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  • Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato and Waikato Regional Council
    Published 12 March 2020 Referencing Hub media
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    Reverend Haki Wirihana, from Ngāti Hauā in the Waikato, briefly explains why water is significant to his iwi.

    Transcript

    REVEREND HAKI WIRIHANA

    Water for my iwi – people – is very, very important, because water is life in its all entirety. We are born from water and and we all have a responsibility to look after our water, in our rivers, in the artesian bores that we bore for water in, from Papatūānuku and also what we get from the heavens. Water, yes, it’s a taonga. And also we need water for our plant life, for our māras [gardens] so that our food can grow. Healthy water is our sustenance.

    A lot of our people take people down when they’re sick. They take them down and they baptise them, and they use the water as a spiritual healing for the sick body. The other part of the spirituality is looking after the water itself.

    To keep the mauri in the water, we must keep it clean. Also letting our farmers and all those around the rivers and that, and using the water to understand about how they must keep the water clean and not let the effluent and everything go into the rivers. Hoki mai te mauri i te awa. Hoki mai te mauri i te awa. Haere mai te wairua o te orangatanga e tāngata.

    Acknowledgements

    Reverend Haki Wirihana
    Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust
    Ngāti Hauā Mahi Trust
    AS Wilcox and Sons Limited
    Sandra and Rod McKinnon
    Footage of Te Wairere Falls, Bortocal. Released under Creative Commons licence CC BY 3.0
    Drone footage of Karapiro Dam, Bruce Casey
    Footage of karakia near tī kōuka (cabbage) tree, Ākina Foundation
    Drone footage of McKinnon’s farm and shots of effluent spreader, filmed by AF Productions and Paul Sutherland Photography. Copyright Yardmaster
    Footage of Ngatamariki Power Station, Chris Sisarich

    Acknowledgement

    This video has been developed in partnership with the Waikato Regional Council as part of the Rivers and Us resource.

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