Te Pāhou

Te Poho o Taharakau

Ko Puketapu te maunga
Ko Waipaoa me Karaua nga awa
Ko Horouta me Takitimu nga waka
Ko Ngāti Maru te hapu
Ko Rongowhakaata te iwi 

Ko te Poho o Taharakau te wharenui
Ko te Mokai te wharekai
Ko te Maheni te urupa
Ko te ara o Tuaraki ki Manutuke te wahi noho
Ko te Pāhou te kohanga reo

'He tini whetu ki te rangi, ko Ngāti Maru ki te whenua.
He tini kahawai ki te moana, ko Ngāti Maru ki uta.'

'A multitude of stars in the sky, as are Ngāti Maru below.
A multitude of kahawai in the sea, as are Ngāti Maru ashore.' 

Pāhou Marae is situated on the Matakaka No.1 block in Tuaraki Road, Manutūkē. Matakaka is named after a taniwha who lived on Poukokonga lake right beside the marae. The lake had two outlets to the sea. One that drained into the Otiere Creek then into the Tawhao on the Waipaoa river and then into the sea.

The tekoteko of Pāhou Marae commemorates the tipuna Taharakau as he was primarily connected with Tuaraki at Manutuke. The marae is situated on the Matakakaka 1 block and belongs to Ngāti Maru and Ngai Tawhiri. The wharenui is named Te Poho o Taharakau and the wharekai is named Mokai.

The urupa is called Te Maheni. The area is named Tuaraki from the phrase “while the sun is still up” meaning the hāpu should return home. It is said the hāpu of this marae was never divided always keeping together. If they happened to leave their camp they would always make sure to return while the sun was still up for fear of being caught by kehua (ghosts).

For marae enquiries please email: tepahoumarae@gmail.com