Shock on Awanui Black allegations of abuse impossible to measure

Aue! For all that has been said about the death of Awanui Black, the pain became sharper last week

The tangi in 2016 was huge

Black's whakapapa led to a number of iwi but Tauranga was at home.

There, Ngati Pukenga welcomed some 9000 mourners who came to express their sadness

Black was 48 years old. His casket was worn by Judge Joe Williams and Maori party leader Te Ururoa Flavell. His eldest son, Kohutapu, spoke in a way that everyone agreed to pay homage to his father, a man who had accomplished in a fraction of the promise that a complete life.

Then, last week, his wife Anihera Zhou Black that Black, a teacher and a leader, had sexually assaulted children and died of "suicide by alcohol" after a series of cases.

While Zhou Black has alleged a "pedophile ring", at this point she says that she bears the name of a single victim – now an adult – who says she was sexually assaulted at the same time. 8 years old.

Aue! The shock among those who knew him is impossible to measure.

The degree of shock is barely noticeable without a measure of the man who would have been so tall.

Te Awanuiārangi Black was born in Auckland, Scotland. New Zealander Milton Black and his wife Mary Oke Topa, Bay of Abundance

Thanks to his mother, he would go whakapapa to Nga Puhi, Ngāti Whatua, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngati Rangi Nui and Ngāti Pūkenga Ngai Te Rangi

. The stranglehold of colonization is loosening thanks to the determination of personalities such as the work of MP Matiu Rata in Parliament and the earthly hikoi of Lady Whina Cooper in 1975.

When he was a teenager, the court of Waitangi had been created and his mandate extended. The Maori Language Commission was established in 1987 when Black lived in Glen Avon, Auckland, at Avondale College.

Pouroto Ngaropo – reo leader at Maori Television – lived with Black and his father and remembers his best friend's determination to continue his legacy.

There was a thirst, a thirst for knowledge, that could never be satisfied. Ngaropo, who met Black when he was 12, spoke of their common desire to learn Maori – the Maori world – and what it meant to be Maori.

It was a hunger of his time. Te Ururoa Flavell said that Black was a child of the Renaissance, as this period was called. "It was like an absorbing sponge tikanga and korero and history wherever he went."

Flavell was talking years later, but that was as true of the black teenager.

Ngaropo remembers how difficult it was to connect. "At that time, it was really hard to have a total immersion around you all the time."

And so, when they walked through the Shoreham Street door, Black insisted that you be reconciled

for school, formed close ties with Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland and learned everything he could from Sir Pita Sharples.

Ngaropo says that Black wanted to acquire and pass on knowledge that led him to the teacher training school. He laughs at remembering Black's spirituality and his dedication to Maoritanga even saw his friend leading karakia into the living room at home before going out to nightclub.

Ngaropo introduced Black to Anihera Zhou, his future wife. "Awa was really shy but he really admired Ani."

They met and later they got married. Five children will eventually follow.

As the training school was coming to an end, it was a cultural trip to Abondance Bay that marked their course. Ngaropo said that Black had gone to his marae – Te Whetū-o-Te Rangi – and that it was clear that he was wanted there.

"We decided we would go home and take our knowledge."

Former Waitangi court director Buddy Mikaere (Ngati Pukenga and Ngati Ranginui) talks about Black's "incredible knowledge".

Not only does he search the archives, but he also looks for the elderly who have oral history.

"By acquiring this knowledge, he connected it to the landscape and had a very good knowledge of the whakapapa.

In studying history, he studied tikanga. While studying tikanga, he interpreted the story and transported the customs to modern New Zealand in a way that linked this past to the present.

It was a knowledge that bridged the gaps and gave depth and richness to a culture that fought against over 150 years of marginalization.

Mikaere recalls questions about how to conduct certain ceremonies. "And Awa would have this knowledge: in the absence of that kind of knowledge, it became like that."

In 2000, the Black Whanau settled in Otaki while he was working as a lecturer at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, passing on his knowledge. His role was such that he was commissioner to the Maori Language Commission and helped write the first Maori dictionary.

At that time, he was barely in his thirties and was considered a rising future leader.

"driving force" was associated with blacks by those who spoke in many areas – his revival and excellence in Maori armament and tū taua, his dedication to kapa haka and his organization that saw the emergence of the world. huge shows.

at Gate Pa in 2014 to the governor general and the Maori king. It was organized by Black.

"In many ways, he represented the traditional lifestyle of warriors," says Mikaere. "The ability to translate one's knowledge into physical actions."

Black had collected the taonga of his people – his knowledge, his history, his language, his traditions – and had nurtured him.

Black was uncompromising, says Mikaere. He was a powerful speaker on marae and representing his iwi.

"Because her position is so firmly rooted in history and tradition and tikanga, she is unshakeable."

It's the knowledge that was lost as the court captured the histories and oral traditions in its databases – but there was no traditional transfer of knowledge to the successor. He died so young.

Flavell reminded Black as a teenager in those Auckland days of kapa haka's challenges. Even then, sitting alongside Sharples and defying the dominance of Rutherford High and Nga Tupawae College on the field, he was someone who wanted to make a mark

"He was like an absorbing sponge tikanga and korero and l & rsquo; Story wherever he went. " 19659002] Flavell met Black over the years – in Otaki, back in the bay of Abundance – and had great esteem for his thirst for knowledge and for all that he had collected.

Black's desire to change, his powerful oratory, were attributes among those who led him to be selected as a candidate for the Maori Party. Black missed the election in Parliament, but later found a seat on the regional council.

Flavell said that depth of ability and knowledge saw Black endorsed to speak on behalf of the Tauranga marae

. he spoke for Tauranga Moana. "

It was a role that was allowed because of the exceptional knowledge that he had worked so hard to acquire."

"It is very rare for one person to have this kind of knowledge. and that she be allowed to advance and use this knowledge and experience in a public domain. They are a rare breed.

"It is difficult to find this rare commitment to our language and culture – an absolute commitment to its people."

He recalled Black's work on the New Zealand wars – these conflicts between the colonial government and the Maori, of which there has been renewed interest.

He felt an opportunity for the country to embrace its history and seized it – study, organize, resea Flavell speaks of Black as someone who would cover hundreds of kilometers of the day at the next day to be on the other side of the country, to attend the tangi and to present itself to the 21st party

. ] With him came this knowledge and this oratory – the ballast to a waka that never stopped moving.

Until he does it.

Flavell: "He had a life before him to be the face of Tauranga Moana.It was the tragedy of his loss."

The police still have no one describing themselves as a victim of Black or the alleged pedophilia that, according to his wife, operated in Tauranga, his Facebook post has now been seen 400,000 times. iwi offered a $ 11,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.