TAHARĀKAU nā Hera I te hui i tū ki Te Muriwai mō te ekenga o te Rau Tau o te Hāhi Ringatū a Te Kooti Rikirangi, ka puta ētahi kōrero nunui mō tēnei tangata i reira. Ehara taua marae, i tū nei te hui, nō tēnei tangata nō Te Kooti Rikirangi; he whanaunga anō rā ki a Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, ēngari nō Tūāraki, wāhi o Manutūkē, tōna taha nui, nō te tipuna nei nō Taharākau, hapū o Ngāti Maru, i ahu mai i a Rongowhakaata o Tūranganui. E kīia ana he hapū nui tēnei i ōna wā, i te wā e ora ana tēnei mea te tangata; e kīia ana anō, i pokia te whenua e tēnei hapū. Nō rātou hoki te whakatauāki nei: He tini whetū ki te rangi, ko Ngāti Maru ki raro; he tini kahawai ki te moana, ko Ngāti Maru ki uta. Ko tēnei tangata ko Taharākau, ehara i te tangata rahi rawa tōna karangatanga, ēngari he tangata toa, māia, kakama hoki ki te whakahoki pātai i ngā pātaitai a Tamateate-rangi, ariki o Te Wairoa. He mea hoki kāore i hoki i a Taharākau, e kīia ana kua patua pea, kua kainga; kāore noa rānei, i te kore wāriu o tōku nei tipuna, o Taharākau. Otirā, i hoki ngā pātai. I ui hoki a Tamatea, ‘E Taha, he aha te kōrero o Tūranga?’ (He mōhio pea nō Tamatea kāore he kōrero nunui o Tūranga.) Ka whakahoki a Taharākau, ‘Kāore he kōrero o Tūranga, ēngari te kai o Tūranga. He ahi kouka ki te awatea, he wahine ki te pō.’ Ka pātai anō a Tamatea, ‘E Taha, he aha te tohu o te rangatira?’ Ka whakahoki a Taharākau, ‘He whare tū i te wā he kai nā te ahi, he tohu hoki nō te ware; he whare tū ki te pā tūwatawata he tohu nō te rangatira.’ Ko tēnei tangata ko Taharākau, he pākē, tōna kākahu; kāore hoki e makere ana tōna pākē. Whiti te rā, marangai rānei, During the centenary celebrations of the Ringatu Church held at Muriwai, there was a great deal of important discussion on its founder, Te Kooti Rikirangi. He did not belong to this marae, although he did have some connection with the Ngai Tamanuhiri people; but the marae with which he was most closely connected was Tuaraki in the Manutuke area, the people there being descendants of Taharakau of Ngati Maru, a sub-tribe of Rongowhakaata of Gisborne. It is said that, in their heyday, Ngati Maru were a virile and prolific people and that their lands were densely populated, hence this saying: As the myriad of stars in the sky, so are Ngati Maru on the earth; as the multitude of kahawai in the sea, so are Ngati Maru on the land. This ancestor, Taharakau, although he was not of very high rank, was a man of valour, and renowned for his witty replies to questions asked of him by Tamatea-te-rangi, a chief of Te Wairoa in Hawke's Bay, for had he not been able to give satisfactory answers, it is said that he might have been killed and eaten; on the other hand, perhaps not, because my ancestor Taharakau was of no great value (in rank). However, the questions were answered. Tamatea asked Taharakau. ‘Taha, what is the main saying about Turanga [Gisborne]?’ (Tamatea probably knew very well there were no noteworthy sayings connected with Turanga.) Taharakau answered, ‘Turanga has no noteworthy sayings, except the saying about the special foods of the district, In the daytime, the cooked heart of the cabbage tree; in the night, a woman.’ Tamatea next asked, ‘Taha, what is the sign of a chief?’ Taharakau replied, ‘A house standing in open country will perish by fire and is a sign of the low rank of the owner; a house standing within a stronghold is a sign of a chief's high rank.’ It was Taharakau's habit always to wear a pākē, a roughly woven type of rain cape made from undressed flax or kiekie; he was