MAORI WOMAN HONOURED

Taranaki Daily News, 18 July 1933, Page 7

MAORI WOMAN HONOURED

INTERRED AMONG THE CHIEFS WORTHY SERVICES TO HER TRIBE. LATE WHAKAAHU KARIPI, URENUI. A signal honour has been accorded Whakaahu Karipi, a leader among the women of the Ngati-Mutu tribe, who died at Urenui about a week ago. In recognition of her services to the tribe and as a sign of the high esteem in which she was held she was buried not at the Arapawa-iti pa, the old buriai place of the tribe, but at the Urenui pa beside the body of Te Rangi-puaho-aho, a great chief who was highly, revered by the tribe in Taranaki. Whakaahu Karipi was about 62 years of age when she died, having with her husband, who is a first cousin of the late Sir James Carroll, taken a leading interest and played a very active part in everything that aimed at the betterment of her people. She belonged on her grandmother’s side partly to the great Ngati-Maniapoto tribe, and that being so a great many of her relatives from the Taumarunui and many parts of the King Country attended the tangi, which lasted from Tuesday to Friday of last week. During the course of the tangi when, according to the Maori custom, it was certain that no more visitors would arrive, her husband addressed the people. After a long speech he touched upon the question of the place of burial. One section of the tribe desired that the body of Whakaahu should be buried at the Arapawa-iti pa situated at the south side of the mouth of the Mimi River. Another section, however, objected on the grounds that Arapawa-iti was the old burial place of the tribe, and was the centre of its activities in the old days. But in these pakeha days, they said, Whakaahu carried on her works of benevolence at the Urenui pa.

A still stronger argument in favour of burial at Urenui, which finally prevailed, was that on account of her great works it was only fitting that Whakaahu should be buried’ alongside the leading chiefs of the tribe at the Urenui po such as Te Rangi-puaho-aho, who was buried there in 1896 at the age of 73 years. He had been a staunch supporter of Te Whiti, and was one of the most highly revered chiefs of the tribe in Taranaki.

Those who wanted the body buried at Arapawa-iti gave way before the objections made in an eloquent address by one of the leading members of the tribe, and Whakaahu Karipi’s body' was interred at Urenui.