Ngāti Toa
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Ngāti Toa (Ngāti Toarangatira) is an iwi (New Zealand Māori tribe) descended from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei, to Wellington, across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson.[1] However the tribe is based mainly around Porirua and Nelson. Tribal identity is linked with ancestors and landmarks in the aphorism:
and this tribe isn't as good as mine
Ko Whitireia te maunga
Ko Raukawa te moana
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Ngāti Toarangatira te iwi
Ko Te Rauparaha te tangata [2]
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[edit] History
[edit] Toarangatira: the origin of an iwi
Tupahau, an ancestor of Ngāti Toa, was warned of an imminent attack by Tamure, a priest of Tainui, and at once organised a plan of defence and attack. Tamure had an army of 2000 warriors whereas Tupahau had only 300. Tupahau and his followers won the battle, however Tupahau spared Tamure's life. Tamure responded to this by saying Tēnā koe Tupahau, te toa rangatira! meaning “Hail Tupahau the chivalrous warrior”. Later, Tupahau’s daughter-in-law bore a son who was named Toarangatira to commemorate this event and the subsequent peace made between Tamure and Tupahau. Ngāti Toa are the descendants of Toarangatira.
[edit] Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha was the son of Werawera of Ngāti Toa, and his wife Parekowhatu of Ngāti Raukawa. It is likely that he was born in the 1760s. According to tribal tradition he was born at Pātangata near Kāwhia. Te Rauparaha is remembered as the foremost chief of Ngāti Toa. He has been credited with leading Ngāti Toa forces against the Waikato and Ngāti Maniapoto iwi; piloting the migration to, and the conquest and settlement of, the Cook Strait region.
Te Rauparaha signed the Treaty of Waitangi twice. First at Kapiti Island and then again at Wairau. Te Rauparaha resisted European settlement in those areas he claimed he had not sold. Disputes occurred over Porirua and the Hutt Valley. But the major clash came in 1843 when Te Rauparaha and his kinsman Te Rangihaeata tried to prevent the survey of their lands in the Wairau plains. Fighting broke out in which Te Rongo, the wife of Te Rangihaeata, was killed. Te Rangihaeata then killed them to avenge his wife's death. This became known as the Wairau Affray.
Te Rauparaha was arrested by Govenor George Grey aboard the naval vessel Driver. Two hours before dawn the ship returned and British troops took Te Rauparaha on board. He was held without charge for 10 months and then kept under house arrest in Auckland. His last notable achievement came with the construction of Rangiātea Church in Ōtaki. He did not adopt Christianity, although he attended church services.
Te Rauparaha died on 27 November 1849 and was buried near Rangiātea, in Otaki. He is most famous for his haka "Ka Mate Ka Mate".
[edit] Migrations from the north
Ngāti Toa lived around the Kāwhia region for many generations until increasing conflicts with neighbouring Waikato-Maniapoto iwi forced a withdrawal from their homeland. From the late eighteenth century Ngāti Toa and related tribes were constantly at war with the Waikato-Maniapoto tribes for control of the rich fertile land north of Kāwhia. The wars intensified whenever a major chief was killed or insults and slights suffered. Ngāti Toa migrated from Kāwhia to the Cook Strait region under the leadership of their chief Te Rauparaha in the 1820's.
- the first migration is known as the Heke Tahutahuahi, which can be translated as the "migration of the refugee fires". This was the migration out of Kāwhia and into Taranaki in 1820. The local iwi, Ngāti Mutunga presented Ngāti Toa with Pukewhakamaru Pā, as well the cultivations nearby. Pukewhakamaru lay inland of Ōkokī, up the Urenui River. Ngāti Toa stayed at Pukewhakamaru for 12 months. The Waikato-Maniapoto alliance followed Ngāti Toa to Taranaki and battles were fought there, most notably the battle of Motunui between Waikato-Maniapoto and the Ngāti Tama, Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Mutunga alliance.
- the second migration is known as the Heke Tātaramoa, which may be translated as the "bramble bush migration". The name commemorates the difficulties experienced during the migration. Ngāti Toa left Ōkokī around February-March of 1822 after harvesting crops planted for the journey. This heke also included some people from Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Te Āti Awa. The heke arrived in the Horowhenua-Kapiti region in the early 1820’s and settled first in Te Awamate, then Te Wharangi and then eventually on Kapiti Island.
Together, the Heke Tahutahuahi and the Heke Tātaramoa are known as the Heke mai raro meaning the migration from the north. The migration has been immortalised in the carved meeting house bearing the name 'Te Heke Mai Raro', which stands on Hongoeka Marae.
[edit] Ngāti Toa today
Ngāti Toa is a small iwi with a population of only about 4500 (NZ Census 2001). It has four marae: Takapūwāhia and Hongoeka in Porirua, and Whakatū and Wairau in the north of the South Island. Ngāti Toa's governing body is known as Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.
[edit] References
- ^ These traditional boundaries are delineated in the saying, Mai i Miria-te-kakara ki Whitireia, Whakawhiti te moana Raukawa ki Wairau, ki Whakatū, Te Waka Tainui.
- ^ Whitireia is the mountain, Raukawa (Cook Strait) is the sea, Tainui is the waka, Ngāti Toarangatira is the tribe, Te Rauparaha is the man
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles, Kāti au i konei: He Kohikohinga i ngā Waiata a Ngāti Toarangatira, a Ngāti Raukawa. Wellington: Huia Publishers, 1994.
