Te Aniwa Honacollating te Tai Tokerau

Tu Tangata, Issue 28, 1 February 1986, Page 25

Te Aniwa Honacollating te Tai Tokerau

Whakapapa = the essence of Maori life. Not only names of our tupuna, but a collection of their life stories. I nga ra o mua, such information was handed down to the ‘chosen ones’ from our tupuna. And it was up to these people to hand it down to the next generation. But things haven't gone according to that plan. Our old people are getting more dubious to talk to this confused generation. So when they die, they take all that valuable knowledge with them.

Consequently, the rangatahi seek out literature hoping to quench their thirst with this knowledge. But, of Tai Tokerau, there is little in the literature line. Ngapuhi is renowned for holding back. The knowledge that was so freely given in the days of our tupuna, is being held and no one knows exactly where to go and get it. Just when you thought it was safe to walk on the streets again, Te Aniwa Bosch appears. She's been hiding in Tai Tokerau since she retired from teaching in 1982. You might as well ask what is she doing up here in the wops. And one thing’s for sure, it’s something that only Ani would attempt. Te Aniwa Hona is collating all of te Tai Tokerau taonga. She will be working under her maori and maiden name to carry out this suicidal feat. By taonga Ani means ‘everything’. Not just whakapapa and waiata, she means the works. Every type of waiata there ever was and is in Tai Tokerau, every single explanation there possibly could be no stone will be left unturned. But why? That famous fast mouth answers before I even finish: “I believe it is imperative that our rangatahi, my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, be allowed free access to their taonga as of right.” Ani says that she has always wanted to do something like this, but she’s just been sitting back, waiting. “I suppose I’ve been waiting for someone with more experience to do it, someone ... male.” But that someone hasn't turned up. and Ani feels that the need is getting more urgent. “The younger generation is screaming out for this knowledge, and I intend

to get it.” Ani is well aware of what is ahead. Being comparatively young and female are two things she can't hide. And she has many fears: fear of being inadequate. fear of trampling, fear of ruining her own reputation. Walking in to a job with these kinds of knockbacks before she's even started shows how crazy she is. She admits it, but “if I don’t do it. who will?”

Ani already has a collection of tapes all filled with waiata, tauparapara, korero, whakatauki. haka and poi, from every corner of Aotearoa. She started taping when she was about 16 years old, and is now at the stage where she never travels without her tape recorder.

Although her first language is maori, Ani was disappointed to move so far away from Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa to realise the importance of Tai Tokerau taonga.

"I went to Victoria University, and learnt the kawa of the marae under the auspices of Ngati Porou, and I am very grateful for that. My daughter went to Waikato University and learnt all their kawa, and that's great. But why must we, the people of Tai Tokerau, move away to learn about te tikanga o te marae? We have so much here, the resources, the people, the land. But we have to re-utilise them all, before everything is lost.”

She sits there, looking tired already. She hasn’t even started on the ground work yet. Then, just when she looked like she was going to flake out, a burst of energy takes over.

“I’ve got to do this because of the demands you young people are putting on us. You’re getting impatient. The only thing is, I can only be as effective as the iwi will use me. If they open up to me, you will learn a great deal. But if there are barriers, then there won’t be much of anything. I am a traditionalist. I believe in the spirituality of our taonga.”

But even after talking to her for over an hour, I still couldn't understand how she could go out into different hapu, and get their pieces of information to make her collection. I mean, the thing about collecting these kinds of things is that they're all very personal. So, how could she pry into someone’s life, background and future?

Well, here’s one for the record, Te Aniwa Bosch could not answer. But it left her with something to think about.