This whakatauākī was composed to encourage Te Whakatōhea to unite. The strength of an iwi is through the unity of its membership, solidarity, an iwi is weak if it is divided.
He Whakamārama/Explanatory Notes
Te roi a Tinirau = A tie to hold a whale is very strong and wont come undone.
Roi = Bond, Unite, Secure
Tinirau = Whale, Strength, Power, Formidable, Ruler, Control
Tini = Many, Numerous, Multitudes
Rau = Hundreds, Many, Numerous, Multitudes
Tini + Rau = Tinirau = The descendants of Te Whakatōhea
Ka whakaatu tēnei whakatauākī i te pitomata o Te Whakatōhea. Ahakoa he iwi raupatu, ahakoa he iwi pōhara, he iwi whai rawa tonu i ōna mātauranga, tōna Te Whakatōheatanga ki te kimi huarahi e puta ai tōna ihu ki te ao mārama mō ngā uri whakatipu.
This whakatauākī/ proverb expresses the potential of Te Whakatōhea. Although the tribe suffered raupatu, was rendered virtually landless and is not well off fiscally, Te Whakatōhea are rich in knowledge, in our Te Whakatōheatanga our identity, knowing who we are, knowing our stories, our whakapapa. Te Whakatōhea uses this knowledge to find pathways to benefit our people, Te Whakatōhea.
This whakatauākī epitomizes:
Te Whakatōhea Leadership
Te Whakatōhea Innovation
Te Whakatōhea Vision
Te Whakatōhea Excellence
Te Whakatōhea Strategy
TE WHAKATŌHEA LIVES
He Whakamārama/Explanatory Notes
Herekore = no restrictions
Here = tie, knot, bound
Kore = no, nothing, zero
I employed the use of the poetical license here by incorporating the base word, tohea of our tribal name Whakatōhea. It looks good, it reads well and it reinforces our identity. The intent of this proverb is to be stubborn, hardheaded, persistent in our pursuit of education to the highest level attainable by the Te Whakatōhea tribal members.
He Whakamārama/Explanatory Notes
Tohea = To be obstinate, stubborn, protest, oppose. In the context of this whakatauākī the word tohea is used as an antonym meaning to pursue, foster, embrace. To embrace education. In this context tohea can be interpreted as being persistent. To be persistent in the pursuit of education.
This Whakatauākī is about leadership and uniting the Whakatōhea people. The first line of this whakatauākī originates from the famous whakatauākī by the Te Whakatōhea warlord Tūtāmure. Tūtāmure was an Ariki Taiopuru. He was the leader of his people. To be a leader one needed to have descended from the tātai ariki, chiefly genealogical lines. The chief was required to be a warrior, strategic, visionary, charasmatic, an orator and be able to unite the people. Tūtāmure in the context of his whakatauākī brought together not only Te Whakatōhea but many tribes of the central and eastern North Island to avenge the death of his sister Tāneroa. Hence the saying ka rangaranga te muri, binding the horizon meaning, calling together the iwi of the land.
He Whakamārama/Explanatory Notes
In the context of this whakatauākī ka rangaranga te muri means the same to bring together the people, the iwi of Te Whakatōhea. Likewise is ka rangaranga te mua. Rau means one hundred. Angaanga is another word for a chief. Angaangarau means many chiefs. Tohearau is my translation of Tohea which is Te Whakatōhea. Rau means the hundreds of thousands of Te Whakatōhea uri, descendants. Angaangarau and Tohearau is poetical license, it rhymes, it sounds sweet and reads sweeter.
This whakatauākī talks about the versatility of Whakatōhea to adapt to change to sustain itself as a people in an ever changing world with its many challenges. Tohearau reflects the adaptability and versatility although Tohe means to be stubborn and argue and Rau means one hundred. Tohearau meaning Hundreds of arguments, hundreds of stubborn people. Today people literarily interpret Whakatōhea as being stubborn and uncooperative and this has manifestated in the iwi and hapū where Te Whakaōhea is such a divided people. In this whakatauākī I want to change the mind set and interpretation of the iwi name Te Whakatōhea to be stubborn and the use of the tohetohe as a stubborn people and use the name and term in the positive.
He Whakamārama/Explanatory Notes
Te Whakatōhea meaning a resilient people, tohetohe to mean a versatile people, an adaptable people in the hope that this whakatauākī will transform Te Whakatōhea and its thinking from a negative and into a positive for the betterment of our people, Te Whakatōhea. Of course there will be debate and disagreement, there also needs to be compromise to resolve the issues that may end up a weapon for further division that will destroy our nation.
He is a member of the Te Mātāwai Board a new organisation established under Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016 (The Māori Language Act 2016) to lead the revitalisation of te reo Māori on behalf of iwi and Māori. He’s an expert in tikanga Māori, a tohunga of the Ringatū Church, and a licensed translator.
He composed these whakatauākī because he recognised that it was important to have some Whakatōhea specific whakatauākī to reflect our connections and to bring inspiration to our people.
The hoe represents courage, all of us being in the same waka, going into unchartered waters and making new discoveries for the Iwi. What this Settlement could mean for Whakatōhea tamariki, and mokopuna is profound.
The hoe also represents innovation and exploration, it will be used in communications when we talk about the future of Whakatōhea.
The Whakatauākī was written by our own, Te Kahautu Maxwell to express the potential of Whakatōhea. Although the tribe suffered raupatu and was rendered virtually landless, Whakatōhea are rich in knowledge, in our Whakatōheatanga our identity, knowing who we are, knowing our stories, our whakapapa. Check out more of our Whakatōhea Whakatauākī here »
The punga represents stability and relates to the story of our eponymous tīpuna, Muriwai, and her ability to hold the Mataatua waka steady when the men were exploring the Whakatāne shores. It represents the cultural connection to knowledge and history grounded in the past which provides stability for our future.
The punga will be used in communications when we are talking about the past and stories relating to Whakatōhea.
The Whakatauākī ‘Kura ki uta, Kura ki Tai’ refers to Pakihikura, the entrance to the Waioeka and Otara rivers in Ōpōtiki where we used to access the schools of fish in the rivers and schools of fish in the moana. We translate this to ‘Grounded at home, grounded afar’ to acknowledge the strengths of our people living at home and outside the rohe.
About Muriwai: Nine generations after the Nukutere canoe arrived from Hawaiki, the Mataatua waka brought the Whakatōhea female ancestor Muriwai, landing at Whakatāne. The captain, Toroa, and his men left the canoe and went inland to survey the land, unaware of the danger of the high rise and fall of the tides in New Zealand. Muriwai, seeing that the falling tide threatened to sweep the Mataatua waka out to sea, cried out, ‘Ka whakatāne au i ahau!’ (I shall acquit myself like a man!). She saved the waka and immortalised her actions in the name of Whakatāne.
The manawa represents unity and our whakapapa to the whenua. The manawa design reflects Tarawa’s 2 pet fish, ngā pōtiki mai tawhiti from which Ōpōtiki derives its name. The manawa is formed by mirroring the two fish-tails and bringing their heads (koru) together to form a heart
The manawa is representative of our kinship and our connection to the whenua. It will be used in communications when we talk about whānau or hāpu.
The Whakatauākī was written by Te Kahautu and was composed to encourage Te Whakatōhea to unite. The strength of an iwi is through the unity of its membership, solidarity, an iwi is weak if it is divided. For more information on this click here to read more:
About Tarawa: Tarawa was the first ancestor to arrive from Hawaiki. According to one legend he swam to New Zealand and came ashore at Paerātā, east of the Waiōtahe River. There he released two pet fish in a spring which became known as Ōpōtiki-mai-tawhiti (the pets from afar). This name was later applied to the township of Ōpōtiki. Tarawa’s arrival is marked by two carved pillars commemorating the settlement of the land by Māori and later Pākehā ancestors.
The settlement will provide a " mass of resource" ; how we use it is up to us. What we do know is that our whānau want to connect and reconnect. Join us all in post Settlement and lets make the time to come together as whānau hapū and Iwi and lest be the architects of our future
We’re celebrating and sharing the lives and achievements of our people – wherever they are in the world! Read their stories here.
