‘Haere mai, ngā manuhiri tūārangi!’ He tūāhua ahurei, whakamīharo hoki te tikanga a te Māori ki te whakatau manuhiri. Ko tēnei pea te āhuatanga mīharo rawa ki te hunga manene, arā kia kite, kia rongo i te ao Māori. Ka hoki tēnei tikanga ki mua noa atu i a tauiwi mā ki Aotearoa nei, ā, auraki rā anō ki Hawaiki areare, arā, te kāinga tuatahi o te Māori.
Nō te tau 1807 ka tuhi te rata Ingarihi mō te āhua noho a te Māori. ‘He maha ngā rohe kāinga. Ā, he pakanga te mahi a ngā rangatira o aua rohe’. 1 Ko te mahi o ngā wāhine (he kaha ake ngā reo i ngā tāne) he karanga atu ki te ope, me te ui atu ko wai rātou, ā, i haere mai rātou i te aha. Kia āhua tata atu kātahi ka rere te wero, kia kite mārika kei hea ngā whakaaro a te ope. Kia naomia te taki, kātahi ka tōia te ope ki roto ki te pā. He tikanga katoa ēnei hei hohou i te rongo, hei whakarata hoki ki te riri.
Ahakoa te huri o ngā tikanga, e mau tonu nei te karanga a te wahine, te wero, te whaikōrero, tatū rawa ki te hongi. Ko tā te hongi he whakaū i te rongomau. He tikanga tēnei mai i te whakahānga o te mauri ora e Tāne ki ngā pōngāihu o Hineahuone.
I ngā pōwhiri nunui kua puta ngā apakura, ngā mōteatea, ngā manawawera me ngā wero. He wā anō he māmā noa iho te pōwhiri, arā kua rere te karanga me ngā kōrero, kua karangahia te manuhiri kia kai tahi me te tangata whenua. I tēnei wā kua tangata whenua te manuhiri, ā, ka manaakitia tā rātou noho ki waenganui i te hau kāinga. Ko te taka kai mā te manuhiri tētahi tohu rangatira ki te Māori.
Ki te tū te pōwhiri ki runga marae, he wāhi anō mō te kai, he wāhi anō mō te moe. He ture ēnei ka hoki ki te tapu me te noa. He rerekē tēnei ture i waenganui i ngā iwi. Ko te tikanga pai he whai i ngā tohutohu a te tangata whenua.
He tuku noa te manaakitanga a te tangata whenua i te manuhiri, ā, he tohu whai mana anō te whakawhiti koha a te manuhiri hei whakaū i te manaakitanga a te tangata whenua. I te nuinga o te wā ka takoto te koha ki runga marae ātea i te wā o te pōwhiri. I ngā wā o mua he rourou kai, he puiaki whakahirahira, he pounamu rānei ētahi o ngā taonga ka hora ki runga marae. He moni te koha whakaaro i ēnei rā. Mā te tangata anō e tohu tōna koha hei whakautu i tōna manaakitanga e te tangata whenua.
I ngā wāhi ōkawa a te Māori, pērā i te whare whakairo, he nui ngā tikanga ka whakahaere i ngā whanonga tangata, ngā tūranga mahi a te tangata, tae atu ki ngā tūranga noho, moe hoki.
Kāore i kō atu i te whanaungatanga hei tūāpapa mō ētahi o ngā tikanga tuaukiuki a te Māori. Arā, he rite tonu te wā ka tātai whakapapa te tangata i roto i tōna whaikōrero, hei tūhono i a ia ki te ope, ki te kaupapa rānei o te rā. He wā kua riro mā te whakapapa e whakatau te take tautohe. I ētahi atu wā mā te whanaungatanga anō e tohu te huarahi ki tētahi mahi. Mā te whanaungatanga ka toro te kāwai ki te whānau whānui, kauheke mai, whāngai mai, me te hunga kua mate. Ka mutu, ka whai pānga tonu iho pea ngā mahi o te tangata i āna whakatipuranga.
I te tau ruamano he iwi noho tāone te nuinga o Ngāi Māori, ahakoa hokihoki tonu ai ki te wā kāinga. He mea nui tonu te tuakiri o te tangata ki te Māori, kua taea te mau i ngā tikanga o te iwi kāinga ki roto ki te ao hurihuri. Kei raro i te iwi ko ōna hapū, heke mai i te tupuna o te iwi nui tonu (te nuinga), tae atu ki ngā koromatua o tēnā hapū, o tēnā hapū. Kei raro i te hapū ko ngā kārangaranga whānau.
Kei ia hapū anō te mana ki ngā marae i roto i tōna rohe. Ko ngā marae me ngā papatipu whenua te tūrangawaewae o ngā uri, arā, te tangata whenua. Kei a rātou te mana ki te whakahaere i ngā hui, ngā mārena, ngā tangihanga rānei ki runga marae. Ko rātou anō te mana whenua ki ngā marae, papatipu whenua hoki.
Tāpiri ki te mana whakahaere, ko ngā kawenga ki te tiaki i ngā whare me ngā taonga o te marae. I runga i tēnei āhua hokihoki tonu ai ngā uri mai i ngā taone ki te whakapaipai i te marae hei toutou anō hoki i te ahi kā, kia kore ai e poko i waenganui i te tangata whenua.
He tūranga whai mana tō te kaumātua me te kuia ki waenganui i te hapū me te marae. Ā, kaumātua noa, he manaaki tonu te hapori Māori i ōna kaumātua.
I roto i te whānau Māori, kei te mātāmua te mana, ā, he nui atu te mana o te tuakana i tō te teina. Engari i ēnei rā, kua nunumi ērā tikanga, i te whai atu i te mātauranga, ngā pūkenga rānei o te tangata tae atu ki ngā mahi i oti i te tangata.
Tērā pea kei te tangihanga kitea ai te ora o tēnei mea te tikanga Māori, me te aha e kaha tonu ana ērā tikanga ahakoa ngā whakawhiu o te wā.
Ka mate ana te tangata, kua whakariterite ngā tāngata i ngā mahi o mua, o muri, ā, kua tauawhi te whānau me te hapū i te kirimate. Whai muri kua rūpeke te tini tangata mai i ngā tōpito o te motu me te ao ki te tangi i te mate. E ai ki te Māori, ina ka mate te tangata ka rere tōna wairua ki te hiku o te Ika-a-Māui ki Te Rerenga Wairua. E hāngai ana ēnei tikanga ki te poroporoaki i te wairua o te tangata kua mate, me te tautoko i te whānau pani.
Hoki rawa ai te nuinga o ngā tūpāpaku ki ōna marae ake, ki te marae rānei o te wharemate. Ko te marae me whakarite mō ngā rā o te uhunga. Kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā takiwā tōna ake wāhi e takoto ai te tūpāpaku, ā, he rerekē anō hoki ngā tikanga. He ahakoa, ka piri tata te whānau pani ki te tūpāpaku mai i te uhunga, tae atu ki te rā nehu.
E tūtata ana ki ngā marae maha ko ngā urupā. Ko ēnei ētahi o ngā wāhi tapu rawa o te Māori. Kia kaua te tangata e kai, e inu, e momi tupeka rānei ki roto i te urupā nā te mea he noa ērā mahi. Me horoi ringa ngā tāngata ka puta mai i te urupā hei whakawātea i te tapu kia noa ai.
I ēnei rā e kawea ana ngā tikanga Māori e tauiwi, nā te hāngai me te tino pono o ētahi tikanga tangihanga a te Māori. Kua kapo anō a tauiwi ki ētahi tikanga whakawhānau pērā i te nehu i te whenua. Ko tōna tikanga i ngā wā o mua ka nehua te whenua ki tētahi o ngā papatipu o ōna mātua. He tohu oranga, he tohu koiora anō tēnei mahi.
He take uaua te tō mai i ngā tikanga tawhito ki te horopaki o ēnei rā. He nui ngā tohetohe me ngā whakatutū puehu ki te take nei. Engari kua kitea he pakari tonu te tikanga Māori i ngā takahurihuri o te ao. He taonga nui tonu ki te ao Māori te whakapuaki whakaaro me te whakahē. Koinei i hāngai ētahi tikanga me ngā whaikōrero o runga marae ki ngā whakatau a te iwi. Hei reira ka pāoho te kōrero ki runga marae kia areare te katoa ki te kaupapa. Ko tēnei anō tētahi tikanga e aronui ana i te motu whānui.
Nā Ahorangi Hirini Mead i whakaraupapa ētahi tikanga Māori tawhito e tōia mai ana ki te horopaki o ēnei rā. Ko tētahi ko te tūnga o ngā marae ki ngā whenua taone, i iwi kē, i rohe kē. Nā te huri o te ao, ka huri hoki ngā tikanga. Arā anō te tauira ko te haerenga o Te Māori ki te Aporo Nui i te tau 1984. I reira ka kitea te kawa Māori e tū tārewa ana ki te Taiwhanga Toi o Metropolitan.
Mead, Hirini Moko. Tikanga Māori: living by Māori values. Wellington: Huia, 2003.
Salmond, Anne. Hui: a study of Māori ceremonial gatherings. Wellington: Reed, 1975.
Tauroa, Hiwi, and Pat Tauroa. Te marae: a guide to customs & protocol. North Shore: Raupo, 2009.