Heretaunga raorao haumako.
This proverb speaks about the fertile Heretaunga plains.
A FEW LITTLE FACTS ABOUT WAIPATU MARAE
· Waipatu Marae is located in the community of Waipatu, Hastings.
· Waipatu Marae is probably one of the most modern marae amongst all our traditional marae in Hastings. It was built around 1870. The earliest death in the urupā (burial grounds) was in 1875.
· Waipatu Marae came as a result of the original Heretaunga house being washed out in a flood at Pakowhai in the 1850s, 60s and early 70s.
· During this time the house was moved to its current site and the way it got its name has three interpretations:
Version one – 'Wai Pā Tū' – indicating when the flood waters stopped a pā was erected;
Version two – 'Wai Patu' - it was a sacrificial site where enemies were dispatched into the tomo or underground waterways; and
Version three - the one we accept the most is 'Waipatu' which depicts the artesian bore being hammered through the ground from which water burst through the pipes and rushed to the surface.
· The original donors of the whenua for the marae were Hēnare Tomoana and Pēni Te Uamairangi – who were brothers. Their mother was Rotohenga Winipere, daughter of Hāwea Te Mārama. Te Hira Te Otaota Whataopo was their father and their two older brothers were Karaitiana Takamoana and Meihana Ōtene, whose father was Tini-ki-runga.
· The original Heretaunga house stood at Pakipaki on a hill at Horonui station and was moved to Pākōwhai in the 1700s. The house Heretaunga stands at Waipatu with Tamatea Arikinui the captain of the waka as the tipuna.
· The wharekai is called Te Whare Rautau mō te Tiriti o Waitangi which means the centenial to commemorate the Treaty of Waitangi. It was supposed to be built in 1940 in collaboration with the Hastings District Council and all other hapū but the funds were used for the World War II effort and it wasn't completed until 1962.
· The first sitting of the Māori Parliament was held at Waipatu in 1892 with Hēnare Tomoana as the speaker and Hāmiora Mangakāhia as the premier and Mere Mangakāhia as the leader of the Whare Reiri or the ladies house. The Parliament consisted of an upper house, a lower house and a ladies house.
· During that first sitting, Mere Mangakāhia moved a motion "that women should have the vote because the men were always out defending their whenua in land court sittings and battles". It was the women who safeguarded the whānau/family, the whenua/land, and the ōhanga/economic development. This took place one year before the women's suffrage movement which passed this law through the New Zealand Parliament in 1893.
· Wahine leaders continue to be supported at Waipatu to stand in leadership roles. During the last government election, Waipatu marae hosted the election hui where wahine leaders Labour Party - Meka Whaitiri, Māori Party - Heather Skipworth, and Green Party - Elizabeth Kerekere stood unitedly to share their aspirations as Māori wahine leaders.
· Other facilities around the marae include Kaumātua Flats, Te Kōhanga Reo, Tamatea Rugby Sports Club, Aunty's Garden, Matiu Tapu Anglican Church, Māmia's – a place of refuge for young mothers, the Vicarage, the Waipatu Catholic Club and very good community.
· Originally Waipatu trustees included representatives from every marae in Heretaunga, Te Whanganui-a-Ōrotu, Wairoa, Wairarapa and Tūwharetoa. We had around 21 trustees. Today the trustees are Aria Graham (chair), Waiariki Davis (treasurer/secretary), Hanui Lawrence, Waiora Rogers, Nene Henderson, Hinematewaia Vercoe, Makere Phillips and Associate Trustees: Kotuku Tomoana, Rauna Harris and Huia Tomoana.
- Waipatu Marae information supplied by Ngahiwi Tomoana
A LITTLE LEGEND
Māhinaarangi and Tūrongo Te Whare o Māhinaarangi refers to the house that Tūrongo built for her parents at Kahotea Pā which sits on top of Te Awarua o Porirua (island) at the southern end of Lake Roto-a-Tara.
Tūrongo, a skilled house builder, bird snarer, a gatherer of food and a hospitable host, had an intense rivalry growing up with his brother Whatihua, as to who had 'mana' authority. It was after a dispute of conquering love for Ruaputahanga that Tūrongo decided to leave his homeland of Whaingaroa.
Upon hearing of a beautiful princess on the East Coast, Tūrongo arrived on the shores of Lake Roto-a-Tara. Tūrongo set about to help build a whare for Tuaka and Te Angiangi, Māhinaarangi's parents. With compelling skills, he impressed them, and they praised him for his work. Equally impressed also was Māhinaarangi.
It was through his skills and acts Māhinaarangi concealed to intrigue Tūrongo with her scent and playfulness. Not revealing her identity but rubbing raukawa oil on her and ambushing him in the night, Tūrongo was totally mesmerised.
And so, as the women gathered to make whāriki and kakahu, Tūrongo approached each woman to see if he could discover the scent of the raukawa oil. As he drew nearer to Māhinaarangi, he knew that he had found his treasure.
The prominent ancestral whare at Tūrangawaewae Marae, Ngāruawāhia derives its name from the illustrious ancestor Māhinaarangi. Ngā pou ki roto that adorn the whare represents ngā iwi me ngā mata-a-waka – Tainui, Te Arawa, Mataatua, Aotea, Kurahaupō, Tokomaru and Takitimu.
- Legend story supplied by Tawhirimakea Karaitiana
KORONGATAMAR
Learn your vowel sounds A (Car) E (Egg) I (Key) O (Or) U (You) to make it easier to pronouce Māori words.
KUPU O TE RĀ – WORD OF THE DAY
Hei konā mai! - Goodbye (said by person leaving)
KETUKETU KĪWAHA – PHRASES
"Tau kē" (Great...)
Hai tēnei horopaki, he wairua whakanui tō tēnei kīwaha.
In this context, this idiom is used to praise/congratulate someone or something.
Kākā: Kai te haere au ki te rā whānau o Mere ināianei.
Pane: Tau kē tō āhua, e hine!
Kākā: I'm heading off to Mere's birthday now.
Pane: You look great, bub!
