Asked where to begin in describing Tā Hirini Moko Mead, many struggle to settle on a single answer. His life’s work was marked by an extraordinary number of achievements, not small milestones, but defining contributions at the highest level. So many historic firsts became attached to his name that, for many, Hirini Moko Mead came to embody the very idea of being first.
Many of those milestones were achieved at Victoria University of Wellington, where he became the first Professor of Māori, established the country’s first Māori department within a tertiary institution, and helped create the first university-based marae. He later went on to help found the first Māori tertiary institution and served as the first chairperson and chief negotiator for Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa.
Among the hundreds who gathered at Kokohinau on the third day of the tangihanga was Kura Moeahu (Te Āti Awa), who spoke of what Tā Hirini now carries with him into the next world.
“Titiro ki tēnei, i waipukengia atu rā te marae, kei waho rā o Kokohinau. Nō reira, kei taku Pāpā, kei taku reo, rere atu rā ki tō wānanga nui o te pō, ki waenganui i ngā atua. Ka uru ia ki te kāuru nui, ka uru ia ki te kāuru roa ka uru e ki waenga ki a rātou, he atua, he tipua inaiānei.”
His name became synonymous with mātauranga Māori
Tā Hirini was widely regarded as the foremost authority on Māori art and culture of his generation. His book Tikanga Māori became a defining guide to Māori values and practice, cited in courtrooms, classrooms and on marae across the country.
For Jeremy Tātere MacLeod (Ngāti Kahungunu), that influence was never abstract. It was woven through his own whānau history.
“Nā Hirini i mōhio ai ngā mata huhua o te tikanga Māori, i mārama ai te tangata ki te tikanga Māori. Te mātauranga Māori nei, ēnā kupu, e haere ngātahi nei me te ingoa o Tā Hirini Moko Mead.”
It was through Hirini that the many dimensions of tikanga Māori became known, and that people came to understand tikanga Māori. The words mātauranga Māori and the name Tā Hirini Moko Mead are inseparable.
Te Wehi Wright of Te Rūnanga Nui o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori put it simply: there had been no one quite like him, and there may not be again.
“Nō reira he tuahangata ka tika. Me uaua ka kite i tērā momo tangata, kua kotahi rau tau ia e takahi ana i te mata o te whenua, akene pea ka kotahi rau tau anō, ka kite anō i tērā momo tangata.”
Standing firm at the stern of the waka
Hirini Moko Mead (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhourangi and Tūhoe) first trained as a teacher and artist before completing a PhD in Anthropology at Southern Illinois University in 1968. In 1977, he was appointed Victoria University’s inaugural Professor of Māori, and a year later, founded the country’s first standalone Māori department, now known as Te Kawa a Māui.
He taught in Aotearoa and overseas, building an extensive body of work across more than 70 books, papers and articles. Tukoroirangi Morgan reflected on just how rare that contribution was.
“Torutoru anahe ngā tāngata pēnei i a Tā Hirini, āna mahi mō te ao Māori tonu.”
Chief Judge Dr Caren Fox pointed to the principle that ran through everything he did.
“Ko te mea nui ki a ia, me tū pakari koe i te kei o tō waka. Ki te tū motuhake mō te iwi Māori, koirā tana tino whāinga.”
He is also widely credited with helping shape Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in Whakatāne into a major Māori tertiary institution. In 2002, he was appointed Distinguished Professor there, at the institution he had helped bring into being. His daughter, Linda Tuhiwai-Smith, and her husband, Graham Hingangaroa Smith (Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Kāti Māmoe), also hold the title of Distinguished Professor.
From Te Teko to the world — and back again
Tā Hirini was a central figure in the landmark Te Māori exhibition, which took taonga Māori to major museum audiences across the United States before returning home as Te Māori: Te Hokinga Mai. He also taught in Hamilton, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia, but wherever his work carried him, his roots in Te Teko remained his anchor.
MacLeod recalled a connection to Tā Hirini that reached back through his own whānau, long before he understood its significance.
“E whā tau e māhita ana ki Waimārama, ko ia anō hoki te heamana o tō mātou kōmiti taraipara i tērā wā, te heamana o te kōmiti marae. Ko Hirini Moko Mead. Nāna i ako aku Pāpā me aku Whāea i te kāinga, kei te kōrero tonuhia tōna ingoa i tēnei rā tonu nei.”
His standing extended into the highest circles of Māori society. Tukoroirangi Morgan recalled a moment that, for him, captured the depth of that regard.
“I te wā i whakawahia a Kīngi Tuheitia, nāna te reo mihi o te motu. Ahakoa ko mea mā, ko Tamati mā, ko Api Mahuika mā, a wai atu, a wai atu. Ka taka ki a Hirini, ko te reo mihi ki a Kīngi Tuheitia i te wā i whakawahia ia. Nōreira, i tēnei rā tonu i tae mai ai a Te Arikinui Nga wai hono i te pō i runga anō i te ara whanaunga.”
Nora Rāmeka of Ngāti Rēhia offered a final reflection on the man, and on the responsibility his passing now leaves with those who follow.
“He rangatira a ia, he rangatira a ia mō mātou ki te aru haere atu i tētahi huarahi i whakaarohia e rātou.”
Tomorrow, final karakia will be offered over him, clearing the way for Tā Hirini Moko Mead to return home to his tūpuna, to the place from which he came.
