TATAI HONO, the extraordinary series that reconnects people with their Maori origins, returns for a third season, premiering on Māori Television Monday January 28 at 8.00 PM.
Watch as seven different people embark on fascinating journeys to discover their family roots. TATAI HONO combines the hopes, fears and loves of ordinary folk with the intrigue of uncovering secret tales and forgotten links.
It’s an endearing rediscovery series where people who feel disconnected from their roots get an opportunity to explore their history, tribal affiliations, language and tikanga with the help of experienced researchers.
“Viewers will be able to gain the tools and the inspiration to begin their own journey or understand what it is to be disconnected from iwi Maori,” says Bryn Evans of Blue Bach Productions, the makers of the series.
“We have included interviews with kaumatua and kuia, aspects of whakapapa, debate about what it is to be a Māori today and the hopes and fears of those taking the leap and making the long journey home.”
In this, the third series of TATAI HONO, the programme travels throughout Aoteaora searching for people’s links with their tupuna. Those who are searching range in age from 24-56 and include those who have little knowledge of the Māori world, to one who is a native speaker well versed in whakapapa.
Meet the seven participants:
Anaru Thomas: Anaru was born and bred in Porirua, a stongly multicultural community. As a young man, Anaru felt he didn’t quite fit in and couldn’t identify why. Although his parents split when he was younger, his grandparents held the extended family together. When they passed on, he felt like his ties were slowly being cut. Anaru follows his grandmother’s whakapapa from Porirua to the East Coast and makes some surprising discoveries along the way
Hailee Kareko: Auckland’s Hailee Kareko is a focused 24 year old who lives for her sports. But while her days are full, she feels her soul is not nourished in the big city. Hailee was brought up living beside her father’s marae in Kaeo and she and her partner decide to make the journey north when they discover she is pregnant – just in time for the worst flooding the area has seen.
Taikawa Savage: After a life of hard knocks and feeling as if she had been abandoned, 53 year old Taikaawa Savage of Auckland travelled to Kaikohe to discover family she’d never met before. Taikaawa’s birthmother and most of her close whanau have passed on but she was to meet her uncle Pakihana who was able to share with her many details of her background including the meaning of her name.
Sam Kahui: Hamilton’s Sam Kahui began looking for his whakapapa several years ago spurred on by the interest of his sons. He’s a 52 year old father of four, including top rugby player, Richard Kahui. Sam has a lot on his hands; caring for his aged father and studying at Waikato University. Sam, with his sons, Alan and Richard, find their way back to his marae at Hangatiki.
Theona Ireton: Theona Ireton was adopted into a pakeha whanau as a baby and always felt like she was the odd one out. When the 43 year old began looking for her birthparents, Theona’s birthmother did not want to know her and she discovered her Maori father had died as a young man. She went home to Kaungaroa marae just outside of Wanganui and discovered that finding blood relatives is the just the start of a whole new chapter in her life.
Ronald Hou Poti: Ron has been the kaikorero for the Tatai Hono programme since it began in 2005 helping many people re-connect with their whakapapa. Ron was a whangai (adopted) who is now looking to fill the gaps in his own whakapapa. After speaking with his aunties, Ron is looking for his family connections with their Irish ancestors and begins by going to see his cousin Professor Patu Hohepa.
Wiremu Earnshaw: Wiremu Earnshaw of Tokoroa has spent several months searching for the links tying his mother’s family together. However, after several months of searching, Wiremu has a change of heart and decided to withdraw from the programme.
Join Māori Television for these extraordinary stories with the TATAI HONO series premiere, Monday January 28 at 8.00 PM.
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