Tangaroa: atua of fish and the sea with qualities of rhythmic, tidal surging, calm.
Hanging out in Cockle Bay Manawatere. NZAEE Seaweek – Kaupapa Moana is an annual national week celebrating the sea.
Being an Enviroschool, contributing to our natural environment and connecting with it, is second nature at KiNZ Mission Heights. The teaching team and some of our families/whānau came together on a Sunday morning (13th March) at Cockle Bay at the historic site, (the place of landing of Manawatere) and participate in a beach clean-up while appreciating the beautiful taonga, the sea.
We had a special guest, Taini Drummond, kaitiaki of Ngāi Tai (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki the original inhabitants and Iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau) who joined us and told the pūrākau/story of the great navigator, Manawatere and how he arrived at Cockle Bay years ago and marked the spot of his landing place on the pōhutukawa tree.
We sat in the historic setting, under the tree and listened to the story shared with aroha to us. Taina even gifted us a waiata/song that she wrote for this pūrākau session.
We had a beautiful picnic and collected some rubbish and resources for our Centre and called it a day. The story and the waiata will be revisited and sung at KiNZ Mission Heights as we continue to connect with local stories and take responsibilities as local and global citizens.
Banner photo: sitting beneath the pōhutukawa tree listening to pūrākau.
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