The role of iwi in Kōhanga Kiwi
Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Hauā, Raukawa and Waikato
Mana whenua have a deep ancestral connection to the mountain and play a key role in guiding the restoration and protection of the maunga. In 2005, Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro gifted four kiwi chicks to Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and the maunga. This act of requesting and gifting, called tono, began a partnership that continues today. These birds were the first kiwi to live within the ancient forest on Maungatautari in over one hundred years.
Bodie Tihoi Taylor, the Cultural Advocate at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, with a kiwi carving he is working on. Image: LEARNZ.
Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro
This iwi is based near Tongariro in the central North Island. They helped begin the kiwi population by gifting the first kiwi chicks to Maungatautari, as part of a plan to help kiwi survive and be returned to their original homes one day. In 2023, the partnership came full circle when sixty-one kiwi chicks were returned to Tongariro from Maungatautari.
Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika (Taranaki Whānui)
Taranaki Whānui are a group of iwi whose rohe includes parts of the Wellington region. In 2023, 50 kiwi from Maungatautari were gifted to them and released in the hills of Mākara, west of Wellington. This is part of a broader effort to rebuild wild kiwi populations in areas where they once thrived.
Bodie says a karakia before sending the newly mustered kiwi off to their new homes as part of the kaupapa Kōhanga Kiwi. Image: LEARNZ.
