Tāku tūranga tonu au e noho ana ia tau ia tau
I waenga awaawa ko Kauwhatau ki te ngutu awa ki Rangitīkei.
Mai i te pā tūwatawata ko te Auputa ko Haukaha.
Mai i te kāinga waewae ko Te Awahaehae ko Tautahi.
Ko ngā tūpuna moko mokopuna o Ngāti Hauiti nui tonu rā.
Ko ngā uri e whai ora nei i te maumaharatanga ko ngā pou onamata
Rere tonu atu rā ki te pā papakāinga o te iwi ko Otara
E karangaranga ana mai te tupuna e moe mai rā ko Tapui.
Ko te moemoeā o te hunga nohonoho i te āiotanga
Kia puāwai ake ngā uri whakatupu.
Here I am again at my yearly resting place
In the valley where the Kauwhatau meets the Rangītikei.
Fed from the memories of the fortified Pā of Te Auputa of Haukaha.
Fed from the memories of the ancestral treading places of Te Awahaehae of Tautahi.
Those ancestors – the descendants of Ngāti Hauiti.
And here are we their descendants seeking sustenance from their deeds of those years past
And by river now here we go off to our main settlement at Otara
From whence we are called by our ancestor Tapui who rests there.
It is our dream that these peaceful memories will in turn inspire our upcoming generations.
The Ruru is a significant manu for Ngāti Hauiti and is acknowledged as one of the kaitiaki (spiritual guardian) depicted on the tomokanga at Rātā Marae.
The Ruru is known as messenger and ushers in te pō (the night). This is encompassed in the following kōrero
“Kia whakarongo ake au ki te ruru e karanga ana…pō pō keo keo - I hear the Ruru calling pō pō keo keo”.
From this kōrero comes the honorary title of Te Ruru which is bestowed on the senior kuia of our hapū of Ngāi Te Upokoiri who hold the karanga taonga. As kaikaranga they not only perform rituals but are responsible for communicating with the manuhiri. Viewed in another way, the logo acknowledges the mana of this role as it can be seen to represent the moko kauae of the Te Ruru role. This honoured role is recognised by being placed at the centre and head of the logo.
In the context of the term Kia Puāwai, which we have adopted as the short title for our programme grant, the Ruru’s wings curl into an interconnected series of koru representing the communication channels being activated up and down the motu (island) as the Ruru calls to its fellow manu (birds).
The koru grow upwards from the written text demonstrating the value of the communication and the critical role of the communication chain in supporting flourishing wellbeing.
The white space between the koru-wings represents the spiritual significance of the Rangitīkei awa and the network of awa which feed and nourish the whenua and tāngata of Aotearoa.
“Kia whakarongo ake au ki te ruru e karanga ana…pō pō keo keo - I hear the Ruru calling pō pō keo keo.”
