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Indigenous | University of Auckland

Richard Kurei to bring practice of Mimiro back into the whare

A project to help preserve the practice of Mimiro has begun with Te Whakatōhea and the University of Auckland's School of Architecture.

Mimiro is a traditional technique, with origins in waka building, used before the arrival of European colonists 250 years ago.

The project will involve the reconstruction of Tānewhirinaki in Ōpōtiki - a wharewhakairo built during the late 1800s by Ngāti Ira under the guidance of their rangatira, Hira Te Popo.

Richard Kurei, his great, great, great-grandson talked to Te Ao Tapatahi this morning about the traditional practice of Mimiro making its way back into the whare.

Richard says, "It's the lashing of the whare, it comes from the back of the poupou, over the top of the heke, over the tāhuhu, and back down to the other side of the heke and the other side of the poupou.

"To me, it's a lost mātauranga, it's been lost for a while, for Whakatōhea anyway. There are no houses in Whakatōhea that stand in the old way now."