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Hineruhi: The Mythical Paragon of Feminine Dance

Hineruhi is dawnlight - a beautiful, soft, feminine light that shines forth at the beginning of day. She is the dawn maid, the dawnlight that sparkles and dances upon the morning dew. She sparkles, glimmers, radiates. She cleanses and makes things pure. She is playful and light. The Hine energy takes us across thresholds - receiving and transforming. As Hinetītama, she facilities the birth from Te Pō to Te Ao. As, Hinenui-i-te-pō, she facilitates the transition from Te Ao to Te Pō. The Hine energy is concerned with passing through doorways and entering new realms and her song comes in the form of the karanga. Hineruhi receives, transforms and offers. She receives Tāne's gift, nurturing it, transforming it, ready to make offerings to the world. Her lover is Tānerore. She inspires him as he inspires her. We delight to be in Hineruhi's presence. She cleanses us and she awakens our spirits. The Māori word for beauty and one we can associate with Hineruhi is 'pūrotu'.
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'Te Tiriti o Waitangi' hui held at Tūrangawaewae Marae, Ngāruawāhia 20 January 2024

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National Identity Workshop in Kimiora, Tūrangawaewae Marae, Ngāruawāhia 20 January 2024 I was fortunate to attend the ‘Te Tiriti o Waitangi’ hui called by Kingi Tūheitia at Tūrangawaewae Marae, Ngāruawāhia, this past Saturday, 20 January 2024. It was an historic event and showed, among other things, how the Kīngitanga continues to be an extraordinary institution. Although it has had its ups and downs in recent times, there is no other institution in the Māori world that can call for and host such a hui. The Rātana Church is an extraordinary institution too and hosts major hui, and recently Te Matatini has become a significant event. However, it is only the Kīngitanga that regularly hosts such large hui bringing the various iwi of the country together. And it is not just its physical capacities, capabilities and infrastructure that enables it to host hui of this kind. It is also because of the depth and complexity of the relationships it holds with every iwi of the country - even those ...
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The Future of Whare Tapere – Tangata Whenua ‘Houses’ of Storytelling and other entertainments

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Since convening a number of whare tapere upon my kāinga in Hauraki (Waimangō, 2010-14), I have been approached numerous times regarding the use of aspects of the whare tapere - including the name and associated terms - in a variety of performing arts and theatre settings. For example, Te Pou Theatre in Henderson recently discussed the use of the term in some of its programming material. In 2018, the New Zealand Festival discussed using the term prior to the 2018 Festival and ‘whare tapere’ also appears in the new strategy for Māori Arts created by Creative New Zealand. This is a small number of examples that demonstrate an increasing interest in the whare tapere. This blogpost was written in response to these various approaches and sets out my thoughts regarding the use of the term ‘whare tapere’ in iwi and non-iwi settings. The paper discusses my views regarding how the term ought to be used today and in doing so, it includes a discussion regarding the future of th...
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