Taku Aho E, 2020
Ko te moteatea te mataaho ki te pa o te hinengaro Māori.
The mōteatea is the window to the foresight of Māori.
Mataaho Collective’s time at the Dhaka Arts Summit 2020: Seizmic Movements was to focus on learning a specific form of mōteatea called pātere. Composed by women, these fast vigorous chants recount kinship connections and plot a journey of significant landmarks. We spent time in wānanga each day learning a pātere composed for them by Te Kahureremoa Taumata that recounts the whakapapa (layers of genealogy) of the artworks we have created together since 2012.
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E Hine Eeeeei!
Kaokao hau mai ki Te Whare Pora, e karanga nei,
Toro atu tō ringa
Puritia tō aho
He aho whakapapa
He iho roa
Hoki atu ki te aho tapu ō Te Iwaiwa
Whiriwhiria he takapau mō te ira tāngata eHikimata ki te rangi
Tēra ka paoro
Tēra ka marū
Ka rongo!
Kia ita!
Ko Te Aka Whaitiri whakaoho mauri
Ka rongo!Whaimata ki te mura o te ahi
Tērā te hinuwera
E korōpūpū ana
I te waha o Te Ahi Mahuika
Hei kīnaki mo te ngako o te kōrero e.E Hine e
Toro atu tō ringa
Puritia tō aho
E whiri
E whatu
Whirihonoa he kaitaka kura huna
Tēnei te tuku iho
Tēnei te rewa ake
Tēnei te toi ora
Whakairihia ki te mata o te whare HEI! -
Variable
We practiced this pātere for nine days in the site-specific installation Reclamation (2019–2020) by artist Taloi Havini made in collaboration with the artist's matrilineal Hakö clan members of the northernmost part of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
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Thank you to composer Te Kahureremoa Taumata for developing Taku Aho E for Mataaho Collective.
Thank you to Taloi Havini for permission to embody our cultural practices in the installation Reclamation.
Our participation in the Dhaka Art Summit 2020 was made possible with the support of Creative New Zealand.
We were invited to the Dhaka Art Summit by Diana Campbell Betancourt and curator Kathryn Weir
Image credit: Contemporary Hum
