Maori Place Names - 102

Waitotara

Taranaki, North Island

2010 Ajr

Maori Place Names - 100

North of New Plymouth

Taranaki

2010 Ajr

Maori Place Names - 95

Winter in Taranaki

May 2010. Ajr

Maori Place Names - 93

A Marae

South Taranaki

North Island

May 2010. Ajr

Maori Place Names - 90

Mangaorongo Road,

North Taranaki
May 2010. Ajr

Maori Place Names - 84

Manganui Road

Taranaki, North Island

May 2010. Ajr

Maori Place Names - 83

Eltham, Taranaki.

North Island.

May 2010. Ajr

Maori Place Names - 77

South Taranaki

North Island

May 2010. Ajr

A South Taranaki Marae

The sun was just rising when I stopped across the road from the Whenuakura Marae, north of Waverley and south of Patea in South Taranaki, on my way to New Plymouth in May this year. It's a pretty spot, located beside the Whenuakura River against a backdrop of classically green Taranaki hills and a thicket of gum trees. There were dewy tracks through the grass that morning, the doors were open and the caretaker's lawn mower was parked ready for action; but there wasn't a soul about, so I drove on. I've since discovered that the marae is home to the Kaikurakau and Pomotangi hapu of Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi - www.ngarauru.org.nz

Entering Taranaki

As I left Whanganui recently, driving northwest to New Plymouth on the Surf Highway, I came upon this unusually picket-fenced marae down a side road. It's Waiokura Marae, located on Winks Road, just south of the small town of Manaia, which was settled in the 1880s and named after Chief Manaia Hukunui. The whare here - Paraukau - was built in his honour. It's home to the people of Ngati Tu, a hapu of Nga Ruahine. All was quiet the morning I arrived - but for the early chattering and tinkering at the nearby Kohaga Reo - a peaceful scene, with the metal road snaking away into the rolling green and Mt Taranaki looming protectively on the horizon.

It was a different story a short distance away on the main highway opposite the Manaia Golf Course, where these signs indicate Ngati Tu dissatisfaction over their unresolved land claims.
www.ngaruahine.iwi.nz

A Ngati Mutunga Marae

It was a cold, grey, wet morning just on daylight when I came to a stop outside Urenui Marae, north of New Plymouth last week. I'm lucky these photos came out at all as it was pouring with rain and large trucks were rushing by, splashing me as they went. But in hindsight, I'm pleased I stopped on the roadside, as Urenui is a special place for Ngati Mutunga - it is their only remaining marae and has been a focal point for Ngati Mutunga activities and gatherings since the 1870s. It's fair to say it's the cultural heart of Ngati Mutunga. I love the way their three taonga - the ancestral houses of Mahi Tamariki, Te Aroha (both wharenui) and Te Titohea (wharekai), take command of the small hillock above the main highway. www.ngatimutunga.iwi.nz

A Taranaki Billboard

The First Thing I Saw

When I Drove into New Plymouth a Few Days Ago

Meet the People - 20

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Jo Tito (Taranaki, Ngati Pikiao Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao), grew up in the small village of Waipa, 5km south of Rotorua and now lives in Gisborne with her partner, Todd (Taranaki, Te Ati-Haunui-a-Paparangi) and two of his children. Both are fluent Maori speakers. “I learned a little Maori while I was at school – maybe an hour a week – but it wasn’t until I experienced total immersion back home in Taranaki that I became fluent. It’s definitely the best way to learn,” she says. Jo is very much driven by her passion for Maori language. It is at the root of everything she does – including in her work as an artist and photographer. “I am inspired by the patterns of nature as my ancestors were, but my work is not solely based on Maori culture. The spiral for instance, appears in my work regularly and while it is a common Maori design element, it is also seen in many other cultures. But I am very much driven by our Maori language and wherever I can incorporate this into my work I will. It’s a whole different world when your whakaaro, your way of thinking, is in Maori. This inspires me to create.”

"Kohatu (rock)" Painted rock by Jo Tito
Jo works in a number of mediums including photography, which she has been doing professionally and as a love for 15 years. Much of her artwork also focuses on natural materials like the kohatu (rock), which she hand-paints and the paper she makes from harakeke (flax). Many of her photographs are printed on her own handmade harakeke paper. “I’m passionate about the land and sustainable living; and by working in rock and flax, I feel very connected to the land and its stories,” she says. Her work has been exhibited in Rotorua, Taranaki, Gisborne, America Samoa and Arizona; and she travelled with a New Zealand delegation of artists to Palau in 2004 and American Samoa in 2008, for the International Festival of Pacific Arts. She’s won awards for both photography and fibre work; and while she was living in Taranaki, she curated an exhibition called “Wahine,” for the Taranaki District Health Board, to highlight the importance of cervical screening for women. “I love hauora (personal health and wellbeing).”

"Whariki (Mat)" Photo by Jo Tito
Factor in the writing of “Matarakau – Healing Stories of Taranaki,” a collection of Taranaki whanau stories on traditional Maori healing; research for another collection of stories looking at the effects of colonisation on indigenous peoples around the world; her own marketing business; digital storytelling, reading and self-development and you begin to see why Jo, 35, is a terrific role model for young Maori women everywhere. You can read more about her online here. - http://inspirationalwebsite.net/ Jo’s wrist moko (tattoo), shown in the top photograph, were created by Mark Kopua. The moko on her feet, legs and back (not shown) were created by Julie Kipa.