Te Kawerau ā Maki
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki 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. ...
'' (tribe) of the
Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...
of
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 ...
. Predominantly based in West Auckland (Hikurangi also known as Waitākere), it had 251 registered adult members as of June 2017. The iwi holds land for a new
marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
and papakāinga at Te Henga (Bethells Beach) that was returned in 2018; and land for a secondary marae at Te Onekiritea (Hobsonville Point) that was returned in 2015. It has no ''
wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...
'' (meeting house) yet.


History

Te Kawerau ā Maki are the descendants of the '' rangatira'' (chief) Maki and his wife Rotu, who migrated with their family and followers from
Kawhia Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, Ne ...
to Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) in the early 1600s. Te Kawerau trace their ancestry from a number of
Māori migration canoes Māori oral histories recount how their ancestors set out from their homeland in ''waka hourua'', large twin-hulled ocean-going canoes ('' waka''). Some of these traditions name a homeland called Hawaiki. Among these is the story of Kupe, wh ...
, particularly the
Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...
, but also Aotea, Tokomaru, Moekakara, Kahuitara and
Kurahaupō ''Kurahaupō'' was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand in Māori tradition. In Taranaki tribal tradition, ''Kurahaupō'' is known as ''Te Waka Pakaru ki te moana'' or 'The Cano ...
. Tainui ancestors including Hoturoa and the
tohunga In the culture of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, ...
Rakataura (Hape) are particularly important in Te Kawerau
whakapapa Genealogy is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, termed specifically in this context as ''whakapapa'' (, , lit. 'layering'). Reciting one's '' whakapapa'' proclaims one's identity among the Māori, places oneself in a wider context, and ...
, as is the ancient
turehu Patupaiarehe are supernatural beings () in Māori mythology that are described as pale to fair skinned with blonde hair or red hair, usually having the same stature as ordinary people, and never tattooed. They can draw mist to themselves, but t ...
ancestor and tohunga Tiriwa. Maki and his people were related to a number of groups who had occupied the Auckland region since the fourteenth century, including the Tainui ''
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 ...
'' (sub-tribes) collectively known as Ngā Oho. Maki was particularly connected with the Ngāiwi group, who lived across the
Auckland isthmus The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland and the central business district. ...
and to the south from Māngere Mountain to
Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...
. Maki initially took up residence among his kin at Manurewa ( Te Manurewa o Tamapahore) and Rarotonga / Mount Smart. Maki then lived for a while near Waimauku at the invitation of a chief of the district. While there Maki was insulted in an incident called ''Te Kawe Rau a Maki'', meaning "the carrying strap of Maki". In response he and his warriors fought several battles against the local ''hapū'', defeating them and taking control of a large part of the south Kaipara. Maki and Rotu had a son in the southwest Kaipara who was named Tawhiakiterangi, and also known as Te Kawerau ā Maki, after whom the tribe is named. Tawhiakiterangi would later marry Marukiterangi, daughter of Kahu, and granddaughter of Maeaeariki an older son of Maki. She was born near Te Oneroa o Kahu (Long Bay). Her people were the Te Kawerau hapū Ngāti Kahu of whom the North Shore gets its name - Te Whenua Roa o Kahu ("the extensive lands of Kahu"). Their ''
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 ...
'' or area of customary shared interest grew to include the southern Kaipara, Mahurangi, North Shore, Auckland Isthmus, and Hauraki Gulf islands such as Tiritiri Matangi. By the end of the 1600s Te Kawerau ā Maki were particularly associated with West Auckland (known traditionally as Hikurangi), south-western Kaipara and the Upper Waitematā Harbour. In the early 1700s the paramount chief of Te Kawerau ā Maki was Te Au o Te Whenua ("the current of the land") who was a great provider for his people and was gifted his name following a process of peacemaking with the neighbouring Te Taou. His wife was Rangihina of the Te Kawerau hapū Ngāti Poataniwha who held the lands of the Upper Waitematā Harbour. The
Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. ...
and the forest that once covered much of Hikurangi are known by the traditional name Te Wao nui ā Tiriwa – the great forest of Tiriwa. The northernmost peaks of the Waitākere Ranges east of Muriwai around Taupaki became known as Ngā Rau Pou a Maki, or the many posts of Maki, which also came to be the collective name for the Waitākere Ranges as a whole. Europeans arriving in the late 1700s and early 1800s brought epidemic diseases that weakened Te Kawerau ā Maki and other tribes that were living in the same area by then. From 1821 the
Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
reached Auckland through raids by the
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 ...
tribe, led by
Hongi Hika Hongi Hika ( – 6 March 1828) was a New Zealand Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the iwi of Ngāpuhi. He was a pivotal figure in the early years of regular European contact and settlement in New Zealand. As one of the first Māor ...
. In 1825 Te Kawerau ā Maki suffered major losses at the hands of Ngāpuhi and they and other Auckland tribes went effectively into exile in the
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
. Te Kawerau ā Maki remained there until 1835, when they returned to the Waitākere area, and later the south Kaipara, under the protection of the Waikato chief Te Wherowhero. Early but rapid colonial land speculation from the 1830s onwards resulted in Te Kawerau ā Maki losing more than 90% of its customary land title by 1853 - within 13 years of the signing of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
. Native reserves remained in a few isolated places - Piha, Waitākere (Te Henga), Kōprionui (southern Woodhill), Muriwai, Paremoremo, and around Mahurangi - however the last of these were forcibly taken by 1953 under the Public Works Act leaving the tribe effectively landless. While Te Kawerau ā Maki people continue to live in the wider area, the last formal marae at Waiti (Bethells Beach) was abandoned around 1920 following the construction of the Waitākere Dam that altered the hydrology of the Waitākere River combined with ongoing issues relating to the economic and social disenfranchisement of Māori.


Recent events

In February 2014 a Deed of Settlement was signed between Te Kawerau ā Maki and the Crown following years of negotiations led by Hariata Ewe and Te Warena Taua. In September 2015 the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Act was passed into legislation. This Deed and its corresponding Act records the acknowledgements and apology given by the Crown to Te Kawerau ā Maki and gives effect to provisions of the deed of settlement that settles the historical
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
claims of Te Kawerau ā Maki. The Settlement included the return of 3275 ha of Riverhead Forest. In late 2017 Te Kawerau ā Maki issued a rāhui (customary prohibition) on people entering the forested area of the Waitākere Ranges, in order to help slow the spread of
kauri dieback ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside ''Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...
disease, support the mauri (life essence) of the forest, and buy time for research and improved recreational infrastructure and management to be implemented. Te Kawerau ā Maki were the official host iwi in 2018 for
Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
's annual Matariki Festival. As part of this, amongst other activities, they organised the festival's official dawn ceremony launch at the Arataki Visitor Centre, a sound and light display on the
Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins Saint Marys Bay, New Zealand, St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote, Auckland, Northcote on the North Shore, ...
, and an exhibition of their history at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery. In 2022, Te Kawerau Iwi Tiaki Trust was awarded $75,000 from the Auckland Council Cultural Initiative Fund "for a feasibility report, concept design and planning to develop a marae and papakainga in Te Henga".


See also

*
List of Māori iwi This is a list of iwi (New Zealand Māori tribes). List of iwi This list includes groups recognised as iwi (tribes) in certain contexts. Many are also hapū (sub-tribes) of larger iwi. Moriori are included on this list. Although they are dist ...
* Ōtuataua and Ihumātao


References


Further reading


A brief history
Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority


External links


Te Kawerau a Maki
Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority {{DEFAULTSORT:Te Kawerau a Maki Iwi and hapū Waitākere Ranges West Auckland, New Zealand