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Kōrero: Te Whāiti, Kaihau Te Rangikakapi Maikara

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Te Whāiti, Kaihau Te Rangikakapi Maikara

1863–1937

Nō Ngāti Kahungunu; he wāhine whai mana

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e S. M. Chrisp, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1996. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

E ai ki ngā whakaatu mai a te whānau, ko te pito whakawaho o te riu o Te Wairarapa pea te wāhi i whānau mai ai a Kaihau Te Rangikakapi Maikara Āporo i te tau 1863. Ko ia te mātāmua o ngā tamariki a Maikara Paranihia rāua ko tana tāne, ko Hōhepa Āporo, te teina o Piripi Te Maari-o-te-rangi. Nā ngā tātai o tōna pāpā a ia i hono atu ki te maha noa o ngā hapū o Ngāti Kahungunu e noho ana i Te Wairarapa ki te tonga, ā, ko ētahi o ērā ko Ngāti Hinewaka, ko Ngāi Tūkoko me Rākaiwhakairi. Kei te taha ki tōna whaea i pā ia ki a Ngāti Maniapoto, ki a Ngāi Tahu ki Te Waipounamu, me Ngāti Kauhī hapū o Ngāti Kahungunu, arā i Pāpāwai e noho ana. I a ia ka pakeke ka piri kaha a ia ki tōna tino hapū, ki a Ngāti Hinewaka o Ngāti Kahungunu.

I a ia e taiohi ana, ko te āhua nei ko Kohunui, he kāinga e pātata ana ki Pirinoa, te wāhi noho o Kaihau rātou ko ōna mātua me ōna tēina, arā, a Te Rauhina, a Hinetauira, a Te Iwingaro, a Hōhepa me Teoti. Ko te āhua nei, i akona ia e ōna pakeke i runga i ngā tikanga o nehe ki te whakapapa me ngā tikanga tuku iho a te Māori, nā te mea, nō muri mai ka noho a ia hei tino tohunga mō aua mea rā. Mārakerake ana te kitea atu o taua tohungatanga i tōna tūnga ki te aroaro o te Kōti Whenua Māori hei māngai mō rātou ko ōna tēina i te tau 1883. He kaiwhiwhi rātou nō ētahi whenua nui tonu i Mangamaunu, i te raki o Kaikōura, i Pirinoa, i Pāpāwai me te takutai moana o Te Wairarapa ki te tonga. He wahine pūkeke, mai i a ia e taiohi tonu ana, ā, i tētahi wā ko tana pāpā tonu tāna i ātetetia e ia i te aroaro o te kōti mō ētahi whenua i Pāpāwai.

Kei te Paipera a te whānau e takoto ana te kōrero i moea e Kaihau a Irāia Te Ama-o-te-rangi Te Whāiti, he toronga tonu nōna, hei hoa tāne mōna i te 1 o Noema 1881. I whanawhanau mai ngā tamariki 13 te tokomaha ki a rāua i ngā tau e 20 i muri mai. Ēngari, tokotoru noa iho o rātou i whiwhi uri: ko Hēnare (Harry), ko Hōhaia (Joe) me Te Hīoirangi (George). Puta ana te rongonui o Irāia Te Whāiti hei toa ki te ahu whenua, whai taonga hoki. Nā reira i taea ai e Kaihau te whakawaireka rātou ko tōna whānau, hokona ana e ia te taonga ā-whare, te kākahu, me ngā taonga tino hāneanea, ahakoa te utu. Ka haere nā te wā, ka neke pērā te whānau ki tētahi kāinga nui, ko Te Kārearea te īngoa, i Hūpēnui (Greytown) noho ai. I reira, ka manakohia rātou e te katoa nā te mea he whānau whai rawa, ā, he atawhai hoki i te tangata.

I te wā o te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao, ka whakapaua e Kaihau ōna kaha ki roto i te kaupapa tāmau whenua i Hūpēnui, ā, kāore i ārikarika te tahua moni nāna i tāpae ki taua kaupapa. Nō muri i te hinganga o Irāia i te urutā rewharewha o 1918, ka taka iho te pūeru o te kahurangi o te whānau ki ngā pokohiwi o Kaihau. I pūmau tonu tana noho i Te Kārearea, me te ū tonu anō hoki o tana aro atu ki ngā mahi umanga a āna tama tokotoru, he mea whakatau rā hoki ki a rātou ngā pānga ā-taonga a Irāia, e £36,000 te rahi. He tirotiro tonu tāna mahi ki ngā kaute o ngā whenua e whakahaeretia ana e āna tama, ā, he wahine koi ki ngā mahi umanga.

Nō te tau 1923, ka whakaritea e Kaihau te whakaarahanga o tētahi māpere whakamahara, māpere nui tonu nei ki tana hoa tāne, i te rua kōiwi o te whānau i Rānana. Kei runga e rārangi ana ētahi o ngā mahi hira a ō rātou tūpuna, tae atu ki ngā whakapapa e hāngai pū ana. Ka kitea i konei te whānuitanga o te mōhio o Kaihau ki ngā tāhuhu kōrero o ngā Māori o Te Wairarapa ki te tonga. I tētahi wā anō, ka ngaro tētahi wāhanga whakaatu i ngā whakapapa. He wā i muri mai, ka tahuri a Kaihau rāua ko tana tama, ko Te Hīoirangi, ki te waihanga, ki te tuhi anō i aua whakapapa, hei painga mō ngā uri whakaheke.

Ko te āhua nei i tipu mai a Kaihau i roto i te Hāhi Mihinare; koirā hoki te tino whakapono i waenganui i ngā Māori o Te Wairarapa. I ngā tau o tōna taikaumātuatanga, ka huri ia ki te Hāhi Rātana. Mai i te tata paunga o te tekau tau atu i 1920 ki te tekau tau atu i 1930, he manaaki auau tonu te mahi a Kaihau i ngā whakaminenga karakia nui a te hāhi i Te Kārearea. Nāna i hari ētahi o āna mokopuna kia kite i a T. W. Rātana i Pāpāwai i te toronga atu o te poropiti rā ki reira i te tau 1928. I taua wā nei kua noho tino hoa nei a Kaihau rāua ko Niniwa-i-te-rangi, te ngārahu whai mana o ngā Māori o Te Wairarapa, i moea rā e Teoti Āporo (ko Tamaihotua Āporo tētahi o ōna īngoa karanga), te tungāne o Kaihau.

Ko Te Kārearea te kāinga noho o Kaihau ā mate noa, ā, nāna i atawhai āna mokopuna me ētahi atu o ana huānga tamariki i reira. He pākaha tana whakatipu i a rātou, ā, i riro tonu nāna i whakarite e moe ana a wai i a wai. I kaha a ia i taua wā anō ki te tiaki i tēnā, i tēnā o ōna whenua ake. Ko 'Mrs Eli' tōna īngoa ki ngā Pākehā o te wā kāinga, arā, he whakapākehātanga nō te īngoa tuatahi o tana hoa tāne. Ko ētahi anō o ōna īngoa kārangaranga ko Maikara Irāia me Maikara Te Ama, ā, ko te īngoa o ōna uri mōna ko 'Granny Kaihau’. He wahine tū poto, he mārōrō te hanga o te tinana, ā, mīharo ana tana moko. I a ia te pūmanawa o te whakamau i ngā kākahu e tika ana, me te aha hoki, kikī ana ōna kāpata kākahu i te nui o te kaka.

Kore rawa i memeha te kaha o tōna awe i runga i tōna whānau ake me ōna whanaunga tata ā mate noa ia i Hūpēnui i te 19 o Hānuere 1937; ka mahue iho ko Te Hīoirangi anake te tama e ora ana. Koia tēnei te mihi i te pānuitanga o tōna matenga, arā, he wahine rangatira hirahira a Kaihau. I tāpuketia ia ki te taha o tana hoa tāne, o Irāia. Ka haere nā te wā, ka tukua e ngā uri o Kaihau, e Hinetauira me Teoti tētahi whenua hei pūtake tīmata ake i te marae o Kohunui. Ko te īngoa o taua takohanga nei ko te Rāhui Māori o Ōkōura.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

S. M. Chrisp. 'Te Whāiti, Kaihau Te Rangikakapi Maikara', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3t25/te-whaiti-kaihau-te-rangikakapi-maikara (accessed 30 March 2024)