Pe Tepaeru Ariki
Pe Tepaeru Ariki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 14, 1922 |
| Died | February 2, 1990 Auckland, New Zealand |
| NSA member | Cook Islands 1985 - ???? |
Pe Tepaeru Ariki (August 14, 1922 - February 2, 1990) was a Cook Islands Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Cook Islands.
Biography[edit]
Tepaeru was born in the Cook Islands in 1922 and her father of Aike Ariki Mitiau and her mother was Takirikou Potikitaua Manarangi and her family was descended from some of the earliest Christians in the Cook Islands.[1] In 1931 she was granted the title Pa Ariki designating her as a future a leader of the Takitumu community.[2] In 1934 she moved to New Zealand where she completed her education at Hukarere Girls College in Napier.[3]
Tepaeru returned to the Cook Islands in the 1940's and assumed her role as Ariki and embarked on a professional career as a secretary working for the government and later for a private firm.[3] In 1946 she married George Peyroux and they had nine children however they later divorced.[3]
Tepaeru met Bahá’í pioneer Edith Danielson in 1953 and was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith and while interested in the religion she was reluctant to declare herself a Bahá’í due to her families position as prominent Christians and the fact that her position meant the elders of her community would be obligated to also become Bahá’ís.[1] She declared on October 4, 1959, and went on to serve on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Te Au O Tonga and the Assembly of Takitumu.[2]
In 1979 Tepaeru married Tom Davis who was serving as the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands at the time,[3] and in 1980 she became the President of the House of Ariki, a parliamentary body composed of the high chiefs of the Islands appointed by the Queen's Representative.[3] In 1984 she was a member of the Cook Islands Bahá’í delegation which attended the dedication of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Samoa and she declined accommodation offered to her due to her rank as President of the House of Ariki instead choosing to stay in humble accommodation with the other members of the delegation.[2]
In 1985 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Cook Islands was established and Tepaeru was elected to the body,[2] and also in 1985 she presented a copy of Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh to her husband in his capacity as Prime Minister on behalf of the Universal House of Justice.[2]
In 1986 Tepaeru and her husband were involved in a controversy when she publicly criticized his political decision to open a resort on tribal lands in the country and there was speculation in the press that they had a physical altercation which lead to some calling for Davis to resign as Prime Minister.[3] Later in the year they went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land together,[2] and Davis left politics and became a Bahá’í at some point after 1987.[4]
Tepaeru passed away in 1990 while on a visit to New Zealand. After her passing a state funeral was held in the Cook Islands with an official day of mourning being called.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 953. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 954. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Kernahan, Mel (1995). White Savages in the South Seas. London: Verso. pp. 81–94. ISBN 978-1-85984-004-7.
- ↑ Hassall, Graham (1996). "Baha'i Faith in the Asia Pacific – Issues and Prospects". Baháʼí Studies Review. Association for Baha'i Studies (English-speaking Europe). 6. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 955. View as PDF.
