 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |
Waikōhatu Marae
Ruatō, Rotoiti
Waikohatu
Kai Ruato, kai runga i te whenua o Ngāti Te Iwimokai tō mātau tupuna a Tarāwhai e tū ana. Ko Ngāti Te Iwimokai te hapū, ko Ngāti Tarāwhai te iwi.
E ai ki nga korero i puta ai te hiahia a Ngati Tarāwhai kia whakatū tetehi wharenui mo te iwi ki Ruato i te tau tekau 1930.
Maninihau
I nga ra o mua ko Maninihau te whare wananga o Ngati Tarāwhai . I tu a Maninihau ki Te Koutu i Okataina. Ka hunuku atu te iwi ki Ruato, whai atu ai i te mahi, ka whakatu ano a Maninihau ki reira. Na wai ra, ka piraungia, a, ka whakahorongia e te hau kainga. Kare i roa ka maharahara ake me hanga whare hou. Ka hia tau a Keita ma te whakapuaki me whakatū anō a Maninihau tē tutuki ai.
Ki ta tetehi, ‘He tino tapu a Maninihau, ehara a ia i te tupuna he kaitiaki ke. E kore e taea te tuhono ki iwi ke.’ Ka roa, ka noho tārewa te kaupapa tae rawa atu ra ki te wa ka tonoa te whanau Malcolm e to ratau na whaea a Makarita, te mokopuna a Keita, kia hangaia te whare nei hai whare nui mo Ngati Tarāwhai .
Maninihau was one of the taniwha (kaitiaki) which guided the Te Arawa canoe to Aotearoa. Maninihau is also the name of the Ngāti Tarāwhai famous whare wānanga which first stood at Te Koutu pa on the shores of lake Okataina, and later at Ruatō.
Maninihau was pulled down in the 1920’s because of its deteriorating state. In the 1930’s and 1960’s discussions and work commenced to build a new Maninihau but were unsuccessful. Some felt that the name Maninihau was inappropriate.
As one speaker stated, ‘how can we recite genealogy from a taniwha to connect to the various iwi?’
It was therefore decided to set aside the name Maninihau and the name Tarāwhai was chosen for the new whare tupuna.
Tarawhai
Ko Tarawhai te Wharenui
Rangimaikuku
Ko Rangimaikuku te wharekai
Waikohatu
Situated at Ruatō, Waikōhatu marae looks out over Lake Rotoiti.
Although the tohunga whakairo of Ngāti Tarāwhai travelled the motu and were involved in the building and carving of many meeting houses it was not until 1984 that Ngāti Tarāwhai had their own marae and wharenui to replace the wharenui Maninihau which had fell into disrepair and then dismantled in the early 1900's.
Ngāti Tarāwhai tohunga whakairo are world - renowned for their skill and esoteric knowledge in the art of tārai waka and mahi whakairo. Examples of Ngāti Tarāwhai carvers' work are housed in museums here in Aotearoa and overseas in places such as Hamburg, Germany (Rauru) and Clandon Estate, England (Hinemihi).
Keita had previously tried to rebuild the wharenui Maninihau at Ruatō 43 years earlier.
The inspiration behind building Waikōhatu Marae was Makarita Malcolm (granddaughter of Keita) with most of the work being done by her whanau who were led by Te Poroa Malcolm.
The whare tupuna Tarāwhai was opened at dawn on the 28th January, 1984. The wharekai is named after Rangimaikuku, the wife of Tarāwhai.
Te Hanga Whare
Ka tīmata te hanga whare i te tau 1982. Na Alec raua ko Mana Malcolm i arahi te mahi tope rakau i Makatiti. Katahi ka haria nga rakau ki Kawerau whakatika ai hai papa hai pou mo te whare. Na Te Poroa Malcolm te arahitanga o te whanau whanui hai whakatu i te marae mo te iwi. He tama nga tokotoru nei na Makarita.
Ko te whanau Malcolm me te tini o ngā ringa āwhina no te PEP ngā kaihanga o nga whare.
Work began on the Whare tupuna in 1982. The tōtara used in the carvings for Tarāwhai were felled from nearby Makatiti. Much of this work was done by the men of the Malcolm whanau and their in-laws under the supervision of brothers Alec and Mana Malcolm. The timber was later taken to the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill to be processed by members of Ngāti Tarāwhai living in the Kawerau and Te Teko area.
Much of the workforce involved in erecting the buildings were made up of workers from a PEP (government employment) scheme.
Te Rā Whakatūwhera
I whakatuwheratia te whare a Tarāwhai i te 28 o nga ra o Hanuere, 1984. I hikitia te tapu o te marae nei e te Hahi Ringatu. Na Makarita ratau ko ana uri a Ritohou a Hanataiti te paepae tapu i takahi.
I huakina noatia te whare e te Minita Māori a Ben Couch.
The dawn ceremony and the lifting of tapu off the buildings and monuments was performed by the Ringatu Church. Tarāwhai was opened by Makarita, her grand-daughter Angela Malcolm and great grand-daughter Hanataiti Simpkins.
The plaque was unveiled later that morning by the then Minister of Māori Affairs, the Honorable Ben Couch.
The whare kai Rangimaikuku was opened a week earlier to enable the workers to prepare for the main opening. This was opened by Makarita and her grand-daughter Maia Malcolm.
Te Whare Tupuna
The Whare Tupuna Tarāwhai stands as the focal point of Waikōhatu marae.
The dining room is named for the wife of Tarāwhai. Rangimaikuku was a great granddaughter of Rakeiora, and the lands around Okataina were originally part of his estate.
On the interior wall of the whare kai is a large mural depicting the tohunga Ngātoroirangi discovering that Tamatekapua had seduced his wife Kearoa. In one corner of the mural is an upraised hand, symbolic of the Ringatù faith and its influence within Ngāti Tarāwhai.
The waharoa is named for the tupuna Tamaterā, a son of Te Rangitakaroro and a grandson of Tarāwhai.
To the left of Tarāwhai is the whare Rautangata. Rautangata was the son of Tamaterā. This building is used as an office and extra accomodation if needed by the hau kāinga.
The pou haki is Te Horeta, a tohunga whakaairo in his time and a son of Te Iwimokai. Te Horeta is a tupuna of the Kapua, Riini, Te Ua and Malcolm whanau among others.
Te Puna Reo o Waione is a puna reo that provides a Ngāti Tarāwhai- based curriculum in te reo Maori for our tamariki.
Whakairo
Nā te tohunga whakairo a Kaka Niao Ngaheu i arahi ai nga tauira o Te Kura Toi o Whakarewarewa i te mahi whakairo. I mahia nga tukutuku me nga kowhaiwhai e nga tamāhine me nga hunaonga a Makarita.
The carvings for the meeting house were done by Kaka Niao Ngaheu of Te Teko and carvers from the School of Carving at the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua. The carvings reflect the distinctive Ngāti Tarāwhai style that Kaka Niao was expert in.
Te Heketanga – ā – Rangi, a principal component in the identity of Ngāti Tarāwhai as an iwi, are depicted throughout the whakairo found in and around the whare.
Outside, the pou tauhu depicts Rangitihi and three of his four wives.
The poupou inside the whare nui traces the whakapapa from Puhaorangi and include tupuna such as Houmaitawhiti, Tùwharetoa, Te Rangihaemata, Te Iwimokai, Hinemoa, Tutānekai, Whakaotirangi, Māui, and Pikiao.
Tukutuku and Kōwhaiwhai
The tukutuku were woven over several months by the daughters and daughter in laws of Makarita Malcolm.
The kōwhaiwhai patterns on the heke include pùhoro, a design originally copied from the rape on the thigh of Pango Ngawene, a famous tohunga and toa of Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Tarāwhai.