He Maumahara o Pāruru | A Reflection of Pāruru
What does it mean to be Chinese in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand?
A contribution to this month’s New Zealand Chinese Association (NZCA) Canterbury Branch reflecting on my experience to Te Tai Tokerau with other young New Zealand Chinese.* Pāruru, a cultural trip for young Chinese New Zealanders, was organised by alumni of the NZCA Leadership and Development Conference with support from the NZCA.
He Maumahara o Pāruru
Ko Sidney Gig-Jan Wong tōku ingoa. He uri ahau nō Haina ki te tonga. Ko Szeyap, Tungkwoon, rātou ko Fatsaan ōku ūkaipō. Nō Hong Kong ōku mātua. I whānau mai au i Te Awakairangi ki Tai, engari, kei Ōtautahi ahau e noho ana e tēkau mā tahi ngā tau. He mema hou o te Kāhui Haina-Mana o Aotearoa ahau.
I haere mātou ki te haerenga wairua i te tīmata o Hui-Tanguru. Ko Pāruru te ingoa Māori o te haerenga nei. Ko te tikanga o tēnei ingoa hei whakatā te wāhi. He taitamariki Haina-Mana nō Aotearoa mātou katoa. I tae mai Te Tai Tokerau e mātou. E rua ngā take mō tēnei haerenga wairua. Nā te tāhuhu kōrero te take tuatahi nei.
Kua tae mai ērā Haina-Mana ki Aotearoa i te wā o koura. He uri rātou ngā kāinga rerekē o Haina ki te tonga. Ko te aituā, kua mate etāhi tangata. Ko te tikanga Haina-Mana, kia nehua ngā tangata mate kei ō tātou ūkaipō. Nō reira, i tukunā ngā tangata mate ki Haina. Ko tētahi kaipuke ko te SS Ventnor. I te tau 1902, i totohu te kaipuke ki tai o Hokianga kei hoki ana ki Haina. Koinei te okiokinga o te SS Ventnor.
I pai ai, ko ētahi kōiwi i tīkina e ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, ā, i nehua ērā kōiwi e ngā mana whenua kei rātou urupā i muri tata mai. Nō reira, e hiahia ana mātou ki te whakamihi ngā haukāinga, ko ngā hapū o Te Roroa, rāua, ko Te Rarawa, i ō rātou manaakitanga me kaitiakitanga. Me te aha anō, e hiahia ana mātou ki te mihi i ō tātou hononga motuhake. I haere mātou ki ngā wāhi maumahara, ā, i karakia mātou i te maumahara ō mātou tīpuna. I tahuna ngā whakakakara, ā, i whakaherea ngā ka i reira. I noho mātou kei ngā marae. Ko Te Whakamaharatanga, rāua ko Mātihetihe ngā ingoa o ēnei marae.
Ko te take tuarua, e mōhio ana mātou ēnei pātai e rua, he aha te ahurea tuakiri o Haina-Mana kei Aotearoa, ā, he aha te kaupapa o Tangata Tiriti mō Haina-Mana i tēnei wā. Ko wai au? He aha tōku ahurea? Kei hea tōku turangawaewae? Ko ēnei pātai i whakaaro ahau i te wā tipu ake. Engari, ehara i te mea ko au anake. I tēnei hearenga wairua, i kata mātou, i tangi mātou, i kōrero mātou. He wheako motuhake tēnei.
回顧「飲水思源」
我個名係黃吉贊。我個鄉下喺四邑,東莞,同埋佛山。我嘅爸爸媽媽來至香港。我喺威靈頓出生,但係,住喺基督城已經十年有多。我係紐西蘭華聯總會嘅成員。
今年二月頭,我哋一班年青人力行一個心靈之旅。呢個旅程喺毛利語命名「Pāruru」,有安息之所嘅意思。我哋全部都係紐西蘭嘅華裔年青人。我哋喺呢個旅程遊往紐西蘭嘅北區為咗探討兩個目的。我而家想同大家分享我哋嘅經驗。
諗起往時,數以千計嘅華人來到紐西蘭尋金。佢哋大部分都源於喺嶺南唔同嘅來源地。可惜,有啲人尋金時突然離世。喺嶺南傳統,人過身之後,遺體應該運返鄉下安葬。所以住喺紐西蘭嘅華裔社團安排啲仙人回歸家鄉。因為咁個原因,有啲有心人租用一艘船叫「SS Ventnor」噯嚟運送大概五百具遺體返鄉下。世事難料,喺一九零二年分呢艘船離開紐西蘭時遇到暗礁然後沉喺 Hokianga 海域。「SS Ventnor」嘅船員同埋五百具遺體迷失大海。
好彩,住喺海域旁邊嘅原居民聽到消息之後去到海灘收起沖上岸嘅骸骨,然後安葬喺佢哋嘅墓地。係咁個原因,我哋想感謝啲原居民,命名「Te Roroa」同埋「Te Rarawa」 ,咁多年來對我哋啲祖先嘅關懷同埋照顧。我哋亦都想認知我哋嘅特別關係。我哋喺呢個旅程探訪有紀念價值嘅地方為咗懷念同埋拜祭。每一處都裝香同埋恭奉我哋嘅合體祖先。我哋亦都瞓喺原居民嘅傳統住宿類似我哋嘅祠堂。
呢個旅程亦都有另一個原因。第二個原因係因為我哋想討論兩個問題:我哋點樣可以表達我哋嘅紐西蘭華裔身份象徵,同埋我哋點樣可以支持紐西蘭啲原居民。我哋亦都諗諗究竟點可以表達我哋嘅集體紐西蘭華裔身份象徵。雖然呢啲問題好複雜,但係參加完呢個旅程我哋醒起我哋唔晒自己一個人孤零零聯想呢個問題。我哋喺呢個心靈之旅一齊笑,一齊喊,一齊傾計。呢個旅程真係一個特別嘅經驗。
A reflection of Pāruru
My name is Sidney Wong. I trace my ancestry to the counties of Szeyap, Tungkwoon, and Fatsaan. My parents are from Hong Kong. I was born in Lower Hutt, but I’ve lived in Christchurch for nearly ten years. I’m a member of the NZCA.
In February, I went on a trip organised by NZCA members. The name of this trip was Pāruru in te reo Māori which means ‘a place of shelter’. The group was made up of young New Zealanders of Chinese-descent. We went to Northland with two aims in mind – and I want to share with you my experience.
The story of Pāruru begins in the time of the Gold Rush when many Chinese men came to New Zealand. Most of these men came from the counties and villages across Southern China. Unfortunately, some of these men passed away in search of gold. According to Chinese tradition, when a person passes away, their remains should be buried in their ancestral lands. It was for this reason, the Chinese in New Zealand at the time organised ways to repatriate their remains. After the first successful trip, the Chinese community hired a boat named the SS Ventnor to repatriate approximately 500 remains to their homelands. Unfortunately, the SS Ventnor struck a reef as it was leaving New Zealand in 1902. It eventually sank - taking the crew and its precious cargo to the depths of the Hokianga.
In light of this terrible incident, hapū (subtribe) heard of the news and they went to the beach and collected the remains which washed up ashore. They later buried these remains in their urupā (cemetery). Therefore, our first aim of this journey was to thank hapū of Te Roroa and Te Rarawa for their thoughtfulness and for their continued care of these precious remains. We also wanted to acknowledge our special relationship with tangata whenua (indigenous people of New Zealand). On the trip, we went to different sites of significance to pay our respects. We offered incense at each site. We also stayed at marae.
The other purpose of the trip was for us, as young New Zealand Chinese, to come together and discuss two recurring questions: What does it mean to be Chinese in contemporary New Zealand? And, how do we support tangata whenua as Chinese in New Zealand? We also talked about how we can authentically express our New Zealand Chinese identities. Even though these are difficult questions, we knew after this trip that we don’t need to struggle alone. On this trip we laughed, we cried, and we shared ideas. This was definitely a trip to remember.
For more information about Pāruru, visit the website: https://www.paruru.nz/
*All errors are my own.
Related Media
Remembering History: Chinese New Zealanders honor gold miner ancestors (CGTN in English)
Chinese New Zealanders make special trip to Northland to honour SS Ventnor history (NZ Herald in English)
华裔青年重游百年沉船故地,感受毛利人与华人的联结 [Young Chinese people revisit the site of a centuries-old shipwreck and feel the connection between Maori and Chinese] (RNZ in Simplified Chinese)
What happened at Waitangi (NZGeographic in English)
On Sunday, 21 April 2024, NZCA members will share their experiences of Pāruru. In the presentation, the members will talk about the history of the SS Ventnor and our special relationship with Māori in the Hokianga. They will also facilitate a discussion on "What does it mean to be Chinese in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand".