Ngātiwai or Ngāti Wai is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

of the east coast of the

Northland Region Northland (), officially the Northland Region, is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 regions of New Zealand, local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout t ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Its historical tribal area or rohe stretched from Cape Brett in the north to Takatū Point on Tawharanui Peninsula in the south and out to

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

, the

Poor Knights Islands The Poor Knights Islands (Māori: ''Tawhiti Rahi)'' are a group of islands off the east coast of the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. They lie to the northeast of Whangārei, and offshore halfway between Bream Head ...

and other offshore islands. Notable descendants of Ngātiwai include brothers Jim,

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name ( Yohanan, ') and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. This name is a po ...

and

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...

, artist

Shona Rapira Davies Shona Rapira Davies (born 1951) is a New Zealand sculptor and painter of Ngātiwai, Ngātiwai ki Aotea tribal descent currently residing in Wellington, New Zealand. Education Rapira Davies first studied at the Auckland College of Education, m ...

, and writer

Paula Morris Paula Jane Kiri Morris (born 18 August 1965) is a New Zealand novelist, short-story writer editor and literary academic. She is an associate professor at the University of Auckland and founder of the Academy of New Zealand Literature. Life Mor ...

History

Early history

Ngātiwai trace their ancestry to one of the earliest settlers of Te Tai-tokerau, Manaia, who was, according to legend, transformed into stone, with his family and servant Paekō, atop

Mount Manaia Mount Manaia is a dominant landmark approximately southeast of Whangārei city on the Whangārei Heads peninsula. Standing 420 metres, the summit offers outstanding views of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, Bream Bay and the Hauraki Gulf t ...

beside

Whangārei Harbour Whangārei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour stretches from Whangārei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Ocea ...

. His descendant Manaia II, some 14 generations later, was the ''

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the leaders (often hereditary) of a (subtribe or clan). Ideally, were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land ( ...

'' of Ngāti Manaia established. Following a battle with

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

at their pā at Mimiwhāngata, Ngāti Manaia fled out to sea, along the eastern coast, and on to the offshore islands. They became adept seafarers and were known as Ngātiwai-ki-te-moana under the leadership of Te Rangihōkaia and siblings Torematao and Te Rangapū. Known for their ocean traditions and customs and coastal raiding, Ngātiwai ("descendants of the sea") were often accompanied by a guardian sea-hawk or Tūkaiaia, whereby other tribes would be warned that Ngātiwai were on the move – either at sea or on land. The iwi has become associated with Ngāpuhi.

Tribal links and movement

After the time of Te Rangihōkaia, a descendant of Manaia, a number of key marriages cemented the relationship between Ngātiwai and the Kawerau

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

Ngāti Rehua Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

and

Ngāti Manuhiri Ngāti Manuhiri is a Māori iwi of the Mahurangi Peninsula area of New Zealand. They have an interest in the region from the Ōkura River in the south to Mangawhai in the north, and extending out to Great Barrier Island. They are descended from ...

. During the late 1700s and early 1800s the Ngāpuhi tribes pushed east toward Kawakawa, Te Rāwhiti and the Whangaruru coast, where they absorbed other tribes, including Ngāti Manu, Te Kapotai, Te Uri o Rata, Ngare Raumati and Ngātiwai.

Modern history

In April 2006, Ngātiwai sued the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

over its handling of consultation issues in Northland regarding a marine reserve.

Notable people

Briar Grace-Smith Briar Grace-Smith is a screenwriter, director, actor, and short story writer from New Zealand. She has worked as an actor and writer with the Māori theatre cooperative Te Ohu Whakaari and Māori theatre company He Ara Hou. Early plays ''Don't ...

, writer *

, writer * Tracey Panek, historian and archivist * Ian Peters, politician * Jim Peters, politician *

, politician *

, artist *

Shane Reti Shane Raymond Reti (born 5 June 1963) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister with the roles of Minister for Pacific Peoples, Minister of Science, Innovation, and Technology, ...

, politician * Laly Haddon, Māori All Black * Paratene Te Manu, Ngāti Wai chief and warrior

References

External links

Ngatiwai Trust Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngatiwai Northland Region Iwi and hapū