Lesson 2 Open a Book, Open the World
Gathering of the Whakapapa by Witi Ihimaera
The phone rang, and it was my dad ____ from my hometown, Waituhi.
“Can you take a week ____ he asked.
“Your Nani Tama ____ you here.” “But Dad!” I answered.
“My boss won’t let me ____ any more time off.”
The phone went silent, and then I heard ____ grandfather say faintly, “I need your help, Grandson.
I must go to Murupara to f inish the whakapapa. Drive me ____ Hurry, I may not have much time.”
I just knew I had no choice. “All ____ Nani,” I replied with a sigh. “I’ll come.”
For some time
For some time, my grandfather had been busy ____ down the village genealogy, known as the whakapapa.
The whakapapa had ____ in his old house.
But then came the night of the fire, which ran through the house and ____ our past.
In only one night, everything we knew was gone. Nani Tama, in despair, ____ to stay with his daughter, my Auntie Hiraina.
Trying to f ind a way out of the ashes ____ the past, Nani began to write the whakapapa again with his shaky hands.
He chanted the names of the ancestors, joining the past to the present once ____
The village went ____ and listened to his chanting.
His voice traveled along the lines of our ____ searching back across the centuries.
Sometimes, there were lines that were diff icult to remember. Then his voice suddenly stopped in the ____ of the chant.
The village waited in worried silence until the ____ name burst out of his mouth.
It took Nani Tama almost two years to gather most of the ____ but there were still missing names he needed to fill in.
Now, he wanted me to drive him to Murupara to finish his ____
When I arrived at Auntie’s place
When I arrived at ____ place, I was shocked to see how thin Nani Tama was.
“Look, Nani,” I said. “I’m not taking you anywhere. You could die ____ me!”
Nani looked ____ me in anger. “You want me to die here in this room?
____ at these four walls? When the whakapapa is not yet f inished?”
The ____ man held on tightly to the side of the bed and cried out as he stood up.
Every slow, painful step hurt him, ____ he tried to walk.
I could not help ____ carry him to the car, and we set off with Auntie.
We traveled all night, mostly in silence, listening to Nani chanting ____ the darkness.
It ____ strange but wonderful to hear him. Sometimes, he burst into a song that he had taught Auntie.
They sang together, lifting up their voices to send the song flying like ____ bird through the sky.
Just before noon
Just before noon, we ____ at a small town called Murupara.
“Where do ____ go now?” I asked Nani.
He did not reply, but he was searching ____ himself, staring at the small houses.
Then, at a street corner, he told us to turn. After turning the corner, we saw an old man standing in front of ____ house.
He welcomed Nani Tama with a gentle smile, but in his eyes, I saw the message, “We ____ hurry.”
Now that day seems like a dream ____ me.
I remember the two old ____ sitting at the table and the soft sounds of the Maori words as they talked.
All through the quiet afternoon and into the evening, ____ recalled missing names.
I had a strange feeling that there were other people in ____ room.
I felt as if people from the past ____ looking over the shoulders of the two old men to see if the work was correct.
Finally, they stopped. It was done. After a moment of silence, the old ____ whispered to Nani, “Goodbye, friend.”
Crying, they pressed their ____ together to say goodbye.
It was early morning
It was early morning and still dark when we ____ to Auntie’s place.
All the lights were on, and the village ____ were waiting for us.
Smiling, Nani Tama lifted up the whakapapa ____ offered it to the village.
Our hearts were full because our grandfather had saved our past ____ us.
Our Nani Tama smiled ____ His smile grew tired.
He ____ “At last, I may go now.” Then, he closed his eyes.
“No, Dad!” Auntie Hiraina cried. The sun burst across the ____