Tangi mapū nei te iwi. Ko ngā kāīnga i tāpukengia ko Te Tapahoro, ko Moura, ko Totarariki, ko Te Waingongongo, ko Te Wairoa. He ahakoa kānapanapa ana te uira ki te tarouma o te rangi, ae ana – kātahi te whakakitenga whakamīharo hoki, ka nui te wehi, ka nui te ihi.
Nō te ata hāpara takoto āio ana te whenua. Ā te iwa o ngā hāora ka tae mātou ngā uri o Tūhourangi ki Te Wairoa ki Ohomairangi ki reira karakia ai. I kōnei tonu tō tātou tohunga ihorei ko Tuhoto Ariki te tangata i tānumia oratia, ka whia ngā rā e noho puku ana ka karia ake, ā, e ora tonu ana.
Nāna ngā kupu whakatūpato ki te iwi, " "He tohu tēnei, arā kia horo tātau i tēnei takiwā".
Ko Hinemihi tētehi o ngā whare whakairo o te takiwā i puta i te hū nui nei, whaihoki ka hoko atu tēnei whare ki tētehi rangatira nō Ingarangi ko te Earl of Onslow tōna ingoa. Kai te pāka o Clandon kai Surrey te whare e tū ana. Whoi anō he kōrero kē atu. Nā te hū nui o Tarawera ka ngaro ētehi whakamīharotanga nui o te ao Māori, ko Otukapuarangi me te Tarata. Ngaro noa ana.
He iwi pākihi a Tūhourangi, ka whakamanuwhiringia te tauhou nō ngā tōpito huhua o te ao, nā reira e titiro ana ki a Tūhourangi ināianei. Nā te māuiui korona i hē ai te nuinga o ngā pākihi pēnā i a mātou hoki engari rā kai te koke whakatemua tonu te iwi pēnā ki ngā tūpuna onamata.
Kia hoki ake ki te kaupapa kōrero. Ka oti ana te karakia ka kotahi atu tātou ki Te Putake o Tawa ki reira kai tahi ai. He whakamōhiotanga noa hoki tāku, kai te whakahoungia a Waitoharuru ki Tarawera nā reira ka itiiti kē ai te hunga tae mai kia māmā ai te whenua, kia kāua tētehi o tātou e taka ki te raruraru.
Ka rere te kaupeka, ka tū ngā karakia ki a kāua tēnei āitua nui e warewarengia e ngā uri o te kāinga he wā whakangāhau, he wā tuku i ngā mate. Nā reira ka tū ai hoki te kawe mate nui ki Te Pākira.
Āpōpō kē tātou kawe mate ai. Nā te māuiui korona kāore rawa i tangihia ngā mate pēnei e ai ki a tātou te Māori. I te korenga o ngā tupapaku e whai wā ai ngā whāmere ki a kawea mai e rātou ngā wairua ki te hau kāinga. Ka kotahi tekau ngā whāmere kawe mate ai āpōpō.
Ko te whakapapa hoki tētehi o ngā kaupapa ka kawea e Nari Faisers koia tēnei tetehi o āna mātai nui nāna e whai ana i tana tohu kairangi, ka rua, ka pēwhea nā te wairua o te iwi e tū mārō ai anō i te putanga mai o tētehi mōrearea nui whakaharahara.
Ko Clarke Pirika hoki tētehi atu o ngā manu kawe kōrero he pou mahi ia mā Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa. Ka oti ana ngā kauwhau ka kōtahi atu tātou ki Te Rau Aroha kai tahi anō ai. Ki taku ake whānau ko Watu te tōu tīrairaka. Kātahi te ngākau whiwhita ki te hau kāinga me tō tātou Tūhourangitanga.
Ko ia kai te takahia ngā tini tapuwae a o tātou tupuna rongonui i a Te Mutukurī. Ngā tau nui kua pahemo nānā hoki ētehi kaupapa whakahirahira i whakaara ake hai painga mō te iwi, wānanga whakapapa, koia tētehi haerenga nui hoki ki roto o Taranaki ki te kāīnga o tō tātou tupuna i a Papawharanui , kua takahia hoki e te iwi te mata o Tarawera, nā Watu katoa ēnei i whakarite mai.
E titiro atu te tangata ki Tarawera ka tae mai ngā iwi e rua.
Ko Tūhourangi ko Ngāti Rangitihi. Ko māua tahi i haukurungia i taua pō taumaha, ka whakarerea te whenua ki wāhi kē māua noho ai. Tirohia ki te waiata, Tera te auahi – tētehi rerenga kōrero rangatira e whakakaha nei i tēnei hononga o ngā iwi nei, e mea ana, "ko Ngāti Rangitihi toku hoa moenga". Ā whakapapa nei, ā kikokiko nei, ā tinana nei. Haere ake, haere ake.
I akongia taua waiata nō te wā e itiiiti ai a mātou tamariki, e hika, kai te taumata e wha tekau katoa rātou ināianei. Whoi anō, he ahakoa haere ai mātou ki whea, ka haere tahi me ngā mōteatea.
E hakoke ana me ngā mātua, he waiata te mahi, ki te motokā, he waiata te mahi, ki te kaukau, ā, kai te waiata mātou, ka takoto i raro ki te moe, ā, me te waiata hoki. Kātahi te ūpoko mārō o ngā kaumātua kia kāua ēnei waiata e warewarengia i a mātou. Engari rā, mau tonu i ahau.
Ka tū ana ngā manu kōrero, ka tū hoki mātou ki te kawe i ngā waiata.
He mana nui. Kāore mātou i āta haere ki Tarawera nōku e itiiti ai engari anō rā ko tō mātou tuakana a Te Whakarato he pou mahi ia mā te tari turuhi, hōtō tētehi mana nui. Haere ai mātou ki te pikiniki e pai ana engari ko ngā namu kē ngā mea whakapōrearea i a mātou. Kai te kōhamo tonu aua wā hākoakoa.
Nā Te Wahakarato tēnei i whakarite mai.
Koia nei te painga o āua wā, ā moroki noa nei. Ko te whakakōtahi i a tātou kia kāua ngā hononga whakapapa e motu. Nā ēnei tūmomo āhuatanga e hono ai anō te rangatahi ki te whenua me ngā paki kōrero otīā ki a rātou anō. Ka takahia ai te whenua, ka rangona te takiwā, ka rangona ngā hītoria.
Tērā hoki tētehi wā i whakaritea he whakataetae kia kite ko wai te toa parahutihuti ki te heke i ngā pinakitanga o te maunga. Ko te whakawhiwhinga he hangi, he kaukau ki Punarōmia. Me te toa, whoi anō ko tātou katoa.
Ka puta mai hoki tō mātou whānaunga a MP Tamati Coffey, he mātanga pouaka whakaata, nāna hoki i whakapāohotia te huarere ki te motu i te matatihi o Tarawera.
Me te īnoi naianei, kia kāua tātou e uangia mā te whakaaro kaha āua kekeao e tāpae atu kia whitia tātou e te rā. Māuriora. — Raimona Inia
There are many versions and extensions of our pepeha but they all start the same: Ko Tarawera te Maunga
About 2am on June 10, 1886, the world changed irrevocably when Tarawera erupted, hurling ash and mud kilometres into the sky, destroying villages.
Estimates of 120 plus people died.
The noise was heard as far away as Blenheim.
Settlements at Te Tapahoro, Moura, Te Ariki, Totarariki, Waingongongo and Te Wairoa were destroyed or buried.
Through it all, flashes of lightning skated across the sky. It must have been spectacular.
By dawn it was over.
At 9am today, we, the descendants of Tuhourangi will mark the event simply, with karakia at Te Wairoa by the cairn commemorating Ohomairangi. It is at the Buried Village that the ancient tohunga Tuhoto Ariki lived in the meeting house Hinemihi.
"He tohu tēnei, arā kia horo tātau i tēnei takiwā" – it is an omen, a sign and a warning that all this region will be overwhelmed.
Hinemihi was sold to the Earl of Onslow and stands at Clandon Park in Surrey, but that is another story. The eruption destroyed one of the natural wonders of the ao, Te Otukapuarangi and Te Tarata, the Pink and White Terraces.
Commercially-minded Tuhourangi thrived, hosting tourists from all over the world.
And so today, despite Covid lockdowns and a faltering economy, Tuhourangi maintain their tourism and manaakitanga ways of life.
After karakia we will go to our bike park and recreation area, Te Putake o Tawa, for a kapu ti. At Tarawera, the Waitoharuru area is under redevelopment and there is no parking so the observations are being kept simple.
Tuhourangi mark the event one year with an ahurei and alternate with kawe mate at Te Pakira.
This year is kawe mate which will be observed tomorrow.
Because of covid the kawe mate is an opportunity for whanau whose tupapaku would normally have lain in Wahiao during the preceding two years to bring their loved ones home. About 10 families have notified the hapu that they wish to participate.
Whakapapa will be the main topic of discussion with a korero from one of our whanaunga, Nari Faiers, whose PhD thesis explores indigenous models of response and resilience created from crises.
Clarke Pirika from the Whare Taonga o Te Arawa will also make a presentation.
Kaitahi at Te Rau Aroha will complete the proceedings.
My teina, Watu, is the most fervent Tuhourangi-ite, passionate about the iwi and the pa, following in the footsteps of our tupuna koroua, the formidable Te Mutukuri.
Over the years she has organised wananga, trips to the birthplace of Tuhourangi's mother Papawharanui, around the Tarawera Falls, across the lake, over the crater and down the mountain.
Tuhourangi have sat down with Ngati Rangitihi to karaki and talk about a way forward in this modern era. We share whakapapa and Waimangu.
We were all displaced by the eruption.
Our Tuhourangi waiata koroua, Tera Te Auahi, refers to Rangitihi as our "hoa moenga".
That classic I learned when our tamariki, who are now knocking 40, were in the primers at school. Everywhere we went we had to sing: In the car, in the bath, at bedtime.
It was worth it because our old people were so proud when these little kids got up to tautoko korero.
I don't recall going to Tarawera much as a child. But my tuakana, Whakarato, worked at the Tourist Department who seemed to run everything in the district.
My clearest memories are of namu (sandflies) that pestered us when she took us on her work picnics at the Orchard.
Those commemorations have strengthened our whakapapa ties — they have connected our rangatahi with their roots.
They walked Tarawera, touched the land they had only heard about. On another occasion there was a challenge to come down the mountain fastest. They mastered it and were rewarded with a hot hangi at Punaromia.
Our whanaunga, MP Tamati Coffey, a former TV presenter, read a weather forecast from the maunga. Hopefully, today, the weather was not what the rain that was forecast all week.
Classic waiata captures the pain of Tuhourangi
Tera te auahi ka patua i Tarawera kai raro iti iho
Yonder is the volcanic haze that destroyed (those) at Tarawera, and just below
Ko Ngati Taoi i moe ra i te whenua, haere ra e te iwi
Lie Ngati Taoi entombed by ash and scoria, farewell to you all
Ki te po-uriuri ki te po tangotango ki te iwi ki te po
(Farewell) to the realm of death, to the darkness, where reside your ancestors
Arohirohi ana taku nei titiro ki te puke i te Kumete
I feel giddy as I look toward the hill Te Kumete
Kai raro iti iho ko te tini a te kura, i a Tuhourangi
For just below are buried the myriad of precious ones of Tuhourangi
Whakapukepuke ai nga ngaru o Tarawera, ko te rite i aku kamo
The waves of Tarawera were tumultuous, likewise my eyes are a-flood with tears
Ka whati mai te ngaru, ka oho ra te marino, ko te rite i te iwi
The wave of volcanic debris broke, causing disharmony, likewise the people were in shock
E hora noa mai ra te rae ki Moura, haere ra e te iwi
(Ash and mud) are spread across the promontory at Moura, goodbye my people
Ki wiwi ki wawa, ki raro ki te reinga – ko wai au ka kite?
Who knows where you have gone, to the north to Te Reinga – will I ever see you again?
Kai kinikini ai te mamae i taku kiri, ki te iwi ka wehe
Pain pinches my body, for the people who were killed
Whakarehurehu ana taku nei titiro ki Whakapoukorero
The mountain Whakapoukorero fades from my sight
Kai raro iti iho ko Ngati Rangitihi, toku hoa moenga
Just below were Ngati Rangitihi, my companions and relations
Na Ngatoroirangi i taki mai te mana o te atua ka hau kai te whenua
T'was Ngatoroirangi who called upon the mana of his god (to imprison Tamahoi), whose fame spread throughout the land
Hurahia (e) nga tohunga, ka maranga kai runga, ka ru ko te whenua
(Later) priests uncovered and awoke the denizen who caused the quake
Te riri o te atua i whiua ki te tangata, i whiua ki te whenua
It was thus the anger of the god who destroyed the people, and the land
E hora noa mai ra i te pouriuri, i te po tangotango
(The people) lie scattered in the world of darkness, in the world of the dead Waiho nei te aroha, waiho nei te mamae, ka kai kino i taku kiri
Leaving anguish and pain, to gnaw unceasingly within
I maringi a wai te roimata i aku kamo, ki te iwi ka wehe
And the tears drop copiously from my eyes, for those who have departed this life.
