Dawn ceremonies a real blessing for iwi
While some days will forever live in infamy for Maori, for the whanau and hapu of Te Atiawa and Ngati Rarua, April 7 2017 is one that will be celebrated for years to come.
At 3:30am last Saturday, local iwi took part in a dawn blessing in the Abel Tasman National Park in honour of two of their descendants, Hohaia Rangiauru (Te Atiawa) and Turangapeke (Ngati Rarua).
Pou were unveiled at Medlands for Hohaia Rangiauru and at Anchorage for Turangapeke.
It was a project more than a decade in the making and was deeply significant for not only iwi, but also the Department of Conservation and Project Janzoon, who have also been involved.
For the thousands of visitors who came to the park every year, many had no knowledge of who the original landowners were. And while the trampers and tourists, bringing much-needed cash into the region, were a blessing, they were also a curse.
‘‘Some 12-15 years ago there were real problems in the park,’’ said Russell (Barney) Thomas, who works for DOC as a cultural advisor and is also the vice chairman of Ngati Rarua Atiawa Iwi Trust Board.
‘‘The infrastructure wasn’t matching the number of tourists that were coming, and so the manawhenua iwi had a hui and there were only two options ... the first option was to close the park down, or fix it.’’
Ropata Stephens is the chairman of the trust board and was central to the project.
‘‘Our community started having discussions with the department about making us more visible,’’ he said.
‘‘So this project is really significant for us, it lets people know when they come here, that aside from being incredibly beautiful, that has also got an enduring history for Maori.
‘‘This project about placing our ancestors at the gateways to all the major nodes for visitors to enter the park has been about ensuring that is not lost.
Saturday’s blessings were the first of eight planned for the park.
Through the consultation it was worked out which ancestors were associated with what areas of the park, with the intention that pou will be placed at all the other prominent spots and ultimately the story of manawhenua and the ancestors will be told.
A marriage of modern technology and ancient storytelling, thanks to the eventual establishment of wi-fi spots. Iwi will interpret the story, record it, then your smart phone will pick it up and play it.
In the early 1800s there were 294 original landowners in Motueka, whanau and hapu. Hohaia Rangiauru and Turangapeke were rangatira in their own right, leaders in their communities.
Hohaia Rangiauru was prolific in giving evidence in the 1843/44 Maori Land Court hearings that ensured that iwi’s title to their customary land was recognised. Turangapeke was a warrior chieftain and his many descendents were stretched from Motueka across the Abel Tasman coastline.
‘‘He was a trader, a warrior, and a leader, and it’s great to have these two ancestors recognised and others will follow. Each of them has shaped this area and region,’’ Stephens said.
‘‘I can’t wait for the rest of them to go up and to tell their stories.’’