15 June 2018
Ten youth from Ngāti Manu will be travelling to Taiwan this August as part of a Hawaiki Nui Project Cultural Exchange
initiative between the indigenous tribal people of Taiwan and Ngāti Manu hapū of the Bay of Islands. The project is a
joint venture between the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan and Hawaiki Nui Ltd.
Ngāti Manu hapū will be welcoming Taiwanese Indigenous MP, Kolas Yotaka for the second time to the Karetu Marae on
Sunday the 17th of June. The Taiwanese Minister’s visit is the culmination of a close relationship that has been
developed between Ngāti Manu and the Indigenous People of Taiwan.
"It has been an amazing journey based upon our traditional relationships" says hapū spokesperson Mr Arapeta Hamilton.
"Our ancestors travelled the whole of the Pacific Ocean, Te Moana Nui o Kiwa and it’s that pathway that we will be
exploring with our Taiohi. Whanaungatanga and relationship building is the key to what this journey will entail.” says
Mr Hamilton.
The Hon. Kolas Yotaka will be announcing this weekend, those successful Taiohi who will be travelling to Taiwan in
August this year. They will be staying for 10 days and will be hosted by the Taiwanese Government and the Council of
Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan.
“It is this unique cultural interaction between Ngāti Manu youth and their Taiwanese relatives that will bode well for
the future” says Mr Hamilton.
ENDS