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Whakapā mai

Tangata Whenua

The many tamariki that run, jump and play upon the whenua today are takawaenga - those who stand in between or who lay claim to dual Whakapapa.

HOROWHENUA STORY

Horowhenua's Tangata Whenua story is one of two peoples who through their own need to settle or remain connected to whenua, had to do whatever was necessary at that time to thrive that results as a chronicle of whakapapa where Ngāti Raukawa and Muaūpoko are now kin, bound by shared whakapapa, shared love of the whenua that defines both separately as well jointly and no matter how a Crown proxy being the Office of Treaty Settlements may try to remind each of their tribalness, the many tamariki that run, jump and play upon the whenua today are takawaenga - those who stand in between or who lay claim to dual Whakapapa. These tamariki and their children in years to come are the testament to this union. Their connection to the land an indelible mark left behind from eponymous ‘men’ making decisions for love of people, for love of peace, for love of Whenua. This story of Horowhenua is about Whenua redefining identity and leaving an indelible mark on all who come, whether to visit or whether to call this place home.

MŌ HOROWHENUA

E rua ngā kāwai ā-iwi e noho mai ana hei tangata whenua mō Horowhenua. Rāua rāua i whakakāinga i te rohe i ō rāua wā, ā, e pūmau tonu ana hei ipukarea mō rāua tahi. Arā ngā takahanga waewae a tēnā me tēnā i te takanga o te wā e whakaatangia ana i roto i ngā mātākōrero tuku iho, engari mohoa noa nei e hono tahi ā-whakapapa ana, e matapopore tahi ana i te whenua. E tū motuhake ana, e tū kotahi ana i ēnei rā nei, ahakoa te whakatairanga a Te Kāhui Whakatau a Te Karauna i te iwitanga o tēnā me tēnā. Ko ngā tamariki e oma ana, e peke ana, e tākaro ana i te whenua i ēnei rā, he uri nō ngā kāwai ā-iwi e rua. Ko ēnei tamariki me ngā tamariki o āpōpō mai hei tohu i te kotahitanga o ēnei iwi e rua. He taonga tuku iho tēnei hononga ki te whenua mai i ngā tīpuna ‘tāne’ me ā rātou whakatau i runga i te aroha ki ō rātou iwi, ki te rongomau, otirā ki tō rātou ipukarea anō hoki. Ko tēnei kōrero mō Horowhenua, he kōrero mō te whenua, he tautuhi anō i te tuakiri, ka mutu he waihotanga pūmau ki te hunga ka toro mai, ahakoa he toro rangitahi nei, he noho whakakāinga rānei.

Muaūpoko - Ngāi Tara o Mua Ūpoko o te Ika a Maui

Muaūpoko are the descendants of Tara, the ancestor of the Ngāi Tara tribe, and a great, great grandson of Kupe of the Matahourua waka and a son of Whātonga of the Kurahaupō waka.

He and their descendants discovered, explored and named places throughout Aotearoa, and these remain on the land, coast and sea today, most notably Te Whanganui ā-Tara (Wellington) and the Tararua Ranges, Te Waewae Kāpiti Ko Tara rāua Ko Tautoki (Rangitāne). Muaūpoko - also known as Ngāi Tara o Mua Ūpoko o te Ika a Maui - developed as a separate and unique iwi over time and established its own hapū, areas of occupation, use and access to resources from the western side of the Remutaka and Tararua Ranges to Te Whanganui ā-Tara (Wellington), Porirua, Kāpiti Coast, Horowhenua, Manawatū to Rangitīkei. One source for the origin of the tribal name Muaūpoko is derived from living at the head of the fish. 

Muaūpoko has shared ancestry, history, occupation and alliances with Ngāi Tara, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Ira, Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Apa, Taranaki and Whanganui Iwi within this area.

In the 1820s through to the 1860s various iwi from Kāwhia, Taranaki and the Maungatautari districts migrated and settled in these areas. The historical area of interest remains from the Rangitīkei River to Turakirae, with the largest population concentration in the Horowhenua area. Muaūpoko people have various land trusts under Te Whenua Act; a significant ownership trust is the Lake Horowhenua Trust which has private ownership of one of four privately owned lakes in Aotearoa - (Wai punahau). 

The Muaūpoko Tribal Authority (MTA), based in Levin, was established in 1997 as an Incorporated Society to protect Muaūpoko identity, assets and to build a stronger economic, social and culture base for the Muaūpoko people.

MTA has continued to support Muaūpoko iwi aspirations in all spheres of life. MTA provides a range of services including:

  1. Leadership, advocacy and representation.
  2. Iwi, hapū, whānau and marae development.
  3. Iwi registration.
  4. Project management and administration and Land owner support.
  5. Treaty Settlements.
  6. Fisheries.
  7. Community services. 

Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga

Raukawa is an aromatic plant, which Māhinaarangi used as perfume for her nightly rendezvous with her Tainui lover, Tūrongo. They named their son, the ancestor of Ngāti Raukawa, after the plant.

After facing endless battles over land with Waikato tribes, Ngāti Raukawa begun the first of three migrations south, encouraged by Ngāti Toarangatira Chief, Te Rauparaha. The result of this means Ngāti Raukawa have two traditional homelands. The first, in the southern Waikato and northern Taupō districts, centres on Maungatautari, the ancestral mountain of Ngāti Raukawa. The second region is Ngāti Raukawa-ki-te-tonga – Ngāti Raukawa of the south. It stretches from the Rangitīkei River, west of Manawatū, to Kukutauaki Stream just north of Waikanae. A large group of Ngāti Raukawa migrated there from the first region in the early decades of the 19th century. In 1975, Ngāti Raukawa initiated a 25-year tribal development plan entitled ‘Whakatupuranga rua mano – Generation 2000’ which saw the widespread revitalisation of marae and the Māori language, and the establishment of Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa, the tribe’s centre of higher learning in Ōtaki. Ngāti Raukawa people are involved in a wide range of pursuits, including the arts, sciences, business and the reconstruction of Māori knowledge. Ōtaki is a centre of Ngāti Raukawa culture, with Raukawa marae, the beautifully restored Rangiātea Church of Te Rauparaha, and the tribal centre of higher learning, Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa.

Rangitāne O Manawatū

Rangitāne O Manawatū are descendants of Whātonga, a Chief of the Kurahaupō waka that landed at Māhia Peninsula on the East Coast of the North Island. The tribe take their name from Whātonga grandson, Rangitāne (also known as Tānenui-a-rangi).

Rangitāne occupy Manawatū, Tāmaki nui-a-Rua (present-day Dannevirke), Wairarapa, Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), and Wairau in the South Island. In terms of settlement in the Manawatū Rangitāne settled around the Manawatū Awa with settlements all along the River from Te Āpiti, in the north, to the junction of the Pohangina and Manawatū Rivers and the confluence of the Oroua and Manawatū Rivers down to Te Awahou (Foxton). Settlements also existed around the mouth of the Manawatū River where it became one with the sea.

Rangitāne occupation of the Manawatū and Horowhenua districts continues today with a strong connection to its many cultural sites and landscapes. Rangitāne O Manawatū hapū are Ngāti Hineaute, Ngāti Kapuarangi, Ngāti Rangitepaia, Ngāti Mairehau, Ngāti Rangiaranaki and Ngāti Tauira.

Rangitāne had strong rangatira who fought tirelessly for the ongoing survival of Rangitāne O Manawatū and helped the tribe adjust to change in the 19th century.

 

Rangitāne O Manawatū is today represented by a number of entities including Tanenuiarangi Manawatū Incorporated (TMI), Ngāti Hineuate Hapū Authority, Rangimārie Marae.

Rangitāne O Manawatū settled their Treaty Claims in 2016. Rangitāne O Manawatū Settlement Trust is the post -settlement governance entity that received, holds and manages the settlement. They also have an investment arm Rangitāne O Manawatū Investment Trust and their cultural arm Rangitāne O Manawatū Cultural Trust that manages the cultural part of the settlement.

Haunui-a-nanaia, also known as Hau, is the ancestor who named many rivers and places from Whanganui up to the Pukerua Bay. Hau came from Hawaiki on the Kurahaupō with his father Popoto, one of the many rangatira on board. Haunui pursued his wayward wife Wairaka who is said to have run off with a lesser man. He set out from his home at Te Matau-a-Māui following the path of Wairaka and her lover across the island and down the west coast. Along the way naming the rivers – which we now know as the Manawatū, or Ōhau for example, which translated means ‘belongs to Hau’. After exacting his revenge, he decided to go home via the East Coast. Haunui named many of the landmark features that he came across during his mission.

Ko Haunui-a-nanaia te tipuna nāna i tapa te maha o ngā awa me ngā wāhi mai i Whanganui ki te kokoru o Pukerua, ko Hau tōna ingoa kārangaranga. I whakawhiti mai a Hau i Hawaiki mā runga i te waka o Kurahaupō, ko tōna matua, ko Popoto tētahi o ngā rangatira o runga. Ka whaiwhai atu a Haunui i tōna wahine tinihanga, a Wairaka, mōna i rere atu me tana makau pūremu marahea. Ka wehe atu ia i tōna kāinga i Te Matau-a-Māui ki te whaiwhai i a Wairaka me tana makau e tipiwhenua ana i te motu, e haere whakatetonga ana i te tai hauāuru. Nōna e haere ana ka tapaina e Hau ngā awa pēnei i Manawatū me Ōhau. He mea tapa te awa o Ōhau mōna anō. Ka rānakina te hara o tana wahine, ka hoki a Hau mā te tai rāwhiti. Ka tapaina e ia ngā tohu whenua maha ka tūponohia atu i āna haere.