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Hikapuhi

by Angela Ballara

Biography

Ko te whakaaro nō ngā tau atu i 186O ki 1871 te wā i whānau ai a Hikapuhi (Te Hikapuhi) Poihipi ki Rotorua. Ko ia te pōtiki o ngā tamariki a Wiremu Poihipi rāua ko Hārete Ngāputu (ko Hārete Manuhuia anō tētehi o ōna īngoa), tekau katoa rātau. Nō Ngāti Te Rangiunuroa hapū o Ngāti Pikiao o Te Arawa tōna whaea, ā, tērā pea nō taua hapū anō tōna pāpa; nōhia ngātahitia anō a Te Rotoiti me Maketū e ngā uri o Te Rangiunuora. He pānga whenua anō tō tōna whānau i te poraka whenua i Paengaroa i te raki (Paengaroa North) e tata ana ki Maketū, ā, ka whai pānga anō rātau ki ētehi poraka whenua kei tata tonu ki Te Rotoiti. I a ia e taitamariki tonu ana ka noho tahi a Hikapuhi rāua ko Alfred Clayton, he kairūri. Tokowaru ngā tamāhine, ā, tokotoru ngā tama e mōhiotia ana i puta ki a rāua. Nō te 19 o Mei 19O6, ka whakatapua tō rāua mārena i Rotorua.

Ko 19O5 pea te tau i hau ai te rongo kaiwhakaora o Hikapuhi. He roa tonu te wā a ia i Ōtaki e nohonoho ana, ā, nō taua tau anō, ka haerea e ia ngā takiwā o Ngāti Toa me Ngāti Raukawa. Nō muri i whanga atu ia ki ngā takiwā o Rotorua atu ki Te Waipounamu torotoro haere ai, ā, ko āna tikanga whakaora tūroro te take i hāmenetia ia. Ko te āhua nei arā ia i Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay) i te tau 19O6, ā, kīhai i pai te rīpoata o āna mahi i tuhia i roto i Te Pīpīwharauroa, te nūpepa Māori a te Hāhi Mihinare.

Kī tā Hikapuhi, he nēhi kē te karanga tika mōna, ehara ko te tohunga. Kāore i roa kua whiwhi ākonga a ia, tāne, wāhine ngātahi. Ko te parani Three Star tana rongoā – he momo waipiro tino kino te kaha – inu kau tonutia ana. I ētehi wā he rahi rawa te pota inu e hoatu ana e ia, i a ia e whakahua ana 'kia ora, kia ora.' E ai ki ngā kōrero, he ākonga ia nā te tohunga, nā Te Weretā, e noho mai rā i Mangatū i te taiwhakauta o Tūranganui-a-Rua (Poverty Bay).

Tērā ētehi merekara i meatia nā Hikapuhi. Kotahi o ēnei ko tōna whakakitenga i tētehi matapō o Te Wairoa. Ēngari, i āhua ngākau rua te whakapono ki a ia i te matenga o Peka Kerekere, tētehi rangatira ahurei o Tūranga (Gisborne) nāna i maimoa. Nā Te Pīpīwharauroa te whakapae nāna i whakahauhau te iwi ki te kanikani i Te Pāhou, i te rangi o te Rā Tapu, ā pau noa te hau. Nāna anō hoki i whakahaere tētehi kawa mārena tāne, wāhine atu, whakamau rawa ai i ngā momo kākahu mā o te mārena, ā, i honongia e ia tērā hunga ki ngā wairua o ngā kapua, o te wai, me ērā anō kei raro whenua. Kātahi ia ka inoi kia tukua iho te mana whakaora tangata ki runga ki āna 'āpotoro'.

Nō te tau 19O6, ka hanepī te whakamātau a Māui Pōmare, te āpiha whakahaere i te ora mō ngā Māori, ki te whakakāhore i ngā mahi a Hikapuhi e whakahaerea ana e ia i Te Wairarapa i taua wā. E ai ki ngā rīpoata a ngā āpiha Māori tirotiro i te ora ā-rohe, e whakahauhautia ana ngā mahi haurangi e āna tikanga. Tae atu ki ngā pēpi e meinga ana kia inu parani. I te rīpoata anō a Pōmare, tonoa ai ngā tamariki ki te kura me ā rātau pounamu whāiti, kī tonu i te parani, kei ō rātau pūeru e huna ana. Ka tangohia ake hei inuinu mā rātau i ngā wā tākaro o te kura. He mea whiu e te ture ētehi o ngā ākonga a Hikapuhi nā te hoko waipiro ki ngā wāhine Māori. E ai ki tā Pōmare, ahakoa kāore i hāngai te kōrero, ko Hikapuhi anō tētehi me tuku mā te ture e whiu.

Ahakoa te whakatakariri kino tonu nei o ngā āpiha o te kāwanatanga ki ngā mahi a Hikapuhi, pūmau tonu te whakapono o ana tūroro ki a ia. I Ākuhata o 19O6 ka tukua e Hoani Te Rangitaka-i-waho tētehi pepa tautoko i a Hikapuhi ki a Timi Kara (James Carroll), te minita mō ngā take Māori i taua wā. Neke atu i te 3O ngā tāngata o Pāpāwai nā rātau i haina taua pepa. Nā Hoani te whakamārama mō te maha noa o te hunga nā Hikapuhi i takai ō rātau mate whara, i whakaora ō rātou aitu kāore he utu. Mutu mai, ko āna mahi katoa i mahia i runga i te aroha. Āpiti atu, tērā anō ētehi tūroro menā kāore i whakaorangia e ia kua hemo kē. Ko Hikapuhi anake te kaiwhakaora tūroro e wātea mai ana ki te hunga kīhai i āhei ki te utu i ngā rongoā, i te tākuta rānei, e mataku ana rānei ki te toro atu i te kaimatū Pākehā. Ka petihanatia e Te Rangitaka-i-waho kia tukua e te kāwanatanga ētehi raihana mā Hikapuhi me ōna hoa nēhi, me te inoi anō kia kaua e whakakāhoretia e ngā tākuta, e ngā pirihimana rānei, tāna whakamahi i te parani hei rongoā.

Otirā, ka haere tonu ngā mahi ki te ātete i a Hikapuhi. Ko te kī a Pereiha (A. L. D. Fraser), te mema Pāremata mō Ahuriri (Napier) i te wā e taupatupatua ana te Pire Whakamutu Tohunga (Tohunga Suppression Bill) i te tau 19O7, he kaha kē ake te awe o Hikapuhi ki te mahi kino, tēnā i tō Rua Kēnana. Nō te Hūrae o 19O8, ka puta te whakapae a te tiamana o te Kaunihera o Rongokako (Rongokako Māori Council) me te āpiha tirotiro i te ora ā-rohe, a Taiāwhio Te Tau, arā, tokotoru ngā tāngata i mate i ngā mahi whakaoraora a Hikapuhi. Ko ia te taupaepae a te haihana o ngā pirihimana, a Nathaniel Miller, i te haerenga o tērā ki te pā o Te Oreore. Ahakoa te kī pēnei a tana rīpoata mō tētehi hui i reira, arā, he wāhi tōmua e opurua ana e te tangata, kīhai ia i kite e tuhene rawa ana te inu waipiro. Nō te matenga o ētehi tamariki tokowhā nā te mate kohi katoa i patu, kāre i taea te whakatau ko Hikapuhi te take, ko āna nēhi rānei.

Horokukū ana pea te Tari Māori me Pōmare kia riro mā rātau e whakahaere te āhua o te hauora Māori i Te Wairarapa. Tahuri kē ana rāua tahi ki te waiho i te mahi nei mā te Kaunihera o Rongokako, ēngari kāre hoki a Te Tau i pai māna e mau. Ki tōna nei whakaaro mā te kāwanatanga kē e pana atu a Hikapuhi i taua takiwā. Nō te tau 19O9, nā te ngārahu whai mana o Te Wairarapa rā, nā Hoani Parāone Tūnuiārangi te whakapae, e 20 ngā tāngata i hemo i raro i ngā ringa o Hikapuhi, ā, i ana toronga atu i Tūranga me Te Wairoa, nā Hikapuhi ngā whakahauhau kia kai waipiro, i whakakohete hoki i te tangata. Otirā, ko te nuinga o ngā amuamu e hāngai kē ana ki āna apataki. Nā te Kaunihera o Rongokako a Hikapuhi i uiui, ā, i wetekina e rātau ngā hara i tāpaengia ki a ia. I hainatia e te tini Māori tētehi petihana e tono ana ki te Kaunihera o Rongokako kia whakamanahia tana mahi. Ko Tā Apirana Ngata i Hūrae o te tau 19O9 he akiaki kia whiua a Hikapuhi i raro i te Ture Whakamutu Tohunga o 19O7; ko te whakahoki a Timi Kara i te Mei o 1910 ko tēnei – me waiho noa kia takoto.

Āta mutu haere nei ngā mahi a Hikapuhi, mutu tonu atu. Koia tēnei te hua i puta i te kaha kore e pai o ngā āpiha a te kāwanatanga ki āna mahi, ā, kua kore āna tikanga e manakohia i te mea kua nui haere ngā nēhi e mahi ana i roto i te wāhanga hauora Māori. Nā ngā mahi mākahi tonu a ētehi o āna ākonga i whakararu āna mahi, i whakararu tōna mana. Ko 1913 te tau o ngā rongo kōrero whakamutunga mōna e mahi tonu ana ia i Te Wairarapa. I tana toronga atu i Pōneke (Wellington) i te tau 1915, he mārama te kite atu kua pupau kē te wā o tōna hiranga. Nō te 13 o Hune 1913, ka hinga mai tōna hoa tāne i Ōhinemutu i Rotorua. Ākene pea koia tēnei te wā i hoki ai a Hikapuhi ki ōna ngare o Te Arawa. I mate ia i Rotorua i te 6 o Hānuere 1934.

Ko ngā mana poropiti, ko ngā mana tohunga ngā kaha o Hikapuhi, i āhei ai āna tūroro ki ngā tikanga o te kauaerunga o te Māori, ki te whakaora i ō rātau wairua, whakaū hoki i te tūmanako. Ko ngā mahi i tutuki i a ia he mea whakarāpopoto pēnei nā Pereiha i a ia e wenerau ana i a Hikapuhi, arā, i haere atu ia i tētehi tāone ki tētehi atu, i tētehi kāinga ki tētehi atu, huri noa i te koroni, whārikiriki ai i tōna mana. He āwheo tōna, he huatau momo atua tonu atu ana huanga. Ki te Pākehā me ngā mana whakahaere Māori he takeo a Hikapuhi, ā, he tohu hoki nō ō rātau takanga katoa. Ki te tini Māori, ko ia noa iho te puna ora mō rātau e pāpāngia ana e te mate. Mutu mai i a Hikapuhi, kāhore i kō atu.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Coney, S. Standing in the sunshine. Auckland, 1993

    Lange, R. T. 'The revival of a dying race: a study of Maori health reform, 1900—1918, and its nineteenth century background'. MA thesis, Auckland, 1972

    Williams, J. A. Politics of the New Zealand Maori. Seattle, 1969


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Angela Ballara. 'Hikapuhi', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3h24/hikapuhi (accessed 19 March 2024)