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What follows are extracts of a research assignment I completed in 1998 for a Massey University.   The assignment question was:

Ko Whangatauatia Te Maunga
Ko Käririkura Te Moana
Ko Ngätokimatawhaorua Te Waka
Ko Nukutäwhiti Te Tangata
Ko Te Rarawa Te Iwi
Ko Ngäti Moroki Te Hapü
Ko Te Öhaki me Korou Kore Ngä Marae
Ko Ahipara Te Käinga
 

Tënä koutou e ngä rangatira i homaitia e koutou tö koutou aroha, tö koutou mätauranga ki a au, mai rä noa.

E tino whakawhetai ana a au ki a körua öku mätua tüpuna, e takoto ana i raro i te maru a töu maunga tawhito. Ahakoa kua oti öu wä i tënei ao marama, kei roto i ngä manawa a öu uri maha mö ake tonu. Haere atu rä.

He mihi whakawhetai hoki ki ngä koroua i körerohia ki te tamaiti nei, a Höhua Tütengaehe, a Röpata Wahawaha Stirling, a Kahi Tïpene, Te Wï Henare. Ahakoa kua hoki koutou ki öu koutou waka wairua, kua rongo a au öu kupu ataahua me ka mahara a au aua kupu. Moe mai, moe mai, ka oti.

Hoki mai ngä whakaaro ki a tätou ngä känohi ora, tënä anö tätou katoa.
 
Introduction

This research project sets out to describe the iwi of Te Rarawa in terms of its sense of ethos and identity. Before such a description can begin the nouns ethos and identity need to be clearly defined to provide focus.

The word ethos derives from the Greek "ëthos" meaning settled character. Within the context of this paper, ethos refers to the special characteristic, spirit or tone of a community or in this case the iwi Te Rarawa.

The word identity expresses individuality or of one thing. It can also imply an association of oneself with a party or policy, often inseparably. For example a person who has a particular political, social, religious or even musical identity. In this paper it seeks to illustrate the uniqueness (individuality) of Te Rarawa as an iwi, why and how this uniqueness came about.

Therefore this paper will describe the special characteristics and uniqueness that is Te Rarawa; how such characteristics began and evolved and how these may have been affected by European contact, subsequent colonisation and contemporary realities.

Methodology

Information has been gathered from a number of sources for this project and although the project only commenced this year it could be said that the research has been a life long journey (by the author) and one that will continue long after I have joined my tüpuna in Hawaiki.

I have gathered a great deal of information from family sources that are not published. Much of the documentation, such as it is, has been produced by myself after speaking with certain family members. In particular my maternal grandparents Hector and Mere Masters, now deceased, who were born, raised, died and interred within the rohe of Te Rarawa.

My grandfather was staunchly Ngäti Moroki (an Ahipara hapü of Te Rarawa) and dedicated a good deal of his life to his hapü and iwi. In particular in his later years he was instrumental in rebuilding the Ngäti Moroki Marae at Ahipara which was destroyed in a storm in 1954. He was also the first party secretary of Mana Motuhake, a close friend of Matiu Rata and the man who forever implanted in me the seed of "mana". Always at his side was my grandmother, herself Ngäti Kahu.

Numerous other family members and kaumätua have shared their insights with me over the years. Some have joined our tüpuna, others remain on the journey of discovery. One becomes very emotional when thoughts of some of these people enter my mind when I again realise they are physically no longer with me. However to be Mäori is to accept without question the eternity of the spirit and therefore that these people never leave our hearts or our minds. Their words continue to return to teach me, to haunt me and to comfort me.

In using the information they have chosen to share I carry on the legacy that they wanted. However caution and restraint are always necessary when sharing such information to ensure that it is always accorded the dignity it rightly deserves.

This type of research, speaking with whänau and kaumätua, is part of growing as a Mäori. It is ad hoc, often not robust and frequently unreliable, but uniquely and beautifully Mäori. Every hui, tangi or other gathering that one attends is another research event. The skill is in listening, gathering and sifting. I continue to learn!

I have used Waka Huia (TV programme) interviews of Haimona Snowden (Te Rarawa ki Ahipara) and Pä Henare Tate (Te Rarawa ki Motuti). Both these men are highly regarded in Northland, indeed nationwide, for their depth of knowledge and sincerity. This source of information is an excellent one and TVNZ have a wonderful taonga having recorded many eminent kuia and kaumätua.

The other major information sources are published resources for which a bibliography appears at the end of this paper. In trying to describe the ethos and identity of an iwi one will always come across variations and contradictions of historical accounts. This is an inevitability because Mäori remains a predominantly oral culture with variations occurring through the passage of time.

When variations were found in published works I chose to follow the versions passed on to me by my own tüpuna and kaumätua.

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