Powhiri Address to the Symposium 2008










Ruakere Hond greeted the artists at the Symposium 2008 with the following address:

 

Nukunuku mai, nekeneke mai ki taku tauaro kikini ai e ha!
Ko te tauaro tangata, ko te tauaro maunga
Pupū mai ai te mouri o nehe nui, o nehe roa, o nehe i tawhiti
Te ara i wāhia rā e Rauhoto Tapairu
Tau mai i rāwāhi atu o mamao
Tau mai ai ki Pouākai, ki te Iringa niu, ki Paritutu ki te uru e
E te tini, e rarau ki te ihi, ki te wana, ki te oha o Taranaki e tū nei
Ko tōna hua he toka, ka toka tō manawa ora.
Hui e  … 
Taiki e!  

Come forward, come close
Before me brought together, I am overwhelmed with emotion
You are in the company of people, in the company of mountains
An essence drawn of many events, of distant times long passed
Of a pathway forged by Rauhoto Tapairu, Taranaki’s guardian
Stretching forth from a place beyond our sight
To these western-most mountains Pouākai, Te Iringa-niu, and Paritutu
So come forward all, be confident in the intensity, the fire and the tribute of Taranaki standing before you
His tribute is of rock, the embodiment of your resolve
One and all, I say stiffen your resolve  … 
Make it so! _____________________________________________________________________ 
Taranaki, the mountain standing before us, is this region.  It is of such prominence that the people and the land are identified as Taranaki.  Yet, Taranaki is the youngest of these mountains.  It was guided here by Rauhoto Tapairu and it settled with the acceptance of ancient mountains, Pouākai, Te Iringa-niu and Paritutu.  From their peaks to the shore we live and we are surrounded by their rock.   So it is fitting that rock is one of the most defining resources of this area. 

Andesite stone has been used traditionally to make numerous implements and the ancient carved boulders scattered along the coastline mark community boundaries that have weathered many a storm, both sea-born and of historical conflicts.   

However this rock was never simply a resource, something to be used.  It is imbued with the spirit of the mountain from where it came.  It has both purpose and meaning in the environment of the rivers, hills and valleys where it rests.  It has been shaped and moved by the sacred, icy, clear waters that flow freely from Taranaki’s slopes, from its white winter cloak.  This spirit is known as ‘mouri’ and is present in all things, living and inorganic. 

We welcome artists, we welcome craftspeople, we welcome creators to this mouri, to this region’s rich resource.  Not the hard rock before us, but the essence of these mountains, the character of our identity. Not here to be created but recreated by the mouri within you.