Hihiaua ki Tauraga Moana

Rata Te Kimihanga 2024

Five carvers from the Hihiaua Cultural Centre participated in Rata Te Kimihanga 2024 – a 10-day tarai waka symposium – in Tauranga this November.  The team consisted of Whero Mack, Shane Hakaraia, Papanui Polamalu, Poutama and Te Warihi Hetaraka.

The bi-annual symposium was hosted by Tauranga Moana at Sulphor Point.  Aotearoa was represented by the team from Hihiaua, 4th Gen and Te Tapuwae.   Others came from Hawai’i, Taiwan, Seattle and the Marshall Islands.

Hihiaua carvers last attended the Rata tarai waka in Raglan in 2022 and worked with others on Manawa Kuaka.  The first waka the Hihiaua team carved together was carved and launched in Tauranga –  named Werimoana.  The three waka created during the event were gifted to Tauranga Moana.

The beauty of Werimoana was seen as a testament to the tutelage given by Te Warihi Hetaraka and the leadership of Poutama Hetaraka and the exceptional work ethic the team came with.  

“The name for the waka, Werimoana, came as we were building the waka we had a few visits from centipedes crawling its many legs along the rakau.  We took this as a tohu, as a time marker.   The many legs of the centipede symbolises the many legs which marched in  numbers to Poneke.  Toitu te Tiriti Hikoi  was happening throughout the motu at the same time as Rata Te Kimihanga, 2024,”   Poutama said.