Ki Te Pā Hono Auckland Zoo ana manuhiri rongo ai i te ahurei o te taiao oro o Waimihi, arā, he pao rōreka e whakanui ana i te mauri o te wai, i a rātou e hono atu ana ki te ao tūroa i te taha o te whānau me ngā hoa. 

Kua hua mai tēnei wheako tairongo e hou ana ki ngā manuhiri katoa o Te Pā Hono – i whakarewahia i mua tata tonu i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – he mea whakaputa nā te kaupapa ngātahi a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (he iwi nō Tāmaki Makaurau) rātou Te Kete Rururuku o Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau, ko Te Pā Hono. 

Nā Ropata Pāora te pao i tito, ā, nō tana tamāhine e rongonui nei ki te waiata, nō Majic Pāora, te reo waiata mai (nō Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei rāua tahi). E whakamānawa ana tēnei pao i te hiranga o Waia-a-te-ao (e rere ana mā Te Pā Hono ki waho, ki Meola Reef). Ko tōna kaupapa – He Wā-Tohi-Te Mauri o te Wai – e akiaki ana i te katoa kia tau, kia aro hoki ki te hononga o ngā kātū ora katoa, me te wāhi whakahirahira o te wai ki te whakaū i te ora, i te ahurea, i tō tātou taiao, i a tātou katoa hoki! 

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A beautiful pao (waiata) is unveiled at Auckland Zoo!

We recently unveiled the Waimihi soundscape, a pao (a form of waiata) that helps to ground our manuhiri in Aotearoa New Zealand when they pass through the grove of tōtara and into the manawa/heart of the Zoo. Composed by Ropata Pāora and sung by Majic Pāora (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei) this pao honours the significance of Waiōrea and Waiāteao (Motions Creek) and the life giving force of wai/water.

Ko te taiao oro o Waimihi tētahi atu kokenga i te haerenga o Te Pā Hono ki te whakaoho i te reo Māori i ia rā, me te whakawhānui ake i te māramatanga o ngā kaimahi, o ngā tūao me ngā manuhiri ki te ao Māori. Ko te pao kei roto i tētahi uru tōtara i te ara e heke atu ana ki te manawa o Te Pā Hono, ka mutu, ka rere i te nekenekehanga, ā, ka taea hoki te rongo i ngā hāora e tuwhera ana a Te Pā Hono. Mā ngā tohu whakamārama hoki e ako ai ngā manuhiri i ngā kōrero pā ana ki te pao, ā, kei reira hoki ōna kupu e whakaatuhia ana.

E ai ki te kaiwhakahaere o Te Pā Hono, ki a Kevin Buley: “Ko tā te pūtaiao o Uropi, i te nuinga o te wā, he whakaū i te wehe o te tangata i te taiao, me te whakaaro anō, kei te tangata te mana whakahaere i te taiao. Engari, kua pūmau rawa atu te tirohanga Māori ki te hononga o ngā kātū ora me ngā kātū ora-kore katoa, ā, i te mutunga iho, ko tō tātou anō ora kei te āhua kē o te ora o tō tātou ao. 

Ko te maumahara ki tā tātou noho i roto i te taiao – kaua i waho – te ara pai katoa e tika ai tā tātou whakarite ao mō te anamata o ngā kātū mohoao. 

“E tika ana kia nui te mihi ki te kaitito, ki a Ropata Pāora, rāua ko te kaiwaiata, ko Majic Pāora, mō rāua i whakaputa i tēnei taonga e hono ana i te whenua ki ngā wai huri noa, ā, e whakapakari nei i tō mātou tuakiri hei whakahaere mō roto tonu o Tāmaki me Aotearoa. He ara rawe katoa tēnei e mōhiotia ai te ingoa Māori hou o Te Whare o Tāmaki Makaurau, arā, ko Te Pā Hono – e pai ai te hono a tētahi ki tētahi, ki te ao tūroa hoki,” te kī a Kevin. 

Ko te pao o Waimihi tētahi atu ara e oho ai te reo Māori ki Te Pā Hono
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Auckland Zoo’s Kaupapa Māori Advisor Lyndelle Paniora, musician and performer of the pao Majic Pāora, Auckland Council Te Kete Rukuruku Te Reo Māori Programme Lead Vinny Rongo and pao composer Ropata Pāora

I tīmata te hanganga o te kaupapa o te taiao oro o Waimihi nā tētahi kōrero i tōna wā e tika ana i te tau 2025, i waenga i te Kaitohutohu Kaupapa Māori o Te Pā Hono, i a Lyndelle Paniora rāua ko Vinny Rongo, ko ia te Kaiārahi Hōtaka Reo Māori o Te Kete Rukuruku: Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau, e pā ana ki ngā huarahi e whai tikanga ake ai te reo Māori i Te Pā.

E ai ki a Lyndelle rāua ko Vinny, i mahi ngātahi nei rāua ki a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, tae atu hoki ki a Ropata rāua ko Majic Pāora, i ngā marama e ono marama kia tutuki ai te kaupapa, he hua whakahiamo tēnei. 

“Ā haere nei, kua pai te noho rumaki a ā mātou manuhiri, a ngā kaimahi me ngā tūao katoa i te reo Māori i runga i tētahi āhua tino whai mana. He mea tino nui ki Te Pā te whakatairanga i te reo Māori me te whakapuaki i ngā kōrero a te iwi hei whakatutuki i tā mātou ū ki te ao Māori, i tō mātou hononga ki te mana whenua, me ngā whāinga o tā mātou mahere Māori Outcomes i Tātaki Auckland Limited (TAU),” e ai ki a Lyndelle. 

“He kokenga whakahiamo tēnei i tō mātou haerenga kia pēnei te whakaatu i ngā kaupapa Māori ki Te Pā mā tētahi titonga nā te hunga whakahirahira o te ao puoro pēnei i a Ropata rāua ko Majic Pāora.” 

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TAU Director and Ngāti Whātua leader Tom Irvine

E ai ki a Vinny Rongo: “Ko tā te wāhi tūmatanui, e manaaki nei i te tini o ngā manuhiri ā-rohe, ā-takiwā, ā-ao hoki, he tuku kia whai wāhi motuhake ki Te Pā Hono te kitenga, te rongotanga, te akoranga hoki o te reo Māori ki tētahi taumata kāore anō kia ekea ā mohoa nei. 

“Engari, i tua atu i tērā, ka waihangatia he wāhi e haumaru ai te kuhu a te tangata ki te ao Māori. I a ia e hīkoi ana mā te uru tōtara, e rongo ana hoki i te reo o Waimihi e kawea ana i ngā rākau, ka pōhiritia ia kia āta haere, kia whakarongo, kia hono hoki ki te wairua o tēnei wāhi. Ki ahau nei, koirā te ātaahua o tēnei kaupapa, arā, ko te whakarite i ngā wā e rangona ai tō tātou reo, ā tātou kōrero me tō tātou tuakiri, kaua hei whakaaro noa iho mā tātou.” 

“E tino hiahia ana ahau ki te mihi ki a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, otirā, ki a Majic Pāora,” e ai ki a Vinny. 

“Kua whakapau kaha a Majic ki tēnei kaupapa, me te ngākau nui o tana tuku mai i tōna kaha, i ōna mātauranga me tōna aroha. Nā āna tohutohu i āwhina kia whakaūngia ki tēnei wheako ko ngā kōrero, ko ngā tikanga me ngā tūmanako o Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, ā, nā konā, ka nui rawa atu ā mātou mihi ki a ia.” 

Te painga o te whakatairanga i te reo Māori ki Te Pā Hono
https://cdn.aucklandunlimited.com/zoo/assets/media/majic-paora-with-her-whanau-and-the-soundscape-sign.jpg

Musician and performer of the pao Majic Pāora and her whānau

E ai ki te manu tīoriori, ki a Majic Pāora – he kaiwaiata mai anō i tīmata rā tana tū hei kaiwaiata ngaio i tōna tau tekau mā rua noa iho, ā, ko ia hoki te kaitiaki o MAHUTA, arā, o te konohete ā-tau whakahirahira e kawea ana e Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Hei tāna, he tino whakahirahira ki a ia te whai wāhi ki te kaupapa taiao oro ki Te Pā Hono.

“He kaupapa tōmua tēnei, ā, koinei te kaupapa tuatahi o tōna momo mō ngā rauemi mātauranga, ka mutu, he tino motuhake hoki nā te mea kei tētahi wāhi e nohongia ana e te kararehe. Nā runga i tērā, i āta whakaritea, i āta whakaarotia hoki, otirā, he tino ahurei ngā āhuatanga katoa i whai wāhi mai ki ngā whakaaro,” te whakamārama a Majic. 

“Na tōku pāpā te pao o Waimihi i tito, ā, he rawe rawa atu te mahi a Abraham Kunin ki te āwhina i ahau ki te hopu, ki te whakaputa hoki i taua pao. Ka nui taku mihi i taku whai wāhi ki te whakatutuki i tēnei kaupapa ki konei, ki Te Pā Hono, ā, he hōnore hoki ki ahau te mahi tahi me te hunga katoa i āwhina ki te whakaoho i tēnei taonga ātaahua. He mea tino motuhake, he tino whakahirahira hoki kia wātea mai tētahi rauemi mātauranga pēnei ki ngā manuhiri katoa, e whakaatu ana i ngā ingoa o konei, i te pokapū o Tāmaki Makaurau, i te kūititanga whenua e tū nei a Te Pā Hono.”