Nā te awe a te kuia o Tess James i aratohu ai i a ia ki te whai i te mahi whakaranu
Rapu ai a Tess James i ngā poutohu i tae atu ai ia ki te mahi whakaranu ka hoki ōna whakaaro ki te awe a tōna kuia.
“Riterite tonu te mahi a taku kuia ki te hanga rongoā, arā, ko ngā rongoā Māori. Ka āhua pēnei ‘He aha te mea i mau mai i a kui i nāianei?’ Ka tae mai ia ki tō mātou whare me te huhua o ngā mea ka taea te hoko mai i ngā whakaranu i nāianei, pērā i te kirimi kamirimiri hei āwhina i te wāhanga tinana i marū.
I te tau tuawhā ki te kura tuarua ka mahi hamanga a Tess ki tētahi whakaranu hapori ki Waitara i Taranaki, te wāhi i tipu ake ai ia. “Mātotoru ana tēnei taone ki te tangata Māori. I kite au i te tini tangata i haere mai e māuiui ana ki te mate huka me te mate huango.”
I konei ka timata ia ki te whakaaro ka pēhea pea tōna āwhina, ā, ka whiriwhiri ia ki te whai i te tētahi umanga whakaranu.
Mā te ū tonu, ka eke
Ahakoa te pai o te mātauranga matū me te koiora ki a Tess i te kura tuarua, nā te uaua o te ako i te ahupūngao i waewae tutuki ai tana mahi ki te Whare Wānanga o Ōtāgo. I rehitatia ia mō tētahi tau ki te whai i ngā pūtaiao hauora, me kī, ko te tohu me whai i mua i te Tohu Paetahi mō te whakaranu. “Pai tonu te toenga o aku māka i taku tau tuatahi, engari kāore i whakaaetia taku ekenga i te mea kāore ahau i hipa i roto i te kaupapa o te ahupūngao. Nā, ka mahia anō e au te ahupūngao. Ehara māua ko ahupūngao i te hoa, engari ka hipa ahau!”
Ko te wairua kōkiri i a Tess ki te puta i te whare wānanga ko te mōhio ki te kore ia e whai i tētahi tohu ka whāiti noa iho ngā huarahi kei mua i a ia. “I kite ahau i ngā uauatanga i pā ki ōku mātua i tā rāua kore whai tohu, koira te wairua i āki i ahau.
“Ko ahau anake te tangata nō te kura tuarua o Waitara i heke ki Ōtāgo. Waihoki, ahakoa te pai o te noho ki Otepoti i whakapau kaha ahau ki te whakahoahoa tangata me te tūtakitaki tangata.”
He tautoko, ka ngāwari
- Kei te Hohipera a Tess e kōrero atu ana ki tētahi tūroro mō ana rongoā
Ka māmā ake tana mahi whai oranga muri i tana tono atu mō ētahi karahipi ka taea e te ākonga Māori mahi whakaranu te whiwhi. “Ehara i te mea ka tono noa te tangata. He iti iho taku pūtea tārewa, me kī, he hauwhā noa iho pea i ērā o aku hoa.”
Hei āwhina i a ia i ōna rā timata i te whare wānanga ka whai tautoko hoki a Jess mai i te pokapū Māori o te whare wānanga, arā, ko Te Huka Mātauraka (Otago University Māori Centre). Ki a Jess he tino pai te hōtaka akopono a te pokapū. “Kātahi te mea pai ko tēnei mehemea e tawhiti ana koe i tō kāinga.” Hei utu mō taua manaakitanga, i tōna tau tuarua tokotoru ngā ākonga Māori hou e whai ana i te pūtaiao hauora ka akoponotia e ia.
Nui kē te mihi a Tess ki te rōpū tūhono o ngā Taka Rongoā Māori, arā, ko te Māori Pharmacists’ Association mō tā rātou tautoko i a ia. “Tau kē tā rātou kupenga tautoko. Ka tonoa mātou ki te haere ki ngā hui nui, ā, ka tūtaki atu ki ētahi atu taka rongoā Māori kei Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau.”
Ko au ka toa, ko rātou ka toa
Kei runga tonu a Tess i tōna huarahi o te umanga angitu. Kei te hohipera o Taranaki ia e whakaoti ana i tana mahi hei pia. “Ki te noho ahau i konei mō tētahi tau anō ka utua e rātou aku nama mō tēnei tau. Waihoki, kei te utua ahau mō ngā tau e rua. Nā, ko au ka toa, ko rātou ka toa.”
