The theft of whale jawbones from a shed in Ōtākeho, Taranaki, has prompted an iwi leader to call for any information of their whereabouts.
One side of three sets of kauwae parāoa (sperm whale jawbones) and some niho (teeth) were discovered missing from a shed belonging to Ngāti Haua hapū of Ngāruahine iwi.
Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trust tumu whakarae (chief executive) Te Aorangi Dillon took to Facebook on Tuesday morning to report the theft and called for people to come forward with information.
"This has happened in the past 24-48 hours with the damage being found this morning. Someone (or people) have cut the lock to the gate and jimmied open the heavy middle door to the shed," the post read.
Dillon told Te Karere there had to be an element of planning involved due to the size of the jawbones and it was likely done by more than one person.
“The jawbones are not light so we think that there would have to been two people, at least, involved. If it was only one person, they would have to be super, super strong.”
In addition, Dillon said the thieves would have needed a vehicle big enough to transport the bones.
“One of the jaw bones, a distinguishing factor is that it is broken, so that one of course would’ve been a little bit easier to manoeuvre. However, the other two are quite long and just the way the shed is at the moment, there was no real disturbance to anything.”
In her post, she appealed directly to the thief or thieves to return the bones and have their spiritual wellbeing maintained.
“We know there’ll be a consequence and that is for that person or those people to deal with that amongst themselves,” said Dillon.
“They’ll need to say some karakia to their atua, I would say, in order to protect themselves and take care of themselves spiritually.”
Whale bones are revered as precious taonga and are often harvested and prepared from the bodies of stranded whales in a laborious and lengthy process that can take years.
In May 2018, a mass stranding of sperm whales occurred within the iwi boundaries. Eight sperm whales were found dead near Kaupokonui Beach, and the number increased to 12 over the next few days. Another whale was later found at a beach near Hāwera, believed to have come from the same pod.
Ngāti Haua became kaitiaki of three of the tupuna parāoa (ancestral sperm whales) that were found.
Dillon said the event was a huge kaupapa for the iwi at the time. Traditional cultural practices of hauhake (harvesting) and hahū (exhuming) took place where the bones were harvested, buried, and then years later, exhumed.
“We’ve uplifted the bones and as a hapū, and with our iwi whānau, and also whānau from across the motu, we had a ceremony in regards to uplifting the bones and then placing them in here, in the shed.”
The iwi hoped the kauwae parāoa would help inform overall wellbeing. There were discussions over using the bones for carvings and rongoā practices, as well as taonga to enhance teachings of te reo and tikanga that applied to parāoa.
She said they took their responsibilities as kaitiaki seriously and felt the loss of the kauwae parāoa deeply.
“This has taken place over many, many wānanga. We’ve had about 15 wānanga over the last four years in regards to those processes, and also what’s going to happen with the bones, and the hua from these tupuna parāoa since. It’s a sensitive time for us all at the moment.”
The incident has been referred to the police.
Glossary
parāoa – sperm whale (in this context)
kauwae – jaw
niho – teeth
tumu whakarae – chief executive
karakia – prayer(s), incantation(s)
atua – god(s)
taonga – treasure(s), prized possession(s)
kaitiaki – guardian
tupuna – ancestor
kaupapa – purpose, theme, project, cause
hauhake – harvest
hahū – exhume
motu – country
rongoā – medicine, remedy
tikanga – custom(s), protocol(s)
wānanga – meet, discuss, seminar, conference
hua – benefit, gain, outcome, product, fruit
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