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February 17, 2022
Kororāreka koiwi to get tikanga burial
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
Posted On February 17, 2022
Download AudioKororāreka Marae is working with archaeologists on a dig at Oneroa Bay on the ocean side of Russell where ancient koiwi have been found.
The first remains found in 2020 were identified as a pre-contact female because her teeth had not been affected by processed sugar, and another female skeleton found last year was in a traditional pre-contact foetal burial position.
Marae chair Deb Rewiri says once the archaeologists have finished their mahi, they will be returned to the iwi.
“So if we don’t find any others but the koiwi we have found currently, Far North District Council has set aside an area for us and we reinter them up on Oneroa, there is an urupā, and eventually there will be a pou that identifies that site for our tūpuna,” she says.
Ms Rewiri hopes seeing their elders involved in the dig will encourage some mokopuna to study archaeology.
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