Wānanga Matariki: Matariki Herenga WakaWānanga Matariki: Sharing Experience and Wisdom

Name: Wānanga Matariki: Matariki Herenga Waka
Location: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Ka wānanga ngā kaumoana o Ngahiraka-Mai-Tawhiti mō te whakatere waka – te nehe, te nāianei, me te anamata.

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The Ngahiraka-Mai-Tawhiti crew kōrero about waka voyaging – past, present, and future.

When | Āhea

Wed 24 Jun 2026, 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Where | Ki hea

Rongomaraeroa, the marae, Level 4

Cost | Te utu

Free, with museum entry
Booking is recommended

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
Variable lighting

Book now

Ko Matariki Herenga Waka te kaupapa whakanui o tēnei tau, ka toroa te kauae runga tuku iho tērā e kawe ana e ngā waka, mō ngā whakaterenga tumu herenga tāngata.

He waka hourua tuku iho a Ngahiraka-Mai-Tawhiti i tāraia rā e Tā Hekenukumai Ngāiwi Busby tērā e kawe tonu ana i te mātauranga whakatere tuku iho ā ngā wheinga mā ngā pōkai moana roa, te whakangungu, te whakawhiti ahurea, mā te whakamahi i ngā tikanga whakatere tuku iho.

I roto i tēnei wānanga motuhake, ka whakapuakina e ngā kaumoana o Ngahiraka-Mai-Tawhiti me Te Kura Waka te mātauranga mō te whakamāuitanga ake o ngā waka hourua, ā, ka huritao hoki ki te āhua e ārahi nei e te reanga whakatere hou i ngā waka mā tētahi taiao.

Ngā kaikōreroSpeakers

**Tainui Stephens** (Te Rarawa) is one of Aotearoa’s most respected Māori screen storytellers. His career spans over four decades in film, television, and cultural leadership. A skilled producer, director, and presenter, Tainui has created and shaped hundreds of hours of programming. He is widely recognised for his ability to weave powerful narratives that reflect the richness of te ao Māori. He is committed to te reo Māori and to ensuring our stories are told authentically and with integrity across all platforms.
He began his broadcasting journey in 1984, and played a pivotal role in bringing Māori perspectives to television. He contributed to landmark programmes such as *Koha*, *Waka Huia*, *Marae*, *Mai Time,* and *The New Zealand Wars*. As a film producer he has helped bring films like *River Queen*, *The Dead Lands*, *Whina,* and *Holy Days* to the big screen. He is part of a small Ōtaki whānau team that has been running the internationally recognised Māoriland Film Festival since 2014.
As a facilitator, Tainui brings warmth, insight, cultural knowledge, and a capacity to guide meaningful kōrero. He likes to create spaces where people can engage thoughtfully with kaupapa Māori. Tainui continues to champion the role of the indigenous storyteller in the modern era. He enjoys working in a wide range of genre and content and is personally attracted to compelling stories that critique and celebrate the human condition.

**Manihera Forbes** (Tainui) is a kaiwhakatere from Whaingaroa, dedicated to keeping the traditions of waka hourua navigation alive for future generations. As the lead of Ngaa Mata a Karewa, he works at the forefront of a growing resurgence of Pacific voyaging knowledge – bringing navigation practices onto the moana through hands-on learning, wānanga, and voyaging experiences.
His navigation journey has been shaped through learning alongside some of the Pacific’s most respected voyaging leaders, including the late Sir Hekenukumai Busby, master navigator Nainoa Thompson, and PWO navigator Jack Thatcher. These teachings continue to inform his approach to celestial navigation, ocean knowledge, and indigenous wayfinding.
Through Ngaa Mata a Karewa, Manihera mentors emerging navigators in star compass learning, reading the movements of the moana, and reconnecting with the environmental knowledge systems carried by Pacific ancestors for generations. Known for his engaging kōrero and experiential teaching style, he brings navigation to life in ways that connect people back to whakapapa, the natural world, and the enduring spirit of Pacific voyaging.

**Hinerapa Rupuha** (Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Whānau a Apanui) is a passionate advocate for te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori, with a deep commitment to cultural revitalisation and empowerment. Raised within Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori, she carries strong foundations in Te Aho Matua, grounding her work in a holistic Māori worldview that centres language, identity, and whanaungatanga.
Hinerapa is highly regarded for her expertise in Māori language education and cultural capability, holding both Te Pīnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi and Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, prestigious qualifications that reflect excellence and mastery in te reo Māori. She has worked extensively across education, advisory, and facilitation spaces, supporting organisations and communities to authentically embed te reo and tikanga Māori into their practice.
Hinerapa is a dedicated practitioner of traditional navigation. As a trained celestial navigator, she draws on ancestral knowledge of the stars, ocean, and environment, and has completed significant voyages across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, embodying the resilience, discipline, and intergenerational knowledge of her tūpuna.
Grounded in te ao Māori and driven by a strong sense of purpose, Hinerapa brings depth, authenticity, and inspiration to her work as a facilitator, educator, and leader – uplifting others to reconnect with knowledge systems, language, culture, and identity.

**Tamahau Tangitu** (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Hauā) is a practitioner of mātauranga Māori and a respected leader within the kaupapa waka community, with a deep connection to the moana, traditional voyaging, and cultural revitalisation. Raised in Tauranga Moana, his life has long been grounded in waka, whakapapa, and the teachings of his tūpuna.
Tamahau began his journey in kaupapa waka at the age of eight aboard the waka taua Tākitimu under the guidance of his uncle, Kiritoha Tangitu. In 2011, he began training in traditional sailing under Jack Thatcher and has since been part of *Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti* from its earliest voyages. He later continued his studies in celestial navigation through Te Kura Waka o Ngā Kurī a Tarawhata, the school of traditional navigation.
Drawing on celestial and environmental knowledge, Tamahau is dedicated to the continuation of ancestral voyaging traditions across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. As commercial skipper of Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti and kaitiaki of the waka taua Tākitimu, he is committed to strengthening and passing on traditional waka knowledge to future generations.
Alongside his work on the moana, Tamahau is also a passionate kaiako of mau rākau, supporting rangatahi and communities to strengthen their identity, discipline, and connection to te ao Māori. Through his leadership, he continues to inspire others to reconnect with culture, whakapapa, and the enduring knowledge of their tūpuna.

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Matariki: The Māori New Year
Learn all about Matariki and see our events. Matariki is a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.
Mānawatia a Matariki
Celebrate Matariki – the beginning of the New Year in Aotearoa New Zealand, marked by the rising of the Matariki star cluster.
Open now
23 Apr - 19 Jul 2026
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Manu Rere Moana
The navigation of the Pacific by waka hourua | double-hulled sailing waka is one of the great achievements of human technology. This exhibition celebrates the mātauranga of celestial navigation that enabled these extraordinary voyages.
On now
Long-term exhibition
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Wānanga Matariki: Matariki Herenga WakaWānanga Matariki: Sharing Experience and Wisdom

Ngā kaikōreroSpeakers

Kei mahue ko ērā atu hui! Kia mau tonu ki ngā pānui i Te Papa

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