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Īhaka, Kīngi Matutaera

by Kingi Ihaka

Biography

I whānau mai a Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka ki Te Kao i Te Tai Tokerau i te 18 o Oketopa o te tau 1921. Ko tōna tupuna tuarua ko Parāone Ngāruhe, nāna rā i haina te Tiriti o Waitangi mō tōna iwi, mō Te Aupōuri. Ko Kīngi te tamaiti tekau mā toru o ngā tamariki tekau mā whā a Eru Tīmoko Īhaka rāua ko tana wahine, ko Te Paea Nēpia. Ko tētahi atu o ngā īngoa o Te Paea ko Te Haumutunga Reewe Hinks. Nō te hapū o Te Riumākutu o Te Aupōuri a Eru, ā, he tangata ahu whenua ia; ko Te Paea he uri whakaheke nō Te Rarawa. Kāore a Te Paea i mōhio ki te kōrero Pākehā, ā, kāore hoki ia i tae ki te kura. Hāunga anō, i runga tonu i tana pai ki te whakahaere i te pūtea iti a te whānau, ā, ahakoa ngā uaua o tērā wā, tokowhitu rawa āna tamariki i tae ki te kura tuarua. I kuraina te matua o Kīngi ki Tīpene (St Stephen’s Native Boys’ School) i Panēra (Parnell) i Ākarana (Auckland). He Mihinare rongonui ia, he kaiwhakamāori whai raihana, ā, he hoa hoki rāua ko Apirana Ngata. I tapaina ia ki te īngoa Kīngi Matutaera hei whakamaumaharatanga ki te taenga ake o Te Puea Hērangi ki Te Kao ki te hahu i tētahi tamaiti o Waikato i mate atu ki reira – koirā anō tōna īngoa – ka whakahoki atu ki Taupiri tanu ai. Kāti, nō muri mai, ka noho ko taua īngoa tētahi o ngā take i tino piri tata ai a Īhaka rātou ko te iwi o Waikato. Waia ana te karanga a te tangata i a ia ko Matu.

I kuraina a Kīngi ki te kura Māori o Te Kao (Te Kao Native School), ā, he tauira pai kē nei hoki ia. He mea whakahau e tōna kaiwhakaako, e Te Wati (Archibald Hume Watt) te kōrero Māori i te kura, ahakoa rā, ko te nuinga o ōna mōhiotanga ki ngā tikanga Māori i whiwhi kē mai ia i tōna matua me ōna kaumātua. Ko tētahi mea nui i hāngai ki te āhua o te whakatipu, whakaako mai i a ia i te kāinga, ko ngā karakia me ngā hīmene tonu hoki a tōna whānau. He tamaiti matemate a Kīngi, ā, e whitu ōna tau, ka pāngia a ia e tētahi mate tino kino kē nei. Nā te mate kuawa me te kore kaha ōna ki te kai i haria atu ia e tōna matua ki te tohunga o tō rātou takiwā, ki a Matiu Tūpuni. Nō te rā o muri mai, i whakahokia atu e Matiu a Kīngi ki te kāinga, arā, he mea whakahoki ora atu rā. I a ia e pakeke ana, ka puta te kōrero a Kīngi mō te torutoru noa o ngā Pākehā i kite ia i te wā e tamariki tonu ana ia, arā, ko tana kaiwhakaako, ko te tākuta me te nēhi ā-rohe, ka mutu.

I te tau 1936, ka wehe mai a Kīngi rāua ko tōna tuakana, ko Toro i Te Kao, ko tō rāua haerenga atu tēnā ki te kura o Tīpene, i te taha tonga o Ākarana. Ahakoa tana pāngia tonutia e te mate, he tauira pai ia, ā, e pārekareka ana ki a ia te puoru me te mahi pānui pukapuka. Ko tōna tino hoa i a ia i te kura ko Eddie Malietoa, ā muri ake nei i noho ai hei Tumuaki mō Hāmoa. I a Malietoa i te kura ko ia te whakaihuwaka mō te whakataetae nei, mō te mekemeke, ā, ka whawhai nei ia, ko Kīngi tonu hei piki māna.

Nō tana wehenga mai i te kura, i uru atu a Kīngi ki te Tari Māori (Native Department), i mahi nei ia hei karaka atu i te tau 1939 ki te 1942, arā, i Ākarana me Te Kao a ia e mahi ana. I tēnei wā, i noho ia hei mema mō te rōpū Māori o Ākarana (Te Ākarana Māori Association), ā, i mahi hoki ia mā te Poari Whenua Māori o Te Tai Tokerau (Tokerau Māori Land Board). I tua atu i tēnā, he haihana ia mō te ope tautiaki i te toi whenua o Te Kao. I te tau 1943, ka tonoa ia ki Tūranga (Gisborne) mahi ai, ā, ko tana tūtakitanga tēnā ki a Manutūkē Sadlier o Te Whānau-a-Te Uruahi, he hapū nō Ngāti Porou. Nō te 22 o Hepetema i te tau 1945, i te whare nui, i a Tīnātoka i Whakawhitirā i Te Tai Rāwhiti, i mārena ai rāua. Tokotoru ā rāua tama tāne, ā, kotahi nei tā rāua tamāhine whāngai.

Nō te tau 1945, i puta a Kīngi Īhaka i te whakamātautau hei kaiwhakamāori taumata tuatahi, ēngari ka hipa nei te rua tau he kaimahi nei ia mā te kāwanatanga, ka whakauru atu ia ki te Kāreti o Hoani Te Kaikauhau (St John’s College) i Ākarana i te tau 1947, kia whakaakona a ia hei minita Mihinare. I te tau 1949, i whakawahia a ia hei rīkona, ā, whakatūria atu anō hoki a ia hei pirihi kaiāwhina mō te Whare Karakia o Matiu (St Matthew’s Church) i Whakaoriori (Masterton). I a ia i reira, i whakatūria ia ki te poari whakahaere o te YMCA o taua takiwā. Whakawahia ana a ia hei pirihi i Rangiātea, arā, i te whare karakia Mihinare Māori o Ōtaki. Heoi anō, i noho tonu ia hei pirihi kaiāwhina i te Whare Karakia o Matiu ā tae noa ki te tau 1952. I tua atu i tēnā, ko ia anō hoki te minita mō te minitatanga Mihinare Māori o Te Wairarapa (Wairarapa Anglican Māori Pastorate).

Mai i te tau 1952 ki te tau 1958, i noho ko ia hei pirihi mō te minitatanga Māori o te rohe o Whanganui–Rangitīkei ki te raki (Wanganui–Rangitīkei North Māori Pastorate), ā, mai anō i te tau 1952, ko tana papa mahi ko te Whare Karakia Whakamaharatanga Mihinare o Pāora (St Paul’s Anglican Memorial Church) i Pūtiki. Nui ana āna mahi, ā, kāore i rerekē atu i ana tau i muri mai i tana wahatanga ake i ngā take e tōtika nei mā te hapori, me ka wātea nei ia ki te mahi. He mema whakapūmau ia nō te karapu Māori o Pūtiki (Pūtiki Māori Club). Nō te tau 1955, i pōtitia a ia hei mema mō te rōpū whakahaere o te Tominiona (Dominion Executive) o te rōpū Rīpeka Whero o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Red Cross Society), ā, i nōhia e ia te tūranga nei mō ngā tau maha tonu. He mema anō hoki ia nō te poari o te whare taonga mō te katoa o Whanganui (Wanganui Public Museum), me te rōpū hoki o ngā Jaycees o Whanganui. He mema anō hoki ia nō te komiti whakahaere ā-iwi o te rohe, nō te Kaunihera Māori o te Takiwā o Aotea (Aotea District Māori Council), me te komiti ā-iwi o Pūtiki (Pūtiki Tribal Committee). I pānuitia ki Te Ao Hou ana kohikohinga whakataukī Māori me ana kōrero kīwaha i manako nei ia. Pōuri ana tana pāriha ka mahue nei i a ia a Whanganui, ka whakawhitia atu nei ia ki te minitatanga Māori o Pōneke (Wellington Māori Pastorate) i te tau 1958. Titoa ake ana e Waiharakeke Waitere o Ngāti Apa tētahi waiata hei poroporoaki atu i a ia.

Haere ngātahi ana ngā mahi a tana minitatanga me ērā atu tū momo kaupapa āna. Nō te tau 1961, i tohua a Kīngi Īhaka hei kaitohutohu hangarau, kaiwhakaatu hoki mō te whakapikitiatanga o ngā tuhinga kōrero a Sylvia Ashton-Warner, e kīia nei ko Spinster. I taua tau anō, ka tīmata tana pāho mai i te whakaari irirangi ‘Māoritanga’ i te reo irirangi o te motu. I tohua anō hoki a ia hei kaiwhakaako i te mātauranga mō ngā karaehe pakeke i te karapu Māori o Ngāti Pōneke (Ngāti Pōneke Māori Club). Mai i te tau 1964, i noho a Īhaka hei perehitini mō te karapu Mihinare Māori o Pōneke (Wellington Anglican Māori Club), ā, nā āna mahi tito waiata me te whakaako kapa haka i ngā whakataetae maha i hōrapa whānui ai tōna rongo. Hāunga anō te rongonui o ngā kapa haka i arahina e ia i roto i ngā tau, me tō rātou whiwhi nei i te huhua noa o ngā tino tohu, kāore i rawe ki a Īhaka te wairua whakataetae e hiwa ake nei i ngā whakataetae taurima a ngā iwi Māori o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Ahakoa tērā, i kite tonu ia i ngā hua e puta ana, arā, te whakakaha ake i te pai o ngā mahi haka, waiata, poi, pātere me te tito waiata. Nō te tau 1965, i mahia e tōna karapu tētahi kōpae puoru, ko Utaina te īngoa, ā, nāna tonu hoki i tito ētahi o aua waiata rā. I whakawhiti atu te kapa haka ki tāwāhi, ā, ko ia tonu te kaiwhakahaere. Pū ana te rongo o Īhaka he ngutu kākā ki te whaikōrero, otirā, ko ia i te whaikōrero i te tuwheratanga o te whare, o Arohanui ki te Tangata, i Waiwhetū i te tau 1960, ā, i te tau 1966, nāna i poroporoaki a Kīngi Korokī i tōna tangihanga i Ngāruawāhia. Nō taua tau anō, i meinga atu a ia hei mema ki te komiti tohutohu matua o te Kaporeihana o te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa (New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation), ā, nō te tau o muri mai, i tū a ia hei mema mō te komiti mō te taiopenga toi Māori o Pōneke (Wellington Māori Arts Festival Committee).

Nō te tau 1967, i nekehia atu a Kīngi Īhaka ki Ākarana hei mihinare Māori mō Ākarana. I taua tau tonu, ko ia te kanohi Mihinare Māori i tae ki te koroneihana o te Kīngi o Tonga. He mea pōti anō hoki a ia hei mema mō te komiti tumuaki o Ākarana (Auckland Standing Committee) o te Pīhopatanga o Ākarana (Diocese of Auckland), me te komiti tumuaki Māori mō taua pīhopatanga anō; i whakatūria atu anō hoki a ia ki te poari karahipi whakamaumaharatanga ki a Paki Tīpene, ā, nō te tau 1968 i pōtitia a ia hei mema mō te rōpū taiopenga toi o Ākarana (Auckland Festival Society). Ahakoa ēnei mahi i whai tonu ia i ērā atu anō o ana mahi: he mema anō hoki a ia nō te karapu Raiona (Lions Club) o Ākarana, ā, nō mai i te tau 1969, i noho a ia hei mema mō te kaunihera whakahiato tāpui (Tourist Development Council). Nō te tau 1970 i tohua a ia hei mana whakaāio, ūhia atu hoki ki te tohu whakahōnore MBE. Nō te tau 1971, i meinga ko ia hei mema mō te rōpū mahi he tiro nei tā rātau i ngā tikanga Māori, ā, atu i tērā tau ki 1972, noho ake ana ia hei heamana mō te komiti mō te taiopenga toi o ngā iwi o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa i Aotearoa (New Zealand Polynesian Festival Committee). He aha rā te take i tutū ai te puehu, ka tukua rā e ia taua tūranga rā i te tau 1972. E ai ki te whakaaro o ētahi o ngā kaiārahi Māori noho tāone, he kaha rawa tana whai i te kaupapa whakawaimeha. Nāwai rā, ka pōtitia anō a ia ki taua komiti rā i te tau 1975.

I mate te hoa rangatira o Kīngi Īhaka, a Manutūkē, i te mate pukupuku i te tau 1972. Ko ia te puna ranga wairua o Īhaka, ā, ko ia hoki te tohunga matatau ki ngā kōrero me ngā tikanga a te Māori. Ka haere tonu ngā mahi a Īhaka i te mīhana Māori i Ākarana ā tae rawa ki te tau 1976, kātahi ka tū nei ia hei tumuaki mō ngā mahi Māori i roto i te pīhopatanga o Ākarana. I te tūranga nei ia ā tae noa atu ki te tau 1984. I taua wā anō, i tohua ko ia hei ātirīkona mō Te Tai Tokerau, ā, mai i te tau 1981 ki 1984, i noho ko ia hei minita-tianara mō te pīhopatanga o Aotearoa. I tua atu i tēnā, i noho ia hei heamana mō te taiopenga mahi Māori o Aotearoa (Aotearoa Māori Performing Arts Festival), mō Te Waka Toi (Council for Māori and Pacific Arts) anō hoki.

Mai i te tau 1984 ki 1987, i mahi a Ātirīkona Īhaka hei minita Māori e noho tūturu ana i Poihākena (Sydney), ko ia rā te tangata tuatahi ki taua tūranga. Ehara i te mea i noho ia hei minita mō ngā Mihinare anake – e kāo – he minita ia ki ngā Māori katoa. I ngā marama ruarua tuatahi nei o tana taenga atu ki Poihākena, he mea tiro e ia he aha ngā hiahia ake o te hapori Māori e tamariki tonu nei, arā, ko te nuinga atu o rātou hore kau ana e mātau ki tō rātou reo Māori me ngā tikanga anō hoki. Whakatūria ana e Īhaka tētahi rōpū hei āwhina i te iwi Māori o Poihākena, hei whakatutuki i ō rātou hiahia ki te whakapono, ki te āhuatanga pāpori me ngā tikanga Māori hoki. Ko ia tonu te heamana o taua rōpū rā, he mea tapa nei ko te whakahoahoatanga arohanui o ngā Māori o Poihākena (Sydney Māori Arohanui Fellowship).

Nō te tau 1987, i hoki mai a Īhaka ki Aotearoa, ā, i taua wā kua mana kē tana whakatā mai i tana tūranga hei minita. Hāunga tērā, nuku kē atu ana te nui o āna mahi whakapono, mahi tikanga Māori hoki. He mema anō hoki ia nō te Hīnota Whānui o te Hāhi Mihinare me te kaunihera o te pīhopatanga o Aotearoa. I te hui anō hoki a Īhaka a te Hāhi Mihinare i te tau 1989 i whakatakotoria te tikanga hei whakahoa i te Māori rāua ko te Pākehā i roto i ngā mahi a te Hāhi Mihinare. I meinga anō hoki a ia hei kaitohutohu mō ngā tikanga ā-iwi mō te kaupapa whakatū i Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand), ā, mai i te tau 1988 ki 1992 i noho tonu ia hei mema mō te poari whakahiato kaupapa (Project Development Board) o te whare taonga rā. Mō āna mahi mā te iwi Māori, i kākahuria a ia ki te tohu Tā i te tau 1989.

Nō Oketopa o te tau 1990, i whakanōhia ake a Tā Kīngi Īhaka hei kaikōmihana mō Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), ko ia nei te mea tuarua i whiwhi i taua tūranga. Nō te tau 1991 i whakangungua e ia te mana o te tīma wāhine tākaro rakapī o Aotearoa i Cardiff ki te tū ki te haka; e ai ki tāna, e hia tau kē nei ngā wāhine o Ngāti Porou, o Waikato, he haka tonu te mahi.

E rua tau i tupuheke haere ai te ora o Kīngi. He āhua maha ngā wā i tae atu ia ki te hōhipera, he mate manawa te take. He maha hoki ngā wā i kore ai ia i whakangā, ā, auau tonu ngā ahiahi e mahi ana ia ā pō noa. I a ia e pāngia ana e te mate nā tana hunaonga a ia i tiaki. Nō te 1 o Hānuere o te tau 1993 i hinga ai a Kīngi Īhaka, e whitu tekau mā tahi ōna tau, ā, i nehua a ia ki te urupā o Pūrewa i Ākarana. Mahue mai ana ko āna tama tokorua, ko tana tamāhine, me ngā mokopuna tokowhitu.

Kātahi kē te mutunga mai o te pai o Kīngi Īhaka hei kaiwhakahaere, i pū kau nei tana ako i a ia i tana mahi i te Tari Māori. He tangata tūpato a Kīngi Īhaka, ā, i a ia e waha nei i te maha o ōna āhuatanga i te Hāhi Mihinare, he kimi tonu tana mahi i te āhua me pēhea te whakarerekē i ngā whakahaere a te Hāhi. Kia kore ai e tutū te puehu i āta haere noa te kōkohu mai a Īhaka i ngā take nei, arā, i te whakahaere o ngā karakia hou, ture hou rānei a te Hāhi, tae atu ki te tiaki mai i te hanga tupu o ngā āhuatanga hou o te minitatanga. I karohia e ia ngā kaupapa tino rerekē nei, ā, nā te mea i pēnei ia, i āhei noa te tangata ki te kite i a ia, ahakoa Māori, ahakoa Pākehā. He reo hōhonu, he reo ponguru te āhua o tōna reo, ā, ahakoa te rangi o te waiata i taea noatia e ia te waiata tika. Kāore he tangata i rite ki a ia mō tana pai ki te whakaako koaea, whakaako rānei i te kapa haka. Ahakoa he tangata auau tonu nei te pukuriri – kāore i mahue i a ia te kowhete hunga kua kotiti te haere – kātahi kē te tangata ngākau pono, tūtika ko Kīngi Īhaka.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Obit. Mana No 2 (April–May 1993): 67–71

    Obit. New Zealand Herald. 2 Jan. 1993: 3


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Kingi Ihaka. 'Īhaka, Kīngi Matutaera', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/5i1/ihaka-kingi-matutaera (accessed 29 March 2024)