Te Taniwha: The Manuscript of Arikirangi are on display at Victoria University of Wellington's Te Pataka Toi Adam Art Gallery.

They were given by the prophet to Richard Niania's great-great-grandfather in 1869. He passed them to Niania's grandmother. He himself has had them since 1988.

Niania commissioned Joyce Campbell to photograph the pages and these are hanging on the walls with the original manuscript displayed on a table.

Niania said Te Kooti founded the religion after escaping imprisonment by the Crown on the Chatham Islands.

While jailed there he began to write the founding documents of the church - inspired by the book of Exodus and a yearning to be free.

"It all hinges on Te Kooti's visions which he had in May of 1866, and the manuscript's actually inspired by that revelation ... that he had.

"It said 'you are like unto Moses, and your job is to do what Moses did for the Israelites out of Egypt ... your job is to take your people home from the Chathams'."

Te Taniwha: The Manuscript of Arikirangi is the latest version of Niania and Campbell's decade long project to capture and preserve korero about the people of Whakapunake te maunga (the sacred mountain of the Wairoa region) and Ruakituri awa (a major tributary of the Wairoa river).

At the centre of the exhibition is a rare manuscript containing hymns, prayers and whakapapa written by the founder of the Ringatu faith, Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki.

This is one of the founding documents of Te Haahi Ringatu mentioned by Judith Binney in an appendix to Redemptions Songs, her biography of the prophet.

Source

• rnz.co.nz
• photoforum-nz.org
• Image: Robert Cross

Justin Lester is suggesting the Maori New Year could replace the Queen's Birthday holiday, which was not meaningful for many who saw it as just a day off.

Last year Wellington City Council cancelled its 2018 Guy Fawkes Sky Show, moving the fireworks display to Matariki on July 7.

This year Wellington is putting Matariki at the heart of a new month-long winter festival, with $250,000 allocated for the celebrations, which started on June 15.

Lester is being supported by Rongotai MP Paul Eagle who wants to "reignite the debate"' and is seeking advice on putting up a Member's Bill.

A Member's Bill was put up by the Maori Party in 2009 and was supported by Labour but didn't get past the first reading, losing 63 to 59, Eagle said.

"It's a very different time now. Back then people were only getting used to the concept of a Maori New Year but now it's part of the fabric of New Zealand.

I think people are more ready for it now," he says.

He said the debate would not have to be about replacing Queen's Birthday, it could even be an additional holiday.

Forget the propagated myths about "multiculturalism", because New Zealand is monocultural says Stuff columnist Glen McConnell.

"We celebrate Christian holidays and we get days off when we pay respects to the Queen."

McConnell says New Zealanders have failed to properly recognise Maori holidays or moments of significance.

Waitangi Day is the only holiday which realises people who aren't Pakeha also live in New Zealand he says.

The celebration of Matariki is marked each year by the appearance of the Matariki (or Pleiades) cluster of stars around late May to early June.

Once the new moon arrives after the appearance of the star cluster, celebrations begin, lasting for up to three days.

Source

• thewanakasun.co.nz
• www.stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: wellington.govt.nz

He worked with Maori communities in the Far North before becoming a University of Auckland theologian.

He also wrote and published books about Maori spirituality.

The Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Pat Dunn, told the New Zealand Herald that the church had received five complaints in 1993 relating to Shirres' sexual abusing.

Annie Hill was one of those abused; she is concerned about the other victims, particularly in Northland.

She is encouraging other victims to come forward.

Hill said she made a complaint about the abuse to a priest in 1993 and thought the matter had been dealt with.

So she was shocked when, in 1995, she discovered Shirres would be talking about Maori spirituality at the school where she taught.

Dunn said the church backed Hill on her call for victims to come forward.

It would do all it could to help them, he said.

"We can't rewrite the past but we're very anxious to support people now if they are still bruised by this horrific abuse that occurred when they were children," Dunn said.

The church became aware of Shirres's offending in the 1990s - about 20 years after it happened - and he went through an independent sex offenders programme.

"At that time the policy with historic cases, as distinct from current cases, was to prioritise the wishes of the complainant," Dunn said.

He said the church's practice was to encourage complainants to go to the police.

The Dominican Order, of which Shirres was a member, worked to support those who had come forward.

"We respected their wishes and realised that if we did not, people would not be prepared to come forward."

Shirres was withdrawn from pastoral ministry in late 1993 and entered into the Safe Network programme to address his predatory behaviour.

He continued lecturing at the Catholic Institute of Theology and the University of Auckland until May 1994.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• news.com.a
• Image: google.co.nz

Matariki, sometimes called the Maori New Year, is celebrated when the star cluster known as Matariki rises in the sky during winter. Continue reading

In light of this, the prospect of travelling into the heart of the Ureweras and staying with this group of people was somewhat daunting.

The powhiri on arrival was a very intense cultural experience, but immediately the warmth and hospitality of the Tuhoe was evident. This was of course such a stark contrast to the way in which they were portrayed in the media.

How powerful perspective, and prejudice, can be. They welcomed our group with a deep respect for us as people, as well as an evident respect for their own people, their ancestors and the significance and sacredness of their place (in Ruatahuna of the Ureweras).

I was struck by the immediate sense of trust and communality, and the incredible generosity with which they introduced themselves and their surroundings. This respect, hospitality and generosity characterised the meals they hosted, the stories they shared, and everything they did for us and with us during our stay.

I was also struck by the deep spirituality they shared with us and expressed in different ways throughout our time with them.

This spirituality was strongly linked in with their surrounding environment, and their encompassing cultural story and identity, but above all it seemed to communicate a sense of interconnectedness, and in doing so drew us into that dynamic reality of interconnection.

There are different churches and faith traditions in the area, but this spirituality transcended individual religious institutions, and the people of the different denominations supported each other in honouring and upholding the various components of their community and cultural identity with dignity and, again, deep respect. Continue reading

• Daniel Kleinsman is a lawyer and a Marist seminarian in Auckland.
• Photo credit: The Wireless.