February 20, 2019
Spiritual strength sustains Matatini Ride for Talei
Among the manuhiri welcomed to Te Matatini this morning was a roopu that had biked from Rotorua to Wellington with a message for the kapa haka.
The Ride for Talei was to honour the late Talei Morrison, who started the Smear Your Mea campaign to encourage wāhine Māori to be tested for cervical cancer – the disease that killed her last June.
Her mother Sandy Morrison says about a dozen riders made the journey, with others joining in many of the stages to support the kaupapa.
There was also about 20 in the support crew of drivers, cooks and physiotherapists, as well as a police escort to keep them safe from other traffic.
She says the ride has both a physical and spiritual side.
"So we kind of feel that we're connecting to all our ancestors but particularly to Talei so regularly we pay homage and regularly we commune and because that is so embedded in our practices we feel very well cared for spiritually," Sandy Morrison says.
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