AHI KA ROA O TAMANUHIRI

The Art of whakapapa... tracing ones family links from generation to generation is a basic requirement of mana whenua and there is no mana without the story of ownership and/or occupation. Being able to trace your connection to the land and sea thus identifying mana whenua and mana moana... you also define your mana tangata...

1) In terms of mana whenua it is important to focus on Te Ahikaroa. Knowing and understanding the connection with the land is a big part of that mana whenua. The easiest way is to trace back from those who were acknowledged as owners in the 1880s. The Maori land courts allocated 'official ownership' and titles were drawn up in the names of our ancestors. That is a good starting point. We know the people at the bottom of these charts were acknowledged owners of lands within the Ngai Tamanuhiri rohe... these are but a few... Several were witnesses in the 1880s court hearings and their evidence is available in the Maori Land Court minutes...

2) The obvious question is where did they get the land? And we know the parents from whom they inherit. In fact many deliver that information in their evidence... the line of inheritance. The Ngati Paea side of the whanau trace back to Kahutia and are sub-sections of the Ngati Kahutia hapu.Kahutia is dominant in his time and mana whenua is definitely vested in him around Maraetaha and Wharerata... On the Ngati Rangiwaho side of the whanau... they trace back to Hinekino and the Ngati Hinekino sub-section of Ngati Rangiwaho. The descendants of Hinekino are dominant around Tawatapu, Oraki and along the Tarakihinui stream...

3) Kahutia inherits his mana from Te Rangiwahipu... who was a leading cheif of his time and involved with several battles including the battle of Pikikautuku... he helped Tuheke fight off Rakaiatane and chase him off... Rakaiatane moves to Tatapouri and become Ngati Rakai. They later change their name to Ngati Oneone...

4) Ngati Hinekino trace their mana back through Kaiariki to Tutekawa... He definitely has mana over the whenua when he is alive. It is Tutekawa who sought revenge for the Killing of his uncle Puraho and his father Rangiwaho... it is Tutekawa who encourages his whanau with the words... Kia mate tatou, kia mate ki te kainga... It was Tutekawa who lead a war party up Ranghaua and Killed Tukapuarangi and his son Te Aiorangi... with that he established his mana and the mana of his young cousin Tapunga...

5) And that brings us to two significant marriages between Ngai Tamanuhiri and our neighbours. Rangiwaho marries Rongomaiwaiata of Rongowhakaata, Ruapani and Kahungunu...and Haerengarangi marries Rangihakahaka of Rakaipaaka... thereby joining these families. all subsequent mana is passed down thru the children... but when determining mana whenua... you must ask the question... who has mana before the marriage????

6) We know that the mana before either marriage is vested in the whakapapa line of Tamanuhiris two eldest sons. the kumara pit incident with Hinenui sparked a war between Tamanuhiri and Tawake... Tamaraukura and Paea are old enough to fight in this battle and thus when Tamanuhiri dies the land they gained from that battle is split between these two sons. From Maraetaha north is given to Paea and from Maraetaha south is given to Tamaraukura...

7) Before them Tamanuhiri inherited his land from 5 generations bac to Tahu-Potiki... We know Tahu stayed at Matiti... as did Tahu Murihape... and Rakaitotorewa. If we track from Tahu to Tutekawa and Tapunga we see 9 generations of ownership and occupation. We also see an unbroken male line for more than two hundred years... KA ROA TE AHI...

8) There are no battles to explain any take over by any iwi... their is no incident of conquest to speak of. No suggestion of 'parekura' in any story, in any direction, near or far... And if you eliminate all the people who never lived on this land... all those that did not occupy a pa on this land... you get a clearer picture of mana whenua

9) IF you eliminate all the people who were not born here... who moved here during their life time.. and perhaps brought their kids...

10) Then it focuses our attention once again on the marriages... and a suggestion of the union being more about building alliances between the 2 factions rather than finding Mr or Mrs right. These families combine and the children are a combination of both... but in terms of mana whenua... they access that via the connection through Tamanuhiri and back to Tahu....

11) This is the line of inheritence... the whakapapa ki te whenua... the line of te ahikaroa... This is a clear and concise record of our generation by generation... undisturbed ownership and occupation of the land between Kopututea tae noa ki Te Ngakau-o-Paritu... 16 generations worth... Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou, ki a tatou katoa... kei raro...

Warren Pohatu Creative: Online Iwi