Mānawatia a Matariki hangi

Nothing brings people of all cultures together better than food. And recently, we had five hundred servings of kai prepared for our staff in what was Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley’s very first Mānawatia a Matariki hangi.

The hangi, which took place at Tapu te Ranga Marae in Island Bay, consisted of pork, lamb, chicken, potato, kumara, pumpkin, cabbage, and plant-based chicken.

A group effort involving Allied Health, Whānau Care Services, Security and Orderlies, Spotless and Communications, got together to dig, light the fire, put the kai in, bring it out and deliver it to Wellington Regional Hospital.

Allied Health Social Worker Rob Sarich, who got everything going by lighting up the fire at 5am, said everything went to plan on the day.

“We had a karakia first, all the elements came together, the wind picked up at the right time which gave the fire some life, so yeah everything went well.”

Although the kai was always going to make many people’s bellies happy, Rob said the hangi was truly about showcasing the significance of Matariki – connections through korero and kai.

“This hangi was about bringing people together at a time of Matariki, and Matariki is about bringing people together, staying connected and having a kai and feeding our physical tinana, and our wairua. It is a way we can express ourselves in relation to keeping alive one of our most ancient art forms and having people support and help in it as well.

“But this is also about acknowledging what we’re doing and who we’re doing it for. I think this really is once again showcasing us as Māori in the Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley space where we want to be able to contribute. And again this is what this is all about; the connections, the hononga, meeting people, talking to people, and we want to be uniquely Māori in that space as well.”

Rob said the food, “looked really good and tasted even better”.

“Shout out to our Spotless whānau who bought the kai to us. They did a magnificent job.”

Watch this video of the hangi being lit up with the kai going in and being taken out.