Te hiwiroa o tō waka, kua whati. Kua tata koe ki a Ngahiraka- mai Tawhiti, ki ngā au piki mē ngā au heke o Te Aurere, e aue atu nei, e rere atu nei. Haere rā e Koro te mana o ngā tīpuna, te puhi o Mataatua. Ka taupoki te waka ki raro rā e ka taupoki.
He Toki uriuri ki te toki, e arorangi nui ana ki ngā whetu i tātaia e ia, e tika ai te rere o ngā waka ki runga i a Tangaroa whakamau tai, mē ngā hau puangiangi a Tāwhirimātea, e kimi ana te tohunga nei i tana Hawaiki.
Sir Hekenukumai-ngā-iwi Puhipi (Hector Busby) was a master waka builder/navigator who built bridges, literally and figuratively, across the Pacific and more recently into Europe using the traditional waka art form and practise to bring people together (heke-nuku-mai-ngā-iwi). Hek created over thirty waka during his life time.
He was part of the Toi Māori network of Ngā Waka Federation and served on this committee for several years and was involved in many projects with Toi Māori. The use of his ceremonial waka taua Te Ika a Maui, to take ‘Māori Art to the World’ had an iconic impact in San Francisco 2005 and in Valencia 2007.
His creation of the ceremonial waka taua, Te Hono ki Aotearoa as part of a commission for Toi Māori, was handed over in an elaborate ritual ceremony to the Volkenkunde Museum in Leiden, Netherlands in October 2010. Te Hono ki Aotearoa has seen active use on the River Thames in London in 2011 for the London Festival and again 2012 during the Queens Diamond Jubilee where 1000 vessels were on the River Thames, representing the Commonwealth. In October 2017 Te Hono ki Aotearoa waka was part of the 100th commemorations of the ‘Battle of Passchendaele’ in Belgium.
Hector was truly a magnificent man and all his waka he created will live on and will always be known as the man who built bridges to bring people together.
Tamahou Temara
Toi Māori Operations Manager
