About - Ko wai mātou?
Wai - Tai tākina!
Ka hīri ki runga, ko te he toi atua! Ka hīri ki raro, he toi whenua, he toi tangata, he toi oranga. He otinga whakaaro ki a koutou kua pae mai kia kai tahi ai tātau i te kai a te rangatira.
Nāu mai e ngā waka, i mānu mai i te moananui o te ao tukupū ki te tumu herenga kōrero o whakaaro, kia rere te pātai, he aha hoki a Wai - Tai? Ko wai hoki e hautū nei i tēnei waka?
Kāti, he puna waihanga kātahi, ka rua he puna hokinga mahara anō tēnei kaupapa o Wai - Tai. Ehara i a mātau tokorima anake te taonga nei, kei o mātau toto e pūkana mai ana ko ngā kōrero mō te tipuna ko Māui, nānā te moana i kau kia hiia ake ai e ia te ika e noho nei tātau, heke iho ki te tipuna ki a Paikea, i kiia rā ia ko te toa o te moana, i eke tohara mai i Hawaiki ki Ahuahu, oti atu ki Whāngāra, tērā anō hoki te tipuna ko Kahungunu, i eke ngaru ai ia kia toa i a ia te puhi o te motu ko Rongomaiwahine.
Henare Brooking (Ngāti Porou) Tohunga tāmoko.
Koia mātau o Wai - Tai e mea nei he hokinga mahara te kaupapa nei, mēki ko te waka, ko te eke ngaru, ko te ruku moana, ko te awa, he tikanga ēnei tūtohu i ahu mai i te wāhi hohonu o te whatumanawa, kei te tihi o ō mātau whakaaro. Ko te kaupapa nei he ara whakarauora anō i a tātau kōrero, i a tātau pūrakau.
Rangi Rangi (Tauranga Moana) wrapping it.
Ko tō mātau tangata, ko Rāniera Procter (Ngāi Tāmanuhuri) te kauaka o te kupu kōrero ki te ao o nehe, ko te rangatira ko Euan Nelson (Rongomaiwahine) te kairangitāmiro ki te ao ohanga e tipu mātoro ai te kaupapa nei ki tua. Kia huri rā tātau ki te wāhi ki te puna waihanga, kia a rua i te pukenga, rua i te horahora, rua i te atamai, kia ngao matariki te puna waihanga. Ko Maia Gibbs (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri), ko Henare Brooking (Ngāti Porou), ko Rangi Tukunoa (Iwi) tērā i whakapaua o rātau kaha kia mau i a rātau te tapanga o te tohunga ki ngā mahi toi moko, toi māori, toi ataata anō hoki.
L-R Henare Brooking, Maia Gibbs, Rāniera Procter, Euan Nelson, Rangi Tukunoa.
He momo tēnei tokotoru i roto i a rātau mahi, he rapu i te mea ngaro, he rapu i te kura huna o toi e kitea ai he whenua hou. Haere mai e te iwi ki te kaupapa nei o Wai - Tai, ki tana tōmina kia hikoi tatau i te tino rangatiratanga, kia noho ko te kaupapa nei he kaiwhakaū i te mana motuhake. Kei te iri te rahinga atu o te kaupapa nei ki te paeāhua a Wai - Tai Aotearoa. Reheko!
- Translation -
Blessings to one and all. Binding the heavens and the earth through ceremonies of reverence with the changing of the season. We at Wai - Tai celebrate our first year in Nov 2025.
But before we say anything else we wanted to acknowledge sharing this time with you, so wherever you are, we are stoked to share our kaupapa, so let's answer some questions, what is Wai - Tai? Who sits in its drivers seat?
Simply Wai - Tai is a pool of creativity and a deep dive into expression. Wai - Tai reminds us of our traditional stories, and encourages exploration of our stories to find inspiration. In doing so Wai - Tai does not solely belong to the five of us, as we are informed by our shared whakapapa, by our ancestors, the likes of the great Māui who navigated the great pacific ocean to discover the great fish we call commonly the north island of NZ.
Maia Gibbs (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri). Tohunga Moko and part-time model.
We also have stories of our ancestor Paikea, coined the champion of the ocean, who rode a whale here from the homeland Hawaiki. We are also inspired by the famous Kahungunu, who had 8 wives, one of which Rongomaiwahine who was impressed by his wave riding exploits.
This is why we at Wai - Tai say that this kaupapa is informed by the past, by the stories and arts of our tīpuna. The ability to tell stories, to reimagine imagery and play with colour through this medium excites us. We want to bring these alive, make them new and return them to communities that love the ocean, the awa, waka.
Our crew of 5 come from diverse backgrounds.
Euan Nelson (Rongomaiwahine) ripping.
Our brother 7 times National Longboard Champion Rāniera Procter (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri) bring knowledge of the past, our brother Euan Nelson (Rongomaiwahine) blends this knowledge into his deep understanding of business and clothing sales.
We also have the two masters of moko, art and design in Māia Gibbs (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri) and Henare Brooking (Ngāti Porou), they ooze creativity on a bad day, and on a good day break new ground with their designs. Finally our brother Rangi Tukunoa (Tauranga Moana) brings his rich experiences in film, television and eye for style.
We welcome you all to this kaupapa Wai - Tai, to its hopes and aspirations.
We look forward to creating garments that are inspired by the taiao, by te ao Māori. Stuff that looks cool, feel nice and encourages us to walk with rangatiratanga, to imbue Mana Motuhake.
If you want to know more give us a follow
@ Wai - Tai Aotearoa on Instagram.
Where we drop lots of content, whakaaro, koha and give aways.
Let's go!
Words by Rāniera Procter - 7x National Longboard Champion and Wai Tai co-founder.