He taonga nui te kuta me te harakeke ki ngā kairaranga Māori – i ngā rā o nehe, ā, i nāianei anō. E aro ana tēnei mātaitanga ki ēnei tino rawa o te whare pora. I ngā marae me ngā wānanga puta noa i te motu, he ringa rehe matatau ki te raranga kei te whāngai atu i ngā mātauranga o kui mā, o koro mā, ngā tikanga me te āhua o te mahi ki ngā mea hiahia ako, kia toitū tonu ai ēnei āhuatanga tuku iho. Mai rā anō, he nui ngā painga o te kuta me te harakeke ki ngā kawenga o ia rā a te Māori. He mea nui hoki mō ngāi Māori kia whakahauorangia ake ēnei rawa e itiiti haere nei.
Kuta – te tipu kaitā o ngā nōhanga wai māori
Ko te kuta (ki ētahi, ko te paopao me te ngāwhā ētahi atu o ōna ingoa, ā, ko te giant spike sedge te ingoa Pākehā, ko te Eleocharis sphacelata te ingoa pūtaiao), tētahi o ngā tipu tino tāroa o Aotearoa ko te wai māori tōna kāinga. Ki te hōhonu te wai, ā, ki te pai ērā atu āhuatanga o tōna nōhanga, ka eke pea ki te 4.0 mita te teitei o te tupu mai tōna akakōare, mēnā kei raro i te wai te nuinga o te kakau. Ko te hōhonu ake o te wai, ko te mātotoru ake, ko te kairangi ake o ngā kakau; ko ngā mea ka tipu ki te wai pāpaku, he pīngore, kāore e tino kaha. Ka tupu ake ngā pihi hou mai i te akakōare. Kotahi te pua kei te toi o te kakau. He maha ngā nōhanga wai māori e tupu ai te kuka i Aotearoa, mai i Te Hiku-o-te-Ika ki Rakiura. Ko ētahi kuta iti kitea ai e tupu ana i ngā wai ngāwhā.
Harakeke – te kairaranga haere i te tangata
Me te wai kōrari
Tipu ai te harakeke (Phormium tenax) i ngā tōpito katoa o Aotearoa. Kitea nuitia ai e tupu ana i te repo, i te taha o te awa, tae atu ki ngā wahapū, ngā taipū me ngā paripari i te takutai. Engari kua tino itiiti haere ngā papa harakeke tupu māori noa nei. Kei te kaha te whakatipuria o te harakeke ki ngā parenga kōawa, he pai nō te tipu nei ki te here i te whenua kia kore ai e riro i te hau me te wai, he pai anō nōna ki te kapo i ngā taiora e rere atu ana ki ngā kōawa i ngā pāmu. Kāore ngā aka e hemo i te noho ki te wai, kāore hoki ngā rau e hemo i te ia kaha o te wai.
He hae tuawhiti kei te kōrari (arā, kei te pua o te harakeke), e ora ai ngā pī. Ka tāmuimui mai hoki ngā manu pērā i te tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), i te korimako (Anthornis melanura), me te tāringi (ngāi Sturnidae) ki te kai i te wainene o te kōrari. Kāore ngā kararehe whakararu pērā i te paihamu me te rāpeti e kai i te harakeke, engari ka ngaungaua e te kau, ko te kiko māota o ngā rau ka riro i a ia te kai, mahue atu ana ko te muka. Ko te pā harakeke te kāinga o te tini pepeke, tae atu ki ngā tōtorongū māori pērā i te anuhe (ko te moka me te mūharu ētahi atu o ōna ingoa Māori – ko te windower tētahi o ōna ingoa Pākehā, Orthoclydon praefactata) me te mokamoka harakeke (flax notcher, Tmetolophoto steropastis). Ka kaikainga e ngā tōtorongū nei ngā rau o te harakeke, ka hē te āhua, kāore e pai mō te raranga.
He kōrero kōpūtahi
E tūhono ana tēnei kōrero Te kuta – te tipu kaitā o ngā nōhanga wai māori, Te whakaora ake i te kuta me Te harakeke – he tipu raranga tangata.
He whakamihi
I pūtakea mai tēnei mātaitanga i ētahi kōrero i tuhia mō te pukapuka Te Reo o Te Repo – The Voice of the Wetland, arā, i Kuta – the giant of freshwater habitats, nā Mieke Kapa (Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato ) me Harakeke – weaving people together, nā Sue Scheele (Manaaki Whenua).
