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Tērā tētehi whare whakairo he kotahi nō te huinga tokotoru e tū whakaiti nā i ngā rekereke o Te Pukeroa otīā i te poho o Ōhinemutu. Ko Tamatekapua te whare ahorei o Ngai Te Arawa nōna te tārouma o tēnei kāīnga.
Ki tētehi taha ko Tunohopu he toa onamata nā Tamatekapua. Ā, kai waenga pū o ēnei tōtara ko Tiki. E ai ki ngā pū kōrero. He waharoa a Tiki. Ko te wāhi ki a ia ko Paratehoata. Ki a ia te mānia e hora mai na i tōna aroaro, whakawhiti i Te Wairoa, puta noa atu ki Utuhina, ā, tae rawa ki Ngongotahā maunga. Kai te kitea tonutia a Tiki kai te muheama o Tamakai Paenga Hira.
Nā Tunohopu ko Tiki. Ka nui ngā paki-kōrero māna wheoi anō ko te aronga o tēnei tuhinga itiiiti nei ki te whare whakairo tēnā i āna kahanga nōna e ora ana. Nā Te Wharetoroa Tiniraupeka te whakahau ki te whakaara i tēnei whare whakairo.
He ruruhi mana nui a Te Wharetoroa, tūturu he Ngāti Whakaue, otīā he Ngāti Tunohopu. I whānau ai i te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau, e ono tekau mā toru. Ka mate ai i te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e ono tekau mā whā.
Kotahi rau mā tahi tōna rahi. Ko Hilda Inia tana mokopuna, kua mate noa atu hoki tēnei kuia ngākau mahaki. Hei tā Hilda, ko Te Wharetoroa tētehi kuia kōrero tika,he mōhio nōna ki te ao pākihi me te wariu o te hirini, he wahine raranga, he wahine whatu, ā,he wahine whakairo rākau hoki.
Ka roa e noho ana ka tonoa atu ki a Tene Waitere he tohunga whakairo rākau nō Ngāti Tarawhai māna te whare e whakatū, māna hoki e whakairo.
Ka whakaae mai. Ko te māuri o te whare kai te tāhūhū o te māhau, tētehi o ngā pou tawhito i tikina i te tūwatawata o Muruika.
Oti ana te whare, ka whakamanuwhiringia ngā tauhou, ngā pīoi ki tōna whare whakairo. Nā reira i whakairo rākau ai a Te Wharetoroa kia nui atu ai āna moni. Ko tētehi tikanga kai te pupurungia e ngā uri ko te whakaahuatanga o te whare. Whakaae ana ā waho, engari kāore e whakaae ana ā roto. E mea ana ngā kuia he tapu.
Tū ana a Tiki hai whare manaaki i te manuwhiri, hei whare moe, otīā, hei whare karakia hoki. He Ringatū a Te Wharetoroa pēnei me Tene Waitere, anā te take māna te whare e whakaniko. Kāti ake.
Ka tae a Te Kooti ki Ohinemutu, ka karakia rātou ki Tiki, ko Te Hāhi o Te Whakapono Ringatū te marae ātea. Ka oti ana i a ia tana noho, haere atu ki Waikuta, haere atu ki Te Awahou, ā, ngaro noa ana. I te ngarohanga atu o Te Kooti i Ohinemutu ka peka atu a Kapene Tawa.
Ko Tawa tētehi o ngā hoa kakari tawhito a Te Kooti. I ngā tau tawhito ka kaha whāia rawatia e Tawa a Te Kooti, engari kāore i hopukina. Ka mauterongo i a rāua, ka noho rangi āio te tokorua nei. Engari a Tiki.
He tupuna rongonui, he mana nui, he whare whakakotahi i ngā tini tangata katoa. Māori mai, Pākehā mai, hoa riri mai. E te tupuna whare tēnā koe, kai te ngongorotangiwai e Te Wharetoroa, tēnā hoki rā koe.
In the heart of Ohinemutu stand three carved whare. The grand courtyard of Ohinemutu is dominated by the majestically carved Tamatekapua and is acknowledged as the main meeting house of Te Arawa.
To the far east stands Tunohopu, a famous descendant of Tamatekapua and in between these two colossus figures stands the distinctive smaller carved whare named Tiki.
Tiki was one of four prominent carved gateways that once protected the ancient village of Ohinemutu.
This gateway today is in the Auckland Museum, while the only other surviving contemporary, Pukaki sits undisturbed in the care of the Rotorua Museum.
Tiki stood facing not too far from an area known as Para-te-hoata, and he observed all movement coming towards the kāinga from the west, overlooking the stream of Te Wairoa and further still towards Utuhina.
Tiki was the son of the noted warrior chief Tunohopu. There is much written about this chief; however, this brief pūrākau focuses on the whare erected by his descendant Te Wharetoroa Tiniraupeka, a noted elder of Ngati Whakaue and Tunohopu who was born in 1863 and passed away in 1964 aged 101.
Hilda Inia, a grandniece of Te Wharetoroa, was raised by this kuia.
She would tell how Te Wharetoroa was an astute, business-minded woman who took no nonsense. She was a talented weaver and one of the few women who carved wood.
Nevertheless, she saw an opportunity with the arrival of visitors fascinated with Maori material culture.
Her desire to carve arose from an opportunity to obtain additional income, she carved a variety of curiosities for the newly interested domestic and international market.
Te Wharetoroa had her whare designed by the famous Ngati Tarawhai wood carving expert who was also a follower of the Ringatu faith, Tene Waitere; the tāhūhū o te māhau features one of the rare ancient poupou that once adorned the fortifications that encircled Ohinemutu.
Though opportunities to photograph the exterior of the whare are numerous, one tikanga still maintained by the whānau is that due to the restrictions of the Ringatu faith as practised by Te Wharetoroa, photographs of the inside are not permitted.
When completed, Tiki would not only serve as an abode to accommodate her family and national and international visitors, but it would also stand to serve the Ringatu faith. Te Wharetoroa was a devout Ringatu who knew the movement's leader personally. She would often host Te Kooti whenever he passed through the area.
The courtyard today still carries the name Te Hahi o Te Whakapono Ringatu.
Even more interesting is that when Te Kooti felt he needed to leave the area, he would continue to either Waikuta or further out towards Te Awahou before disappearing entirely from the region.
In his absence, Tiki then would serve as accommodation for Te Kootis' past nemesis, Captain Gilbert Mair NZC. Ancient rivals with a commonality. The hospitality of Te Wharetoroa and her grand whare. Tiki.
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