Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou, Tuhourangi


Rememorari  from the Latin to re-remember, to re-mind
Memoria memoir from Latin to French to English – memory, the faculty to remember
Membrun membrana membrane from the Latin  to middle English- member, limb, part of a body, skin
Memorandum from the Latin – it must be remembered



Treat this as a Memorandum
that will re-mind you of
a time that once existed
of the real
the sensual
the extraordinary
the everyday 
record of lives lived before you came to be
a memorandum 
from your past 
Embrace it in your body 
Let it moisten your skin 
store it securely in the alcoves of your mind
hold it in your heart, your liver, your stomach 
 and let it pulsate through your blood and waters
it is in your breath
it is how you belong 
it is why you are loved
it is what you must remember



Treat this as a Memorandum
From ancestors
Who lived in a time of recovery
a time of rebuilding
of growth
a time where we felt we could grasp hold of
our futures and heal from the traumas of our past
a time where we felt a turning,
the subtle social change
in those around us  and in ourselves



a little bit safer to be who we were
to name ourselves and wear our identities in our skin
our maunga and awa prominent in our pepehā
our reo and mātauranga valued
our creativity and cultural performances
were internationally renowned
when we absolutely came to understand our enemies
and could recognise
the colonial motifs that coursed through their beings 
their fear of losing power and status
their arrogance and cowardice
their mean spirits and limited imaginations
of what we could achieve without them
they claimed they had ambition 
but it was merely privilege they knew only how to harness for themselves
We came to see the potential of our rangatahi
Those next generations that gave you life



Treat this as a Memorandum
And read alongside the documented records 
Listen to the karanga 
Allow it to guide you through the grief you will encounter
And welcome you back home
Listen to the poroporoaki 
That helped our wairua depart and cared for those who had to bury us
Look at the worlds we created through the arts
That helped our imaginations soar
Watch our performances
Our command of performance on stage
And joy in performing when we were together
Read what we wrote
As testimony and witnessing of past and present
Watch our protests and hear our political discourse
Understand how hard we fought to defend Te Tiriti o Waitangi
How courageous our activists were
Study the institutions we created to protect our language
to educate our people and take care of their well-being
Find out about those who cared for taiao, our whenua, our wai
In the face of constant degradation
Explore the lives of those who struggled to fit in anywhere
Even amongst  us
Whose futures were confiscated by colonisation
Who were raised by the state and whose lives were incarcerated
Visit our urupā and read our gravestones
Pay attention to our ages and ask why
Listen to our tangi
When we were embraced by the cloud of pouritanga
Listen to our laughter
When that cloud had dissipated
We laughed
We cried
We talked
We argued
We thought
We dreamed
We loved
We got sweaty
We got angry
We got sad
We became mad
And we became wise
We went to school and to university
We went to court and to prison
We went to parliament and to medical school
We wrote books and made movies
We played sport
We carried our whakapapa within us
We got up as a people
As whānau, and hāpū and iwi and Māori
Everyday, every year, every millenium



Treat this as a Memorandum
For living 
Let this memorandum reside in your body
As a memory of who you were and who you will become
Live a life that creates new memories
That will add to who we were and who we will become 
Remember
Remember that your ancestors were human beings
They had wairua
They had mana
They did more than survive
Remember