My whakapapa on my father’s father’s side of the family goes back to Opunake, Te Atiawa (Taranaki Maori Iwi/tribe). I’ve felt that connection flowing through my veins like a persistent warmth for my entire existence in my body, but not as strong as when I came back to Te Ika a Maui in late 2002 from Vancouver, Canada. I did a road trip with my then closest ally around the country to kick my addictions to cocaine and alcohol, and part of that odyssey was to pass through Taranaki on our way to Wellington. We met some fine people in Taranaki who looked after us, were more than hospitable, and beneath the maunga (mountain), as a force planted a seed of imagination in my heart which would germinate almost a year later. That seed was All Roads Lead to Parihaka.
This tale has had many versions, but the essence of the story remained true to the gift of vision gifted to me. The rebirth of the settlement of Parihaka, and the consequent worldwide movement of the principles of the original settlement and its modern equivalent as described in the short story. In these interesting times, we find ourselves in today I can see that this vision holds great spiritual power. With the centralisation of control over the lives of billions of humans, a time is coming where a fork in the road will begin to appear. At the beginning of the global smackdown I heard the call of bigger communities and smaller governments until the day comes when our parliamentary grounds are a shrine to a methodology confined to the annals of history. Perhaps a museum, or more appropriate a mausoleum.
The creation of communities where the support for the human family is complete, growing food together, foraging together, hunting together, schooling in traditions that enrich through the past (Maoritanga) and the future (Waldorf/Montessori educational systems), skill bases that revolve around creating stronger connections with the environment, building homes, community spaces, planting native forests, trading with other communities the and unique expression of creative and artistic endeavours that enrich the biosphere of the individual, the community and the planet. Raising children into pioneering, empowered, compassionate humans by being living examples of this. Essentially, living in harmony with the sentience of the planetary consciousness. The finer details are not as important as the understanding that as the road forks, the message of the story of All Roads Lead to Parihaka is a signpost of what is to come for the next generation beyond mine.
Tonight, at Lyall Bay, Wellington, while sitting on the beach waiting for the Scorpio full moon to rise over the Orongo rongo Ranges I saw three plumes of light radiating from the east, Te Raukura, The Feather, or in this case the three feathers that capture the biblical passage
He whaikororia ki te Atua i runga rawa
Glory to God on high
He maungarongo ki runga i te mata o te whenua
Peace on earth
He whakaaro pai ki te tangata
Goodwill to all mankind
(Luke 2:14)
For me, it was a sign, like in 2003, spirit, my tipuna (ancestors) were sending me a message. A new Parihaka, where Te Raukura, which represents spiritual, physical, and communal harmony and unity is returning. A higher spiritual power, a symbol of faith, hope, and compassion for all of mankind and the environment that we live in is coming in to replace the current paradigm we live within. Honoured by Tohu Kakahi and Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, two of the prophetic leaders of Parihaka, the Raukura feathers were a symbol of the passive resistance movement against the colonial power of the Crown of the British Empire. The Raukura feathers were a symbol of peaceful re-evaluating the mana of the Maori nation, as they strived to live autonomously. In the future, I feel that the human family (all races) will live under the guiding principles of these two great men, and also fulfill their principles to further the harmony of the world that they will inherit.
Parihaka will not only be a destination, it will be the spark that ignites the flames of change that will sweep and burn the old paradigms away so that this wondrous new adventure of inter-dimensional existence can rise, Oho Ake. Oho Ake.
