Ahi Kā: I Noho Koniahi! Ki Ngā Taringa I Kite!

Ahi Kā – He whakaaturanga toi ataata, he mea waihanga e te mana whenua o Pōneke, me ngā ringatoi me ngā kaiahurea maha o tēnei rohe. He mea whai whakaaro tēnei whakaaturanga i ngā kōrero a tētehi o ngā rangatira o Te Ātiawa, i a Kura Moeahu. I kōrero a ia mō te wā e taikaha ana te kōrerotia o te reo Māori i Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I kōrero a ia mō te hohonu o te reo, me te āheinga o tērā reo ki te tuitui i a tātou, ki te whenua ki te taiao, ki tātou anō, ki ō tātou tūpuna, ki ā tātou uri.

I te ata, tae noa ki te ahiahi, takahia Te Ara Reo, he ara e kī katoa ana ki ngā oro, ki ngā tangi, ki ngā reo rerekē, he reo tangata whenua, he reo nā Tāwhiri, he reo nā Tangaroa, he reo nā Tāne, he reo nō te piupiu, he reo Pōwhiri poroporoaki, he reo waiata, pūrākau, kīwaha, karanga, poi. I te pō ka mura a Te Ara Reo, ka kā mai ngā rama me ngā kiriataata, he mea whakatūrama i te ara, otirā he mea whakaao i te kahu o te pō i te rangi. Ka hono ngā rama o tēnei whakaaturanga ki ngā atataata e haere ana ki te TSB, ko Te Ata Reo tērā, he mea whakahhiko i ngā maharatanga o ngā uri ki ngā mātua tupuna, ki te whenua, me te mahi nui o te toutou i ngā ahi kā o te kāinga.

He mea whakarite tēnei e Kura Puke, rātou ko Stuart Foster, ko Mere Boynton, ko Pekaira Rei. Ko Mike Bridgman te Kaiārahi Matihiko Whakaputa. Ko ngā ringatoi I pōwhiritia ko Jamie Berry, ko Noel Woods, ko Shannon Te Ao, ko Warren Maxwell. I mahi tahi rātou me te mana whenua, otirā me Inahaa Te Urutahi Waikerepuku, rāua ko Kura Moeahu.

Ahi kā is a stunning audio visual art installation created collaboratively by mana whenua and Pōneke based creatives and cultural practitioners. The work is inspired by a kōrero shared by Taranaki leader Kura Moeahu reimagining the past when te reo Māori was the only language spoken in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, a language that articulated our richly woven understanding and connectedness to the land, the environment, to each other, to our ancestors and descendents.

By day walk through Te Ara Reo an audio-filled pathway and immerse yourself in the sounds of the environment and the people of this land, the winds, the sea, the birds, the rustling of piupiu, rituals of welcome, song, stories, sayings, karanga and poi. At night Te Ara Reo becomes animated with illuminations that connect to the night skies and leads the eye to Te Ātā Reo, large visual projections on the TSB arena that evoke memories of ancestors and their descendents’ connection to place through the maintenance of ahi kā the fires of occupation.

Curated by Kura Puke, Stuart Foster, Mere Boynton and Pekaira Rei with Digital Production lead by Mike Bridgman. Invited creatives include Jamie Berry, Laughton Kora, Noel Rawiri Wood, Shannon Te Ao and Warren Maxwell who have collaborated with mana whenua to contribute visuals or aurals alongside Inahaa Te Urutahi Waikerepuru Pekaira Rei, Kura Moeahu, Kura Puke, and Mere Boynton.