1 Feb 2015

Putahi Pa, Wairoa

From Te Ahi Kaa , 6:19 pm on 1 February 2015

We’re more whānau. We don’t really have a hapu here. We’re Putahi. Putahi in terms of marae and people.

- Kiwa Hammond  

putahi
Miriama Hammond, Fred McRoberts, Kiwa Hammond (2014).

Those keeping the homefires burning (te ahi kaa) are relied on by the whanau who live away from their Pā to swing into action when, say, a tūpapaku arrives and a tangihanga takes place.

However, are the expectations realistic? And how exactly does that translate practically?

All questions Kiwa Hammond, his mother Miriama Hammond and Uncle Fred McRoberts are having to contend with at their Pā, Putahi in Wairoa and which has led to them putting succession plans in place.

Putahisideangle

According to Kiwa Hammond, pepeha are modern constructs designed to place kaupapa Māori into a categorised box. Because stripped back whakapapa is what joins people and is the common link between whānau.

Maraea Rakuraku joins Kiwa, his mother Miriama Hammond and Uncle Fred McRoberts at Putahi in Wairoa where discussions move into the modern day pressures that face our rural based pa, politically, socially and economically.

Putahiwaharoaputahikoruru