Rnz: Te Ahi Kaa

The next time you eat at McDonald's, your burger meat may have come from Whangara Farms. As a supplier of the fast food restaurant, Chairperson of Whangara Farms, Ingrid Collins says it was a big coup for the Gisborne based Maori farm industry. As part of the Ahuwhenua Maori Farming Awards, Te Ahi Kaa interviews two of finalists. Chairperson Ingrid Collins and Chair of Te Awahohonu Forest Trust, Robert Cottrell talks about the past, present and future of Maori farming in their respective regions.

Hundreds farewelled Sir Hekenukumai Busby at his tangihanga (funeral) held on his marae in Pukepoto. Known to many as Hek - he was instrumental in the resurgence of wayfinding. He built waka hourua or voyaging canoes that would traverse the pacific ocean, he was a mentor to many navigators here and abroad and recently set up a training school at his home to ensure the knowledge of celestial navigation was passed on to the next generation. Te Ahi Kaa features coverage of his tangihanga and archival recordings where Hek talks about life growing up in Pukepoto.

Te Ahi Kaa pays tribute to Maori language exemplar, Te Wharehuia Milroy who passed away earlier this week. Milroy was professor of Maori at the University of Waikato, a trustee of the Kohanga Reo Trust, and alongside Sir Timoti Karetu and Pou Temara, he created the Maori language school of excellence, Te Panekiretanga o te Reo Maori. Te Ahi Kaa is with Kohanga Reo teachers Mauria Ngatoko and Jesse Huriwai who both share the important lessons they learned from him as students. Thanks to Nga Taonga Sound and Vision, the programme features highlights of Milroys 2009 acceptance speech at the Te Waka Toi awards, where he was one of several recipients honoured for their work.

Dr Sandy Adsett has spent fifty years working in Māori visual Arts, he began his career as an arts advisor in the 1960's where he visited regions implementing the 'Māori Arts in Schools" programme. In the early 1990's he became principal tutor at Toihoukura Māori Visual Arts school in Gisborne, he is a painter whose work has exhibited around the world.In 2018 he received an honorary doctorate from Massey University, and was honoured by Creative New Zealand for his service and contribution to Māori arts. In this new series, Te Ahi Kaa profiles Dr Sandy Adsett.

Telling the stories of B Company of the 28th Maori Battalion was the impetus of the book, AKE AKE KIA KAHA E - written by Military historian and author Sir Wira Gardiner. The book launch held earlier this month was attended by the descendants of the soldiers. Te Ahi Kaa features coverage of the event held at Te Papaiouru marae, Rotorua. Keynote speakers include Chairman of the B Company history trust Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Graham Vercoe, Dr Monty Soutar and Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick.

Tamsin Hanly is on a mission to get schools to teach critical history in New Zealand schools. Back in 2016 she took out a second mortgage on her home so she could work on a series of six books she bundled into a Critical Programme Resource. The books range in topics from the Māori creation story to Māori and Pākeha responses to legislation. Although these are weighty subjects, the books are written in a way suited to teachers, new migrants and people who have no understanding of the country's colonial past. To wrap up this series, Tamsin talks about the book series at a recent symposium.

Vince Copeland is the former Pou Whakahaere at Mahitahi Akoranga an organisation that works alongside inmates to reduce re-offending, in his capacity as a officer with the territorial services Vince discusses ceremonial tohi (blessing rituals) conducted by tohunga with the warriors who took part in battle. Tohi was also bestowed about soldiers who left the country to fight in War overseas. Vince discusses the various contexts of tohi as recorded at a recent symposium about the New Zealand land wars.

In this continuing series about the history of conflict in Aotearoa, CEO of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi Dr Wiremu Doherty discusses the impact of war within his tribal areas of Tuhoe and Ngati Awa.

British Imperialism, colonization, the attributes of Maori leaders and the NZ Land Wars are themes of books and reports written by Historian Vincent O Malley. At a recent symposium he discussed why everyone should know or at the very least be educated about the history of Aotearoa / New Zealand, tonight Te Ahi Kaa features highlights of his presentation.

If you cast your mind back to 2015, perhaps you will remember the New Zealand Flag referendum - it was an exercise by the then National Led government to vote for a new flag. A member of the flag consideration panel says that the exercise was worthwhile to gauge where people stood on the issue. At a recent symposium, Mulholland who is working towards his PhD in flags and national identity, discussed the depiction of symbols on flags as seen on the battlfield both here and overseas.

Rongoā Practitioner David Kukutai Jones researched the use of native plants to heal wounds suffered on the battlefield both in the NZ Land Wars and inter tribal warfare. David says the plants contained numbing agents, and poultices were packed onto the wounds. Te Ahi Kaa features highlights of Davids presentation. as part of a NZ Land Wars symposium - Te Putake o te Riri.

Artist Harry Sangl immigrated to New Zealand in 1971 and soon set off in his caravan to the rural Tuhoe Valley to ask kuia – elderly Māori women – if he could paint their portraits. Sangl was met with suspicion but after over four years of building up their trust, 34 kuia agreed. An exhibtion of these portraits is currently running in Auckland.

Te Matatini is a bi-annual event where the best of the best in Kapahaka - Māori performing arts compete over three days, but the flipside to that is that it's a great platform to showcase small Māori business, Justine was there and talks to fashion designers, greenstone business Ngai Tahu Pounamu, and a young designer that has spotted a niche market for homeware design.

Reweti Elliott choreographed the poi for top nine finalist kapahaka group Te Iti Kahurangi and Tauranga based Tutara Kauika ki Rangataua at this years Te Matatini festival. The ex-performer talks about his own unique style of choreography and Te Ahi Kaa is with Tomika Whiu has performed who has been a part of Auckland based group Te Waka Huia for twenty five years, in that time he's witnessed the vast changes. Tomika talks about his experiences in this weeks show.

The national kapa haka festival Te Matatini takes place in Wellington this week. Performer Ngairo Eruera and judge Te Atarangi Whiu share their experiences of performing on stage alongside their respective kapahaka groups,  and their perspectives about the vast changes in haka performances in the last two decades. 

In honour of Sir Hekenukumai Busby and his knighthood ceremony this week, Te Ahi Kaa features interviews with Hekenukumai where he talks about his work to revive the artform of waka building and ocean voyaing. In 1992, Haare Williams is in the Far North as crew members prepare for the Maiden Voyage of waka hourua (double hulled) canoe Te Aurere to Rarotonga, and he explains how to read a Star Compass when figuring out the horizons that determine sailing directions.

Musicians Ria Hall and Rob Ruha both agree that kapahaka taught them discipline, voice projection and the confidence to pursue full time music careers. Both artists started at top level kapahaka, Ria with Te Manu Huia and Te Waka Huia and Rob is set to hit the stage after a five year break, with his hometown group Te Whanau a Apanui, at this years Te Matatini in February. On the show they discuss their early forays into the performing arts and the important lessons they learned along the way.

In the final show of the year, Te Ahi Kaa features highlights from 2018. Kaiora Honey is a thriving whanau business lead by Blanche Morragh, she discusses the hard yards and ongoing work of running Kaiora Honey from their home at Awanui. In the continuing series, Behind the Blazers, Hamuera Ratana band drum bass player JJ Lewis describes his instrument it as the "heartbeat of the reo", he has been with Te Reo o Hamuera since 1996 and says its his way of giving back to his community and Ihoa. In the series Taa Moko Sessions, Stu Mcdonald, Julie Paama-Pengelly and Pip Hartley share their own experiences of moko both locally and overseas. Te Ahi Kaa profiles Pip Old, a Pakeha woman who is on a mission to learn to reo Maori inspired by her own children and mokpuna.

We revisit conversations with Geoff Milner from Northland's Ngati Hine Health Trust, artist Marilynn Webb and police officer turned secondhand clothing entrepreneur Ra Mead.

Dr Taiarahia Black is a PhD Supervisor at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. He offers up his interpretation of some whakataukī (Māori proverbial sayings) at the Te Kōputu Kōrero a Hirini Moko Mead library space.