Wānanga Two 2025
Venue: Moteo Marae
Dates: 7th – 9th November 2025
Nau mai, kare mā, ki te rārangi mō te mātauranga hōhonu i te Moteo Marae.
Pepeha
Ko Tuhirangi te maunga
Ko Tutaekuri te awa
Ko Takitimu te waka
Ko Ngāti Kahungunu te iwi
Ko Ngāti Hinepare, Ngāti Maahu, Ngai Tāwhao ngā hapū
Ko Moteo te marae Ko Rangimarie te whare nui
Ko Hamuera te whare kai
Ko Paora Kaiwhata te tangata
It has been two years since the marae was yellow stickered after Cyclone Gabrielle. With a lot of work cleaning up, the funding the Moteo Marae transformed our marae into a beautiful, functional meeting house, dining room, and kitchen. It used to be such a worn out for so long, and now it is not only really flash but it looks absolutely stunning! The kitchen was better than any marae in our rohe that we have had the pleasure of cooking in any of our wānanga.
Mirimiri
Ngangara (entities) and working the gut area. Mate Makutu – the art of making and breaking curses.
While the contemporary rongoā definitions define mirimiri as ‘massage’ our Tohunga of old, have long described mirimiri as the spiritual manipulation of energy; to shift and clear any of the energies in the whatumanawa so that you can work the body. An example of this is when your hairs stand up on end or if you get goosebumps from an energy coming from someone or something spiritual that you can sense, taste, feel or hear.
One aspect of mirimiri is to sing takutaku which is known as koo miri. Takutaku that can calm the waters (in the body) where the emotional experiences are held in the cellular memory of the body.
Another example of mirimiri, as an integral part of romiromi, is the movement of the waters. For example, the Tiwawe movement you learned here are wānanga, that Atarangi Muru (Ngati Kuri Tohunga), shared with me, not only moves and shifts all the memories that are held in the body but also uses the waters to clean any paru from the organs and this is romiromi.
The shifting of ngangara is only for those who have those abilities and is not for everybody. This is not something that can be taught to you but can only be mentored in how to use this gift. According to the late Dr Rose Pere, the ngangara are magnificent beings. They are not monsters as some people think out of fear. Why? Because when the romiromi practitioner works with the whaiora to release the ngangara that has the ability to take all the mamae and hara with them when they leave the body.
The Lores of Makutu
From our discussion at our wananga, it only takes one second to send out a makutu to someone. Should we have a makutu thrown at us, sometimes we are unaware of when this has happened to us but, in some cases, a makutu can be like a sword going into your back or into some part of your body. For those who remember from past wananga, karaputoro (the first thought), it is usually the first person who comes to mind.
React or respond?
To react to a makutu and to throw it back can come with dire consequences. According to Papa De La Mere, if we throw the makutu back then it can come back to us in full force, missing us, and hitting our children and our grandchildren instead. This action will hurt us much more as these are the ones we love, which hurts us much more. So, it is wiser to breathe, go into the whatumanawa to calm down so we can stay still. That way the person throwing the makutu will not be able to sense you in any way. To achieve this, silencing the mind and staying still which gives us an opportunity to observe deep within to see clearly what is going on. With an understanding that our ancestors in the whatumanawa will guide you and the wisdom will come down tuku iho. It is much better not to respond nor to react to makutu. Rather, it is far wiser to pull the makutu out yourself and then just to let it go back to where it came from.
Whakapaipai
The natural embalming process that Maori used of preparing a deceased person for a tangihanga is called whakapaipai, which involves washing and dressing the body, and may use traditional elements like kōkōwai (red ochre) and oil. While the specific use of kawakawa in modern embalming is not widely documented, it’s possible it was used in traditional, non-chemical preservation methods, often alongside other natural materials and techniques.
The two interviews we conducted with Aunty Pauline Tangiora and our cousin Perak Nikora were deeply informative. Their presentations were, in essence, raw and real. Although both kōrero centred on the manaaki of our tūpāpaku, they also highlighted clear gaps within our communities—particularly around the affordability of tangihanga on the marae, and the feelings of disconnection many whānau experience from their whakapapa, their marae, and their ability to speak te reo Māori.
As whānau, we continue to research and reclaim the many beautiful aspects of our culture. Yet, at its heart, we are reminded of the words spoken decades ago by the late Hohepa Kereopa at a Rongoā hui: “We are Māori and always will be Māori.” This truth stands regardless of whether we speak te reo, were raised on our marae, or know our full whakapapa. Unlike the Crown’s historical attempts to define us by fractions of half-caste, or quarter-caste, we know that we are perfect, whole, and complete exactly as we are.
A key focus of Perak’s interview was the way she and her whānau navigated their personal healing journeys, especially in relation to the tapu and manaaki involved in caring for their mum’s tūpāpaku in preparation for burial. She spoke about the decision-making process around embalming and her mother’s wish for a more natural approach. Perak shared the trauma the whānau experienced when their mother’s body began to swell during a long journey, and how they later learned that using a catheter to release gases and fluids could have prevented this,offering a natural alternative to embalming. She spoke of purging as well where people stop eating knowing that they are going to die which is helpful for the gut emptying out before the end of life.
Perak also described the traditional body preparation process: gently moving the fluids within the body, rubbing flaxseed oil into the skin all over the body, and placing kawakawa leaves as part of the preserving the body before heading to the marae for the final tangihanga for dear Aunty Charlotte.
Perak and Dr Charlotte Mildon also talked about the practical challenges of caring for and manoeuvring a body, acknowledging that whānau may need professional support during this stage. One of Perak’s key messages was the importance of draining the body each day using a catheter in situations where embalming is not chosen, especially if travelling with the tūpāpaku. Their experience, though traumatic, was shared so that others might learn from it and be better prepared with an end-of-life plan for their loved ones.
Dr Pauline Tangiora at 86 years old.
Aunty Pauline’s taonga to us was the reminder that, when the time comes, we must allow our loved ones to go with grace. She taught us not to hold on out of our own longing, but instead to support them in their journey of letting go. She shared her whakaaro about her own end-of-life wishes so that when her time arrived, she hoped to be buried within 12 hours, seated in a chair with shortened legs, and returned directly to Mother Earth, no coffin, just a gentle, sacred return to Papatūānuku.
Whanau reflections
I was deeply humbled by her korero. From learning her experiences, it has enable me to sit with it and seriously consider the process. I really want to do the natural way, but I feel I would have to consider if my family would be up to it. We are seeing more whanau trying to navigate this, there may be more information out there that can give us a better understanding of how to manage the process. In particular what she said about stuffing the openings with kawakawa (orifice’s) is something that totally needs to be considered. So it was a brave conversation to have. I’m sure as a people we could figure this out by learning from each other’s experiences to be able to navigate it to be a loving and less terrifying experience, so that we can meet our loved ones wishes. Perak’s korero was so helpful and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to learn from it.
Perak’s online korero touched me deeply. The depth of care and honour their whanau carry for their mama and her wishes was powerful. The way they supported each other through their grief was humbling and so full of mana. It reminded me of what we as a people are remembering again, how strong we are in our natural roles, and how far the pakeha system has strayed with its money centred structures that do not serve our tangata. What Perak shared felt true in my bones.
Planning and having wananga about complexities, and how to work through them
