New Zealand's Māori and Indian Sikh communities have renewed their commitment to a more inclusive and socially cohesive nation at a weekend hui hosted by South Auckland's Takanini gurdwara.
The gathering was a show of unity between the two communities after two Sikh religious parades were disrupted in Tauranga and South Auckland by protesters linked to Destiny Church in recent months.
The parades, or nagar kirtans, are a religious tradition involving public processions with the singing of holy hymns to mark significant occasions such as the anniversaries of Sikh gurus.
Ethnic community leaders had earlier called for calm after the disruptions.
India's government also raised the issue with the New Zealand government in February.
Daljit Singh, a spokesperson for the Supreme Sikh Society, which on Saturday welcomed representatives from Ngāti Ngāraranui hapū marae located at Ngongotahā in Rotorua, said the gathering reflected the shared values of kotahitanga (unity), manaakitanga (hospitality and respect) and whanaungatanga (building relationships).
"These are the principles that guide both Māori and Sikh traditions," said Singh, reflecting on the similarities between the two communities.
"Both come from a warrior background ... both believe in one god."
Singh called on the community to ignore disruptions of the parades because the participants neither represented Māori nor any particular religion.
"New Zealand is our home, and we will carry on with our religious practices, including nagar kirtans," he said.
Daljit Singh is spokesperson for the Supreme Sikh Society. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Singh's co-organiser of the hui was former police deputy commissioner Wallace (Wally) Haumaha, who has been chairperson of the Ngāti Ngāraranui Marae for about 35 years.
"Today is an important day of [establishing] connections," Haumaha said.
"[That's why] bringing families from Rotorua, particularly from my marae in Ngongotahā where a Punjabi gentleman married one of my aunties in the early 1900s. ... He had a big family that belonged to my marae and my hapū, so it was important for me to reconnect them with their Sikh culture.
"It is the bringing together of two cultures because our people - our Māori people, who have both Indian and Māori blood - need to find that connection and we need to support them.
"It's important we understand the value of diversity and the value of bringing other cultures so that we can be united. ... As a country we can grow, and flourish, and learn from each other."
Wallace Haumaha is chairperson of the Ngāti Ngāraranui Marae in Rotorua. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
As is recorded in history, Munsha Singh Bassi came to New Zealand from a place called Bundala in the Indian state of Punjab in the 1910s.
He settled in Rotorua, marrying a Māori woman named Lilly Tarati Mita - one of the first-known marriages between Indian Sikhs and Māori.
One of their daughters, Dawn Tenera Singh, married Trevor Augustus Aldworth - parents of Kevin Sonny Aldworth, who attended the hui.
"This is my first time visiting a gurdwara," Aldworth said.
"I came here today to honour my grandfather, and to learn more about his Sikh faith, how it developed in New Zealand and how it interacted with Māori."
Kevin Sonny Aldworth is the grandson of Munsha Singh Bassi, one of the first Sikh men to marry a Māori woman in New Zealand. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
South Auckland's Papakura marae chief executive, Tony Kake, recalled how former marae chairperson Brian Joyce helped the Sikh community purchase the land where the Takanini gurdwara sits in the early 2000s.
"[Ever since] our marae and the Sikh community, particularly the Takanini gurdwara, really support our two communities. No matter what colour you are, what religion you are, we welcome everyone. We feed everyone," Kake said.
"Like the marae, like this gurdwara, we do the same thing [helping people]."
Tim Anderson, assistant commissioner of police looking after iwi and community partnerships, appreciated the kaupapa of the hui, which was "social cohesion across New Zealand, particularly between the Indian Sikh and Māori communities".
Anderson called for the disruptions to be put in perspective.
"It's a small part of community that maybe protesting. [But] overall, it is just a magnificent day of coming together of Sikh and Māori community, some of which has travelled from Rotorua," Anderson said.
"It's really a reflection on the wider New Zealand scope in terms of Māori and Indian communities, which traditionally always had a very good relationship."
In a rare display of unity, politicians across party lines condemned recent disruptions to the Sikh religious processions.
Kharag Singh is Labour's electoral candidate for Takanini. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Kharag Singh, Labour's electoral candidate for Takanini, who is Sikh himself, commended the hui, calling it "a great gesture uniting communities".
"Whatever happened [in terms of the disruptions], it was done by a minority group which doesn't represent the true value of New Zealand ... it's not even the true value of Christianity," Kharag said.
"We will win even them with our aroha and love."
Kerrin Leoni, Kharag's party colleague and Labour candidate for the Māori electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau, also expressed disappointment at the disruptions.
"Most of the Māori and mana whenua that live in Tāmaki Makaurau will not support that [disruption of Sikh religious processions]," Leoni said.
"We have always supported manuhiri (visitors) coming here," she said.
"Obviously, [the disruptions] are just one part of the community, but I am here today to stand up against it because we know that's wrong."
Praising the contribution of the Sikh community to South Auckland in particular, Leoni recalled how the gurdwaras stepped up when communities needed help during Covid lockdowns.
"Their contribution has been huge across Auckland, but especially in South Auckland," she said.
National's Rima Nakhle is the sitting member of Parliament for Takanini. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Sitting National MP for Takanini Rima Nakhle supported the development of ties between the Indian Sikh and Māori communities.
"I know for a fact that Daljit Singh has been working on this idea [Māori-Sikh hui] for many years and I love it is in action now," Nakhle said.
"Events like these are very important for bridging gaps between communities and clarifying misconceptions.
"The Sikh community is one of the most generous communities I have ever come across. Whenever somebody sees a gurdwara, they know there is a place to eat and shelter. That's the beautiful, deep principle of the Sikh faith. We have got to share that around."
Greens co-leader Marama Davidson acknowledged she was the grandmother of "two beautiful moko (grandchild) Punjabis".
She supported the hui celebrating the relationship between the two communities, which goes back a century.
"It's really important for me as an indigenous wahine Māori political leader, to come and uphold the uniting of Māori and Sikh communities," Davidson said.
Marama Davidson is the co-leader of the Green party. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Davidson also condemned the disruptions.
"We want to be clear that we, as te ao Māori, we push back. We resist the divisions that are being placed between Māori and Sikh communities," she said.
"We understand that there are some people who exploit our Māori culture and our Māori families. And we need to be clear this sort of division goes against the Te Tiriti."
Representatives of other ethnic groups also present at the hui, including Naveed Hamid, former president of the Pakistan Association of New Zealand, echoed similar sentiments.
"Our presence here today honours this great initiative by New Zealand's Māori and Sikh communities towards greater social cohesion," Hamid said.
"It's an important day for our ethnic communities and for our country."
Barrister Gul Qaisrani, who has worked with the Federation of Islamic Associations in the past and is a former public prosecutor said migrant communities were an integral part of New Zealand.
"We not only add value economically but also socially and culturally," Qaisrani said.
"It's pertinent we accept our differences and live in harmony with each other."
-By RNZ