Arotake: Te Rautakitahi o Tūhoe ki Ōrākau

Ko ngā pukapuka katoa ka hokona mā tēnei hononga ka āwhina i a mātou ki te arotake i ētahi atu pukapuka nō Aotearoa - ngā mihi ki a koe mōu i tautoko i ngā pukapuka me ngā kaituhi o Aotearoa.

An English language translation is included below this review.

He rawe ki ahau te āta pānui i ngā kōrero mō Te Rautakitahi me ngā āhuatanga i riwha mai i te pakanga ki Ōrākau, i tā Koro Pou i rongo ai, i kite ai i a ia e tipu ana. Ehara au i te uri o Tūhoe, engari kua pānuihia e au ngā tuhinga mō te putakari nei me taku mīharo i te rerekē o ngā whakaaro me ngā kōrero i puta i te koroua nei, i tēnei o ngā tuhinga.

Ko te wāhanga i tino whakaora i tōku ngākau ko ngā kōrero mō te noho a Tūhoe i te takiwā o te 1826-1866. E mārakerake ana te kite i te āio o tā rātau noho i tērā wā, ahakoa pea ngā pakanga ā-hapū. I mōhio pū rātau ki te āhua o te taiao me te ara whakaora anō i a rātau mā roto mai i te whakamahinga o ngā tikanga tahito a ō rātau tīpuna. Mau katoa ana te aro.

Ahakoa ko te pakanga ki Ōrākau me Te Rautakitahi te matū o tēnei tuhinga, ko ngā kōrero mō te noho ā-hapū hoki tētahi o ngā wāhanga pai o tēnei pukapuka. He tirohanga onamata ki te wā i ō tātau tīpuna me te rerekē rawa atu o te ao i nohoia e rātau. I puta katoa ngā whakamahuki mō ngā tikanga i whakamahia e ngā tīpuna, pēnei i te tatau pounamu, me ngā huarahi huhua i whāia e ngā toa kairākau e tau anō ai te mārie. Kua kore rawa tātau o tēnei ao nei e mōhio, e kite rānei i te whakamahinga o ngā tikanga tahito pēnei nei. 

Kua whānui kē atu taku puna mōhio me taku puna reo Māori nā ngā kōrero i puta i te tuhinga nei. I tino kitea hoki te aroha nui o te kaituhi ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a ōna kaumātua i te hōhonu me te māori o te whakatakoto o ngā whakaaro. He puna mātauranga pai tēnei mō ngā uri o Tūhoe kāore i whai wāhi atu ki ngā kōrero pēnei te rangatira.

Nā Maumahara Horsfall i arotake

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story of Te Rautakitahi, the account of the battle of Ōrākau and Sir Pou’s own account of the things he heard, saw and felt while he was growing up. I am not a descendant of Tūhoe, but I have read accounts of this battle and was intrigued by the insights that this wise elder has shared in this publication.

One of the sections that soothed my heart was the description of the way the Tūhoe people lived between 1826-1866. It was evident that they lived peacefully with only a few very minor in-house squabbles.

While the main focus of this book is the battle at Ōrākau and Te Rautakitahi, it was the description of the peoples’ way of life that I found particularly compelling. These offer a window to the past, to the time of our ancestors and the very different world that they lived in. There was robust discussion on protocols instituted and followed by the ancestors, like ‘tatau pounamu’ (arranged marriage to avoid war) and the many different pathways that warriors would trek in order to restore peace. We, in this time, will never see these old customs practised as they were in traditional times.

My knowledge of the Māori world and the Māori language was extended exponentially by reading this book. I bore witness to the immense love and depth of knowledge that the author has for his tribal stories, which are all expertly laid out. This will be a great resource for any descendants of Tūhoe who might not be so fortunate as to have been exposed to this calibre of tribal story and knowledge.

Reviewed by Maumahara Horsfall

This is a translation of the review above which was written first in te reo Māori.