Te Rarawa has made good on its promise to restore two carved pou, marking the boundaries of the rāhui on the Tauroa Peninsula, west of Ahipara, which were cut down and sawn into pieces in July. They had been erected about 10 years ago in a bid to preserve marine
The pou stand again on the Tauroa Peninsula
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Te Aho marks the rahui's southern boundary. Picture / Supplied.
"We don't look at it as a setback. Rather it's an opportunity to develop resilience and reaffirm our protocols and position," he said. "We will continue to exercise kaitiakitanga and tino rangatiratanga over our taonga. It's our role and responsibility as ahi kā, as tangata whenua, as Māori."
Shortly after the pou were felled Mr Piripi said monitoring by the iwi had revealed that 3500 permits had been issued for the taking of pāua in one month, so the ancient custom of tapu was instituted to protect what remained.
"It [the rāhui] has lasted well for 10 years. I think it will continue to last well, and we'll have to just replace the pou. But it's not the pou that have been damaged, it's the heart of the people and the relationships that arise from it," he said.
The iwi had been working for a long time to establish its own tikanga in terms of conservation and marine conservation management. The pou had been part of that, and had been observed, their importance recognised, not only by Māori and locals, but even by foreign tourists.
"So it's particularly painful to have such a thing happen," he added.
Local kaitiaki and artist Te Aroha Te Paa had worked with whānau and hapū for several months to restore the pou, which had now been coated in reflective paint for visibility at night.