March 21, 2023
Ahi kaa at Te Kohia recalls flame of war
Taranaki iwi last Friday marked the anniversary of the first shots fired against them in the Taranaki War of 1860.
Wharehoka Wano from Te Kāhui o Taranaki says the day is not widely acknowledged, but the iwi have attempted to change that.
“We as a people go to Te Kohia where the first pa was set up to respond to the aggression of the colonial troops and we light our fire, our ahi kaa. We have been doing that for about 20 years, led by my tuakana Hoani Eriwata so we lit that fire this morning, responded in our way, had our kōrero, had our mihi, had our karakia, spoke our story and remembered,” he says.
The iwi also marked the day by reopening Ko Tamawahine, the kitchen and dining facilities at Waitara’s Owae Marae which have undergone a $4 million redevelopment.