Introduction

Nga Puhi nui tonu mai i Tamaki ki Te Rerenga Wairua tena koutou katoa.

I penei te korero a Te Whiti O Rongomai, Rapua te mea ngaro. Te Whiti’s advice was to search for that which is missing. Today, more often than not, our whakapapa is missing.

In addition when a person gets to a certain age they begin to think about what their tribe is and about their whakapapa and ancestry. The scripture says,

Ia koe e tamariki ana he tamariki au whakaaro, erangi kia kaumatua koe me kaumatua katoa au whakaaro.

When you are young you do what young people do. But, when you become an elder you must think and do what elders do.

Ko Nga Puhi ko Te Iwi Ngaro

A few short years ago there were many kaumatua speakers on our marae. Back then a person could access one’s whakapapa quite readily. Nowadays, this is no longer the case especially if you live in Te Waipounamu or overseas. Ko tetahi o nga mate he iwi huna tenei iwi o Nga Puhi i ona taonga.

With over 100,000 members Nga Puhi are the largest iwi in Aotearoa. I refer to Nga Puhi as te iwi ngaro, or the lost people. We have lost te reo, nga whakapapa, our tikanga, and our karakia Maori. We have lost much of our taonga.