Ihimaera - Maori boy : a memoir of childhood

Turi-teretimana (Julia) Keelan married Te Haa-o-Rhia (Tom) Ihimaera Smiler Jnr
they were the parents of

Witi, Kararaina, Thomas, Twhi, Viki, Derek, Gay and Neil

Dads son, of whom we are so proud, is Puke Peawini

(Apologies to whnau for any misspellings, errors, incorrect sequencing of siblings or any other misinterpretations, as sometimes handwriting in the whakapapa is hard to read)

THE FIRST MEMORY I have is of people chanting.

The chanting arises out of complete and utter darkness. Then comes a whistling wind and the sound of flax seed pods, rattling. From somewhere arises a faint glow of red. Next moment the blackness streaks with crimson, and the voices ring out: He mea hanga n te Atua i te tmatanga te rangi me te whenua.

I awake to a red sky, my heart beating with fear. My mother is there, her profile silhouetted against the blood of the dawn. She has been sitting next to me, watching me as I sleep, and because I am frightened she smiles to reassure me. Dont be afraid, son, she says. It is only the old people and they are at their morning prayers.

This element of the sacerdotal, of the sound of karakia and the ceremonials that went with it, was the unvarying constant of my boyhood. I was always surrounded by people at prayer. They shouted their greetings to the day, to the land, to the sky: Ko Ranginui kei runga, ko Papatnuku kei raro. When they planted seed in the earth they prayed. When they went fishing, they prayed. If ever they were about to embark on a journey, they prayed. They said thanksgiving prayers when they were happy. They prayed when they were sad.

The first words I heard in the morning were the prayers at dawn. Throughout the day, karakia kept the structures of the world safe and everything in its place, the sky above, the earth below. The prayers were invocations and entreaties, and I often thought that without them, why, the world might not appear at all. I would cross my fingers and close my eyes, because for a long time I was very afraid of the dark and feared that all humankind would forever have to wander in the blackness.