Written by Natia Tucker
Raki - Whitinga - Tonga - Tomokanga
Rā - Kainga - Ngoi - Manu - Ngā Rangi - Ngā Reo - Haka
[Basic Famil Haunui, Te Toki Waka Hourua]
The houses of the Star Compass start at the certainty of East (Whitinga) and West (Tomokanga), and gradually depend on less earthly markers for direction.
And so it was for the final retreat of the Black Pearl cohort of 2021.
Va Kainga was our final retreat and my return home. Starting with the known, the familiar, the comfortable, it was a family reunion. We fell into connection and reconnection at the ferry terminal, at the circle, over naked prawn tacos. We talked alignment of mind, heart and gut, and watched as our celestial bodies demonstrated the same. Full moon alignment of moon, earth and sun gave early high tides and made us wander across the west sand to find the cleansing chill of an afternoon dip, maintaining our circle all the while.
How foolish, embarrassed, confronted I felt when Karlo introduced Le Afā, the storm, the conditions that obscure certainty, and she challenged us to connect with our ancestors, the ones we'd presented on the mat at our first retreat. To connect in front of a witness.
Ngā Reo, the voices of our ancestors, is one of the star compass houses furthest from the physically observable certainty of East/West. When Grandma Nātia died in 2020 in Samoa during the first wave of the pandemic, people told me she lives in me. I did not believe them. Two years later, there she was on the lawn of the Onetangi Community Centre.
Grandma Nātia came to me. Actually, I came to her, with Jacs as my with-ness. How clear her voice, her observations, her advice, her gentle chastisements, her love. I could taste the koko samoa, hear the sewing machine, smell the burnt rocks, feel the sweet breeze whisper up the valley from Apia Harbour.
I don't know how that Ngā Reo magic works, but I'm so grateful for that link to AI, that Ancestral Intelligence (thanks, Ted).
Haka is the furthest house from East/West, the closest to North/South. Two Black Pearl wahine toa shared their current state of haka, of standing in defiance of powerful forces that threaten. From their lonely, scary position of leadership, they turned to see the little army behind them, their Mana Moana cohort. I am proud to be part of their army, knowing that they are part of mine, too.
During this final retreat, I resigned from 10 years of service at Auckland Council to take on a national role at Coastguard New Zealand. I feel far from certainty and yet reassured that Ngā Reo of my grandma and even my MM buddies is constant and accessible. I look forward to serving Te Toki Voyaging Trust, my organisational sponsor, from a new point on the horizon.