Ngati Kura and Ngapuhi are mourning the death of Matauri Bay kaumatua Nau Epiha.
Quinton Hita, who served with him on the board of te Kura Kaupapa o Kaikohe, says he was a stalwart of the Ngapuhi dialect and the storehouse of a vast amount to cultural knowledge.
As a mentor he gave non-judgmental support to many younger people, and he was also known for always answering a question with a question.
“Which could be infuriating and sometimes it was a one word answer so you’d go home and you’d wananga for a week to get to the bottom of what the meaning of that one word was and I found with Nau, the more you insisted he give you a straight answer the more enigmatic his answers became. It was fantastic because it was actually about giving you the opportunity to do some self reflection and self-development and when you went back a week later you might not have figured out the whole puzzle but you were a bit further down the track,” Mr Hita says.
The tangi for Nau Epiha is at Te Tāpui Marae in Matauri.
