Matua Kahurangi: Enough of this rāhui bullsh*t

When did iwi decide who can and can’t fish?

Over the weekend, the Otago Daily Times ran a story with the headline “Rāhui in place after body found on Wairau Bar.” Curious, I Googled the Wairau Bar and found it is in Marlborough. Sure enough, Stuff also carried the same story.

Stuff quoted a post made by local iwi on Facebook:

“In recognition of this mate, and to support the whānau pani, a rāhui was placed on Sunday morning by representatives from Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Ngāti Rārua.”

The Otago Daily Times went further, reporting that the rāhui “covers an area from the Ōpaoa and Wairau River confluence to the Wairau River mouth and prohibits the collecting of food and anyone entering the water.”

That word “prohibits” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It makes it sound like a legal ban, as though iwi now hold legislative power to dictate who can fish, dive or swim in our waters. A rāhui has no legal standing. It is a cultural practice, not law. No one can actually stop you from going about your day, whether that’s fishing, collecting seafood, or going for a swim.

When did Māori iwi become the arbiters of who may and may not enter the water? Two hundred years ago, when food was scarce and survival depended on gathering kai from the sea, would the same blanket bans have been placed? If someone drowned, was the whole coastline suddenly closed off to the hapū and iwi who relied on it to eat?

Of course, everyone should respect grieving families. However, there is a difference between mourning and dictating. Wrapping prohibition in cultural language does not change the fact that rāhui is not legally enforceable.

I’ve got a few questions for the iwi:

• When is the iwi going to start putting a rāhui on carparks where teenagers are beaten to death?

• When is the iwi going to start putting a rāhui on train tracks when someone throws themselves in front of a locomotive?

• When is the iwi going to start putting a rāhui on hotels where overdoses happen?

• When is the iwi going to start putting a rāhui on prisons every time an inmate hangs themselves?

• When is the iwi going to start putting a rāhui on schools where children take their own lives?

• When is the iwi going to start putting a rāhui on homes where Māori children are murdered?

Enough of the pretence. If you want to swim, fish, or dive, that is your right. Following a rāhui is not respect, it is bending the knee to tribal rule.

Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.