The Treasure Box
Lately, my cousin Davina and I have been having chats with matua Haami Moeke. He is a kaumatua, a respected Maori elder. His birth place in the Bay of Plenty, bordering on Tuhoe country, Tuhoe Children of the Mist. I think of him latterly as a son of the Four Winds. He has that about him, an everywhere presence. Like the wind, he’s his own man
To me, he’s also like a treasure box, full of wisdom gathered from across decades of a well-lived life, a Master Carver from the old school where lore is as likely to be passed to eager listeners over a cuppa as it is to be in a classroom situation. I like that his is a classroom with concertina-like walls, equally conversational as it is instructional.
He’s measured in his speech. He uses words as my old literary friend Roly Vogt used to say “with economy” little is wasted. He’s a breath of fresh air like that. He’s also a practical man using practical oratory to address today’s issues. The young seem to need that more these days and interestingly, they understand him too. His words, like arrows hit the bulls-eye of their hearts.
To me he is like the kauri tree (Agathis australis) an ancient tree, an enduring one. It, like matua Haami has endured the seasons to grow above the rest of the forest, a conspicuous tree. Why we might wonder? Perhaps, it is to lift the eyes of the young upwards.
Like a treasure box, he has so many good things stored in him. And we who inherit such a gift might learn again the art of ‘cherishing’ and give up some of our disposable tendencies to look again among the treasures of our forebears. Who (notice NOT what) are these treasures? They are our kuia and our kaumatua.
Photo Credit: File Photo Hawkes Bay Today 8 November 2010
If you liked this THEN you might also like: 1. Haami 2. All Haami-less Fun 3. Matua: Sun through a Rock 4. Matua: His Mandate with Destiny 5. Matua: Tippy Haeres of a Principal Carver
