"Kia tau tonu rā ngā manaakitanga i ngā wā katoa." 
— Morehu Flutey-Henare and Reihana Parata

I tūkino ngā rū whenua kino whakaharahara i te tāone o Ōtautahi i te tau 2010 me te 2011, engari nā te waihanga anō i te tāone i taea ai tētahi nekehanga whakapono i roto i te tūāpapa o te tāone. Ko te whakatūnga o Matapopore, e mahi tahi ana ki te Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority, te whākōkī i whakatō ai ngā uara o Ngāi Tūāhuriri me Ngāi Tahu ki ngā kaupapa tāone raraupori hou. Nā te whanaketanga hou o ngā wāhi matua i āhei ai ngā kaihoahoa mana whenua me ngā kaimahi auaha ki te whakamāori i te pokapū tāone e kī ana i ngā whakapono tātāmi i mua, otirā ināianei kei te kite atu e whakaata ana i ngā tāngata me ngā kōrero o te whenua.

Ko Ngā Whāriki Manaaki he raupapa tauira raranga e whakaaturia ana ki Te Papa Ōtākaro. E tū tata ana ki te awa, ko ia whāriki tētahi whakaraupapatanga o ngā papa kōhatu ara māori he rerekē ngā tātiwha me ngā tae. E noho raupapa ana, ā, e tohu ana i te tukanga whakamanuhiri o te pōhiri i ngā tāngata katoa e haere ana ki Ōtautahi me te tautoko i te mātāpono arataki o te waihanga hou mō Ngāi Tahu: ‘Kia atawhai ki te iwi’, nā Pita Hori, Upoko o te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tūāhuriri, 1861.

Nā ngā tohunga raranga, nā Reihana Parata rāua ko Morehu Flutey-Henare tēnei i hoahoa me te tautoko hangarau o Wayne Youle, ā, mā tēnei kaupapa ka kite mātou i tētahi rawa tino Pākehā nei, arā ko te papa kōhatu ara, kua whakawhitia i runga i te whakaaro hōhonu me te mātauranga Māori. E tautuhi anō ana i te horanuku i whakatakotohia ai ērā, ā, i hoahoatia ia whāriki hei whakatō i ngā ariā o te manaaki ki te taiao tāone o Ōtautahi.

Ko tēnei whāriki te tuarua i roto i te raupapa, ā, e whakaata ana i te Karanga Wairua. Ko ngā poupou karanga ō mātou wāhine whai mana e karanga ana hei reo pōhiri i ngā manuhiri i a rātou e tae atu ana ki te papakāinga. Mā te kaikaranga o ngā manuhiri e whakahoki i te karanga. E whakaata ana tēnei whakawhitinga reo i roto i ngā tauira o runga, o raro hoki. He irirangi ngā tauira o waenganui – arā ko te tōiriiri o te wairua – ka rangona i roto i te karanga.

Ka whakararau Ngā Whāriki Manaaki i te whakatinanatanga o te mana whenua me te mana wahine auau, matatū hoki mā te hunga e hīkoi ana i te pokapū o Ōtautahi, me te whakamana i te uara nui o te awa o Otākaro ki a Ngāi Tūāhuriri me Ngāi Tahu.

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"May manaaki form the basis of all that we do all of the time."
— Morehu Flutey-Henare and Reihana Parata

The tragic and catastrophic earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 devastated Christchurch city, but through the rebuild an ideological shift in the fabric of the city was made possible. The formation of Matapopore to work in partnership with the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority became the catalyst for Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāi Tahu values to be embedded in new civic urban projects. The need to redevelop key spaces made it viable for mana whenua designers and creative practitioners to indigenise a city centre that was once steeped in colonial ideologies and now visibly reflects the people and stories of the whenua.

Ngā Whāriki Manaaki are a series of weaving patterns that feature within Te Papa Ōtākaro / Avon River Precinct. Positioned near the river, each whāriki is an arrangement of natural stone pavers of varying shades and colours. In sequence, they reference the whakamanuhiri process of welcome for all peoples visiting Christchurch and support the guiding principle of the rebuild for Ngāi Tahu: ‘Kia atawhai ki te iwi’ (care for your people), a precept offered by Pita Te Hori, upoko of Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga, in 1861.

The patterns were designed by expert weavers Reihana Parata and Morehu Flutey-Henare with technical support from Wayne Youle. Through this kaupapa we see a fundamentally colonial material, the paving stone, transformed with deep intention and mātauranga Māori. Redefining the landscape in which it now lies, each whāriki was designed to infuse Christchurch’s urban environment with the concept of manaaki.

This whāriki is the second in the series and represents the karanga wairua, the spiritual call of welcome. Poupou karanga are our respected wāhine who call to welcome manuhiri as they arrive onto the papakāinga. The kaikaranga from the manuhiri then returns their call. This exchange of voices is represented in the top and bottom patterns. The middle patterns are the irirangi – spiritual vibrations – heard from the karanga.

Ngā Whāriki Manaaki embed the enduring mana whenua and mana wāhine presence for those walking through central Ōtautahi, while recognising the high value of the Ōtākaro to Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāi Tahu.

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Nga mihi to Jagas for supplying pavers to realise this project, and to Ethan Reid, Eddie Naidu and Tony Munro for their guidance and assistance with installation.