When asked if I was Maori, I would reply
'Ko Ngati Waiti, taku iwi.'
Some would nod and say, 'Oh yes, they're from up north, aren't they?',
Not getting the joke:
My tribe is The Honky.

I remember once asking if I was
Tangata Whenua.
'That's the Dark Welsh blood,' my ancestor's people would say.
'You get your complexion and
love of alcohol from them'.
I would nod my head, but
I hadn't heard of Them. I went to Wales;
Everyone is white and
hard to understand. But they do like to drink.

Now I get
the joke. How can you be
certain of your lineage?
The history you think you have may come from
another's veins.

A bunch of home brews later and,
HOLY CRAP, I JUST FOUND OUT I MIGHT BE BROWN.
The man had three ‘wives’. Not really The Done Thing, and
Best not mentioned
In those days…

I remember my grandfather - the vigilante one, who got himself killed when I was very young -
Always had a nice tan.

'That's the Dark Welsh blood,' they would say.

My father also has a strange sense of humour. I get that from him, that is my

Whakapapa.