Whakarāpopoto

He kōrero tairitenga a Te Tangi a te Tūī mō te inamata me te anamata o te reo Māori; e kōrero nei mō tētahi paki pōkaikaha i tata karongia e te reo Māori me te haerenga i parahia nei e te mātatahi kia ora anō ai te reo kī ōna tātai whakapapa.

Noho ana a Aotahi ki ōna whenua taurikura, tata ana ki tētahi ngahere e nōhia nei e te patupaiarehe wehi me tētahi manu māhirahira e mōhiotia nei ko te Tāne Manu, he manu hīkoi tangata. Ka whānau mai i a Aotahi ko Piri - te tama tane tuatahi i tana whakapapa mō ngā whakapaparanga maha.

I ngā rā ō mua, i mate tana tupuna ki te whakatau ki tētahi whakatau e ripo tonu nei ki ngā whakatupuranga. Nā te whānautanga mai ō Piri, ka riro ko tētahi makutu moe e whanga nei ki tana whānautanga mai, he utu ka riro māna hei ea ki ēnei tupua parehe.

E hiahiatia ana e te patupaiarehe, e Te Pua o Te Reinga kia noho a Piri hei kauwaka mō tāne i arohatia e ia, ka riro i te wā ka nuku a Māori i ōna whenua. Kōiriiri, te manu hikoi tangata, ko tana hiahia kia noho te tama hei utu.

He aha ka hua ki a ia? He aha rawa te otinga o te waiata o ōna tūpuna?

Synopsis

Te Tangi a te Tūī is an allegory for the past and future of Te Reo Māori; telling a story of loss that te reo Māori narrowly avoided and the journey young people now face to bring the reo back to their family lines. 

Aotahi lives on her ancestral lands, close to a forest that is home to the much-feared Patupaiarehe and a curious creature, known as the Bird Man, the Manu who Walks as a Man. Aotahi gives birth to her son Piri – the first boy in this family’s bloodline for many generations.

In days long past her ancestors made decisions, or were forced into decisions, that rippled through generations. Piri’s birth unlocks a dormant curse lying in wait for his arrival, it is an utu that he is now responsible to pay to these magical beings. 

The Patupaiarehe Te Pua o Te Reinga wants Piri as a vessel for the spirit of the man she loved and lost at the time Māori were forced away from their lands. Koiriiri, The Manu who walks as a Man, wants the boy as revenge against Piri’s ancestor who trapped him, trimmed his tongue and gifted him to a priest. He wants Piri to replace him in housing the priest’s spirit which binds him to the land.

Aotahi does her best to hide her son from the magical beings and the curse. It appears she has succeeded until in his teen years where they begin their pursuit of him in earnest. Each of the creatures take their turn, sharing their stories and trying to convince the boy to sympathise for their plight. A worried Aotahi watches on from the shadows, waiting for the inevitable that will come when the boy chooses a side and both mother and son will be gone forever.

What will he choose? How will the song of his ancestors end?