Ko Tautoro, Te pito o Toku Ao A Ngapuhi Narrative

Ngapuhi is the largest iwi in New Zealand, and its people have occupied the northern North Island, from Tamaki in the south to Te Rerenga Wairua in the north, from the time of their arrival from Hawaiki. Ko Tautoro, Te Pito o Toku Ao is Ngapuhi elder Hone Sadler’s powerful account of the origins, history, and culture of the Ngapuhi people—a profound introduction to the Sacred House of Puhi. Sadler illustrates the unbroken chain of Ngapuhi sovereignty by looking in depth at his own hapu of Ngati Moerewa, Ngati Rangi, and Ngai Tawake ki te Waoku of Tautoro and Mataraua. The narrative is told through the weaving together of karakia and whakapapa, histories, and korero that have been part of the oral traditions of Ngapuhi’s whanau, hapu, and iwi and handed down through the generations on marae and other gathering places. Presented first to open the Ngapuhi’s claim before the Waitangi Tribunal, Sadler’s narrative is a powerful Maori oral account, presented here in Te Reo and in English on facing pages, of the story of New Zealand’s largest iwi.

Hone Sadler is a renowned Ngapuhi elder who is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and has taught at Northland Polytechnic. He is a celebrated Maori orator; a member of Te Ara Wananga, which provides advice on the nature of Maori content in Te Ara, the encyclopedia of New Zealand; and a member of the board of the James Henare Centre.