Build a bridge! (Vaima'anga Rarotonga)

Taka’i koe ki te papa enua,

Akamou i te pito enua

A’u i to’ou rangi

As you step onto the surface of the land

Fasten the umbilical cord

Carve out your world.

(Ani et al., 2012, p. 9)

Vaima'anga Church, Rarotonga. Sitting next to a bridge built by great grandfather Teatuairo Terei, great grandmother Vai Terei and other SDA leaders from Titikaveka into forced labour 1800's. Their names were written under the bridge.

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Ko Wai Au/ Who am I?

Mr. Frederick Moss, another British resident sent to “help” Māori in the Cook Islands, attempted to enforce a new law that worship should be on a Sunday, in alignment with LMS. Some of the local leaders from the village of Titikaveka, Rarotonga stood in disagreement to this proposed law. Teatuairo Terei and his wife Vai, were part of this group of Seventh Day Adventist (S.D.A) leaders. At this point in time, the S.D.A movement had already established itself on the island, and Moss wanted to make an example of the London Missionary Society superiority. Teatuairo and Vai, refused to follow Moss and as a result were forced into labour and made to build a walk-over bridge in the neighbouring village of Ngatangiia.

There punishment was a public display of what would happen if you disobeyed. Shame, disappointment and loss were also part of the control tactics used on Māori.  Much to the dismay of the London Missionary Society, Moss had failed to consider the international dateline (Scott, 1991, p. 65). No apology has been made to this day. 

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This story titled "build a bridge" is wrought with pain and shame. It stirs up emotions of anger and sorrow, it is not an isolated story, there are countless other stories waiting to be told. Two centuries on, communities around the world are metaphorically "building this bridge".

Sharing stories is an indigenous approach to passing on knowledge, learning from the past, understanding the context and day from which our tupuna (ancestors) lived and how you choose to be in response.

'Ei Moana is one of my responses to this story, I think about the stance that great grand parents Teatuairo and Vai made, the courage it would have taken to go against the grain of western society, the shame they would have endured from authority and potentially members in the village and family. But they chose to stand up for something that they believed was being taken away from them. In their standing they drew a clear line in the sand that they were not going to be told what to do, when and how on their land anymore. I hope to resemble the mana of Teatuairo and Vai to have courage in the face of adversity, hope in the face of hopelessness and quiet assurance in the turmoil of madness.

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The 1800's holds a myriad of experiences for islanders, one of the greatest changes was brought about with the arrival of traders, missionaries, and British representatives . What can we take away from these stories embedded in out past?

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