A new pontoon in Ahuriri will become home to Ngāti Kahungunu’s double-hulled waka, Te Matau a Māui, laying the foundation for a dedicated waka hub and signalling the iwi’s commitment to retracing the ancestral voyage of the Takitimu waka.
Built and launched in 2011 during the resurgence of traditional Māori navigation inspired by the voyages of Te Aurere and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti, Te Matau a Māui has become a symbol of cultural revitalisation and ocean voyaging.
The pontoon provides a permanent base for the waka and its crew, strengthening Ngāti Kahungunu’s long-term investment in celestial navigation and the revival of traditional wayfinding practices.
Te Pō Mārie Hawaikirangi-Willison and her brother Te Kaha Hawaikirangi, who have trained for seven and 13 years respectively under master navigator Piripi Smith, are among those carrying that legacy forward.
Te Pō Mārie says establishing the pontoon marks just the beginning of a much longer journey, one that will grow opportunities for learning, teaching and practising ancestral voyaging traditions.
“Ko te hua, ko ngā kōrero, ko ngā mātauranga tuku iho mō ngā rangatahi, mō ngā tamariki mokopuna. Nōreira ko tērā te ngako o tēnei mahi, kia noho ki taua kaupapa, mō ngā tamariki mokopuna, mō ngā kōrero tuku iho.”
Waka hub
The pontoon forms part of a wider waka hub development planned for Ahuriri, Napier, including a future wharewaka to be built in the coming years.
The hub is intended to serve as a centre for learning and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge about navigation, ancient wayfinding and the history of Māori ocean exploration.
Master navigator Piripi Smith says the new waka hub will also serve as a reminder for Māori of their whakapapa beyond Aotearoa.
“Ko tētahi mea ki ahau e pā ana ki tēnei kaupapa o te wharewaka, ko te mea nui ko ngā hononga ō mātou te iwi Māori ki ngā moutere o te moananui a Kiwa. Tērā i wareware i ētahi o mātou te iwi Māori nō te moananui a Kiwa tātou katoa.” he says.
The hub has been five years in the making. Alongside the Ātea a Rangi Educational Trust, the crew has been teaching rangatahi traditional navigation techniques, building the next generation of celestial navigators.
Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Bayden Barber says the waka hub presents an important opportunity for future generations.
“Tērā te whakatū wharewaka i konei, hei tāwharau nei i te waka hourua o Te Matau a Māui, kia whāngaihia ngā kōrero katoa, ngā whakapapa katoa ki ngā tamariki mokopuna, kāre he kaupapa kei tua atu.”
Te Hokinga
Later this year, the Te Matau a Māui crew will retrace the voyage of the ancestral Tākitimu waka, travelling to Samoa and Fiji before returning to Aotearoa.
The journey, known as Te Hokinga, will provide descendants of the Tākitimu waka with the opportunity to reconnect with significant historical sites, learn ancestral knowledge and revisit traditions that shaped their people before the waka made landfall in Aotearoa.
Te Kaha Hawaikirangi says the crew is excited to embark on the voyage, and it will mark his and his sister Te Pō Mārie Hawaikirangi-Willison’s graduation.
“He whakangungu uaua ki te ako i te ao o te whakatere waka. Engari, ki a māua ko tōku tuahine, he hōnore nui ki te ako i tērā kaupapa,” he says.
Following the successful voyage of Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti last year, Te Matau a Māui has been in communication with the crew to better understand what to expect and prepare for ahead of its own journey.
Hawikirangi-Willison says the journey set to take place later this year will be one like no other for the Te Matau a Māui crew.
“Mōku ake ki te whai i aua tapuwae o Tākitimu, he mea nui tērā, he mahi ā whakapapa, he mahi ā whānau i runga i te waka o Te Matau a Māui, ki te hono atu ngā whānau ki Poutasi, ki Upolu, ki Hāmoa. Kāre e kore ka puta ngā hua mō tēnei waka o Tākitimu. Engari mō mātou ngā kaiwhakatere waka, te kaihautū, ngā kaumoana hoki, it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
