Sperm Whale harvested off Te Oneroa a Tohe
(Words by Lucy Schrader Manuera - She/her - Te Aupōuri)
A young parāoa was discovered off Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē, south of Maunganui Bluff on August 3rd. Following its discovery, the tikanga of Te Aupōuri was followed and supported by other Te Tai Tokerau iwi. Tikanga was prominent in respectfully harvesting and burying the whale.
Kaumātua named the whale Waimahuru after the location of its discovery. “Ko te mea nui ki ahau ki roto i tēnei mahi ki te kite i a tātou Ngāi Māori, i a tātou ngā tāngata whenua e whakamahi ana i tō mātou tino rangatiratanga (What’s most important to me is to see us, Māori, people of the land, carrying out our customary rights and self determination).” Uri o Ngāti Wai Te Kaurinui Parata told One News.
Niki Conrad, uri o Te Aupōuri spoke to the loss of mātauranga regarding the whale as a taonga, "In our grandparents' time, they used to deal with the whale, but we don't have that mātauranga now because there's legislation over marine mammals and stuff like that."
Tikanga followed in terms of harvesting included:
Jawbone: The densest and most durable bone, employed in crafting tools, holding particular significance for carvers creating taonga and weaponry.
Teeth: Ivory teeth from sperm whales were historically intricately carved into items like walking stick handles, chess pieces or piano keys.
Spermaceti: The finest whale oil, exclusive to sperm whales, historically for lighting lanterns and in Te Ao Pākehā for lubricant during the industrial revolution.
Blubber oil: Abundant oil derived from the whale's blubber, employed for illumination and soaps, cosmetics, and taonga preservation.
Skin: Whale hide, often repurposed for protective aprons or clothing.
Bones: Seen as a pre-industrial era plastic.
Sinew: used for bindings like ropes, fishing lines and nets.
Meat: A source of kai, when fresh.
Ambergris: A waxy substance formed in the sperm whale's stomach typically expelled at sea. Primarily traded for use in perfumes, fragrances, and cosmetics by specific countries (France and Switzerland).
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I kitea tētehi parāoa i Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē, kei te tonga o te pari o Maunganui, i te tuatoru o Akuhata. Nō muri i tōna kitenga, ka whāia ko ngā tikanga o Te Aupoiri, i tautokona rātou e ngā ētahi atu iwi o Te Tai Tokerau. He mea nui te whai i ngā tikanga i te wā hauhake, i te wā nehu ai te tohora.
I tapaina te tohorā e ngā kaumātua, ko Waimahuru tōna ingoa, hei tohu i te wāhi i kitea ia. ““Ko te mea nui ki ahau ki roto i tēnei mahi ki te kite i a tātou Ngāi Māori, i a tātou ngā tāngata whenua e whakamahi ana i tō mātou tino rangatiratanga” tā Te Kaurinui Parata, he uri o Ngāti Wai, ki a One News.
Ko Niki Conrad, he uri o Te Aupōuri. I kōrero ia mō te ngaro o te mātauranga o te tohora, “I ngā wā o ōku kaumātua, nā rātou te whakaritenga mo ngā tohorā, heoi kāore i a mātou ērā mātauranga ināianei nā ngā ture pākeha mō ngā kararehe o te moana, aha atu, aha atu.
Ko ētehi o ngā tikanga mō te hauhake i te tohora he pēnei:
Kauwae: Te kōiwi pururua, te kōiwi hoki o te katoa. Ka whakamahia ki te hanga taputapu. He tino taonga mo ngā kaiwhakairo hei hanga taonga, i ngā momo patu hoki.
Niho: Ko ngā rei o te tohora, he mea āta whakairotia ki ngā taonga pēnei i ngā kakau tokotoko, ngā wahanga whaikīngi, ngā kī o te piana hoki.
Spermaceti: Ko te tino hinu o ngā tohora, he motuhake ki ngā parāoa. I ngā wā onamata, i whakamahia ki te whakakā ahi, ki te whakamaene taputapu hoki i te huringa o te ao ahumahi.
Blubber oil: He maha te hinu kei roto i te pera o te tohora. Ka whakamahia hei hinu ahi, hei hopi, hei panipani, kia pupuri taonga hoki.
. Kiri: Ka kaha whakamahia hei ārai, mō ngā kākahu rānei.
Kōiwi: He momo kirihau i ōnā rā.
Sinew: Ka whakamahia kia hanga taura, aho hī ika, me ngā kūpenga hāo ika.
Mīti: He kai, mēnā he hou tonu.
Ambergris: He matū wākihi ka puta i roto i te puku o te parāoa, i te nuinga o te wā ka peia ki tai. I te nuinga o te wā ka hokona atu kia whakamahia hei hinu rautangi, hei kakara me ētahi atu momo panipani ki ngā whenua pērā i a Wiwi me Huiterangi.