Te Umutaoroa – The Slow-Cooking Earth Oven: A Case Study of Intergenerational Transference

Abstract

In 1886 the Māori prophet Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki delivered a prophecy of hope to Patuheuheu – a hapū of Ngāi Tūhoe – following the loss of their land at Te Houhi in the eastern Bay of Plenty. Te Kooti named this prophecy, Te Umutaoroa – the slow-cooking earth oven. This article explores the emergence of Te Umutaoroa and will explain the intergenerational transfer of this prophecy and how it is utilised today. Significantly, this article will present a case study of how Te Tāpenakara mo te Iwi Charitable Trust – a Waiōhau-based health and wellbeing clinic – uses Te Umutaoroa as a model for its healing practice.