be recorded, there are times when we put our wellbeing aside, ignore it, medicate it away and often to disastrous outcomes. 

In these times mental unwellness, depression, anxiety and suicide are off the charts, especially for our people.  Progress comes at a cost, usually to the most vulnerable and I sometimes find it difficult to balance the ancient side of our indigenous processes and the administration processes that I find overwhelming,  sometimes one gives way to the other.  The reality, if I don't work, I don't get paid, I don't have a roof over my head, my children don't eat or get educated.  When it comes to iwi, hāpū even whānau, there is very little there.  The colonization process has been devastating to my whānau and I have had no one but myself and sometimes, government institutions to lean on in hard times.

This exhuastion has been crushing this month and I haven't felt strong enough to even attempt to design or harvest.  When it comes to raranga and whatu, I am very tika in my practice of wellbeing first.  In order to create the utmost piece, I ensure my wellbeing is at peak otherwise it's not worth even starting.  I have full faith from experience that this is the only way to proceed in this mahi.  If I try in a reduced state, I have zero progress or success and the waste of time and resources is too heartbreaking to even contemplate.  And so I wait, I read, I attempt to be healthy and have a happy safe environment and do what I have to do until the moment arrives.

19/08/2022

I'm feeling much much better after the ending of my monthly cycle.  Boy was I knocked around.  It was a shock to me and I have never suffered like that before.  I spent about a week not being able to exercise and struggling to even get out of bed.  The thought of work brought dread.  This is not me.  I love my mahi and the people I do it with.  It spurred me to do some research.  

I looked at the health insurance plan I have and interestingly there is a fact sheet on what gynaecological procedures are covered and the elegibility criteria required to make a claim.  The terms however are incredibly clinical and meant very little to me.  In my experience of local GP's, I have very little faith that any of them will be able to offer any support.  GP's in my experience tend to prescribe a drug they 'hope' might help and suggest coming back if it doesn't.   The specialist knowledge has never been there and I find the experience harrowing as I feel it to be too intimate a kōrero to be having with a stranger.  

My next port of call was a facebook page on PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) or extreme PMS.  I had a look at a few other pages but many were badly managed and full of advertising or just people ranting.  The one I settled on allows women to share their experience.  It's been utterly empowering to learn so much about what women go through and how they cope. It brought me back to my grandfather's National Geographic magazines, he had piles of them, was a photographer throughout the early part of the 1900's and had had a very colonial background.  The magazines portrayed many indigenous peoples as naked and simple, backward even.  I remember a sad photo of a young girl who had been sequestered while she bled.  The story suggested that it was cruel and barbaric.  In my mind now, I think, how brilliant!  How much better would it be if society remembered that women are women!  That they bleed EVERY SINGLE MONTH of the year, that their bodies prepare to do the most important service to humanity that exists!!  To bring forth new life!  OHMYGOSH!  In pakeha feminist ideology, women are equal to men!!!  Well we're not!  We are so so different, have different needs and different ways of being in the world and the world we live in, entirely ignores and underplays our different abilities and needs.  

This might seem a bit of a rant but it isn't.  It isn't at all.  This is Te Whare Pora!  This is what it's about.  We need this space.  We need to be able to have these conversations with other women AND men.  Men need to know too.  I think they don't.  Some might, but the majority of men I know, are blissfully ignorant, and that's not their fault.  It's just the state of things right now.  And the horrible thing I noticed on the facebook page that I'm following is that people are using a cocktail of serious antidepressants and painkillers to deal with this and most are completely unsupported and utterly misunderstood in their families.  It saddened me to read how many women are on the verge of a break up because the relationship is drowning under the weight of all this physical, mental, emotional turmoil, brought about by a woman's monthly cycle!  Many have had hysterectomies but STILL suffer and it's just diabolical!

So anyway, I'm not attending Noho this weekend, as much as I'm desperate to see my ladies and kaiako and do some weaving, I know I need a rest.  I have realized that I am a limited resource and I have a finite capacity, stamina, energy.  I need to recover and get strong before I dive into this project and travel out of town to my noho.  Until next noho I'm going to take really good care of myself.  I'm going to be mindful of my wellbeing.  I'm going to pace myself. I'm going to rest as much as I need and take leave from mahi if I need to.  And the hardest of all, I'm going to try not to give myself a hard time about it.  It's been quite humiliating to feel weak and I've definitely struggled with the shame but also deep fear that I won't be useful to my whānau and that they will consider me obsolete.  I know this is a completely irrational fear, but I found moments where I had absolutely no control over what I was thinking or feeling, but my faith allowed to me believe that it would pass eventually, and it did.

September 

Ko te maumahara kore ki ngā whakapapa o ōu mātua tīpuna, e rite ana ki e pūkaki awa kāore ōna hikuawa, ki te rākau rānei kāore ōna pakiaka.

To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without it's roots.

01/09/2022

I have begun reading the bible.  This shocks me.  To be honest I've had some real resistance to the book as I have been raised with some real negative attitudes toward Christianity the Roman Catholic church and even the belief, or existence of G O D .  My reading has taken me to a Canadian University Lecturer, a trained Psychologist, Jordan Peterson who's book 12 Rules for Life has been a massive success, read all over the world and translated into many languages.  After watching everything I could possibly watch on YouTube about Jordan Peterson and also reading 12 Rules, I stumbled onto a series of lectures in podcast form that he created to examine the links between evolution theory, psychology,  religion and everything in between starting with the first lecture on Genesis the first book of the bible and so on.  

As I was listening to his descriptions, what I heard was that the bible attempts to describe man, his origins, his beginnings, his purpose and where he will be going after he leaves.  The lecturer points out that as clever as we are, and we are very clever, we have absolutely no idea where we come from. Like there's theories, but we have no actual hard evidence of exactly where we originate.  Some scientists have pointed out that DNA is so incredibly complex and we are so so very far away from understanding it, that it must be alien!!!  He cites many of the very important philosophers and scientists of every age, which usually sends me off on another tangent reading up about all these amazing people that have gone to great lengths often for very little reward financial or otherwise to discover some random or obscure truth.

The really neat thing that I hear as he talks, is that the bible is a collection of stories that are ancient and that are not necessarily literal, but have an allegorical way of describing man and his intrinsic properties, nature and what he needs to look out for in life to progress.  I see the parallels there with purakau! There was an awesome part where he stated that 'when god created man in his own image' this provided the foundation for English Common Law or the modern day legal system as we know it', because it recognizes that all men are equal in a court of law, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty!  This is a pivotal moment in my life.  Of course in the ancient times, like when the Greek and Roman empires were at their zenith, this idea would have been seen as possibly treasonous, as the growth of those two empires depended heavily on slavery, which I imagine had something to do with the crucifixion of Jesus.  Having a deeper understanding of the frameworks of the world I was born into helps me better understand my role and purpose here, it also helps me see a different perspective and even gives me gratitude for the things I can expect which I couldn't expect had I been born approximately 2500 years ago, and beyond.  Like that no one is allowed to make me their slave, like I have right to having my basic needs met, like if I'm arrested, I am presumed innocent, like I need to be respected by the health system and not treated with racial hatred or discriminated against because I'm not rich and so on it goes.  I've learned a lot about how the world was 2000-3000 years ago and I am very pleased I was born in these times.  Sometimes it's easy to look through rose-tinted lenses at the past as it looks in movies or paintings and dream that it was so much better then and maybe it was, but maybe also, it wasn't....

It's funny to me that raranga would bring me to the bible, but not surprising as, as soon as I began learning raranga, and at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, in the noho marae way - mahitahi, kaitahi and moetahi, it didn't take me long to see that EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE is as interwoven as the whenu of my kete.  This actually gives me the sense of kotahitanga, not just at TWoA and in my studies but across time and space with humans in all stages of our evolution.

October

Taute te tītoki, whero te rātā i te waru.

The tītoki ripens it's fruit, the rātā is red in the eighth month.

Well the month of October is upon us and there hasn't been much whatu.  Hei aha, there's been lots of rangahau, lot's of enlightenment and lots of physical preparation for the task ahead.  I'm feeling strong as I've been trying really hard to get on top of my physical wellbeing, eating well, working out regularly and hard too, spin class, boxing and weights.  I'm not mucking around anymore.  It's been a long road since we went to level orange and were allowed to leave the house, I'd lost every muscle I'd ever had and had put on a huge amount of weight, I had zero cardio fitness and was in a terrible state.  It feels great to be able to bench 70kg's and up and do 12 rounds of hitting pads with the Real Deal in the evening.  I'm doing things in spin class I've NEVER done! So I'm ready.

During noho and as my kahu muka began to grow my classmates were giving me uplifting compliments on my muka and whatu.  I was having a very hard time accepting these compliments and when my kaiako complimented me on my prep and whatu, that was the last straw.  I left the room in anger and frustration, believing they had all conspired to lie to me.  I went away from noho, disturbed, why would all my classmates and kaiako want to make me believe my mahi was better than it was?  I sat on this thought for a few weeks.  When I got back to work after noho, I showed some of my colleagues what I was working on, one of whom is a former kaiako of mine.  She was stunned at how beautiful it was.  If there is anyone in this world I trust, it is her.  I then showed it to another former kaiako and she was equally impressed.  Slowly over the month it began to dawn on me,  my work is beautiful.  They weren't lieing to me, they were telling me the truth.

This new understanding I have of myself and my capacity to whatu has shifted something inside.  It has changed me.  I am renewed,  it has added to my kete of matauranga raranga, my body of knowledge of weaving and my capacity as a weaver.  There is nothing quite like the acceptance, support and love of others that love what you love.  To know that I am a fully fledged member of a community of kairaranga that I have huge respect for  IS BETTER THAN A DEGREE!!!  However, working towards the degree and alongside these weavers is a true gift and I will continue to cherish my place in the fabric of this raranga universe I reside in.  Te Ao Raranga, Te Whare Pora!

What this means to me is that through the koha of raranga to us by our kaiako and our practice of being guardians or kaitiaki of that knowledge, utilising kotahitanga or unity of tribes, iwi, or weavers, we can contribute to the mauri ora of ourselves, our communities, raranga itself, our very beings and our indigenous communities.  Economic, psychological, filial and even whenua (sustainable harvesting practices, tikanga based matauranga maori informed planting and caring for of harakeke) all adds something positive, useful and progressive for all, even and especially the unborn mokopuna.

Toi Project - Kahu Muka/Tarapouahi

November

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.

My success is not mine alone, it is the success of the collective

Survival was determined by the collective in the old times and that still holds true today.  Raranga and whatu will not survive if we as the kaiwhatu, kairaranga, do not work hard and invest in each other.  What I have seen is that it is in the relationships that raranga and whatu grow and develop.  Our raranga is a reflection of the kinds of relationships we nurture and when our relationships with ourselves and others are not right, neither is our weaving.  

So I am here in my second to last noho of the year to hand in all my mahi and contribute to one last collective, an exhibition of the Level 6 and 7's.  It is here where we celebrate our learning over the past year.  Our highs and lows, our struggles and failures.  The acceptance of error and vulnerability of looking inwards to what needs addressing.  We will plan for the future and set our whakapapa in order so that what we weave will have the right foundations.

Collective Semester B

This semester we decided to create a book introducing each of us as kairaranga.  We decided we each would have a two page spread and that we would include a photo of ourselves and two pieces of our most recent work.  We would also include a short introduction which I was honoured to be asked to write.  It was extremely humbling to be asked and this was decided by the class in my absence as I had over the year, to stay connected, shared my journal so as everyone would know how I was going. 

 "Te Whare Pora, the ancient house of weaving.  The hands of the kairaranga dance across the korowai. While we are weaving, our ancestors are alive. We weave them back into the present and give them new life.  We weave a new whānau, a korowai of love and support that will stretch again across time and space and our children and mokopuna will wear a cloak of our love across their shoulders and brave the world they inherit.  This is our hope." This is what I wrote for the pukapuka and I have been credited in the book for writing it.

We decided on 50 words to go with our self portrait and then the class would decide on and add a phrase that we were most known for.  We also decided to koha a copy to Waiwhero Campus as a resource for future students.

10th September : Zelda was going to be the editor of pukapuka however due to a series of whānau commitments she stepped down and Patrina filled her spot.

Patrina requested that all artist bio’s (which MUST include iwi affiliations and profile photo) and mahi photos be forwarded to her via the Whaiaipo Collective chat that was set up by Melissa Tamamasui on Facebook no later than the 17th of September. 

A group chat was created to allow us all to upload our 50 word artist bio, our portrait and the photos of mahi we wanted to put into our pukapuka.  This worked really well as it kept things separate.  We are often in discussion on many other subjects in the our usual group chat and this allowed a place for our editor Patrina to go to that was free of other chatter.

14th September: Patrina was able to adjust the number of words used for each bio. She requested a limit of 50 words or less and 3-4 photos for her to choose from so that everything would fit on the pages nicely. 

17-18th September: Patrina Hollis, Melissa Willison and Melissa Tamamasui had an overnight stay at Patrina’s Whare. During their stay they took some photos of some of our mahi as Patrina was unsatisfied with the quality of some of our photos that we had sent to her via the chat. 

10th October: We got word for Patrina informing us that she will be doing a final editing on the upcoming weekend and placing our order on the following Monday.  

17th October: Patrina placed the order, and the expected date of delivery is the 28th of October. 

1st November : Patrina advised us that our books had arrived and will be handed out to us this weekend at our second to last noho.

 4th November : Patrina started by giving a huge Mihi to Lee for taking the time to take the awesome photos that are in our beautiful book. She also took us through the whole book and gave us a korero about the layout and background.

This was a wonderful kaupapa to be involved in, from it's inception to it's realisation, each step was a pleasure to participate in.  The group were organised and focussed and Patrina's attention to detail ensured we ended up with a beautiful piece of our shared history encapsulated in a beautiful pukapuka.  I will always cherish mine and feel so proud to be in the book alongside a wonderful group of talented creative artists and humans.

Noho 

November 4-6

Noho has been wonderful.  We were each given our book that we had created as a collective.  Then I made the pompoms for the tie on my tarapouahi and gave it to the Level 7 class to add to the exhibition at the Rotorua Lakes District Council.

Our works were displayed upstairs and we presented them as a group to the Rotorua people.

This was a proud moment for us all to see our work displayed this way and in such a prestigious building.  The Level 7 students did a fantastic job of putting on the exhibition and we took plenty of notes for when we do ours next year.

This is the culmination of the years learning.  What a journey!  And more to come.  So excited for the next year of raranga and whatu and working alongside some of the best weavers in the country who are now my friends.  

#rarangaforlife # weavetheuniverse