Ngāti Toa
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Ngāti Toa Rangatira / The Iwi
Mai i Miria te kakara ki Whitireia, Whakawhiti te moana Raukawa ki Wairau ki Whakatū, Te Waka Tainui.Ngāti Toa is an iwi (New Zealand Māori tribe) descended from the eponymous ancestor Toa Rangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria te kakara (at Rangitikei) to Wellington, across the Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson. However the tribe is based mainly around Porirua and Nelson.
'Ko Whitireia te maunga. Ko Raukawa te moana. Ko Tainui te waka. Ko Ngāti Toa Rangatira te iwi. Ko Te Rauparaha te Tangata.'
(Whitireia is the Mountain, Raukawa (Cook Strait) is the Sea, Tainui is the Waka, Ngāti Toa is the Tribe. Te Rauparaha is the Chief.
Ngāti Toa History
Toa Rangatira: The Birth of an Iwi
Tamure was a priest of Tainui. Tupahau was an ancestor of Ngāti Toa. Tupahau and his followers were warned of an imminent attack by Tamure 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 saved Tamure. Tamure replied “Tena koe Tupahau te Toa Rangatira” meaning “Hail Tupahau the chivalrous warrior”
Later, Tupahau’s daughter-in-law bore a son who was named Toa Rangatira to commemorate this event and the peace made between Tamure and Tupahau.
Ngāti Toa are the descendants of Toa Rangatira
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 in Kāwhia.Te Rauparaha is remembered as the foremost chief of Ngāti Toa. He has been credited with leading Ngāti Toa forces against the Waikato-Maniapoto iwi; piloting the migration to the Cook Strait region; 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 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 Incident.
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.
Te Rauparaha is most famous for his haka "Ka Mate Ka Mate".
Tērā Ia Ngā Tai / Migration
Ngāti Toa lived around the Kāwhia region for many generations until increasing conflicts with neighbouring iwi Waikato-Maniapoto 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 Te Heke Tahutahu Ahi.
Te Heke Tahutahu Ahi
Te Heke Tahutahu Ahi was the migration out of Kāwhia and into Taranaki in 1820. Ngāti Toa were given Pukewhakamaru Pā and cultivations, inland of Ōkokī, up the Urenui River by Ngāti Mutunga.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.
Te Heke Tahutahu Ahi can be translated as the ‘migration of the refugee fires’.
Te Heke Tataramoa
Te Heke Tataramoa has been 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 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.
Te Heke Mai Raro
Together, both the heke Tahutahu Ahi and the heke Tataramoa are known as Te Heke Mai Raro meaning the migration from the south. The migration has been immortalised in the carved meetinghouse Te Heke Mai Raro at Hongoeka Marae.Ēnei Rā / Ngāti Toa Today
Ngāti Toa is a small iwi with a population of only about 4500 (NZ Census 2001).four marae: Takapūwāhia and Hongoeka in Porirua; and Whakatū and Wairau in the South Island.Ngāti Toa's governing body is Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira.
Tomo Mai / External Links
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