爆料社区

Sport Wait膩kere recently hosted a taonga t膩karo (traditional M膩ori games) workshop which gave West Auckland鈥檚 tamariki the opportunity to connect with Te Ao M膩ori through games and music.

The event, funded by Grassroots and supported by Mitre 10, saw 20 children and teachers from various West Auckland Schools come together under the expert guidance of wellbeing m膩tanga, Timi Tairi, and Shane McLean, an expert in taonga p奴oro (traditional M膩ori instruments).听

Christian Curtis, Community Developer Lead at Sport Wait膩kere, said the day was a massive success and has the potential to positively impact over 10,000 West Auckland tamariki.听

鈥淎s well as enjoying the day鈥檚 experience we hope the teachers and community members who attended will take the skills they learnt into their schools and community organisations,鈥� commented Christian.鈥� 鈥淭he sessions are delivered through a Te Ao M膩ori lens to deepen the understanding and always have the tamariki at the centre with a heavy emphasis on Te Whare Tapa Wh膩.鈥�听

Te Whare Tapa Wh膩 is a health model, developed by leading M膩ori health advocate, Sir Mason Durie.鈥� The model describes health and wellbeing as a wharenui/meeting house with four walls.鈥� These walls represent taha wairua/spiritual wellbeing, taha hinengaro/mental and emotional wellbeing, taha tinana/physical wellbeing and taha wh膩nau/family and social wellbeing. Our connection with the whenua/land forms the foundation.鈥� When all things are in balance, we thrive.鈥� When one or more of these is out of balance, our wellbeing is impacted.听

Mitre 10 donated r膩kau (sticks) for the workshop鈥痑s well as 50鈥�r膩kau for teachers to take back to their schools, ensuring the attendees can continue learning mau r膩kau in their school, community and at home.鈥�听

R膩kau are the basis of M膩ori stick games which consist of rhythmic throwing and catching of sticks from person to person.鈥� Traditionally boys and young men used this game to increase dexterity and alertness, while girls and young women used the game to increase their poi and dance skills.听

鈥淲e鈥檇 like to give a huge shout out to Mitre 10 for their donation and support of our tamariki to find a sense of belonging in their schools and community.鈥� Together we have created a real sense of t奴rangawaewae for West Auckland M膩ori tamariki,鈥� said Christian.听

Mitre 10 also went on to donate a further 30 r膩kau to Rutherford Primary and Rutherford High School to support their performance at the Te Atat奴 K膩hui Ako matariki event.听

This article first appeared at sportwaitakere.co.nz on 8 November 2023听