Nā Herewini Waikato rāua ko Piripi Taylor nō Pūkāea.
Ngāti Awa leader, educator and cultural adviser Dr Pouroto Ngaropo MNZM has spent decades drawing on the knowledge of some of Māoridom’s most influential rangatira and carrying it into the many roles he has held. He believes that legacy has much to offer emerging and future leaders within whānau, hapū, iwi and beyond.
His new biography, Pouroto Ngaropo – Rejuvenating Traditional Māori Leadership, traces those influences through figures including Dame Whina Cooper, Sir Toby Curtis and Sir Hirini Moko Mead.
“Kua kore ahau, mātou e waimarie ana te whakapukapukahia ō rātou kōrero mātauranga, whakapapa mai, tikanga mai, kawa mai, ngā mātauranga nō mua noa atu, ngā pūmanawa o ngā rangatira i a rātou te mana rangatira i te wā i a rātou,” he said.
Written by Ngāti Awa author Bradford Haami, the biography was first launched at Auckland University of Technology on 12 September. A second launch at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae in Whakatāne last week brought the book home to Ngaropo’s iwi, drawing more than 200 whānau, friends and community leaders.
Through Ngaropo’s life and experiences, the book examines how those influences informed his understanding of mana motuhake, tino rangatiratanga and the responsibilities that come with carrying mana rangatira.
“Ko te ‘rejuvenating’ [ki] tāku, ko te whakahoki mai i a tātou ki te ara i takatakahia ai e ō tātou mātua, e ō tātou tīpuna, nā te mea he rerekē te ao i te wā i a rātou ki tēnei wā, ki tēnei whakatipuranga,” Ngaropo said.
He also sees a critical place for those teachings in leadership today, including in central government.
“Kei te āwangawanga au ki ngā āhuatanga o te rangatiratanga e kitea ana i roto i te Pāremata i tēnei wā,” he said.
“Heoi anō, kei roto i tēnei pukapuka ngā kōrero mō te ārahitanga Māori i tukuna iho e ō tātou tīpuna ki ahau, ā, koirā ngā tikanga e ngana nei au ki te whai i roto i tōku ao. Mā ēnei akoranga tātou e ārahi ki te āhua o te rangatiratanga Māori mō ngā rā kei mua i te aroaro.”
The request to document Ngaropo’s life and contributions came from his hapū in Matatā. Haami spent five years researching and writing the biography, his 12th book.
“Nā te whānau o Te Tāwera i tono mai ki a au kia haera mai rā kia whakapukapukahia nei ngā kōrero, te nekenekehanga nei o Pouroto nei ki roto i a Ngāti Awa, ki te iwi Māori, ki roto i te ao,” Haami said.
He said Ngaropo’s approach to leadership began with whānau, hapū and iwi. Across his life, Ngaropo has worked in areas including Treaty matters, Māori land trusts, health and education, while carrying the tikanga and knowledge imparted to him by elders.
Leith Comer of Ngāti Rangitihi said the biography continued that process of passing knowledge between generations.
“The way that the elders nurtured Pou and passed on information to him … which he is capturing and able now to pass on to other people,” Comer said.
“That process of the elders teaching the young ones, and then they get old and teach the next, is the way of sustaining the kaupapa.”
At the Whakatāne gathering, speakers reflected on Ngaropo’s service to his hapū, marae and Ngāti Awa. Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi Board Chair Justice Layne Harvey, who has worked alongside him for more than three decades, acknowledged his role in Ngāti Awa’s Treaty settlement journey and his commitment to sharing mātauranga.
“This book represents yet another invaluable resource for the iwi that is full of the kind of information and learning that Pouroto is always willing to share,” Justice Harvey said.
For those finding their own path into leadership, Ngaropo hopes the book will be a starting point for learning from a generation of formidable Māori leaders who paved the way before them.
“Ko tōku whakamātautauranga, nāku i whakatinana ai i ō rātou mātauranga ki roto i tōku ao. Nō reira, mēnā kei te hiakai koe ki te ako me pēhea koe e whai atu i ngā kōrero a ngā koroua me ngā kuia, ō rātou tohutohu kia whakaōrite tō ao ki tō rātou ao, kei konei, kei roto ō rātou kōrero i tēnei pukapuka.”
The biography is available through bookstores and online.
