Te take i waihanga tētahi pouako ō-mua ki Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa i te paraka tiakakarete Whittaker’s White Fragility
I te wā i tukuna e Whittaker’s tā rātou paraka tiakarete Mīraka Kirīmi, i muia te pae pāpori e ngā kupu whakatakē i te whakamahinga o te reo me te kī kāre i te tika, he mea whakaiti hoki. Ko tā Israel Tangaroa Birch, pouako ō-mua ki Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, ki te hunga whakahē i te whakamahinga a Whittaker’s i te reo Māori, kia tirohia tō rātou ake he whākī atu ki a rātou, tirohia tō kōpīpītanga kirimā.
E mea ana a Birch, he whakautu tēnei i tētehi raru nui kua roa nei te wā ko Māori mā te papa.
“I hua mai tēnei whakatakē i ngā kupu Māori e rua. Miraka me kirīmi. Ahakoa te aha te kaupapa Māori ka whakanuia, he kaikiri ka puta ki te whakararu i a mātou whakanui”.
I whakamahia e Birch i ōna pūkenga ngahau, tōrangapū hoki ki te tuhi i tana tuhinga. Ko te whakapūaho i tuhia e ia ki tana paeāhua e kī ana, “kua hangaia ki te 100% o te kaikiritanga; nāreira, he tarau iti poke te rongo”.
“Ko te whāinga o tēnei karere hei whakaohorere i te tangata kia maroke hoki ai ngā waha i te whakawhenumitanga o te whakatoi me te tōrangapū”
I horapa whānui te rongo o te pōhi pae pāpori nei, neke atu i te 12,500 ngā pai me te neke atu i te 600 ngā toha. Hei tā Birch, “kāore ia i whakaaro ka pērā rawa te rongonui o te pōhi”, me tana āpiti atu, “he rawe i tautoko mai hoki ētahi tāngata whai hiranga.
“Kua hangaia e te pae pāpori tētahi wāhi e hui ai ngā momo tūtohetohe katoa, mātua rā mō ngā ringawaihanga nō iwi taketake. Kua mātaihia e a au tētāhi panonitanga nui i tō tātou ahurea i ngā tau 10 kua hori. Ko te nuinga o ngā tāngata e whakamānawa ana i āku mahi ko tauiwi. E whakaatu ana tērā ki ahau i te arokore o tēnei reanga taiohi ki te kaikiri, me taku tino hiamo”.
He pouako tawhito a Birch i Toiohi Ki Apiti, ā, i te tau 2020 ka wehe ia i te whare wānanga kia aro pū ki āna mahi toi. E rua ōna taha matua ka ārahi i a ia i āna mahi. Ka tōia te ihimairangi i te taha tuatahi i a Rongo, te atua Māori o te mahinga kai, kātahi i a Tūmatauenga, te atua Māori o te pakanga.
“E ai ki tōku ake tirohanga, ko Tūmatauenga te atua kē o te wero, kaha noa kē i te taha pakanga. I te marae o Tū, ko te wero he mea nui hei whakapakari i te ahurea. I tēnei tuhinga, ko tāku he wero atu ki a rātou e whakahē ana ki te whakamahinga o te reo, kia arotakehia te pūtake o ā rātou whakaaro”.
I pātai atu ahau ki a Birch, “he tāu ki te hunga tuku kupu kino mō te paraka Miraka Kirīmi.
“He aha hei kōrero māku? He hātākēhi ki ahau te mōhio i te wā ka kōrero mātou mō te reo, kāre he kupu hei whakaahua i te hōhonutanga o aua kare-ā-roto. I te mutunga iho, nā te kore ako rātou i noho kūare au. Ka aroha ki a rātou”.
Why an ex-Massey lecturer created the Whittaker’s White Fragility block
When Whittaker’s released their Miraka Kirīmi chocolate block, a wave of backlash flooded social media claiming that the use of te reo Māori was inappropriate and offensive. What Israel Tangaroa Birch, a former Massey University Lecturer, said to those against Whittaker’s use of te reo Māori, was check your white fragility.
Birch says this piece was in response to a problem we’ve always had to face as Māori.
“This artwork came out of the backlash from two Māori words. Miraka and Kirīmi. Whenever we have anything to celebrate in the Māori space, there’s always a racist to kill our party.”
Birch used humour, along with a political message to create the piece. His Instagram post stated, “It’s made from 100% racism; therefore, it tastes like crusty old undies.”
“By mixing humour, and a political message I hoped the piece would catch people off guard, and hopefully leave a literal taste in their mouths.”
The social media post went viral, amassing over 12,500 likes and over 600 shares. Birch says he “wasn’t expecting the post to get so big,” also mentioning some “pretty cool and important people had shown their support”.
“Social media has created a platform for all forms of activism, especially for indigenous creators. I’ve seen a change in our culture over the last ten years. A lot of the people that are showing love to my mahi are non-Māori. It’s showing that our younger generations are over racism, and that's exciting.”
Birch, a former lecturer at Toioho Ki Apiti, stepped away from the University in 2020 to pursue a full-time career in the arts. He has two distinct sides to his practice. One where he pulls inspiration from Rongo, the Māori god of peace, the other where he pulls from Tūmatauenga the Māori god of war.
“I view Tūmatauenga as the god of challenge more than the god of war. Challenge, in the space of Tūmatauenga, is vital for the growth of a culture. With this piece I’m challenging those who oppose the use of te reo to rethink why they think this way.”
I asked Birch what he would say to those commenting negative things about the Miraka Kirīmi block.
“What can you say? It’s funny that when we talk about language, there aren’t any words to describe those feelings. It comes down to a lack of education. I just feel sorry for them.”