He pakipūmeka i whakaata i a te Ati Awa me te tohunga whakairo a Rangi Hetet i hanga ētahi waka i Te Whanganui-ā-Tara.
The documentary recounts the carving of two waka at Waiwhetū Marae to mark 150 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Āniwaniwa and Te Raukura were carved in 1989, along with a small waka tētē named Te Rerenga, under the tutelage of tohunga whakairo Rangi Hetet. It contains archival footage that Rangi Hetet filmed during the process of creating the waka.
Te Rira Puketapu, Erenora Puketapu-Hetet, Rangi Hetet, and Sam Hauwaho reflect on the significance of the 9 month project. The tohu of a matuku that was visible during the felling and the carving of a large totara tree. A group of men carved the waka under the tutelage of Rangi Hetet, who first came to this rohe to help carve the whare Arohanui ki te Tangata at Waiwhetū Marae in 1958. Hetet speaks of the need for the carving to represent the people of Te Āti Awa.
The waka to be housed at Waiwhetu was named Te Āniwaniwa. The other waka, for the people of Wellington and wider Aotearoa was destined to head into Wellington city and named Te Raukura. Both waka were launched into the harbour for the first time in the early hours of the 10th of December 1989. Erenora and Te Rira reflect on the unity of people and the revival of waiata and tikanga that came with the building of the waka. With the remaining wood, a small waka tētē was built for tamariki to learn the waka traditions.
Produced by Rangi Hetet, Erenora Puketapu-Hetet and Robin Greenberg, this film made official selection for the New Zealand International Film Festival and the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film and Video Festival.
Features a waiata poi performed by
Ngapera Moehau
Potiki Puketapu
Lillian Hetet Owen
Erenora Puketapu-Hetet