Te Manahau Morrison  – research in the Marquesas for ‘Orokohanga’

In this interview, Pohaturoa Waenga talks to Te Manahau (Scotty) Morrison about his research trip for the new series of ‘Orokohanga (Origins)’ which will be launched next year at Matariki.

A reminder – the original interviews I work from for “Kōrero Poto’ are from the programme ‘Manako’  on Radio Waatea. Here is the link to their archives:

https://waateanews.com/category/podcasts/waatea-shows/manako/

Here is the link to this specific interview, downloaded from Manako archives, Radio Waatea – this is saved to the blog:

Finally, here is the link to my spoken version of the summary below (there is an English translation after the vocab list – and before the ‘koha’ button!):

Tuatahi ake, ka kōrero a Te Manahau mō te tino wāhi i rangahaua ai te kaupapa nei – ko Ngā Marquesas, he moutere ērā i te rāwhiti o Tahiti, e toru haora pea mā runga waka rererangi te tawhiti mai i reira. He tino mārama i te uiuinga te kaha o tō Te Manahau whakapono i wehe ai ngā tūpuna mai i reira ki Aotearoa. I āta wānangatia e ngā kairangahau mō te hōtaka nei a ‘Orokohanga’ ngā mea i mōhiotia e pā ana ki ngā hononga o ērā moutere ki Aotearoa, kia hangaia ai ngā pātai mō tana haerenga ki Ngā Marquesas. Anei ana tauira o ngā momo pātai i tukua e ia ki a rātou ki reira:

• Kei hea a Hawaiki, ki ō rātou whakaaro
• Āe rānei he kōrero ā rātou e pā ana ki ētahi tūpuna i wehe i ō rātou moutere kia haramai ki konei, ki Aotearoa nei
• Ko wai ō rātou ingoa āe rānei e mōhio ana ki ngā whakapapa o ēnei tūpuna
• Āe rānei e mōhio ana ki ētahi waiata tawhito e kōrero ana mō ngā tūpuna i wehe
• Āe rānei he whakataukī, he whakatauākī rānei hei waenganui i a rātou e tohu ana i te wehenga o ērā tūpuna.

E ai ki Te Manahau, he tino whanaunga ngā tāngata o ērā moutere ki te iwi Māori – “he tino tata ā rātou kōrero, ō rātou whakapapa, ō rātou uara, ō rātou mātāpono… e kaha ōrite ana ki ō tātou whakapono, ki ō tātou mātāpono, ki ō tātou tikanga o te ao Māori.”

Ka kōrero hoki a Te Manahau mō tana toro ki ngā wāhi tapu ki reira, me tana taki karakia ki reira. He pai ērā kōrero, ā, ka rangona i te wāhanga whakamutunga o te uiuinga.

Ā tērā tau, ā Matariki ka pāhotia te hōtaka nei.

Kupu hōu

moutere	island
rangahau(a)	research
tira rangahau	research team
mātanga	expert
hononga	links, connections
āe rānei	are there or aren’t there (expresses uncertainty about existence or truth of something)
uara	value(s)
mātāpono	principle(s), guiding principles
taki karakia	recite karakia

Firstly, Te Manahau talks about the key place where this issue was researched – the Marquesas, islands to the east of Tahiti, about three hours away by plane. It’s clear in the interview that Te Manahau is convinced that the ancestors departed from there to Aotearoa. The researchers for the programme ‘Orokohanga’ deliberated over what was known about the links of those islands to Aotearoa, to frame questions for his trip to the Marquesas. Here are his examples of the sorts of questions he put to them over there:

• What were their thoughts about where Hawaiki is
• Did they have any stories / information about ancestors who left their islands to travel here to Aotearoa
• What names are known in the whakapapa of these ancestors
• Is there any information in some of the old waiata about ancestors who left
• Do they have any proverbs or attributed sayings which would point to the leaving of those ancestors.

According to Te Manahau, the people of those islands are clearly related to Māori – “their stories are really similar, as are their whakapapa, their values, their guiding principles – they are really similar to our beliefs, our principles, to our customs in the Māori world.”

Te Manahau also talks about his visits to the sacred places there, and his reciting karakia there. What he says is interesting, and it can be heard in the final part of the interview.

The programme will be broadcast next year, at Matariki.