kani te manukura
kani te manukura. ngāi tūhoe. hunter/gatherer/grower/cook/storyteller. kani lives a life of quiet rebellion in a small seaside town. this is both better and worse than it sounds. kani also finds writing about himself in the third person quite odd.
manukura comments: ‘these words came to me whilst on pilgrimage to te pōrere, where te kooti, māori geurilla resistance leader & prophet of te haahi ringatu, fought the last major battle of the colonial invasion of aotearoa in October 1869. 37 of his warriors were killed at te pōrere and buried in one spot at the site. while i was there i had to persuade an English tourist not to camp on top of their grave.
‘i’m sure that all has something to do with it, but like most of the words that come out of the wīwī-wāwā and through me, i don’t really know what “te pōrere” is about. i don’t see it as my role to make up meanings, that’s a game for the reader to play’
