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Tataki kau te reo karakia i te pō kenekene i tō tātou tohunga ahurewa a Mātaia Keepa i tana whakahura i ngā pakoko taniwha i Te Pūtake-o-Tawa.
He kaupapa rangatira i kawangia i roto i ngā tikanga o Tūhourangi - Ngāti Wāhiao i te rāhoroi kua pahemo atu. Tāpirihia atu ki ngā karakia me te reo karanga a te rūāhine, he taki whakapapa e tika ai te whakanoho atu i te pō ki te ao, waihoki ka kīnakitia ki te haka, ki te waiata, ki te ngeri hoki hai whakatuki i te manawa ora o ngā pouihi tūwao.
Hai tā Watu Mihinui, māngai o Tūhourangi Tribal Aunthority, " He whakamihi nā Tuhourangi ki a CNI Iwi Holdings Limited me te Kaunihera o Rotorua nā rāua i whakaae mai kia whakatata atu te mana whenua ki te kaupapa o te Whakarewarewa Forest Development me te pou whakahaere o taua taimā e ahei ai te whakatinana i Ngā Pou Whenua o Tūhourangi i Te Pūtake o Tawa."
Kai reira hoki ngā whakamihi a te Mea o Rotorua a Steve Chadwick, nā ngā herenga pakari i rangatira ai tēnei kaupapa – me tana whakamīharo hoki ki ngā kura kākāriki a ngā tohunga.
"Kātahi tēnei whakatauiratanga mai o te mahi ngātahi i te Kaunihera, te mana whenua, te CNI Iwi Holdings Limited me te pū kawanatanga ā rohe whakawhanake pūtea me te wāhanga pena Kānoa – REDIU, ā, kai wareware hoki i te ringa awhina a Timberlands i koke whakatemua ai te kaupapa Whakarewarewa Forest Development".
Nā Denise Morgan-Koia ( Nō Tūhourangi, nō Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Tainui) te waharoa. He mea i waihangatia ki te hihi taiaho ko te whakaaro i ahu mai i te tāniko kai te kītea i ngā pare me ngā tātua kapa haka o Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao. E pūare kau ngā ringaringa o te waharoa e nau mai ana ki ngā tini waewaetapu ki a kōtahi mai ki runga i Te Pūtake o Tawa.
Ko te manu taikō e whā mīta te tāroaroa nā Tukiri Tini i whakairo. ( Nō Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wāhiao rātou ko Ngāti Whakaue, ko Ngāti Hinekura, ko Tainui, ko Ngāi Tahu).
He ariki a Umukaria. Nōna te pā taunaha i Ōwhata. Ko te maunga-ā-rongo te take i haere ai a Umukaria ki Rotokākahi, tana taenga atu ki reira ka patua. Ka tapahia te ūpoko ka kitea i te ana o Umukaria i Tarawera. He ngaki utu te take i patua ai a Umukaria e ngā uho hīnau o ngā hapū huhua o Te Arawa.
Na Umukaria ka puta ki waho ko Wāhiao, he pou-kōwhatu inā te kaitātanga, waihoki ko tōna māhunga i waihangatia ki te rauwhero. Ko te pōwhatu he mea whakapūhaina atu e Tarawera i te tau 1886.
Nā Iwi Le Comte tēnei whakapakoko ( Nō Ngāti Wāhiao rātou ko Ngāti Rangiteaorere, ko Ngāti Tarāwhai, ko Rongomaiwahine, ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, ko Ngāi Tuhoe). Kai runga o Te Pukeroa te pā maioro o Wāhiao nāna i ngaki te matenga o tōna mātua tāne.
E ai te kōrero he tangata whakangūngū i ōna tangata ki Te Whakarewarewa, ko te roanga atu o te ingoa ko Te Whakarewarewatanga o te Ope Taua a Wāhiao. Ka hinga katoa ngā iwi o Rotokākahi me Tarawera i a Wāhiao.
Nō Tūhorangi te mana whenua ki runga o Rotokākahi, Tarawera, Rotomāhana me Ōkāreka ā moroki noa nei.
Nā Tāwhanga Rika (Nō Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, nō Ngāti Tarāwhai me Ngāti Rangiwewehi hoki) a Kataore i waihangatia. He ngārārā a Kataore. Ko Moerangi tōna wāhi noho.
He mea i waihangatia ki te rino corten me te mātai. E whā mīta te whitianga o te porowhita he mea toko ake ki runga ki te pou e toru mīta te teitei.
E rangi pāruhi kau ana, nā te hekenga o ngā hihi o te rā me te tātari i ngā haehaenga o te rino e te rā kōpure mai ana a Kataore. E ai ki ētehi ka pakeketia a Kataore ka tāhuri noa ki te kai kikokiko – whoi anō tēnā tēnā.
Ki te hikuwai ki te wāhi whakatū motokā, te raina whakawehe i ngā whenua o Tūhourangi me Ngāti Whakaue kai kōnei te whakapakoko raima. Ko wai atu, ko Hinemoa me Tūtānekai. E 3.5 mīta te teitei.
Nā Okiwi Logan Shipgood (Nō Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao,rātou ko Ngāti Uenukukōpako,ko Ngāti Whakaue, ko Ngāti Tūmatawera,ko Ngāti Kahu Upoko,ko Ngāti Tarāwhai, ko Ngāti Hinekura) i waihangatia.
He pūrākau rongonui kua tāuta ki ngā hoi taringa o ngā whakatupuranga. Takoto momona ana te waiariki i a rāua na uri rangatira i ēnei rangi tonu. Nō reira e ngā ihi e ngā wehi e ngā whakamataku tēnā kotou, tēnā kotou nau mai ki te ao tūroa.
In a pre-dawn ceremony, works by five Tuhourangi artists were unveiled at Te Pūtake o Tawa along Tarawera Rd.
The ceremony was conducted by Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao tohunga Mataia Keepa in accordance with Tūhourangi protocol, tā i te kawa, last Saturday morning.
At each work, as well as karakia, a karanga was performed by a member of the artist's family, a whakapapa was recited and the whole celebrated in song or haka.
Watu Mihinui, of Tūhourangi Tribal Authority, said: "Tūhourangi acknowledges CNI Iwi Holdings Limited and Rotorua Lakes Council for allowing us to participate in this segment of the Whakarewarewa Forest Development project, and the powers at the time for the prudent investment that has enabled Nga Pou Whenua o Tūhourangi to be created at Te Pūtake o Tawa."
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick acknowledged the partnerships that allowed the project to go ahead and praised the artists for their exceptional work.
"Again this is an exceptional demonstration of partnership, between Council, mana whenua, CNI Iwi Holdings Limited and central government's regional economic development and investment unit, Kānoa – REDIU, along with the support of Timberlands, that has enabled this aspect of the Whakarewarewa Forest Development to go ahead."
The fan gate to the hub was designed by Denise Morgan-Koia (Tūhourangi, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Tainui).
The laser-cut design in the sheet steel is inspired by the tāniko pattern used in the costumes of the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao kapa haka (Māori performing arts group).
When open, the gate symbolises welcoming arms to all manuhiri (people from other lands) visiting Te Pūtake o Tawa. Standing sentry is a magnificent 4metre totara toi whakairo carved by Tukiri Tini(Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hinekura, Tainui, Ngāi Tahu).
Umukaria was a chief who lived at Hinemoa Point. He was invited to Rotokakahi for peace talks but his party was ambushed and killed. His head was later found in a cave at Lake Tarawera.
It emerged that the ambush was in retaliation for Umukaria's son-in-law Tutanekai killing two brothers from that area.
Wahiao, Umukaria's son, is the next piece, a stunning bronze mask on a10 tonne lava rock deposited in the forest during the 1886 Tarawera eruption.
It was created by Iwi Le Comte (Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāi Tuhoe).
Wahiao lived on Pukeroa (where Rotorua Hospital stands) and led a war party to avenge his father's death. He trained his troops at Whakarewarewa (full name Te Whakarewarewatanga o te Ope Taua a Wahiao) and they conquered the tribes at Rotokakahi and Tarawera.
Rotokākahi, Tarawera, Rotomahana, and Ōkāreka remain part of the Tūhourangi tribal estate today.
Tawhanga Rika (Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Rangiwewehi) created Kataore, a giant pet lizard whose domain was Mount Moerangi. This sculpture is of corten steel and mātai.
The disc has a four-metre diameter and sits three metres high.
On a fine day, with the sun streaming through the discs, lizards appear to be playing on the ground. Kataore eventually outgrew his playfulness and was blamed for the disappearance of some travellers.
At the end of the carpark, marking the boundary between Tuhourangi and Ngati Whakaue lands, is a 3.5-metre high concrete statue of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.
It is the work of Okiwi Logan Shipgood (Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Uenukukōpako, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Tūmatawera, Ngāti Kahu Upoko, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Hinekura).
The story of how Hinemoa swam from her home at Hinemoa Point to be with Tutanekai on Mokoia Island is legend.
They have thousands of descendants who prove it is no myth.
Dozens of those descendants ended a special morning with a session of whakapapa at Wahiao led by Matetu Mihinui who connected all of us and our two whanaunga who passed away during the week with the tupuna commemorated in the art works.
In Tuhourangi fashion a shared kai brought proceedings to an end.
- Na Stephen Parker ēnei whakaahua i hopu. Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaori Te Puna Whakatongarewa kua utua e Irirangi TeMotu.
He lost an arm and a leg in a crash that killed three friends.