Her mau moko kauae journey culminated in a powerful experience on Ngāti Porou ki Hauriki whenua, Mataora Bay. The burial place for the last uhi tohunga, Tame Poata, and a place where her husband and tamariki descend.
She also said that it is believed that Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki, a Māori leader, had a whare nearby, which only adds to the significance of this whenua.
Under a sprawling Pōhutukawa tree, surrounded by her closest whānau, Catherine embraced the emotional and transformative process.
“My whānau arrived at the pōhutukawa. I lay down on the whāriki, and before I closed my eyes, I saw the beautiful leaves of the pōhutukawa dancing against the blue sky. Everything felt like it was in slow motion.”
The rhythmic tapping of the uhi, the backdrop of nature’s symphony, and the skillful hands of her kaitā, Mokonui-a-rangi Smith, merged to create an otherworldly experience.
“Up until this point, I was really nervous, I was what I’d describe as being unsettled, even anxious,” she said.
However, “As soon as Moko made that first tap, that first mark, all that anxious energy melted away. It was like a curtain was pulled. Time stopped, and “I am exactly where I’m supposed to be”.
Tears flowed freely as Catherine immersed herself in her rebirth, feeling a deep sense of wholeness and connection.
She said receiving her moko kauae took well over an hour, but it felt like only minutes.
“It was something I will never forget,” she said. “It was like time stood still. It was like we were in another realm.”
As Moko was close to his last tap, it finally dawned on her the significance and honour that it was to wear this tāonga.
“I can remember those first moments of feeling like myself, but a sparkling new version, like it was a rebirth of sorts, a feeling of wholeness, being connected, and that feeling of healing,” she said.
“Right at this moment, the trauma of the past stops with us, from this point onwards it will be different for our mokopuna.”