Page 169 - Puhipi

Te Aitanga a Tumoana

On Tuesday 28th April 1840 at 10am, sixty principal chiefs including Te Ripi signed (signature #
206) te Tiriti O Waitangi at Kaitaia. Reverend Taylor took notes. Te Ripi made the following
speech at the signing; "I am Puhipi Te Ripi, before the white men came we loved our people, we
rubbed noses together and then perhaps we had a quarrel and then we had peace again, but now we
are at peace with the whites and have made a treaty with them. Some other islanders may come and
break the peace we offer them. If we do not acquiesce in what say today, perhaps we shall have a
battle tomorrow. Let our hearts be one. We have only a short time to live. We talk now and make an
agreement, but if any rupture takes place how are we to act. You live so far off. Murder and theft
may subdue but adultery is very common amongst us. How are we to subdue it, for it often
occasions were amongst us? Let it not be said I want to hide any of our bad habits, for it must be
confessed many are given to adultery".
TeRipi marena Meri Ngaroto [2083] [MRIN: 6].
Rapunga Kupu Akoako: (korero taken from" Aupouri deed of settlement"et al) Around 1830
there was a major inter-tribal conflict which left the Aupouri Peninsula largely deserted. Historic
acts of peacemaking and diplomacy followed. Te Aupouri accepted an invitation from Poroa of Te
Rarawa to stay with him at Wharo (Ahipara). There, a number of peace marriages took place
between Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa. The most well-known of these was that of Meri Ngaroto, a
chieftainess of Te Aupouri ( sister to Houtaewa), and Te Ripi, a chief of Te Rarawa. When Poroa
died in the mid 1830s Te Aupouri began to return north to their homes on the peninsula. No Issue

There is a well known whakatauki which refers to the arranged marriage: "hutia te rito o te harakeke,
kei hea ra te komako e ko, whakatairangatia, rere ki uta, rere ki tai; Mau e ui mai ki a au, he aha te
mea nui o to ao; Maku e ki atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata". There is a history to this saying
which has been interpreted in two ways. The first of these is a reference to people being the most
important thing in our world and this has been adopted throughout the country as a well used
whakatauki. The other interpretation relates to Meri Ngarotos Iwi cursing the union by asserting
they would have no children.
Te Tangi a Meri Ngaroto mo tana iwi o Te Aupouri (The Lament of Meri Ngaroto for her people
of Te Aupouri)
"Tera te uira wheriko i te rangi, He tohu aitua no aku matua e, Ka ngaro ra nga iwi whakakiwa, Ka
ngaro ra nga pukorero e, Ka ngaro ra ko te tini o te hoa, Aku manu noho uru, Tiu ana i te tonga e, Ka
mokai whenua, ka mokai tangata, Ka noho mokemoke te hunga ora na e, Waiho i muri nei ra hei
mihinga maku, Ko Whangatauatia, ko te puke whakahi, Tahuri o mata [ki] te tai o Wharo, He tai
mihi tangata, e, ngunguru mai nei, E tuku ki raro ra Waitukupahau, Ko Te One i haea e Poroa e, Ko
Wheru tena, ko Te Ikanui, Nga toa enei o Te Aupouri, Nga iwi o te riri i mau ai te rongo, Ka ngaro
koutou i te ao tu roa e, Maro tonu atu ra te ara ki Waihi, Nga taumata noho i raro o, Haumu e, Tu
mai e titiro ra ki te wa kainga, Tangi mai ki te iwi, ka hotu te manawa e, Ruku atu koe ra te au o Te
Reinga, Ka whiti atu koe, i te mate ki te ora"
"Behold the lightning flashing in the sky, An ominous sign of my forbears, Wise and gifted people of
old, Renowned orators and keepers of knowledge, My many loved ones have passed away, Like a
chorus of birds perched on the tree tops, They sung together as the sun, went down, Now I long for
my land and I long for my people, The living are left bereft, The people gone, I turn and
acknowledge, The, majestic hill of Whangatauatia, Cast your eyes towards the sea at Wharo, Where
the murmur of the tide mourns the people, Proceeding, northward to Waitukupahau , Along 'The
Beach Divided by Poroa', I remember the brothers Wheru and Te Ikanui, The brave warriors of Te
Aupouri, A fighting people who managed to make peace, You have all departed this earthly world,
Along the spirit path north to Waihi, To the resting places below the hill at Haumu, Where you turn
back for one last look , towards your home, You weep for your family with a heavy heart, You dive
into the swirling pool at Te Reinga, And cross over from mortality to eternal life"

In 1905 the Northern Steam Ship Company commissioned three vessells at the same time named;
Aupouri, Apanui and Ngatiawa. The people of Te Kao ceremoniously presented the company with
a photograph of Meri Ngaroto "Queen of Aupouri" in response to the naming of Aupouri.
TeRipi marena ano Akinihi [12] [MRIN: 880], daughter of Puai [584].

Na Tamaiti o te Marena:
+ 165 M i. Wharemate Timoti Puhipi [9] was born about 1831, was christened about 1840, died
on 1 Sep 1910 aged about 79, and was buried on 4 Sep 1910 in Rangihaukaha Urupa,
Pukepoto.