Being Heard: A Māori Community Narrative

Abstract

This is the story of a yearlong journey with the people at Parihaka, a small rural Māori community near thewestern cape of Te Ika-a-Māui, the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a depiction of their generous acts of reciprocity, their commitment to manaakitanga (hospitality) and their passionate advocacy of the tikanga (values, principles) of their forebears. It is a narration of our work together to create Witnessing Parihaka, a semistaged musical work. It is a portrayal of consultation, collectivism and collaboration between a community, a composer, a poet and the performers and musicians, both Māori and Pākehā. This led to tamariki (children) and pahake (learned elders) travelling from Parihaka to Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland)—New Zealand’s largest city—to perform on stage with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.