FOLLOW THE FIRE: AKIKAAROA

When tracing mana whenua it is important to stay focussed on the light and always follow the fire. The way to clarify the mana whenua for sure... is identify the mana tangata... and that story is often told by the land itself. If you look at any whakapapa it can seem impressive and overwhelming but if you consider one factor when tracing mana... who did they get it from... the trail backwards reveals the line of inheritance and thus the whakapapa of the ahikaaroa

This is the whakapapa of the Rangiwaho clan including Ngati Rangiwaho, Ngati Rangiwaho-Matua, Ngati Tuheke, Ngati Waipapa and Ngati Urungatoka... and as you can see there are some significant links to Kahungnu, Ruapani and Rongowhakaata. The children of Rangiwaho have strong bonds in the Turanga area. Tutekawa and his brothers and sisters had strong connections to all leading whanau.

But if you focus on the people who actually lived there... the people who sustained themselves on the lands around Maraetaha, Whareongaonga, Paritu, Puninga and Okahu... the line of inheritance becomes clear... and shows the line of ownership and occupation since the time of Tamanuhiri.

And again... this is the whakapapa of the Paeaterangi clan including Ngati Rangitauwhiwhia, Ngai Tawehi and Ngati Kahutia... and as you can see there are some significant links to Kahungnu, Tapui Paraheke and Rongowhakaata. The children of Paeaterangi have strong bonds to the Turanga area. Tapunga's children had solid whakapapa connections to all leading whanau in the area.

Again... if you focus on the ahakaaroa and follow the line of fire... the mana whenua becomes apparent. It is the people who live upon the land... those who serve as caretakers and protectors of the land... who are the main beneficiaries of the land and thus they claim mana whenua. If you know that your tipuna had mana whenua... the first question is 'where did they get mana from... and then where did they get mana whenua from. By asking this simple question you can identify the line of ownership and occupation which will eventually lead to our focal tipuna Tamanuhiri. Then the land begins to tell us the story that is etched into the landscape... thus the whakapapa moves to the land.



In the Ngai Tamanuhiri territory there are many many maunga, awa, taunga, kainga, puke etc all over the land. The actual pa and kainga themselves are long since gone but the names remain as a permanent link to that time and those people. If we look at our CORE whakapapa and take note of the names highlighted in red... these people having naming rights to this place... because this land is theirs. They own it... so they named it... pretty simple really

Now have a look at the places on the map... they show 8 generations... clearly a line of mana whenua that indicates the path of inheritance. By following the owners from generation to generation wecan determine the line of inheritance invested in this land. The land itself is speaking to us... telling us about it's layout... linking us to the sea... telling us about the hunting and fishing.... telling us about the wars... telling us great victories... telling us about our survival. If you listen carefully... the land will tell history






WARREN POHATU CREATIVE: ONLINE IWI 2013