Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Tira Hoe Waka 2010



Two weeks of paddling, learning, visiting and reconnecting with the spirit of the Whanganui River came to an end on Monday 18 January as the 22nd Tira Hoe Waka arrived at Te Ao Hou Marae.

The annual Tira Hoe Waka is an opportunity for descendants of AtiHaunui a paparangi to ‘reconnect with the river, the land and each other. Gerard Albert is quoted as having described the objective of the Tira:

"That's the point of the exercise, bringing descendants back to river so they have a sense of community and so they can link back to their hapu and marae. The hope is that they will make a contribution to marae activities in the future." He said, "We now have generations that have grown up observing the Tira Hoe Waka as a regular spiritual observation. It gives the iwi strength so we can face our challenges throughout the year. Our connection with the river has not been minimised even though we live in modern times." http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/local/news/spiritual-river-journey-ends/3908772/


The church at Upokongaro taken from the river.

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