Ngāti Maniapoto
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The Ngati Maniapoto are an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the waka (canoe) Tainui. The 2001 New Zealand census shows the iwi to have a membership of 27,168[1], making it the 8th biggest iwi in New Zealand.
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[edit] Sacred places
The principal marae (sacred place) of Ngati Maniapoto is considered to be Te Tokanga Nui A Noho[2] at Te Kuiti in the King Country. This marae was gifted to Ngati Maniapoto by Te Kooti, a Tuhoe tribesman who sought refuge from the British colonial army during the New Zealand land wars.
[edit] Recent History
The Ngati Maniapoto were involved the land wars (1845-72), and the Waikato-Waitomo or Nehenehenui region which they controlled was often a retreating point for allied iwis to fall back to after being pushed south by British forces.
After the land wars, Taonui Hikaka (the paramount chief of the Ngati Maniapoto tribe) and the warrior chiefs Rewi Manga Maniapoto and Wahanui negotiated with the colonial government to allow the Main Trunk railway line through Ngati Maniapoto territories. This was done because of word that the Maori King Tawhio and Te Kooti were also trying to negotiate with the British colonial government for rail access and to set up Native Land Courts throughout the region. This could have meant that the Ngati Maniapoto tribe would become landless. It is said that, when Tawhio found out what they had done, he angrily threw his hat onto a survey map of the Ngati Maniapoto territory and claimed the area where the hat fell as Te Rohe Potae, the land of the hat of the King. To day this territory is called the King Country, in reference to this event.
[edit] Famous people
- Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - Opera Singer
- Temuera Morrison - Television and Film Actor
- The Rock - Actor in the Scorpian King (his grandfather was from this tribe even though he was born in Samoa).
- Dame Rangimarie Hetet - famous weaver and fabric artist
- Sir Pei Te Hurinui Jones - Famous Maori academic and writer
- Taonui Hikaka - Paramount chief of Ngati Maniapoto in the late half of the 1800's
- Rewi Manga Maniapoto - Warrior Chief who was famous in battle with the British Imperial Army.
- Wahanui - Warrior Chief famous for his diplomacy skills in negotiation.
[edit] External link
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