Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a-Māui was very prominent in the conquest of the western side of Te Tau Ihu. The Puketapu hapū, Ngāti Komako and Ngāti Hinetuhi conquered the former occupiers and, in a later wav e of migration, came Puketapu, Kaitangata, Mitiwai and Ngāti Rāhiri, all of whom have maintained unbroken ahi kaa roa. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui arikitanga of Pukeone gives our iwi responsibilities and gives meaning and effect to the customs of kaitiaki and manaakitanga and the obligations as tangata whenua of Motueka. WHAREPAPA / ARTHUR RANGE Ko Pukeone, ko Tuao Wharepapa ngā Maunga Ko Motueka te a wa Wharepapa reigns proudly over Te Tai o Aorere (Tasman Bay) and provides Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui with a “sense of place” and belonging to the rohe. For Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui this maunga is a precious taonga. As with all principal maunga, Wharepapa is imbued with the spiritual elements of Rangi and Papa, and in tradition and practice regarded as an important link to the primeval parents. Wharepapa has cast its influence over the iwi living in the rohe f or hundred s of years. Wharepapa is also a boundary marker for Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui iwi of Motueka and it is still customary practice for Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, when speaking in a formal setting, to identify where they come from and to recite their relationship with Wharepapa that connects them to the natural world. Wharepapa has a mauri of his own, and his life force binds the spiritual world with the physical world. All elements of the natural world have a life force and it is this life force that connects our people with this maunga. Wharepapa is a natural reservoir of high-quality fresh water. The water that flows from Wharepapa as the snow melts is sacred. Water is an essential element of life, a taonga that is considered to transcend life itself. Wai is necessary to ensure the physical and spiritual survival of all things. It also represents the lifeblood of Papatūānuku and the tears of Ranginui. Ngā awa carry this lifeblood from Wharepapa to Tangaroa. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a-Māui has a kaitiaki role over Wharepapa passed down from our tūpuna. As kaitiaki we have obligations and responsibilities to take particular care of this place, the natural resources found here and the tangible and intangible taonga of this ancestor. Wharepapa is home to a wide range of plant and animal species which are of great significance to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui. Two notable species are the Mountain Neinei, which i s the longest living indigenous tree, and the Powelliphanta (land snail). The Neinei was used to manufacture the wet weather capes worn by our tūpuna. These taonga were highly valued by tūpuna and remain culturally significant to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui whānau today. There are a number of tomo (sacred caves) situated within this maunga. It is an obligation of hapū and whānau who retain customary rights over the land to look after it and protect the physical and spiritual wellbeing of all treasured resources, places and sites of significance upon, in, under and above Wharepapa. The significance of Wharepapa to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a-Māui is illustrated in our pepehā - “Ko Wharepapa te maunga ...” Wharepapa is also recognised through waiata. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a-Māui has a strong historical tradition of customary responsibility to the wāhi tapu, wāhi taonga (significant sites) and mahinga kai (food and resource gathering species, sites and practices) of Wharepapa. The relationship Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui has with Wharepapa is a taonga central to our identity and our cultural and spiritual wellbeing. Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 117 of 163