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Tomoana, Paraire Hēnare

by Angela Ballara, Ngatai Huata

Biography

Tērā pea nō te tau 1874, 1875 rānei i whānau ai a Paraire Hēnare Tomoana, arā, ko 'Friday' tōna tino īngoa kārangaranga. Ko Pākōwhai, ko Waipatu kē rānei te wāhi i whānau ia i Heretaunga, wāhi o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay). Ko ia te mātāmua o ngā tamariki a Hēnare Tomoana rāua ko tana wahine tuatoru, ko Ākenehi Pātoka, i ora; inarā, tekau mā toru katoa rātou. Nō ngā kāwai tino rangatira o Te Matau-a-Māui tōna matua. Ko ētahi o ngā mātua kēkē o Paraire ko Karaitiana Takamoana, ko Te Meihana Tākihi me Pene Te Uamairangi, ā, katoa ēnei he tino kaihautū nō Te Matau-a-Māui nō tērā rau tau. He mema Pāremata a Karaitiana Takamoana rāua ko Hēnare Tomoana mō te rohe Māori o Te Tai Rāwhiti. Ko ōna iwi ko Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti me Ngāti Kahungunu; ki te taha ki tōna matua tāne he tātai atu ōna ki ngā hapū o Ngāti Hāwea, o Ngāti Hōri, o Ngāti Te Rēhunga me ētahi atu, ā, ki te taha mai ki tōna whaea – he kaihautū rongonui nei ia nō roto o ngā wāhine o Heretaunga – arā, ko ōna hapū ko Ngāi Te Ao, ko Ngāti Hinepare me Ngāti Hinetewai.

Nā ngā kāwai o ōna mātua i pū ai te ira rangatira ki roto i a Paraire. E tamariki tonu ana, ka tukua ki tētahi o ōna tīpuna kia akona ki ngā rākau o te riri e tika ana mā te rangatira. I moe tonu ia i roto i te rūma o tōna ahorangi, whakaraupapatia ana te ako i a ia kia hiwahiwa tonu te tangata, kia tere tonu ngā nekeneke. He Mihinare ōna mātua; heoi anō, tērā pea i te mutunga o te ako a tōna tipuna matua i a ia, ka riro atu a ia ki ngā kura tuatahi a ngā Mihinare. I muri mai, ka oti te taha kura tuarua i a ia i te Kāreti o Te Aute, ā, i tohua ia hei tauira tuakana, hei kāpene hoki mō taua kura. Nō te takiwā o Apirana Ngata a Paraire, ā, tū pakari ana ia i roto i ngā mahi a te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Students' Association) i tīmataria mai i te tau 1897, tae atu ki te Rōpū Taitamariki Māori (Young Māori Party) i hua ake nei i roto mai i te Kotahitanga. I noho piripono tonu ia hei hoa, hei kaitautoko tōrangapū mō Ngata. E kīia ana ko Tomoana tētahi o ngā tino tāngata mōhio o tōna ake iwi, he tangata mārama ki te kōrero i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā.

Ahakoa he hape nei te waewae o Paraire, nā te āhua o te ako a tōna tipuna i a ia, ka wehi kē nei tana toa ki ngā mahi whakataetae a te kaipara. I te tau 1891, ko ia te kaiako me te hāwhepēke o te tīma rakapī o te kura i toa nei i ngā whakataetae o Te Matau-a-Māui, toro haere atu hoki ki Te Waipounamu. Nō muri, ka uru atu ia hei toa mō ngā tīma tēnehi, tīma kirikiti, tīma hōkī hoki o Te Matau-a-Māui, tū ana anō hoki mō te tīma purei korowha o Tūranga (Gisborne). Neke atu i te 10 tau a ia i toa tūturu tonu ai i ngā whakataetae korowha a te Māori o Aotearoa nei. I te tau 1904, ko ia te kaiwhakaako, kaiārahi hoki i te tīma rakapī o te Kāreti o Te Aute ki Niu Taute Wēra (New South Wales), whakataetae ai. Otirā i taua tau anō ka tohua ko ia hei kaiwhakaako mō te tīma 'All Blacks'. I te tau 1910 ko ia te tautakitaki i ngā whakataetae tēnehi Māori, ā, ko rāua ko te minita rā, ko T. H. Kātene, i toa i te whakataetae pirirua tāne. Mō te taha ki te whakataetae pirirua tāne–wāhine i toa rāua ko Mere Houkāmau Stainton. Ko ia te māngai o te rohe o Tamatea (kei Heretaunga) o te komiti whakahaere o te Rōpū Tēnehi Māori o Aotearoa (Māori Lawn Tennis Association) i te tekau tau mai i 1920. Ko ia anō hoki te kaikōrero mō Te Matau-a-Māui i ngā hui a te Kotahitanga Whakahaere o ngā Mahi Putu Paoro o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Rugby Football Union).

He maha ngā whenua i tuko iho ki a Paraire mai i tana matua tāne me ōna mātua kēkē, i tōna taina i a Te Rēhunga, tae atu ki tētahi o ana tuāhine. Te āhua nei i puta he oranga mōna i te mahi pāmu, mēnetia atu hoki i ngā whenua o tōna whānau. Kāti he wāhanga noa anō tēnei nō ngā mahi nui e mahia ana e ia. I te tau 1901, ko ia tētahi o ngā tāngata o te komiti whakahaere i te taha kai, i te toronga mai o te Tiuka o Cornwall, o York me tōna hoa wahine ki Rotorua. Mai i tōna huanga ake i te tau 1901, ko ia te hēkeretari a te Kaunihera o Tamatea (Tamatea Māori Council). Nāna i whakaputa ētahi o ngā pūrongo o āna hui me ōna raruraru i ngā nūpepa Māori, tīmata ake i te pepa nei, i Te Puke ki Hikurangi. Mai i te tau 1900 ka tīmata tana tū hei māngai reimana mō ngā Hīnota Māori o te Hāhi Mihinare.

E rua ngā mārenatanga a Paraire. I wehe rāua ko tana wāhine tuatahi, ko Pani Pōtangaroa i te tau 1912, ā, nō te 20 o Maehe 1913 i mana ai tā rāua tokorautanga. I te wiki tonu i muri mai, i te 27 o Maehe ka moea e ia a Kuini Rīpeka Raerena (Ryland), tētahi o ngā tamariki tokowaru a Taare Raerena, he kaiahu whenua nō Ngāti Porou, rāua ko Hārata Ākuhata-Brown (Parāone), ki Tūranga. E kīia ana 19 tau te pakeke o Kuini. Titoa ana e Paraire te waiata whakaipo nei a 'Pōkarekare ana', ā, waiatatia atu ana e ia ki a Kuini me ōna tīpuna o Ngāti Porou i te marae o Te Poho-o-Rāwiri. Tokowhā ngā tama, tokowhā ngā tamāhine i puta i tēnei o ana moenga, ā, kotahi tana tamaiti tāne whāngai. I kitea whānuitia a Kuini i ngā huihuinga a ngā rōpū wāhine.

Nā Paraire i para te huarahi mō ngā momo titonga waiata ā-ringa hou, mahue atu ana i a ia ngā waiata o te ao tawhito; kāore i rite ngā rangi ki ngā rangi Pākehā nui nei te rerenga, kāore i taea te waiata te whakaōrua, ā, he mīta whakahipahipa kē te momo waiata. I whāia kētia e Paraire te momo tito kupu e taunga ana ki ngā rangi ka taea te whakaōrua, ā, i tuhituhia e ia ngā rārangi orotahi ki te tohu orooro tika; i te nuinga o te wā he mea tango mai ngā rangi i ngā waiata Pākehā. Ko te takinga o te waiata he mea whakahāngai e ia ki tā te Māori hari. Ko tētahi o ana tino waiata ko 'Te ope tuatahi'; otirā ko ētahi tonu o ana waiata Māori ngā tino waiata kei te waiatatia tonutia i Aotearoa nei.

I te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao ka whakamahia e Paraire Tomoana tōna kaha ki te tito waiata hei kaupapa whakahau iwi. Kua 40 kē tana pakeke, arā, he pakeke rawa, ā, he nui rawa ōna pūmanawa, pai kē ake te noho i te kāinga i te tuku i a ia ki te whawhai. Nō konā, ka whakapau ia i ōna kaha ki te kaupapa a Apirana Ngata kia kohia he moni hei painga mō ngā hōia Māori i hoki mai i tāwāhi, me ngā tamariki a rātou kāore i hoki mai. Tae rawa ki Hune o 1917 kua tū i a ia tētahi kapa haka, e huri haere ana ki te kohi moni mō te Tahua Hōia Māori (Māori Soldiers' Fund). Ko te mahi a te rōpū, he whiriwhiri waiata mā ngā hōia i ngā puni, me ērā i te kāinga tonu, i ngā pae o te riri, i ngā wāhi mahi, ā, he waiata poroporoaki i te hunga mate.

I te marama o Hūrae i te tau 1917, ka kawea atu e Paraire tōna tira e 55 te nui, tāne, wāhine ki te whakaataata i te marae i Waiomatatini i te moenga o Te Rina, tamāhine a Apirana Ngata, i a Hetekia Te Kani te Ua. I reira, ā, i muri mai i Manutūkē me Tūranga, £250 te moni i kohia e te rōpū a Paraire. I te marama o Hepetema, i runga i te pōhiri a Ngata, ka haria e Paraire a Te Poi o Heretaunga, koia tēnei te īngoa o taua rōpū i taua wā, ki Pōneke (Wellington). Whā tekau mā rima katoa ngā tāne me ngā wāhine o taua rōpū, ā, atu i te 3 ki te 5 o Hepetema, i te hōro matua e whakaatu ana i ā rātau mahi whakangahau, ā, i muri mai, ka haere ki te puni hōia i Māwaihākona (Trentham Military Camp), whakaataata ai. Ko tētahi o ngā waiata o te rōpū nei ko te waiata rongonui a Paraire, ko 'Hoea rā te waka nei'. Rima rau e rima tekau pāuna te moni i kohia e tēnei rōpū mō te Tahua Hōia Māori. Kātahi ka pānuitia e Paraire, ka tū te rōpū nei, ko Te Ope Ngahau o Heretaunga tōna īngoa i nāianei, ki Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland) i te wā o te Kirihimete mō tētahi 10 rā. I te marama o Hānuere 1918 ka tāia e Paraire ngā kupu o tana waiata tino rongonui, o 'E Pari rā', he tangi ki ngā hōia i mate ki te pakanga. Nō muri mai, ka tangohia e te taua moana roera o Aotearoa (Royal New Zealand Navy) te rangi mō tā rātou hīkoi pōrori. Ko ētahi atu o ngā waiata a Paraire e mōhio whānuitia ana, ko 'Tahi nei taru kino', ko 'I runga i ngā puke', ko 'Hoki hoki tonu mai' me te haka, 'Tika tonu'.

Mai i te marama o Pēpuere o te tau 1918, ko Mohi Te Ātahīkoia rāua ko Paraire Tomoana ngā mema o Heretaunga o te komiti o te Rōpū Māori o Te Tai Rāwhiti Āwhina i ngā Take o te Whawhai (Eastern Māori Patriotic Association), ko te mahi he kohi moni mō te Tahua Hōia Māori. Nuku atu i te £800 o te £7,000 i kohia, nā te rōpū tonu a Paraire i whakakao. I te roanga o 1918 me 1919, ka noho a Paraire hei mema mō tēnei rōpū; i muri o Hūrae o te tau 1918, ko tōna tari matua i tū ki te karapu o Te Tai Rāwhiti (Tairāwhiti Club) i Tūranga. Ahakoa ngā amuamu i puta mō te tohatoha o ngā moni ki ngā mōrehu hōia i hoki mai, i pūmau tāna tautoko i te kaupapa a Apirana Ngata ki te whakahaumi i ngā moni hei hoko rawa, teihana ahu whenua hoki. Tae rawa ki te marama o Āperira o te tau 1919, kua eke kē te rahi o te tahua nei ki te £29,000.

Atu i tōna tino toi ki te tito waiata, he tangata tino taunga a Paraire ki te tuhituhi, ki ngā mahi whakamāori, whakapākehā, ki ngā kōrero o ngā waiata mōteatea, otirā, ki ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā tikanga Māori. Tērā pea ko tōna mōhio ki ngā tikanga me ngā kōrero tuku iho he mea tiki atu e ia i ngā tuhituhinga i kohia e tōna whānau; ko ia anō hoki i te pupuri i ngā pukapuka a tōna matua, a tōna matua kēkē, a Pene Te Uamairangi me tana taina, me Te Rēhunga. Nā roto mai i ngā pepa a tōna pāpā, ka tuhia e ia te maha o āna maramataka, ko te mea tuatahi i tāia ki roto i te nūpepa Māori rā, i te Huia Tangata Kotahi, he mea waihanga ngātahi nā rāua ko te ētita, ko Īhāia Hūtana i te tau 1895. Ka tīmata te puta mai ia marama o aua maramataka i roto i ngā nūpepa i whai wāhi atu ai a Paraire i mua atu i te tau 1921, pēnei i Te Kōpara Te Toa Takitini tāia ana i te tekau tau atu i 1920. He mea whakatakoto ko ngā īngoa o te wā taka o te marama, tae atu ki ngā tau mahi kai me ngā tohutohu hoki mō ngā rā e tika ana ki te hī, ki te whai kē rānei i ētahi atu momo kai. Nā Paraire anō i whāngai atu a Apirana Ngata ki ētahi mōteatea o tērā rau tau i whai wāhi tonu atu ki roto i tana pukapuka o te tau 1928, he mea karanga ko Ngā mōteatea. Ko tētahi o ēnei ko te waiata tino rongonui rā, ko 'Pinepine te kura', nā Paraire tonu i hoatu ngā kupu, ngā whakapākehātanga me ngā whakamārama. I te wā i a Pererika Pēneti (Frederick Bennett) e tū ana hei ētita, ko Paraire tētahi o te komiti whakahaere o Te Kōpara. Nuku atu i tēnā ko Paraire anō tētahi o ngā ētita o Te Toa Takitini, ā, he mea tuhi anō hoki e Paraire he kōrero mō tēnei pepa e pā ana ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti me Ngāti Kahungunu.

Mai i te tau 1936, ko Paraire te tiamana o te Kaunihera o Tamatea, ā, i te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao i whakapau anō a ia i tōna kaha ki ngā mahi āwhina i te pakanga. Ka taka atu ia ki te 70 tau te pakeke, i whai wāhi haere tonu ia i ngā hui nui a te Māori. I te tau 1946, ka pāngia ia e te mate ikura roro, ā, nō te 15 o Āperira i riro atu ai i te au o te mate. Nō te tau 1984 ka mate tana wāhine a Kuini, ā, mahue mōrehu iho ana, tokowhā āna tamāhine, tokotoru āna tama, me tana tama whāngai. Kotahi te tama i mate i te Pakanga Tuarua. He mea tanu a Paraire Hēnare Tomoana ki Waipatu urupā i te tāone o Heretaunga (Hastings).


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Mitcalfe, B. Maori poetry. Wellington, 1974

    Obit. Daily Telegraph. 15 April 1946: 6


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Angela Ballara and Ngatai Huata. 'Tomoana, Paraire Hēnare', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996, updated o Hūrae, 2011. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3t38/tomoana-paraire-henare (accessed 30 March 2024)