Ancestral Footsteps: Te Heke ki Korotuaheka

Abstract

Retracing one’s ancestral roots and routes has been a growing point of interest for many, but with the additional support of ancestral websites such as AncestryDNA and Ancestry.com, genetic curiosity is gathering personal, familial and global momentum. For Indigenous communities whose lives have been disrupted by colonisation, these hīkoi (treks) are an important process of reclaiming ancestral linkages, reconnecting with ancestral whenua (land), reawakening Indigenous knowledge and thus reigniting intergenerational interest. In Aotearoa, there is also a growing desire to follow tīpuna foosteps throughout the whenua, to gain an insight and experience the challenges of their tīpuna journeys. In December 2016, several trekkers documented their experiences through whānau journals as they followed the return ancestral trails of the last prophet and tohuka of Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) Te Maihāroa (1800-1886) and his people on Te Heke ki Te Ao Mārama, The Migration to Ōmārama (1877-79).