Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki is one of the three principal

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

Tūranga Tūranga is the public library located in Central Christchurch, New Zealand. It opened on 12 October 2018 and replaced the nearby Christchurch Central Library that was closed on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Location and prior bu ...

district; the others being

Rongowhakaata Rongowhakaata is a Māori iwi of the Gisborne region of New Zealand. Hapū and marae There are three primary ''hapū'' (subtribes) of Rongowhakaata today: Ngāti Kaipoho, Ngāi Tawhiri and Ngāti Maru. Ngāti Kaipoho Ngāti Kaipoho descend fr ...

and Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is numerically the largest of the three, with 6,258 affiliated members as of 2013. The

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...

(territory) of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki extends from the Mangatu land blocks to Hangaroa Matawai, Pātūtahi and Whataupoko near Gisborne. The boundary also includes Tuamotu Island. While majority of members are situated within the traditional tribal boundaries, there is a significant number present in the

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

regions.

History

The iwi is named for the ancestor Māhaki, who was a direct descendant of Toroa, captain of the ''

Mātaatua ''Mātaatua'' was one of the great voyaging canoes by which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand, according to Māori tradition. Māori traditions say that the ''Mātaatua'' was initially sent from Hawaiki to bring supplies of kūmara to Māori ...

'' canoe, of

Tamatea Arikinui Tamatea Arikinui or Tamatea Mai-Tawhiti was a Māori people, Māori ''ariki'' (chieftain), who captained the ''Tākitimu'' canoe on its journey from Hawaiki to New Zealand, where he settled at Tauranga and became the ancestor of the Ngāti Kahungu ...

, captain of the ''

Tākitimu ''Tākitimu'' was a ''waka (canoe), waka'' (canoe) with ''whakapapa'' throughout the Pacific Ocean, Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori mythology, Māori traditions, the ''Tāk ...

'', and

Paikea is a notable ancestor who originated in Hawaiki according to Māori tradition. He is particularly known to tribes with origins in the Gisborne District such as , and . is the name assumed by because he was assisted by a whale to survive an ...

. gives the first line of descent as Tamatea Arikinui - Rongokako -

Tamatea Urehaea Tamatea Urehaea (also known as Tamatea Pōkai-whenua and Tamatea Pōkai-moana) was a Māori people, Māori ''ariki'' (chieftain) of the Tākitimu tribal confederation and ancestor of the Ngāti Kahungunu ''iwi'' (tribe), who probably lived in th ...

- Kahungunu - Tauhei-kurī - Māhaki and traces the second through Rongomai-wahine. He probably lived in the late fifteenth century. Māhaki had his

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

at Pāwerawera at Waikohu (north of modern Gisborne). He aided Kahutapere in his war against Tūpurupuru and

Rākei-hikuroa Rākei-hikuroa was a ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of Ngāti Kahungunu, who may have lived in the fifteenth century. His efforts to establish his son Tūpurupuru as ''upoko ariki'' (paramount chief) of Ngāti Kahungunu led to a conflict with his br ...

. Later, he aided Tu-te-kohi in his war against Rakaipaaka and Hinemanuhiri. The result of these wars was that Māhaki received the land on both sides of the

Waipaoa River The Waipaoa River is in the Gisborne District, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Raukūmara Range, flowing south for to reach Poverty Bay and the Pacific Ocean just south of Gisborne. For a ...

, thus gaining control of all the land that had once belonged to the great chief

Ruapani Ruapani was a rangatira ( chief) of the Māori in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (the Poverty Bay-region on the East Coast of New Zealand) in the 15th and 16th century. He is said to have been the paramount chief of all the Tūranganui-a-Kiwa tribes around 15 ...

. His great-grandson, Tama-i-uia, fixed the borders of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki at Puhinui in the west and Hinatore in the east.

Hapū and marae

Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki includes the following hapū: * Ngā Pōtiki, with Mātāwai marae, Tākitimu marae of Waituhi, and Tapuihikitia marae in Puha * Ngāi Tamatea, with Taihamiti marae in Whatatutu * Ngāi Tūketenui, with Parihimanihi marae in Waihirere * Ngāti Kōhuru, with Parihimanihi marae in Waihirere * Ngariki, with Māngatu marae and Te Wainui marae in Whatatutu * Ngāti Mātāwai, with Mātāwai marae * Ngāti Wahia, with Māngatu marae in Whatatutu, Parihimanihi marae in Waihirere, and Rangitira marae in Te Karaka * Te Whānau a Iwi, with Tarere marae in Makaraka * Te Whānau a Kai, with Ngātapa marae, Pākōwhai marae in Pātūtahi, Rongopai marae in Waituhi, and Tākitimu marae in Waituhi * Te Whānau a Taupara, with Māngatu marae in Whatatutu, Takipu marae in Te Karaka, and Tapuihikitia marae in Puha

Governance

Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki Trust

Te Aitanga ā Māhaki Trust is the mandated iwi organisation under the Māori Fisheries Act, the iwi aquaculture organisation under the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act, and the official iwi authority for resource consent consultation under the Resource Management Act. The charitable trust is governed by eleven trustees, representing each of the recognised marae, and is based in Gisborne. The rohe of the area covers part of the territory of

Gisborne District Council Gisborne District Council () is the unitary authority for the Gisborne District of New Zealand. The council consists of a mayor and 13 ward councillors. The district consists of the city of Gisborne and a largely rural region on the east coast ...

, which is both the district and regional council.

Media

Turanga FM

Turanga FM is the radio station of

Turanganui-a-kiwa Poverty Bay (Māori language, Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa''), officially named Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay, is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for ...

iwi, including Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is based in Gisborne, and broadcasts on in

Ruatoria Ruatoria () is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Māori Mast ...

, and and in Gisborne.

Notable people

Witi Ihimaera Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people, Māori people were ignored or mischaracteri ...

– writer *

Wi Pere Wiremu "Wi" Pere (7 March 1837 – 9 December 1915), was a Māori people, Māori Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He represented Eastern Māori in the New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1884 to 1887, and ag ...

– politician * Te Kani te Ua – tribal leader, genealogist, orator *

Lisa Carrington Dame Lisa Marie Carrington (born 23 June 1989) is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of eight gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K1 200metres ...

– flatwater canoeist * Tara McAllister - Scientist *

Elizabeth Kerekere Elizabeth Anne Kerekere (born ) is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Greens on 5 May 2023, following allegations of bullying within ...

- Politician, Activist

References

External links

Te Aitanga a Mahaki Trust
Gisborne District Iwi and hapū {{Maori-stub