Thu 15 Nov 2012 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
This year’s Hui Takatāpui is extra special for organiser Maihi Makiha, who is taking up to 150 GLBTI Maori from across the country to his stunning ancestral home for the next four days, where he hopes to teach them about the proverb: “to know who you are is to know where you’re from”. Maihi Makiha says his whanau is supportive, and doesn't treat anyone like they are different because of their sexuality The adjectives flow when Makiha tries to describe just how both visually stunning and personally meaningful his home, the rural Northland village of Panguru, is. “Very spiritual. Very scenic. It’s untouched. It’s one of those places where tourists don’t go, so it’s very pure,” the New Zealand AIDS Foundation’s Community Engagement Co-ordinator for Māori and Hui Takatāpui organiser explains. Panguru is at the northern side of the Hokianga Harbour, an area the mother of the Maori Land March Dame Whina Cooper hails from. She returned home to Panguru in 1983 and died there, aged 98, in 1994. The tiny village has six marae and six churches, the latter reflecting the fact it became a Catholic settlement after Pakeha arrived. The Hui is being held on the largest of the marae, which is Dame Whina’s – so its organisers are hoping a little of her empowerment rubs off on those who attend. It’s the 25th anniversary of Hui Takatāpui, a gathering which is about creating a wider identity for Māori gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The venue is fitting for the focus this year, which is about bridging the gaps between takatāpui and their whānau. Local hāpu and iwi have been invited to attend and participants have been encouraged to bring their own whānau members with them. Makiha says his wider whānau is supportive of its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members – and joining him in hosting the hui are two other locally raised takatāpui: performers and community advocates Ramon Te Wake and Tess Tickle. So many takatāpui actually come from the area there is a local anecdote that “there must be something in the water”, but all joking aside – there is serious acceptance. “The kaumatua and kuia treat us and look after us just like they would any other child who grows there, or any other whanaunga,” Makiha says. “You’re not different because you’re gay: you are a kitchen hand, you are a worker on the marae, you’re a speaker. You’re just like everyone else. You’re not treated any differently.” It’s hardly surprising then that the local trio is excited about bringing other glbt Maori into this environment: they hopes it will help those who have been brought up urban to realise there’s something more than just K’ Rd and the Sky Tower and Harbour Bridge. “You know how city life and gay life can just take over your life aye?” he asks. “You just become this gay person living in Ponsonby. The stereotypical person. “[The hui is about] just giving another understanding of what it is to be Maori, first and foremost, what it is to be gay and what it is to come from a rural background. “And that there’s more to life than just K’ Rd and the city. To go home is one of the things.” He believes every whānau has a “turangawaewae”, or a place to stand, which it’s important to return to. He hopes those attending the hui can find that in Panguru, if they can’t get it where they’re from. “If you’ve been kicked out from your family for being gay or for being who you are, then there’s always another whānau that will pick you up and will be there for you. And it’s just by asking and being confident in yourself – that’s what I believe.” He shares a proverb from his kaumatua, the local school principal when he was growing up who had an impact on many lives, Allen Karena: “To know who you are is to know where you’re from.” Makiha says that is the basis of it all. Jacqui Stanford - 15th November 2012