Uru-uru whenua ceremony
Uru-uru whenua ceremony at Te Rakau-Tipua Hinehopu (Hinehopu’s sacred tree),
Rotoehu-Rotoiti Rd, Aotearoa (New Zealand), 2010.
An information panel by this tree reads: “As a baby, the chiefteness Hinehopu was hidden under this tree by her mother. Disturbed in a journey between Rotoehu and Rotoiti, the mother sheltered here from possible discovery by an enemy. Hinehopu grew to be very fond of the forest and was deeply concerned for the trees and the creatures which lived in them. It was under this matai tree that she met Pikiao the second. They became husband and wife and in time, the tree was agreed to be sacred, for from their union sprang the Ngati Pikiao tribe and its many chiefs and subtribes. Possessing superhuman power, the matai is the object of reverent respect in the performance of the ceremony Uru-uru whenua. This is said to influence the weather in favour the traveller.”
These events happened more than 360 years ago, but the story has been passed down and customs have evolved to still honour the mighty tree. Uru-whenua is the contemporary Maori word for passport. This indicates the sentiment of the ceremony, to give one a passport or safe entry and protection upon entering new territory. A brief incantation would be recited, translated as “O spirit of the Earth, Receive thou the heart of the stranger.”
I grew up near to this sacred tree. As a child, we would stop occasionally and I was fascinated by the custom of putting five cents under the tree as it was said to be a wishing tree. There are a few places like this around our country, in one place, it is a rock with a cavern that disappears under ground, in another, a fresh water spring, but many have disappeared, trees slain by settlers who did not know the stories, rocks destroyed for road metal. At this tree, people still stop and place greenery from the bush, laying ferns and other leaves at its base. Most locals toot the horns of their cars as they travel by, a modern acknowledgement of this sacred tree of Hinehopu.
Natalie Robertson.
September 2010.