TE WAIRUA O TŪHOE – THE SPIRITUALITY OF TŪHOE
Nā Toi rāua ko Pōtiki te whenua Toi and Pōtiki claimed the land Nā Tūhoe te mana me te rangatiratanga Tūhoe gave the power and authority95
The above proverb I have heard mentioned many times at various Tūhoe gatherings. Then at a gathering at Te Rewarewa marae in Ruātoki on October 25, 1970 at a hui wānanga, the late Paki Kupai McGarvey condensed Tūhoe‟s whirlwind collision with its world in the following translation by Dr. Hirini Melbourne;
“First there was Pōtiki, Toi and Hape. They claimed the land and held it. Then came the canoe Mataatua and its people. They tilled the earth and made laws for the benefit of and to ensure the survival of all the people. Then the Pākeha came to settle, they forced our people off the land and claimed it for themselves.” 96
In this chapter we will briefly look how the Tūhoe nation evolved into what it is today from its earliest beginnings.
The Violent Struggle - behind Tūhoe claims
They came on Thursday, the 31 July 2008, into Wellington. Tūhoe swarmed onto Parliament grounds by bus, plane, van, cars and on foot. They came from Waikaremoana, Ruatāhuna, Ruātoki, and Waimana including those who live in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Rotorua and other towns in New Zealand. In total approximately 400 of Tūhoe descent, representing the hapū authorities from each tribal valley, Tūhoe Western Executive Committee, Waimana Kaaku Executive, the Tūhoe Manawarū Komiti, Waiohau, as well as rohe representatives, to be welcomed and praised by the Crown‟s Chief Representative, Dr. Michael Cullen.97
95 An old Tūhoe proverb recited at Tūhoe gatherings. 96 O‟Connor & Melbourne: 1997, p. 8.
Tūhoe and the government were meeting to sign an agreement to negotiate and overcome a long history of conflict today. It was a signal that both parties were ready for settlement of all Tūhoe outstanding Treaty claims.98
Described by an overseas paper;
“A rebellious New Zealand Māori tribe entered into negotiations with the government in a bid to gain autonomy over its land. Ngai Tūhoe the only Māori tribe that refused to sign the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which established peaceful relations between New Zealand‟s indigenous groups and white settlers. Tūhoe still insists it retains sovereign control over its culture and its lands in central North Island, which it claims were confiscated illegally by settlers in the 1800s. The tribe, some adorned in traditional feather cloaks, came to the nation‟s Parliament to sign an agreement to begin negotiations with the government. During the signing the Tūhoe negotiator Tāmati Kruger hailed the signing as, “a historic event.” 99
Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen admitted that the government had failed the tribe in many ways over many generations as he pointed out,
“As the result of Crown action your people have at times suffered poverty, famine, and significant isolation.”
Last October in 2007, a special squad of police raided several Tūhoe properties, initially alleging they were investigating suspected terrorist activities, but the allegations were dropped after a nationwide outcry about the way the raids were conducted. However, sixteen people were charged with firearms offences and a trial is pending.
In another sign of warming relations, Tūhoe joined six other tribes in June 2008 to sign New Zealand‟s largest ever settlement over grievances arising from 19th century loss of lands, forests and fisheries during European settlement of the country.
It is a great day for Tūhoe
Senior tribal member Mr. Tauiri Pouwhare said, but he also added that Tūhoe want to be able to govern themselves on their tribal lands, a thorny question for the central government.
98 NZ Herald, 31 July 2008 99
Turkish Press/NZ Terrorists 16 October 20007; Scoop: Terrorist Camps East Cape.(http://www.climatechange.govt.nz/sustainable-nz/sustainable-nz.shtml)
They took the land away, we want the land back. Pouwhare told The Associated Press. Kruger said;
“The tribe hoped to come up with a resolution to the claims...that is fair and generous. Relations with the Crown have historically been poor and hit a new low point last year with the arrest of several activists on firearms and related charges in the so-called „anti-terror raids”. 100
Activist Tame Iti, who is awaiting trial for related firearms offences, was also present at the signing, issuing a challenge with a taiaha as part of the ceremonies and signing the terms on behalf of one of sixty-four Tūhoe hapū. However, there was no ill feeling, with Iti and Dr. Cullen giving each other a hongi on three separate occasions.
Afterwards Dr. Cullen said the conduct of Iti, who also shredded a flag with a shotgun blast when Waitangi Tribunal members visited Ruātoki in 2005, had been impeccable. Tame Iti, one of the sixteen people facing firearms charges, said autonomy was one of the key issues for discussion. The Treaty of Waitangi was created in New Zealand under British sovereignty, and guaranteed that Māori could keep their lands, forests, fisheries and culture. Tūhoe refused to sign, and fought bloody battles with settlers for years.101
Dr. Michael Cullen, the Crown‟s representative and chief negotiator, was duly impressed by Ngai Tūhoe, and went on to say that while we celebrate the historic apology delivered to the Stolen Generation in Australia, for New Zealand, collective apology is inadequate. He accepted the fact that over the many generations the Crown failed Ngai Tūhoe in many ways as history was vividly explained at the Waitangi Tribunal during Te Urewera Hearings.
Mr. Cullen stated that Tūhoe history is one of great resilience, strength, and pride, but it is also a tragic history, a history of state violence, confiscation of land, and neglect of basic welfare. He surmised,
“Your people have at times suffered poverty, famine and significant isolation...the harrowing loss and strength in the face of adversity...suffered the loss of much of your
100 Ibid, Māori tribe in autonomy talks with NZ government – World News. 101 NZ Herald.co.nz, 31 July 2008, News, Politics.
lands and considerable loss of life. There was the execution of unarmed prisoners by Crown forces during the New Zealand wars, and the Crown‟s 1916 Raid on Maungapōhatu and arrest of Rua Kēnana, in which one of his two sons were shot.”
Dr. Cullen also pointed out that,
“The Waitangi Hearings also showed how the Tūhoe people have fought throughout to hold on to your land, your language and your culture. Tūhoe have risen to prominence in New Zealand public life as academics, entertainers and sportspeople. Today, more of your people speak Te Reo Māori than any other iwi. Tūhoe have also played an important role as custodians of Te Urewera National Park, an area of great significance to New Zealand.”
In summary, Cullen continued,
“You are a people who have suffered significant injustice. But you are also a people who have in the face of that injustice strengthened your culture and kept moving forward. It is the images of today‟s event and the strong showing made by Tūhoe at the signing of the Central North Island Deed of Settlement – especially the impression made by your young people – that truly reflect your aspirations and value. We now move to the formal negotiations stage, and the hard work begins – negotiating a settlement package that meets the interests of both Ngai Tūhoe and the Crown.”
Dr. Cullen then concluded that both parties are committed to achieving an agreement in principle within a year of this signing, which is an ambitious, but achievable task ahead for both parties.102 The negotiations continue to be discussed in 2010.
Who then are these people? Where did they come from? Why are they so stubborn and adamant and continue to fight against all odds. They suffered under government policy of the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907.103 Before that, suffered the Scorched Earth policy of government forces, as they chased the so called guerrilla fighter Te Kooti through Te Urewera territory in 1869,104 (who established the Ringatū religion) confiscated their land wrongfully and accused them of taking part in the murder of the missionary the Reverend Volkner 1866. 105
102 Tūhoe-Te Kotahi a Tūhoe webb site, 31 July, 2008. View Dr Cullen‟s speech notes.
103 Walker, Rangnui, 1990, Ka whawhai Tonu Mātou, Struggle Without End, Penguin Books, NZ Ltd. p.174 104 Ibid, p.133.
105 Milroy Wharehuia, Melbourne Hirini, 1995, Te Roi o Te Whenua, Tūhoe Claim Report to the Waitangi
Let us begin our research by looking at the boundaries of these people known as Tūhoe – affectionately known as Children of the Mist, a name given by Elsdon Best (1856-1931) a prolific recorder of pre-European Māori Social life and material culture. The bulk of his published work established him as New Zealander‟s foremost ethnographer of Māori society.
Dr. Hirini Melbourne of Tūhoe descent, says that;
“In declaring tribal identity Māori people point to those things they feel and share in common with all the people of the tribe. They point to their tribal origins and relationships through whakapapa (genealogy), by referring to their lands, mountains, rivers, lakes, to their kāinga (villages) and marae, songs and tribal stories.” 106
Professor Wharehuia Milroy of Waikato University, a child of the mist himself, gives us the boundaries he knows so well and the symbols and values that bind Tūhoe people. A person who has no knowledge of Tūhoe would need a good map of the North Island of New Zealand, especially one in the heart of Te Urewera National Park to follow the boundaries.
“Our mountains are Panekire, Huiarau, Matakūhia, Maungapōhatu, and Manawarū,‟ which are all found in the northern end of Te Urewera National Park. At the southern end are, Tāwhiuau, Te Kaokaoroa o Taiarahia, Te Tahu ki Haotetaha, Parekohe, Te Ikawhenua o Tamaea.”
Professor Wharehuia Milroy continues,
“These are the enduring treasures and the source of many waters. The healing and spiritual waterways of our ancestors are Waikaremoana, Hopuruahine, Tauranga, te Tamāhine a Hinemataroa and Whirinaki. The forest was the food store of my people, the source of their dwellings and meeting houses, their garments their canoes, their weapons, and implements and also their refuge. Our valleys are Waimana, Waiotahi, Ruātoki, Waiohau, Te Whāiti, Ruatāhuna, Maungapōhatu, and Tūai. These are also the dwelling places of the guardian spirits. All these elements encapsulate my Tūhoetanga. Together the living breathes the air of Ranginui. Together we all share Papatuanuku from whom we sprang. Through whakapapa, the kingship links come from the gods, the tangata whenua, the Hawaiki ancestors of the canoe Mataatua, to Tūhoe the ancestor, Tūhoe the people, to Tūhoe of today.
Our language describes the scenes we visualise. Before us are the elders. The land, the marae are our tūrangawaewae, (place of standing). Our being and emotions are from our people now lost from sight, but whose deeds are remembered in the words
106 O‟Conner, Terry, Photographs, Introduction Hirini Melbourne, 1997, Te Manawa o Tūhoe, The Heart of
and the things they have fashioned and shaped. All these things are united in our belief in the existence of a Supreme Being. This is our Tūhoetanga.”107
This then spells the spirituality of the people of Tūhoe. It has to do with relationships. It is the connecting of people with people, with the land and, not only of those in the present but also of the past and definitely with those of the future. The aphorism at the beginning of this chapter speaks of three people, Pōtiki and Toi who obtained the land and Tūhoe who gave the prestige and authority. Who then, are these three people Pōtiki, Toi and Tūhoe.
TOI
T
his proverb is commonly used in Tūhoe.“Nā Toi rāua ko Pōtiki te whenua - nā Tūhoe te mana me te rangatiratanga The land is from Toi and Pōtiki - the prestige and rank from Tūhoe”
In establishing the origins of Tūhoe, there is no resource that can surpass the work of the most prolific ethnologist New Zealander, Elsdon Best, whose work produced two of the most well-known works of life of the Māori, entitled The Māori (two volumes), first printed in 1924, and his classic work, Tūhoe – Children of the Mist, in 1925. Sir Apirana Ngata said of him, nine years before Elsdon death in 1931;
“There is not a member of the Māori race who is fit to wipe the boots of Elsdon Best in the matter of knowledge of the lore of the race to which we belong. Some of Best‟s theories are no longer accepted by anthropologist and historians, but the information he gathered is invaluable.” 108
In looking at the history of the three men mentioned in the tribal saying above, of Toi, Pōtiki and Tūhoe, there is no doubt as to who Toi was. According to Ngāti Awa and Tūhoe oral records, Toi was born in Aotearoa and was living at Kaputerangi pa situated on a hill above Whakatāne Township and that he was known by two names. One was Toi-te-huatahi (first born), because he was the only offspring, and his other name was Toi-kai-rākau (wood eater), as Toi and his people depended largely on what lived in the bush and fern root for their livelihood. Best says that from here on the traditional history becomes so mingled with that of the later migration from Polynesia that the two narratives are now hopelessly mixed.
107 Milroy, Te Wh.J., 1985, Toku Tūhoetanga, Te Tari Māori, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato.
108 Best, Elsdon, 1925, 4th edition 1996, Tūhoe, Children of the Mist. Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. Cover, front
After looking at two other well-known works by Te Rangihīroa and J.H.Mitchell, I have to agree with Te Pēhi. 109
Te Rangihīroa,110
who received his information from Te Mātorohanga, says that originally, Toi comes from Hawaiki Islands, namely Tahiti.111 It seems other chiefs challenged him to a canoe race from neighbouring Islands. He accepted the challenge and it‟s from here on that the details varied, except that the race took place at Pikopikoiwhiti, and that his grandson Whatonga with a cousin or a friend Tū Rāhiri or Tū Rāhui got lost in high winds that suddenly came upon them. After waiting for some days Toi went in search of his grandson and having no success decided to journey to the land Kupe discovered, Aotearoa. He made many landings at various places and eventually landed at Whakatāne where he decided to make it his new home. In the meantime his grandson Whatonga, ultimately returned and having heard of what his grandfather had done, he too decided to go in search of Toi. He outfitted the canoe Kurahaupo, and after a few adventures himself, was finally untied with his grandfather at Whakatāne.
Toi, whether he was born in Whakatāne or came from Hawai‟i, settled among the people he found living in and around Whakatāne. The common date given by earlier historians says that this took place around 1150 -1200 by working on the genealogy but later historians, like Walker and Simmons place it later around the 13th to 14th century when the economic situation changed, mainly through the knowledge of preservation of the kumara under the colder climate of Aotearoa. This came to be the dividing line between the archaic periods, which Duff referred to as the moa-hunter period of Māori culture. By this period land had become valuable as the growing of the kumara became important for the survival of the hapū, and the building of fortification villages had begun to protect their people from others. Warfare was becoming more prominent as it was easier to dispose of people rather than clearing their own plot for their gardens.112
Best points out that before the arrival of the Mataatua canoe, the Mataatua district was occupied by the many clans of the Polynesians who were referred to as Te Tini o Toi (the
109 Ibid, p. 12.
110 Buck, Sir Peter, 1949, The Coming of the Māori, Whitcoulls Limited, Christchurch. p.22
111 Mitchell, J.H. 1944, Takitumu, History of the Ngāti Kahungunu People, A.H.& A.W. Reed Ltd. P.19. 112 Walker, Ranginui, 1990, Ka Whawhai Tonu Mātou; Struggle without end. Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd. p.33.
Multitude of Toi). Thus, we have the mention of Toi and his descendents who claimed their territory and were roughly divided into four main groups covering the areas of Ōpōtiki, Te Hapū-oneone at Ōhiwa, Te Waimana and Ruātoki, thirdly to Te Whāiti and Pohokura, and finally to Ngā Pōtiki from Karioi inland to Parahaki.
Elsdon Best, in his genealogical table no 1, gives us an elaborate picture of Toi showing tweleve generations of his descendents and another set after him bringing us closer to the last century.113 Hineikaputerangi = Toi begat Ue, Ape and Rauru.
Then Toi married Kuraimonoa and begat Awanuiārangi and Hineruarangi. Interesting that Te Ranghiroa gives a slightly different version as follows;
Toi = Huiarei (Kuraimonoa) Rongoueroa= Ruarangi
I
Raurunui Whatonga Mahutonga Awanuiärangi
Despite the difference, what is of importance is the tribal name of Tini o Awanuiārangi that came to be one migrated to Hawkes Bay and then settled in Taranaki where they are now known as Atiawa. It is here that we leave the story of whom Toi was, and we now turn our attention to where Pōtiki fits into the picture.
PŌTIKI
The origin of Pōtiki the 1st, according to Best, is shrouded in mist and wrapped in obscurity, which he finds a very singular state of things, particularly when Māori are known to be the most accomplished and conservative genealogists. He can only conclude that the origin usually ascribed to Pōtiki the 1st is entirely mythical, and believed by his descendants, whom Best finds, quite absurd. There was one attempt at giving false genealogies for the purpose of claiming certain lands which was challenged some years later to give Best the assurance that no one can give a satisfactory account of the origin of Pōtiki the 1st 114
113 Best, Elsdon, 1925, Tūhoe, The Children of the Mist, Vol. 2- Genealogical Tables and Maps, Reed Books,
(NZ) Ltd. p.10
The only story of Pōtiki that Best had heard of was from the Whakatōhea people who say that there was one person who came from Hawaiki in olden days.
“Pōtiki-mai-tawhiti came from Hawaiki in olden days. After him was named a spring