He aha e kaha nei te hāhi Mihinare ki Waitangi?

Ki te toroa tētahi hui Rangi ki Waitangi, ka kaha rangona te whakaawenga Mihinare, kauhau mai, hīmene mai.

If you attend a Waitangi Day service you’ll feel a strong Anglican influence, from the readings to the hymns.

Read this story in English here.

“Katoa ngā āhuatanga o te whakawhetai atu, he Mihinare te hanga,” hei tā te Rt Rev Te Kitohi Pikaahu, te Pīhopa o Te Tai Tokerau.

“The whole shape of the worship liturgy is an Anglican structure,” says the Rt Rev Te Kitohi Pikaahu, Bishop of Te Tai Tokerau.

READ MORE:
* How the good intentions of ‘New Zealand Day’ diminished the mana of the Treaty
* History, spirituality and kapa haka pull crowds to Waitangi Treaty Grounds

Kua koni atu i ngā tau e 20 ia e whakarite ana i ngā hui Waitangi, ā, hei ko tāna, kua “hirahira” tā te Hāhi Mihinare whaiwāhi atu ki ngā whakanuitanga Waitangi nō te 1840 rā anō.

He’s been organising Waitangi Day services for more than 20 years, and says the Anglican Church has played a “pivotal role” in Waitangi commemorations since 1840.

E hoki ana ki te wā i a Minita Henry Williams, te Mihinare, te pirihi i tae atu ai ki Pēwhairangi i te 1823.

It goes all the way back to Reverend Henry Williams, the Anglican missionary and priest who arrived in the Bay of Islands in 1823.

E ai ki a Te Kitohi, e noho nei ki Paihia, he mea kaha whakaawe a He Whakaputanga, i waitohua i te 1835, me Te Tiriti o Waitangi, nō te 1840, e Henry.

Both He Whakaputanga/the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand signed in 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840 were heavily influenced by Williams, says Pikaahu, who is based in Paihia.

Anō te rahi o tā Henry whaiwāhi atu ki te whakawhitinga reo o te Tiriti hukihuki atu i te reo Pākehā ki te reo Māori, nā konā “i manakotia nuitia ai”.

Williams played a key role in translating the English draft of the Treaty into Māori in a way that “provided certain hope”.

I āna whakawhitinga reo, nā Henry nā kupu pēnei i te kāwana, ā, hei tā Te Kitohi he “mahinga tohunga” tēnā, he puaki nō te huatau i te tiakitanga, kaua kē ia i te pupurutanga.

In his translations, Williams used words like kāwana (governorship), which Pikaahu calls a “master act”, which communicates the concept of being responsible for guardianship, rather than ownership.

Hei tā Te Kitohi, he nui te reo o Te Tiriti e hāngai pai ana ki ngā uara Karaitiana ka tahi, ka rua, e hāngai ana ki “ngā uara whānui o te tangata” i tokona ai e te marea.

Pikaahu says much of the language in Te Tiriti not only aligned with Christian values, but “universal human values” which everyone was on board with.

“Mōku ake, inā te rerehua o ngā ohia mō te mana ōrite me te tōkeke i puta i a rātou i titoa ai te Tiriti.”

“I think those who composed the Treaty had a wonderful vision in mind of equality, of fairness.”

Ka hukihuki ana te tuhinga o Te Tiriti, kua iriiri kē te nuinga o ngā waitohu, kua noho hoki ki ngā rekereke o te Karaitiana.

And by the time Te Tiriti was drafted, many of the signatories were baptised and had already gone through some Christian teaching.

“E whakapono ana au ki tā te Hāhi kite i ngā kōingo i roto anō i a He Whakaputanga me Te Tiriti, mō te whenua, ngā iwi, me te manako nui,” hei tāna.

“I believe that the Church saw in the Declaration and the Treaty, hope for the land, for its people, hope for the nation,” he said.

Engari, ka taka mai ngā tau, kāhore te ao e pērā ana.

But years on from the signing, that’s not the reality.

“He aha e pōhara nei te Māori, e pōhara nei i ngā horopaki o te hauora, te mātauranga, te nōhanga, te whiwhinga mahi? He take Tiriti ēnā,” tā Te Kitohi.

“Why is it that Māori are impoverished, live in poverty in terms of health, education, housing, employment? Those are actually Treaty issues,” says Pikaahu.

“Kāhore tētahi waitohu, tae rā anō hoki ki ōku ake tīpuna i whakapaengia te pōharatanga o ngā uri o rātou.”

“None of the signatories, including my own tīpuna [ancestors], envisaged that their descendants will live and be impoverished.”

Nā konei, e ai ki Te Kitohi, me noho kē te Hāhi Mihinare ki tētahi tūranga e rangaranga ake ana.

And for this reason, Pikaahu says the Anglican Church should be playing more than a structural role.

“E whakapono au he haepapa tō te Hāhi Mihinare, he whai painga hoki, kia tae atu ki ngā whakanuitanga Waitangi,” tāna mea mai, he puaki nō ngā uara me ngā tauākī i Te Tiriti.

“I believe that the Anglican Church also has a duty, as much as a privilege, to be present at Waitangi Day commemorations,” he says, because of the values and declarations made in Te Tiriti.

“Nā roto anō i ērā kī taurangi, he haepapa ō te Hāhi kia whakarangatiratia ai te Māori.”

“Within those promises, the Church has a duty to stand up for Māori.”

Ahakoa e noho mātāmua ana te hāhi Mihinare ki ngā whakanuitanga o Waitangi, kua rāhiritia e Te Kitohi ngā wāhi hāhi rerekē i ia tau e takina ai ngā whakaritenga.

Although the Anglican faith is the dominant religion at Waitangi Day commemorations, Pikaahu has invited different denominations to lead the services each year.

I ngā tau kua hori, he mea whakahaere ngā hui e te Hāhi Rātana, te Hāhi Katorika, te Hāhi Iriiri, me te Hāhi Wēteriana.

In previous years, services have been led by the Rātana Church, the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church and the Methodist Church.

I te tau nei, ka “rongo i Te Ope Whakaora”, te kī a Te Kitohi, ā, mā ngā Kaiwhakaora ngā whakawhetai e taki hei te hui awatea ā te 5am, me te hui ā te 10am.

This year will have a “Salvation Army flavour” Pikaahu says, with the Salvationists leading the worship at the 5am dawn service and the 10am service.

Ko te komihana o Te Ope Whakaora te māngai matua, ka mutu, ka whakatangihia mai hoki te pēne o Te Ope Whakaora.

The Salvation Army commissioner will be the principal speaker and the Salvation Army band will also play.

Mō te taha hīmene, mā Te Kitohi e kōwhiri, ā, ka mahi tahi ia ki ngā kaihautū rōpū waiata e reo rua ai te tukunga – i te reo Pākehā me te reo Māori.

In regard to the hymns, Pikaahu picks them and works with the choir leaders so the choir can also sing in two languages – English and te reo Māori.

I tua atu i te Rangi Waitangi, hei tā Te Kitohi, me whai tikanga ngā mahi a te Hāhi e mārama ai ki Te Tiriti me tōna hāngai ki te pāpori o te wā nei.

Outside of Waitangi Day, Pikaahu says the Church should take practical steps, to understand Te Tiriti and how it should be applied in society today.

“Ka kitea e te marea ngā kī taurangi o te Tiriti, arā te manakotanga.”

“People everywhere will see this is what the Treaty promises, it gives hope.”

He mea whakamāori e te Kaihautū Reo Māori ki Puna, e Taurapa.

Translation by Stuff Kaihautū Reo Māori Taurapa.