Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Ngata, Arihia Kane
1879–1929
Nō Ngāti Porou; he wahine whai mana
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Ranginui J. Walker, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1996. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
E ai ki ngā whakamōhiotanga mai a tōna ngare, i whānau mai a Arihia Kane Tāmati i Whareponga kāinga i Te Tai Rāwhiti i te tau 1879. Taihoa ake nei ka mōhiotia a ia ko Arihia Ngata. Ko ia te tuawhā o ngā tamariki tokoiwa a Mere Arihi Kākano rāua ko tana hoa tāne, ko Tuta Tāmati o Te Aitanga-a-Mate hapū o Ngāti Porou. Nā te kāwai o tōna pāpā i whai pākanga atu ai ia ki ngā hapū o Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa me tērā o Te Aowera. He pāparakāuta ake tō te whānau a Tuta, ā, ko rātau tonu i te whakahaere. He hoa a Paratene Ngata nō Tuta Tāmati. Ko Tuta tētahi o ngā mema taketake o te Rōpū Poronihiana (Polynesian Society). Ko te whakaaro i kuraina a Arihia ki te kura Māori o tōna wā kāinga.
I whai ngā mātua o Arihia ki ngā tikanga tuku iho, ā, i mau ki te tikanga rangatira rā o te kōwhiri i ngā hoa mārena mō ā rāua tamariki. Na, ko te tuakana kē o Arihia, ko Te Rina i taumautia ki a Apirana Turupa Ngata, te tama a Paratene Ngata, ēngari i mate mai a Te Rina i mua i te rā i whakaritea kia mārena rāua. E ai ki ngā tikanga a te Māori, ka whakamoea e ngā kaumātua te hoa tāne ki tētahi o ngā tāina o tērā. Tekau mā ono noa iho ngā tau o Arihia ka moe nei rāua ko Apirana Ngata i te tau 1895. I neke pērā atu rāua ki Ākarana (Auckland) noho ai, nā te mea i reira a Apirana e mahi ana mā tētahi umanga rōia i a ia e whakaoti ana i āna kaupapa ako i te whare wānanga.
O ngā tamariki 15 a Arihia, tokotoru ngā mea tāne me te mea wahine kotahi i mate i te wā e pēpi tonu ana. Ko ngā mea i ora ā pakeke noa, tokoono noa ngā mea wāhine (arā, ko Te Rina, ko Pareārau, ko Tai, ko Hinehou, ko Hana me Matehuatahi), me ngā mea tāne tokorima, (arā, ko Mākarini Tānara, ko Paratene Pūrewa, ko Wiremu Tuakana, ko Tīpene me Hēnare). Nō te tau 1899, ka tohua a Apirana hai hēkeretari torotoro haere mō te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Students' Association). Koirā te wā i hoki ai rāua ko Arihia ki te kāinga o ngā Ngata i te takiwā o Kākāriki noho ai. Kai kō paku atu i Ruatōria (Te Rua-a-Tōrea) taua wāhi nei. He rite tonu te ngarongaro atu o Apirana ki Pōneke (Wellington) i te pōtitanga i a ia i 1905 hai Mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Rāwhiti. Tau rawa ki 1914, kua oti kē i a rāua ko Arihia te hanga tētahi whare hou mō rātau ko tō rāua whānau. He mea tapa taua whare rā ko Te Wharehou. Koineki rā te īngoa karanga a te iwi kāinga mō taua whare. Heoi anō nō te tahanga o ngā tau, ka mōhiotia whānuitia ko 'The Bungalow'. Nā runga i ngā ngaromanga roa a tōna hoa tāne i te Pāremata, me āna mahi ki te toro haere i roto i ērā atu rohe ā-iwi, ka noho i nāianei ko Arihia te pou whakawhirinaki o tēnei whānau tino whakahirahira rawa atu o Te Tai Rāwhiti.
I a Arihia ngā pūmanawa o te wahine e matatau ana ki te whakahaere i ngā tikanga e pā ana ki tōna kāinga, ki te whakatipu i āna tamariki, ki te whakaako i a rātau ki ā rātau tikanga ā-iwi, ki ngā kōrero tuku iho, ki te mahi kāri, tunu parāoa, mahi tīamu, mahi pounamu hua rākau, ki te manaaki i ngā kaingārahu o Ngāti Porou me te nui noa atu e haere ake ana ki te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro ki a Apirana Ngata i ngā wā e mau mai ana a ia i a rātau ki te kāinga. Kāore āna hāwini, ēngari i whirinaki ia ki ōna whanaunga hai ringa āwhina mōna ki te whāngai i ngā ope nui whakaeke. E maumaharatia ana a Arihia Ngata, tēnā rawa ia, mō tana pūmanawa ki te whakahiato i te rangatahi o Ngāti Porou kia hui tahi mai ki a ia. Ko tōna kāinga te wāhi tūtaki. Ko ngā papa tēnehi te mea e minatia ana e te rangatahi tākaro tēnehi, ā, nā Arihia i tautoko taua tākaro me ētahi atu, pērā i te whutupaoro, i te pāhiketepōro me te hōkī. Ko te mahi a ngā manuhiri i ngā ahiahi pō, tamariki atu, pakeke atu, he tūtū haere huri noa i te piana i roto i te 'Rūma Māori' waiata ai. I taua rūma nei ētahi whakairo me ētahi tukutuku e whakanui ana i ngā mahi i tutuki i a Apirana Ngata i roto ngātahi i te ao Māori me te ao Pākehā.
I te wā o te Pakanga Tuatahi, ka whakahauhaua e ngā kaiārahi o Ngāti Porou ā rātau taitama kia haina mō ngā ope taua Māori. He wāhi whakahirahira tō Arihia i roto i taua mahi nei, arā, ki te whakahaere i ngā hui kohi moni, me te manaaki i ngā hōia hou, hōia taitama nei. Ko ia tētahi i te pokapū tonu o ngā hui e tautoko ana i ngā kaupapa ahu whenua tōmua a Apirana Ngata, ā, he pērā anō te wāhi i riro i a ia i tētahi hui nui i tū ki Waiomatatini i Pēpuere o 1917. Koirā te tau i huraina ai ngā whakairo whakapaipai me ngā tukutuku i roto i Te Wharehou. E £3,000 te takoha a rātau i tae ake hai utu i ngā moni i whakapaungia, ēngari, i tahuri kē a Ngata ki te whakapati kia tukuna e ngā kaihoatu te moni hai tīmata i te Tahua Hōia Māori. Taka mai ki te tau 1918 ka whakawhiwhia a Arihia ki te tohu o te Mema o te Emepaea o Peretānia (MBE) mō āna mahi i ngā tau o te pakanga. Nō ngā tau o muri tata mai i te pakanga ka tukuna e Arihia tōna kāinga hai wāhi noho mō ngā taitama o ērā atu iwi e haramai ana kia akona e Ngāti Porou ki ngā mātauranga ki te pāmu hipi. He nui tonu ngā marama i pau i ētahi e noho ana i tōna taha, e whanga ana kia hoki mai a Ngata i Pōneke, kai a ia kē hoki te tikanga kai runga i tēwhea pāmu tētahi mahi tūturu mā rātau. I awhia katoatia rātau e Arihia, ā, ka meinga rātau e ia hai mema mō tōna whānau whānui.
Ahakoa ehara i te wahapū tōna reo Pākehā kīhai ia i manawarau i roto i ngā huihuinga Pākehā. I ngā hui e tae tahi ana rāua ko Apirana, ka kitea tōna ātaahua me tōna whakamanawatanga. E kī ana ngā whakaāturanga mōna, arā, he wahine itiiti te hanga, he wahine whakamā, ā, he wahine hūmārika. I riro ko tōna āhua matawhāiti, pukuaroha hoki hai hoa mō te āhua taikaha o tōna hoa rangatira. Nāna i tautāwhi te katoa o ngā mahi tōrangapū a Apirana, ā, he mea hāpai tahi nā rāua te here a Ngata ki te kaupapa turaki waipiro me te Hāhi Mihinare. Nō te meatanga i a Ngata hai Minita Māori i te tau 1928, ka kaha kē atu tana whakawhirinaki ki a Arihia (kua karangahia ko Reiri Ngata i nāianei) hai kairīwhi māna i ngā hui a Ngāti Porou, i ngā wā e ngaro atu ana ia. Nā ēnei mahi āna i tino kaha rawa atu ai te whakaaro nui o tōna iwi ki a ia.
I te Maehe o 1929, he wāhi nui tō Apirana Ngata i te kawanga o Māhinārangi, te whare nui o Tainui, i Tūrangawaewae marae i Ngāruawāhia. Ko Arihia me tā rāua tama mātāmua, me Mākarini i haere atu i tōna taha rātau ko te ope o Ngāti Porou, kotahi mano te kaha. He hui nui whakaharahara; koinei te hui nāna i tīmata te aranga ake o te Māoritanga. Ko te whakaaro o te kaiwhakakīkī, o Te Puea, ki a Ngāti Porou mō tā rātau mahi ki te kohi moni hai tautoko i te kaupapa, ka tukuna e ia ki a Arihia te hōnore ki te hura i te whakaironga o Pōtatau i te pou whakamahau o te whare. Nā ngā raruraru i pā i te wā o te hurahanga, me ngā kōhimuhimu whakahē a ētahi o ngā kaumātua o Waikato, ka kīia aua mea rā, he tohu nō te aituā i tūpono i muri iho.
I pāngia a Mākarini e te mate kōea i taua hui. Nā Arihia i whakatapuhi tana tama, ēngari nō te 8 o Āperira a Mākarini ka mate. I pāngia anō hoki a Arihia e taua mate. Tekau ngā rā i muri mai, arā, i te 18 o Āperira, ko ia tēnā kua hinga. Nā te matenga o Arihia me ngā wawara o te mākutu i āpurua ai a Apirana e te pōuri. Ahakoa tana mōhio nā Mākarini kē i pāngia ai a Arihia e te mate, taumaha ana tō rāua hoahoatanga ko Te Puea.
Haehaea ana te poho o Ngāti Porou whānui tonu i te hinganga o Arihia Ngata. I whakatūria te tohu toanga o Reiri Arihia mā te hunga wāhine Māori e tākaro hōkī ana, hai tohu whakamaharatanga ki a ia. Nō te tau 1930, ka hangaia te Hōro Whakamauharatanga ki a Arihia i Waiomatatini, hai hoa mō Porourangi, te whare tipuna o Ngāti Porou. Nā te waipuke taua hōro rā i tukituki i te tau 1938. I mua tata mai i te matenga o Apirana i 1950, ka whakahoutia te hōro, ā, nāna i whakatuwhera. I kī pēnei a ia, koineki te mahi whakamutunga ka mahia e ia i mua i te paunga o ōna rā, arā, he tohu whakamoemiti, ā, he maimai aroha nāna ki tana wahine hokoi, ki te kōkā o āna tamariki. He wahine kakama, he wahine piri pono, he wahine ihu oneone a Arihia. Hanga noa iho ki a ia ngā mahi ki te tautoko i tana hoa tāne i roto i ngā whāinga maha a tērā. Kāore anake ko te aroha nui o tana hoa tāne te mea i riro i a ia, kāo, i riro anō hoki i a ia te aroha me ngā manaakitanga a te katoa o tōna iwi.