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Ngati Hau ki Whangarei have four remaining traditional kainga areas, they are Te Maruata, Pehiaweri,
Whakapara and Akerama. Maraenui is the fifth designated Ngati Hau Marae, located on
Whakanekeneke, customary land of Ngati Hao, situated in the upper reaches of the Hokianga above
Waihou Valley and gifted by Ani Kaaro Hohaia (Smithyman, 1997) granddaughter of the Chief
Patuone (Davis, 1974) and daughter of Ka Te Ao Te Takupu of Ngati Hau. All five Marae are
affiliated to the Ngati Hau Trust Board 7 .
The land sales within and around the boundaries of Ngati Hau included established settlements and
kainga, limiting and reducing places of residence and the necessity to travel. The partition of lands
reduced further access to those areas and limited, for Ngati Hau, the ability to manaaki (host) each
other. In earlier years moving freely from one village to another within the hapu boundary to reside
for short and long intervals was a customary practice that strengthened mana whenua, whakapapa and
whanaungatanga. During my grandfather‟s time whanau travelled to each other‟s kainga using
existing tracks across the lands. While the technological advances in travel and communication can
give the appearance of advanced internal interaction, the loss of adjoining lands and traditional
landmarks has created a physical disconnection between hapu, kainga and whanau.
7 The Ngati Hau Trust Board is registered as a Charitable Trust with three representatives from each of the five affiliated Marae.
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