Kaitiaki carvings to stand tall again at council

Tairawhiti iwi delegation leader Te Aturangi Nepia-Clamp with the carving of Hinehakirirangi, one of two carvings (Pourangahua and the Great Bird of Ruakapanga can be seen to the right), Gisborne District Council has agreed to hang in its chambers. The whakairo (carvings) have been in storage after being removed from the former council chambers before the demolition of the old council buildings. Mr Nepia-Clamp and iwi delegates representing Ngati Porou and Turanganui-a-Kiwa told councillors there was a tikanga (customary) expectation that the whakairo be installed in the new chambers. Picture supplied

A taonga needs to stand up so you can talk to it.

That was a key message from a delegation representing Turanganui-a-Kiwa and Ngati Porou asking Gisborne district councillors to install the whakairo (carvings) of Hinehakirirangi and Pouranghua in the new council chambers.

The whakairo until recently were in storage — lying face up on the floor in the Botanical Gardens workshop after their removal from the previous council building.

“Please do not let these taonga (treasures) gather dust,” said iwi delegate Taina Ngarimu.

“They should be standing up looking back at me, so I can talk to them.”

Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann told The Herald the council would hang the whakairo inside Awarua — its administration centre in Fitzherbert Street.

One would be installed over the entranceway inside the council chambers and the other in the foyer on the way to the chambers.

Iwi delegation leader Te Aturangi Nepia-Clamp, who carved the whakairo, told councillors they had been commissioned, blessed and placed at either end of the council chambers in the former council complex in 1993.

The council had accepted the whakairo as kaitiaki (guardians), with an implicitly-implied duty of care for taonga and its mauri (life force) and wairua (spirit).

There was a tikanga (customary) and kaitiaki expectation the taonga would be treated with respect and installed in the new chambers in a ceremony, including karakia (prayer), to reflect the relationships and partnership they represented.

Mr Nepia-Clamp said councillor Pat Seymour had made inquires about the whereabouts of the whakairo.

The council had not honoured or respected its duty of care.

Mr Nepia-Clamp said he was asking the council to do the right thing by the taonga.

The whakairo came from a tikanga of traditional writing and telling stories — “of being proud of who we are, where we come from and what we represent”.

“This should not have happened.”

Cr Seymour said the non-reappearance of the carvings had been an issue for a long time.

She thanked the delegation for bringing back the “very significant” whakairo.

Cr Seymour later told The Herald she had been presented a paper about reinstalling the whakairo in the new council chambers about 18 months ago. It had been universally accepted.

“It is wonderful to see them coming back.”

It was disappointing the architect of the new building did not allow for the reinstatement of the carvings, she said. They were part of the history of the old chambers.

It is not yet know when the whakairo will be installed.

That will be determined between the council and iwi.