<p>Our elder grandmothers instructed the teachers of the families to: hide our nation, hide our information, hide our belief systems in the wananga of silence, to wait the time of Tumatawera... The teachers kept everything hidden in the mokopuna. The grandchild became the nation s library and all information was concealed inside the minds of the mokouna. The patterns of life, the patterns of the universe and the patterns of the families were faithfully transferred across into the mokopuna for the future in the time of Tumatawerra. The wisdom keepers had seen in the smoke of the ritual fires the strangers , making huge changes in the way life would be controlled in Waitangi-ki-Raro. No prayers would again be sent to Io the parentless creator both male and female in essence. No gathering as elder teachers in public. No elder teacher practices and no gatherings of our people. Fear had come with the stranger. Tahana Rerenga o Io had come and gone in his universal flight in the heavens measuring the time of the coming of Tumatawera and our people dreamed the dream of freedom from the fear in the stranger. Grandmothers of Waitaha, helped farewell their husbands and sons into the fiery wars of the stranger, not once but many times in the name of civilization and support of the strangers realm. So the grandmothers whispered into the one hundred and many years since the stranger came. Grandmother Ivy Elizabeth McAnergney, nee Baird, of the family of Ngati Rakai and Ngati Pakau in the summer of 1999 stated quietly to those gathered around her. It is time for Waitaha to step out of the shadows and to walk tall like our ancestors did... It is now the time of Tumatawera, and the laws of the land have become softer to the voices of the grandmothers of Waitaha allowing the teachings of our ancestors to be written for the benefit of our children and our grandchildren. Whispers of Waitaha: Traditions of a Nation tells simply of the oral transfer of information from</p>

Whispers of Waitaha: Traditions of a Nation

Politics & Social Sciences

Makere and Te Porohau Ruka Te Korako

Social Sciences

Wharariki Publishing Company

<p>At last our story is told. Now the brave ancestors we have hidden for so long stand again for all to see. With these words the Elders of Waitaha tell us that their ancient and sacred lore is shared for the first time. Bound in secrecy for centuries, protected through the ages by those who gave their lives to keep it safe, this knowledge travels out of the past to be revealed in Song of Waitaha . For years New Zealand archaeologists have been puzzled by a people who lived without weapons and created trading systems that moved industrial stone the length of the country. These writings explain they were a peaceful confederation of over two hundred iwi known as the Nation . It tells their story from the dawntime of exploration and settlement to the final days. Song of Waitaha repairs the torn fabric of our past and opens doors into the future. If we are not gentle with life, the garden within us dies. The Histories tell of a society where many peoples walked in harmony with each other. It shows how they honored the land and waters to sustain life harvesting birds and fish to increase the numbers, cutting tall trees for waka and leaving the forest stronger, carving stone without breaking its spirit, respecting the rivers keeping the environment in balance. This treasure from the days of the ancestors journeys out of timeless realms where the people and the land were one beneath the stars. It carries wisdom born of the ancient trails of the spirit and adds a thousand years of wonder to our past. It reminds us if we lose our story we lose our dream.</p>

Song of Waitaha: Histories of a Nation

Barry Brailsford

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Books by Wharariki Publishing Company

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Wharariki Publishing Company publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Whispers of Waitaha: Traditions of a Nation

Song of Waitaha: Histories of a Nation