The ripe, sharp smell of freshly harvested flax filled the Motueka Family Service last Friday, as three of Nelson’s hapu whānau gathered to weave their pēpē a safe sleeping space, just as their tipuna before them would have done.
The workshop took place on national Safe Sleep Day, also known as Te Rā Mokopuna. Participants worked to create their baby a wahakura – a woven flax bassinet for infants up to about six months old. The basket can lie in the parents’ bed, giving pēpē a separate and safe sleeping space, while keeping them close to māmā.
The parents-to-be were invited to attend the class after attending a wananga haputanga (antenatal class) through Te Piki Oranga. Nelson’s Grayson (Te Arawa) and Sam Cassidy (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) say that the wahakura will be something special for their baby.
“We love the idea that we can make our own,” Grayson says.
The couple’s first pēpē is due in late July, and they hope to use the wahakura for all of their future children.
The group’s three kaiako (tutors) were Atawhai Teaukura, Missy Broughton and Ana Beech, who are part of a group informally known as the Te Tau Ihu Wahakura Collective. The workshop was funded and supported by Hāpai Te Hauora – Māori Public Health.
Kerri Green, who is a District Health Board midwife at the Motueka Maternity Unit, says that the safe sleep message was “a really important kaupapa”.
“The highest number of SUDI [sudden unexplained death in infancy] is amongst Māori, so we need to support our whānau to keep baby safe as much as possible.”
