Paul White (Ngāi Tūpoto, Tahaawai, Te Rarawa) has launched two books that take a deep dive into the history of the Far North settlement of Motukaraka.
White says it’s a culmination of his life’s work which involve being a part of process to have certain land blocks returned to his people and being a negotiator and researcher for the Te Rarawa Claims settlement Act.
“I was mindful that I was the holder of a lot of knowledge and information that needed to be shared”.
“Ko te mea nui kia kohikohi i ngā whakapapa o te hapū o Ngāi Tūpoto, Ngāti Here o Motukaraka o Hokianga”
“The big thing was to pull together the geneology of Ngāi Tūpoto, Ngāti Here, Motukaraka and the wider Hokianga region” he added.
The first book Te Iringa o Tūpoto retraces the histories from the time of Kupe and Nukutawhiti through to the emergence of his people of Ngāi Tūpoto and Ngāti Here.
“We’ve been on the whenua at Motukaraka for more than 20 generations and so there is a lot of korero there” he said.
The second book, Ngā Tātai Hono is a record of how local families connect with each other and to other tribes across the region. He says it is crucial to keep a record of this information.
“Some of the interviews I’ve quoted are from people who have been gone for 30 to 40 years now. I have done about 60 interviews of hapū members some of them who hold pūrakau that nobody else knew about our experiences”
Both books we’re launched last week in a ceremony called ‘Whakatere ki tai” where both books we’re cast into the Hokianga harbour to honour the tupuna who’s stories the books preserve.
He adds that the books tie into a wider strategy to ensure his hapū‘s future and for descendants to be able to sustain themselves both spiritually and physically.
“We have a remerging strength. Our hau kāinga are stretched. We’ve lost a lot of a number of our key kaikōrero, kai karanga in recent years” he said
He concedes that while there are brilliant young ones from their hapū that are contributing to hapu rangatiratanga. Ensuring that there are opportunities to strengthen the ahikā, and to provide avenues for whānau to return home is also crucial.
“We have a papa kainga project to build 9 homes. We’re also building a social hub at the old Hokianga dairy factory, which is going to support hapu activities like whakairo, raranga and rongoā”.
“I don’t believe a hapū can survive without a strong hau kāinga base, its fundamental pūtake for everybody. The book is a part of that, housing is a part of that, mahi is part of that”.
The books are available for purchase from the Ngāi Tūpoto ki Motukara facebook page.
