Respected journalist Heeni Brown has changed her last name to honor the memory of her daughter Janie’s cancer journey and as a testament or ōhākī to her descendants.
Now known as Heeni Te Mate Kōiwi, she adopted the new name during her wedding to her longtime partner, Phil Te Riu Kōiwi, who also took on the shared surname.
This follows a long-standing tikanga Māori, where people change their names to commemorate significant events or tragedies.
“Kahore he kaupapa i tua atu o ngā āhuatanga i pāngia e māua ko taku makau.”
“Nā reira, i tērā wiki rānō i whai whakaaro ahau, he aha pea ētahi ingoa, i whakaaro ahau ka tuhituhi au i ngā ōhākī. I roto i ēnā whakaaro, ka whakaaro ahau.”
“Māku te taha ki te mate, te māuiui rānei, e maharatia ai ā mātou tamariki mokopuna ki tēnei uauatanga kua pāngia e mātou ko tēnei pā harakeke.”
Te takenga mai o ngā ingoa
Last year Heeni and Phil’s daughter Janie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Osteosarcoma affects the growth of bones and usually affects teens and young adults.
It’s typically found in the longer bones of the body like the legs and arms, however, can affect any bone in the body.
Janie, now 15 years old, has since gone into remission but had to have her right arm amputated.
The couple combined takutaku, rongoā, and Western medicine to support their daughter’s health.
She says the initial discovery of the news of her daughter’s condition was difficult.
“I te wā ka pāngia e ia ki tēnei māuiui i pāpōuri kē mātou, tā te mea he mea ohorere rawa, he mea tē taea te kaupare he mea i tau ki roto i a mātou.”
However, she says it was important for them to understand the cancer and where it may have come from.
“I te mōhio kē mātou, me tahuri mātou ki ā mātou kōrero pūrākau, ki ā mātou kōrero o roto i te whānau, i tirohia ngā ira tangata i a māua ko taku hoa, kia tino whai wāhi atu ki te take he aha i pēnei rawa ai mātou.”
Te Mate Kōiwi rāua ko Te Riu Kōiwi
Hāunga rā te wāhi ki te pākūhā a te tokorua nei, a Te Mate Kōiwi rāua ko Te Riu Kōiwi, i tuhia hoki rā e Heeni tētahi ōhākī ki ana uri whakaheke, he kupu whakamaumahara i tēnei mate nui kei waenga i a rātou
“Ko taku ingoa, ko Te Mate Kōiwi e hāngai pū ana ki tērā mauri ake, kei roto i a mātou. Ko taku hoa, kei te whai wāhi atu ki te taha rongoā, ki te taha wairua, ki te taha ki ngā tikanga e whakarauora anō ai taku tamāhine.”
