Whakapapa

My iwi are Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne, and Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō.

My journey as a healer began long before I stepped into the world of Rongoā Māori. Since 2006, I have been a qualified massage therapist, trained in Ayurvedic massage, lymphatic drainage, and deep tissue massage. These early years taught me the language of the body — how to listen through hands, sense where tension hides, and work with the natural rhythms that bring restoration.

My Rongoā learning has been shaped since 2020 and strengthened under the guidance of my mentor with over two decades of experience walking the healing path. She carries a sacred lineage entrusted to her through teachings from her Arikinui Taputapu Noa of Te Wānanga Tapunōa o Io Matangaro, drawn from the ancient whare wānanga of Waima, Hokianga, and preserved through generations of tohunga and spiritual custodians.

Her journey continued within the House of Rehua, anchored her practice in aroha, wairuatanga, and the healing laws of tapu and noa. These teachings flow into all she passes on to me, weaving spiritual law, tikanga, and the vibrational wisdom of our tūpuna into her guidance.

Through her, I have been nurtured into the plant-based aspects of Mirimiri, Rongoā, the healing power of rākau, and the sacred relationship with the ngahere. I have learned to listen for the breath of the forest, uphold tikanga in the harvest, and work with the mauri of each plant as a living ancestor.

Her mentorship has been a doorway — not just to knowledge, but to remembering — awakening the mātauranga carried in my own whakapapa and anchoring me more deeply in the path my tūpuna prepared for me. This is the whakapapa of my learning: the bridge between my ancestral memory and the living stream of knowledge that continues to flow through our people today.