Issue 63 - editorial

We're still whanau

Tena ano tatou katoa

I suspect many of us are blown away from time to time by the talent we come across in our extended families. I had a lesson in that over the summer when a first cousin turned up out of the blue with his family.

His branch of the whanau had moved a bit between Hamilton, Hawaii and Queensland, so for me he'd shot straight up from being a teenager to forty something. Naturally I insisted they stay the night.

But my biggest shock came a little later when my teenage son and daughter told me gleefully that the uncle they'd just met was, in fact, Jamey Ferguson - you know, Jamey the saxophonist, guitarist, keyboard player and singer in the popular reggae band Katchafire. Obviously we did a bit of catching up that night, and of course my embarrassment dissolved.

A week or so after Jamey's visit I had my annual visit from another cousin, Paul, who lives just down the road in Wairoa, where he's a member of the Mongrel Mob. Then a third-cousin who I hadn't seen for over 30 years called in while home from Australia on a three-week visit to catch up with as many of his whanau as he could.

The lovely truth of this is that regardless of what we've been up to, we're still whanau. For Maori there is real meaning in that old line: blood is thicker than water.

The strands that bind us, ironically, are the liberating and empowering forces that enable us to openly embrace contrary views, to be outspoken without fear of relegation, to perform out talents in public, to show our emotions, and to stand up for what we believe.

And there's plenty of that in this issue of Mana.

I'm pleased to inform readers that we introduced a new page for letters to the editor called Korero Mai. We want your views and your feedback, and it's time we published what our readers think.

Because of Mana's role as a forum for Maori, we have also extended our Marae Atea opinion pages so that more and different views can be aired - this time it's Maori Party leader Tariana Turia on her party's election fortunes (page 66), and youth counsellor Steve Taylor warning parents to beware of "the cult of confidentiality" (page 62).

Another diffenrence with this edition is the devotion of our whole obituary section, He Maimai Aroha, to a single person. Quite simply, the life of Tame Te Maro was so remarkable, we believe, that his story deserves to be told, and illustrated, in such detail. See what you think (pages 6-11). As a fellow Nati I'm sure to be accused of favouritism, and so-be-it.

Tame was a giant of a man - among the last of a breed. Why is it that we don't seem to make leaders like him any more? That's something we should all ponder, especially with our focus on a general election and the inevitable squabble that's around the corner.

E kore te aroha e maroke i te ra, makuku tonu i aku roimata e.

Love will not be dried out by the sun, but will be moistened by my tears.