Te Hikapuhi Wiremu Poihipi, known as Hikapuhi, (died 6 January 1934) was a New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

healer who came to prominence in 1905. She was regarded by European and Māori authorities of her time as a nuisance, frequently prescribing patients with brandy, but for many who sought her help, she was their only provider of medical care. She was also an accomplished weaver and examples of her weaving were acquired by the Colonial Museum (now

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

) to demonstrate patterns of .

Biography

Poihipi was born in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, the tenth and youngest child of Wiremu Poihipi and Hārete Ngāputu. The year of her birth is recorded by Te Papa as 1850, but in the

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online i ...

her birth is estimated as between 1860 and 1871. Her mother, Hārete, was of

Ngāti Te Rangiunuora Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, a

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

of Ngāti Pikiao, and her father may have been as well. Te Papa also records her as affiliated to

Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa waka. The Ngāti Whakaue village Ōhinemutu is within the township of Rotorua. Ngāti Whakaue tra ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

. In 1906, Hikapuhi married Alfred Clayton, a surveyor from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

; they had at least eight daughters and three sons together. She became a healer and midwife and was well known for her knowledge of both Māori and European medicine. Hikapuhi's medical practices were scrutinised by government officials under the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 however she continued to provide health care. She was also an accomplished weaver and practiced

tā moko ' is the permanent marking or "tattoo" as traditionally practised by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles (the other four are Marquesan, Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian). (tattoois ...

(facial tattooing). In 1914 Augustus Hamilton, the director of the Colonial Museum, purchased from her two samplers of weaving patterns specially made for display in the museum. The samplers feature ten different patterns of weaving, typical of the patterns used in kete (baskets). Hikapuhi died in 1931, and was buried at Te Wharetāinga Moko, near Lake Rotoiti.

References

1934 deaths People from Rotorua Ngāti Pikiao people Te Arawa people Tohunga New Zealand Māori women New Zealand Māori weavers New Zealand weavers {{Māori-bio-stub