November 03, 2021
Whales the ride of a lifetime
A Ngāti Awa scientist whose name has been given to a rare whale is being hailed for a lifetime following the giant sea beasts.
Bradford Haami, who is writing a book about whales, says the naming of the species Ramari’s beaked whale after his aunt Ramari Stewart is a fitting tribute.
Growing up at Te Horo near the Ohiwa Harbour, Ms Stewart learned from her father and other elders the Māori view of the natural world and the rituals and practices surrounding beached whales.
Her lifetime passion was kindled at the age of 10 when she was bucked into the ocean by her horse and ended up on the back of a whale as it was feeding over the breakers.
“I suppose her role in her life was to follow the pathway her father and her grandfather used to speak about where these particular species came from, their names, how they came with the ancestors and the role of those animals, as kaitiaki. So she has spent her whole life following live species of whales to actually validate their kōrero,” Mr Haami says.
He says there is a Ngāti Awa story about Te Tahi o te Rangi, who travelled on the back of a whale from Whakaari White Island to the mouth of the Whakatane River, so whale riding is seen as normal in the iwi.