Annual Waitangi hikoi set to take place again after five year hiatus

The annual Hikoi ki Waitangi walk from Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) to Waitangi is back on again this year after a five-year break.

A hikoi (walk) from one of the country’s most significant spiritual sites to one of Aotearoa’s most significant cultural, political and historical places will start today.

The Hikoi ki Waitangi 2023 walk from Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) to Waitangi will this year be led by Ahipara’s Reuben Taipari (Ngāpuhi) and will end at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on Sunday, just in time for the weekend’s Waitangi Day celebrations.

Taipari said the hikoi was a sacred kaupapa (movement/action) in which he’d participated in many times over the years after first experiencing the walk as a boy in 1984.

He said after five years of being on the back burner, it was time to reinvigorate the special journey and encourage the next generation to get involved.

“Waitangi Day is all about building relationships, understanding sovereignty and what freedom really means,” he said.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a living, breathing document that depends on our people to keep it alive and strong and is as important today as it was almost 40 years ago.

“This hikoi is a symbolic gesture to honour those who have passed, those still present and those coming forward and is an important part of Waitangi history and legacy.”

The history of hikoi from Te Rerenga Wairua to Waitangi and beyond has been documented by author Aroha Harris, in her book Hikoi: Forty years of Maori protest.

These symbolic movements date back to 1975 with Dame Whina Cooper’s famous land march from Cape Reinga to Wellington and have been followed by various other kaupapa, including Far North District Māori Ward councillor Hilda Halkyard-Harawira’s organisation Te Kawariki co-ordinating the Hikoi ki Waitangi event and protests for many years.

Taipari explained hikoi had become important opportunities for both young and old to learn about their tribal boundaries and histories and to discuss important political issues relevant to Māori.

“My contribution to Waitangi Day is to bring back the mana of this hikoi, to bring everyone back together again through respect, integrity, tikanga (customs) pono (truth) and aroha (love) and to get our concentration back on track amongst ourselves,” Taipari said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve been coming 30 or three years, everyone can take something from it and can contribute back.”

The journey commenced this morning with a karakia timatanga (opening prayer) at Te Rerenga Wairua and is currently on its way south, traveling through the rohe (terrorities) of Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri and Ngaitakoto.

On Friday, the hikoi will make its way through Te Rarawa where participants will stay overnight in Kaitaia.

Saturday will see the hikoi pass through Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Kahu ki Whaingaroa areas, before arriving at Waitangi on Sunday.

The group will then assemble at midday on Monday at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds for karakia and to discuss current issues such as rongoā - traditional Māori healing - in the Therapeutic Products Bill, housing, kuia and kaumātua care and more.