Ngapuhi is the largest iwi in New Zealand and has occupied the northern North Island, from Tamaki in the south to Te Rerenga Wairua in the north, from the time of their arrival from Hawaiki. Ko Tautoro, Te pito o Toku Ao is Ngapuhi elder Hone Sadler’s powerful account of the origins, history and culture of the Ngapuhi people – a profound introduction to the Sacred House of Puhi.

Sadler illustrates the unbroken chain of Ngapuhi sovereignty by looking in-depth at his own hapu of Ngati Moerewa, Ngatii Rangi and Ngai Tawake ki te Waoku of Tautoro and Mataraua. The narrative is told through weaving together karakia and whakapapa, histories and korero that have been part of the oral traditions of Ngapuhi’s whanau, hapu and iwi and handed down through the generations on marae and other gathering places. Presented first to open the Ngapuhi’s claim before the Waitangi Tribunal, Sadler’s narrative is a powerful Maori oral account, presented here in Maori and English on facing pages, of the story of New Zealand’s largest iwi with a foreword by Margaret Mutu.