He kōrero hirahira tēnei e wānangatia ai ngā kupu whakaari a Te Kooti Te Turuki Rikirangi – he poropiti, he kaiārahi, he pou nō te Hāhi Ringatū.

Ko Te Kooti Te Turuki Rikirangi tētahi o ngā maunga teitei o te wā – he kōkōrangi i ngā rā pōuri, he tokotoko i te awa kōpaka. I tū ia hei toa i te whare o Tūmatauenga, engari ki te Hāhi Ringatū, he poropiti – he matakite nāna i hāpai ngā moemoeā, ngā tūmanako, me ngā wairua o te iwi i ngā tau o te ngarohanga: te whenua, te oranga, te mana motuhake.

I tōna ringa matau te pū me te riri, i tōna ringa māui te whakapono, ngā kupu whakaari, me te tohu rangimārie. Nā Te Kooti i hora atu ēnei kupu ki ngā marae o te motu, hei karere poropiti, hei tohu whakatūpato, hei māramatanga mō ngā uri whakatipu. He kupu e kōrero ana ki te manawa, ki te wairua, ki te whenua.

Ko tēnei pukapuka nā Tā Pou Temara – he mema o te Kaunihera Tekau mā Rua a te Kuīni, he ahorangi, he tohunga mō te kupu, mō te whakaaro Māori. Ka wānangahia e ia ngā kōrero a Te Kooti: ngā whakakitenga i tukuna ki ngā marae, ngā waiata i tuhia hei huna i te mōhiotanga, ngā kōrero i poipoia i raro i te maru o te atua. Ka pānuitia, ka wetewetehia, ka uia: kua tutuki rānei ngā kupu a Te Kooti? Kei te ora tonu rānei i ēnei rā?

Ko ngā whakaaro o Tā Pou i ahu mai i ngā kōrero tuku iho o Te Whānau-a-Apanui, o Te Arawa, o Ngāi Tūhoe – ngā iwi i whakatupu i tōna ngākau kia mōhio ai ki te hā o te kupu, ki te wairua o te whakapono, ki te tapu o te kōrero tuku iho. Nā konā, ka rere mai tēnei pukapuka hei puna mātauranga mō te hunga e kimi ana i te māramatanga ki te Hāhi Ringatū, ki te poropititanga Māori, ki te reo, ki te hītori o te motu – mai i te uma o ngā marae, mai i ngā whakapono o ngā tīpuna, mai i te kore ki te ao mārama.

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The prophetic sayings of Te Kooti Te Turuki Rikirangi – analysed and explained in te reo Māori by Tā Pou Temara.

Te Kooti Te Turuki Rikirangi stands as a towering figure of his time – a storm in dark days, a staff for those adrift. A warrior in the house of Tūmatauenga, yet to the Ringatū Church, a prophet – one who carried the dreams, hopes and spirit of the iwi through years of loss: land, life and sovereignty.

In his right hand, the gun of battle; in his left, the word of God. Te Kooti spread these words across the marae of the motu; a messenger, a guide, a beacon of understanding for generations to come. His words speak to the heart, to the spirit, to the land.

This book, by Tā Pou Temara – a member of the Māori Queen’s Council of Twelve, a professor, and a tohunga of Māori language and thought – offers a deep exploration in te reo Māori of Te Kooti’s prophetic messages: his visions, teachings and songs. Through these pages, Tā Pou asks: have Te Kooti’s words been fulfilled? Do they still live today?

Tā Pou’s insights, grounded in the ancestral knowledge of Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Te Arawa and Ngāi Tūhoe, illuminate the essence of the word, the spirit of belief and the sacredness of tradition. This book is a rich source of knowledge for those seeking understanding of the Ringatū faith, Māori prophecy, the Māori language and the history of the land – from the heart of the marae, from the wisdom of ancestors, from the shadows to the light.

Te Kaituhi / Author

He mea whakatipu a Tā William Te Rangiua ‘Pou’ Temara KNZM (1948 te tau i whānau ai ia) e ōna kaumātua i te mātotorutanga o te reo Māori i Te Urewera kia waru tau rā anō tōna pakeke. Koia te wā i hoki ai rātau ki Ruatāhuna. He ahorangi tikanga ia i te Wānanga o Awanuiārangi i tēnei wā. I mua atu he ahorangi ia o te reo Māori, o ngā tikanga, me te kaupapa rapunga whakaaro i Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato. I mua i tāna mahi i Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, i Te Whare Wānanga o Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui ia (otirā te wāhi i whai tohu mātauranga ai ia), ā, i Awanuiārangi ia i mua o tōna haerenga ki Waikato. Ko ia hoki te mana ahurea o te whaikōrero, o te whakapapa me te karakia. Kua tū ia hei mema mō Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi mai i te tau 2008, hei mema mō Te Poari Tarahiti Māori o Tūhoe Waikaremoana, hei heamana mō Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe, ā, ko ia te heamana o Karanga Aotearoa, te mana whakahoki mai i ngā kōiwi Māori i tāwāhi. I whakawhiwhia ia ki Te Tohu Tā i te tau 2021. Ko ia hoki tētahi o te Tekau mā Rua a Kuīni Nga Wai Hono i te Po. He mea tā tāna pukapuka, Te Rautakitahi o Tūhoe ki Ōrākau, e Auckland University Press i te tau 2023, ā, koia te toa o te tohu Te Mūrau o te Tuhi nā Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa.

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Sir William Te Rangiua ‘Pou’ Temara KNZM (born 1948) was raised by his grandparents in a Māori-language environment in Te Urewera until he was eight years old, when they moved back to Ruatāhuna. He is a professor of Māori Philosophy at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. Previously he was a professor of reo and tikanga at the University of Waikato and taught at Victoria University of Wellington (where he also studied). He is a cultural authority on whaikōrero, tikanga and karakia. He has been a member of the Waitangi Tribunal since 2008, a member of the Tūhoe Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board and former chair of Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe within his iwi, Tūhoe, and is current chair of the Repatriation Advisory Panel at Te Papa. He sits on Kuini Nga Wai Hono i te Po’s ‘Council of Twelve’. He was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2021. His book Te Rautakitahi o Tūhoe ki Ōrākau, published by Auckland University Press, was honoured with the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Award – Te Mūrau o te Tuhi Māori Language Award, celebrating its contribution to te reo Māori and the stories of Tūhoe.

Endorsement

‘Ko wai o te wā nei, i tua atu rā i a Tā Pou, hei homai i tēnei māramatanga ki a tātou o te ao Māori? Ko Tā Pou he kirikawa ki te ao o te tārai kōrero, o te onetū, ki te ao o te haka, ki te ao o te tikanga, ki te ao o ngā karakia o whakapata, ki te ao o te mau rākau, ā, kitea ake ana i tēnei pukapuka, kirikawa ana anō ki te ao o te tuhi.’

‘Tā Pou is an expert in finding just the right turn of phrase, an orator par excellence, an adept performer and knowledgeable master of the art of haka, customary practice, the incantations and rituals of times past, dexterous in the use of Māori weaponry, and, as this book reveals, equally dexterous with the pen.’

— Tā Tīmoti Kāretu