The lone walk of the Wāhi Tapu advisor

Our whenua, our land, holds and tells our stories, and our stories are the identity of our iwi, Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea. Hiku Davis is Tū Mai Taonga’s Wāhi Tapu (sacred site ) advisor, and it is his job to literally walk in the steps of his ancestors to help preserve the areas and the stories of cultural significance on Aotea, Great Barrier Island. 

Hiku Davis, Wāhi Tapu (sacred site) advisor, Team Lead, and the eyes and ears of the iwi.

Hiku Davis can walk alone up to 20 kilometres a day through thick bush in some of the harshest, most isolated and historically significant landscapes in Aotea, Great Barrier Island.

And he wouldn’t swap his job for anything else.

Hiku is the Wāhi Tapu (sacred site) advisor for Tū Mai Taonga. This makes him the eyes and ears of the iwi and a guide for the field crew. He teaches the team and protects areas and artifacts of cultural significance on Aotea.

This honours the project’s commitment to delivering a conservation programme based on tikanga Māori (traditional values), which helps trappers be more aware of the history of the whenua (land) they are helping to heal. Working this way helps restore the cultural identity of Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea.

“I walk through the dense bush where predator trapping lines are planned, making sure none of them traverse historic Māori sites,” he explains. “It’s challenging work.

“The terrain is unforgiving in places, the weather is unpredictable and I am constantly moving. But I feel proud to be chosen to do this. It is a real privilege to have this role — it means a lot being Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea myself.”

As one of the foundation members of the Tū Mai Taonga team, Hiku’s sense for the sacred sites has grown with the project over the past three years.

“I can tell from a series of holes on a ridge line that it’s a former kūmara pit. I come across fortified pā sites, midden sites, broken adzes, obsidian flakes — sharp stones used for preparing fish.

“My role is to not disturb it, not even document it, but to just leave it all there and make sure our trappers work around these sacred areas. Our iwi wants to preserve this taonga (treasure). It means the history of our ancestors is respected and safe.”

Hiku has always had a deep interest in the history of Aotea — the who, what, where, when, and why of the island.

“I have learned that [in] the northern part of Aotea, Te Paparahi, where we are currently working, the iwi was quite nomadic, constantly moving around, living off the environment. They would grow kūmara and then move to another spot to harvest birds

or catch crayfish. At the same time, they would be protecting their land from other tribes too.”

Hiku has grown up on stories passed down through generations and now his job is to help ensure this history is preserved for future generations.

“I am so proud to be doing this and to be part of the Tū Mai Taonga team,” he says. “To understand the past helps us understand the present better.”

“Our Wāhi Tapu connects us to our whenua, our land. Our land holds and tells our stories. Our stories are our identity.”