Ko te wai te ora o ngā mea katoa. Water is the life giver of all things.
Water New Zealand Waiora Aotearoa is proud to once again tautoko and support Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. This year, the week long event will be held over 11th–17th of Mahuru September 2023. We are acknowledging this years event by producing a poster that highlights ‘Te Waiora – the life giving waters’.
All waters originate at the puna, the source / spring, and flow continuously within te hurihanga wai / the water cycle, carrying life giving properties – not only to the taiao but to the animals, and people within.
The waiora from above, rain down from the skies of Ranginui through the forever changing winds of Tāwhirimātea, before falling on the mountaintops of Hineparimaunga, and the ngahere of Tane Mahuta. These continue on flowing overland, forming the cloaking waterways of Papatūānuku.
The waiora from below springs up from the underground source where it joins the flowing waters of Parawhenuamea and Hine te Wairere. These waters carve through and transform valleys, transversing the creeks, streams, and rivers to the nuturing wetlands of Hine te Repo, and residing out to the great oceans of Tangaroa and Hine Moana.
As the tūpuna of tomorrow, our greatest obligation is to sustain the life force of our future mokopuna. It is important that we protect and enhance not only Waiora, but the source of these life giving waters – the puna of the sky, the puna of the land, and the puna of people.
Ka ora te puna, ka ora te waiora
Ka mate te puna, ka mate te katoa