Te Arawhata Totika - Wairarapa DHB

for expressing sympathy, compassion and pity for
those in sickness or trouble, approval of or pride in
someone, or gratitude for gifts received. Aroha has a
connection with the divine and the generosity of spirit
which puts others before self.
Pere (1991) defines aroha as unconditional love that is
derived from the presence and breath of the creator,
a pillar of life from io Matua (the divine parent).
evil and negative forces cannot flourish where
absolute aroha reigns. Further, aroha is only
meaningful when actioned.
Te rangi hiroa (1958) gave an example of aroha
when he wrote, ‘When I was told an aged visitor
whom i had never seen before was a tipuna to me, my
heart warmed towards him. i placed him in the same
category as my other tipuna who resided in the same
village and had lavished affection upon me. he was
a member of the family.’ Aroha begins with whänau.
in the 1860s while wars were raging in many other
parts of the country the chiefs of wairarapa made
the decision that their whenua would remain peaceful
and no fighting would occur between Mäori and
the new settlers. This was despite the fact that the
cause of many wars in other parts of the country
and the wairarapa were due to the land grabbing
tactics of the government. The act of Aroha by the
wairarapa chiefs was soon put to the test by a group
of invading hauhau warriors who were camped 15
kms north of Masterton and ready to do battle with
any government troops that passed their way. The
wairarapa chiefs on hearing of their arrival acted
quickly and a small group volunteered to meet with
the hauhau warriors and speak with their leaders.
Täwhirimätea Täwhao Ngatuere was chosen as the
speaker for the wairarapa. when they arrived at
the hauhau campsite such was the surprised look
on Ngatuere’s face at the large number of warriors
that were gathered there, the area became known
as Te Mikimikitanga o Te Mata o Ngatuere, now
known as Mikimiki. Ngatuere was successful in
negotiating peace and convinced the hauhau warriors
to return home, but such was his aroha for these
people that he followed them and was successful
again in arranging peace talks on the west Coast
between Mäori and europeans in that area.
Te Arawhata Tötika Cultural Competency Framework
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