Ara-i-te-uru

I arahina te whakatere a ngā tīpuna Ngāpuhi o Israel Birch ki Aotearoa tae noa ki te Hokianga e ngā whetū e rua, ko Ara-i-te-uri (ki ētahi ko Āraiteuru) rāua ko Niua (Ko Niwa, ko Niniwa ki ētahi). He rite ki ngā pou aho ki runga i te mata o te wai, kua whakatangatahia aua pouaho i roto i ngā pūrākau hei taniwha. E ai ki ngā kōrero, ko ngā ao kei waenganui i Te Pō me Te Ao Mārama, koia rā te kāinga o ngā taniwha. I ēnei rā tonu, kei te tiakina ngā matakūrae o te Hokianga e Āraiteuru rāua ko Niua. Ko te kōrero tonu i te whakapapa, i te nohonga, i te tikanga o ngā taniwha ki ngā whakatipuranga heke iho nei, heke iho nei, he momo whakatūpato, he momo whakamaumahara i ngā haepapa, i ngā tikanga a te tangata.

Israel Birch’s Ngāpuhi tīpuna (ancestors) navigated to Aotearoa New Zealand and into the Hokianga Harbour by the light of two stars Ara-i-te-uru (also known as Āraiteuru) and Niua (also known as Niwa or Niniwa). Seen as pillars of light across the surface of the water, these two waterborne beacons have been personified in pūrākau (origin stories) as taniwha (supernatural beings). Taniwha exist between the realms Te Pō and Te Ao Mārama – the metaphysical world and world of light. To this day, Āraiteuru and Niua guard the headlands of the Hokianga. The inter-generational retelling of the origin, presence and behaviours of taniwha offer precautionary reminders of danger, responsibility and obligation.

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