Ngāti Kahungunu

Ngāti Kahungunu is a

The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative divisions: Wairoa, Te Whanganui-ā-Orotū, Heretaunga, Tamatea, Tāmaki-nui-a Rua and Wairarapa. It is the 4th largest iwi in New Zealand by population, with 82,239 people identifying as Ngāti Kahungunu in the 2018 census.^[2]

Early history

Pre-colonisation

Ngāti Kahungunu trace their origins to the

takes its name.

According to one account,

North Island. He married several times during his travels, and as a result there are many North Island hapū that trace their lineage directly back to Kahungunu. Many of his marriages were arranged for diplomatic purposes, uniting various iwi against their enemies, forming bonds and securing peace. At some point, Kahungunu arrived at Māhia Peninsula, where he pursued and married Rongomaiwahine, a woman from Nukutaurua who was a chief in her own right. She was famously beautiful, and according to legend had issued a challenge to Kahungunu, insulting his charismatic reputation and inviting him to prove himself worthy of her. Kahungunu accepted the challenge, murdered her husband and, after numerous trials, succeeded in obtaining Rongomaiwahine's consent to marry. The iwi Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Rongomaiwahine

both descend from this marriage.

Heretaunga

The eldest son of Kahungunu and Rongomaiwahine was named

Ngāti Tara

iwi, which lived in Petane, Te Whanganui-a-Orotu and Waiohiki. Within Taraia's lifetime, Heretaunga was brought under the control of his people, who became the first of the Ngāti Kahungunu in that area.

The descendants of Rākei-hikuroa split into various hapū. Allegiances shifted, and Māori geopolitics in the region was largely played out as an internal struggle for dominance among the hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu, broken up by intermittent raids from

Ngāti Te Ūpokoiri.^[4] Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti settled in the Kaimanawa ranges, but were driven out by Ngāti Tūwharetoa in a war

in the sixteenth of seventeenth centuries.

Over time, some Ngāti Kahungunu hapū settled in the Wairarapa region, finding a relatively peaceful existence there until the arrival of European settlers.

Wairoa

When Rākei-hikuroa departed for Heretaunga, Rakai-pāka and his sister Hinemanuhiri remained in the Gisborne area, but they were subsequently defeated in battle and migrated south to the northern Hawke's Bay, where his descendants settled at Nūhaka and became the Ngāti Rakaipaaka hapū. Four generations later, their chief Te Huki solidified the hapū's position throughout the region with a series of diplomatic marriages, a process referred to as "setting the net of Te Huki."^[5]

Hinemanuhiri's son

Ngāi Tamaterangi. The chief Kotore is said to have coined the name Ngāti Kahungunu in the next generation, shortly before he was killed in an attack led by Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. The west and east banks of the Wairoa were split between the brothers Tapuwae Poharutanga o Tukutuku and Te Maaha, who fought one another, but were subsequently re-joined through intermarriage. Their children, led by Te-O-Tane

, won a crushing victory over Te Whānau-ā-Apanui at the Battle of Whāwhāpō. After this, Ngāti Kahungunu's position in the northern Hawkes' Bay was secure.

Early 19th century

In 1807, the

Porangahau.^[8]

Although he had beaten back a superior force at Te Roto-a-Tara, Te Pareihe knew that the defence of Heretaunga was unsustainable without the advantage of firearms. He and fellow Ngāti Kahungunu chief Tiakitai forged an alliance with Te Wera Hauraki, a chief from Ngāpuhi who had settled on the Māhia Peninsula.^[9] Together, their forces retook Te Roto-a-Tara pā from Ngāi Te Upokoiri, who had occupied the fortress island after Te Pareihe escaped to Porangahau. But when news reached the alliance that a huge coalition of Waikato and Tuwharetoa warriors were amassing to attack Heretaunga, Te Wera agreed to protect Te Pareihe and the Ngāti Kahungunu at his fortress settlement in Māhia. Hence, in late 1823, Te Pareihe led an exodus of Ngāti Kahungunu refugees from Heretaunga to Māhia, setting off from the beach at Waimarama. Some chiefs, such as Kurupo Te Moananui, Te Hapuku, and Tiakitai, remained in Heretaunga, but most joined the exodus.^[10] By the late 1830s hostilities had ended and the Ngāti Kahungunu diaspora began returning to Heretaunga.

In 1840 a number of Ngāti Kahungunu chiefs were signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Colonisation

The spread of European settlement eventually reached Ngāti Kahungunu territory, and led to the rapid acquisition of Māori land by The Crown during the 1850s and 1860s. Chiefs from the Heretaunga area, such as Te Hapuku and Henare Tomoana lost significant areas of land in sales that have since been labelled "extortionate," and which later became matters of dispute and protest. The loss of land during this period led to the emergence of the Repudiation Movement, a coalition of Ngāti Kahungunu leaders who sought to halt the rapidity of land loss in the region, and to dispute past sales.^[11]

In 1868 the

Tareha Te Moananui (1868–1871), Karaitiana Takamoana (1871–1879), and Henare Tomoana (1879–1881).^[12] The effectiveness of Māori parliamentary representation during this period was hampered by a lack of fluent English on the part of the elected Māori representatives, and by a lack of confidence in the European parliamentary system itself, which was seen as incapable of protecting Māori interests. As a result, the Kotahitanga movement emerged in the 1890s to advocate for the establishment of an independent Māori parliament. It convened parliamentary style meetings at Pāpāwai Marae in Wairārapa and at Waipatu in Heretaunga, where key issues of importance for Māori were debated. However, by 1902 Te Kotahitanga had failed to gain recognition from the New Zealand Parliament

and was therefore dissolved in favour of local Māori Councils, which were established in 1900.

20th century history

Political leadership

At the outset of the 20th century, a new generation of Māori leaders were beginning to participate in the Ngāti Kahungunu political landscape.

Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck), and Paraire Tomoana. In 1897 they formed the Te Aute College Students' Association and became active participants in public life, often mediating between the Crown and hapū in matters of local land management. In 1909 the group was joined by James Carroll and became known as the Young Māori Party.^[13]

First World War

Main article: New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion

When the

Maui Pomare were the most aggressive proponents of Māori enlistment, and in Ngāti Kahungunu they received the support of Paraire Tomoana, who was the son of the chief Henare Tomoana

. Tomoana worked with Ngata to drive Māori recruitment campaigns both within Ngāti Kahungunu and throughout other areas of the North Island.

Many men from Ngāti Kahungunu were among the Māori who enlisted for war. They were organised into the

After the outbreak of the

In 1988, Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Kahungunu Incorporated was established as a centralised organisation responsible for iwi development, but it went into receivership in 1994. The organisation re-emerged with a new constitution in 1996 under the name Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII). An election was held in 1997, resulting in the establishment of an elected board of trustees and a new mandate to govern iwi development.[20] Elections are held every three years, and all adults with a whakapapa link to a hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu are eligible to vote. The chairperson of the board of trustees usually represents the iwi in political affairs.

In accordance with the constitution of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc, the board of trustees consists of ten tangata whenua representatives:^[21]

• One representative is elected within each of the six geographic and administrative divisions of the Ngāti Kahungunu area: Wairoa, Te Whanganui-ā-Orotū, Heretaunga, Tamatea, Tāmaki-nui-a Rua and Wairarapa. The constitution requires that a candidate for election to any of these positions must already be an elected board member of the Taiwhenua (local governing body) of the respective geographical subdivision.
• Two representatives are elected at large by registered members of Ngāti Kahungunu who reside outside of the Ngāti Kahungunu region. This electorate is referred to in the constitution as the Taurahere Runanga. Candidates for election to these positions must have a whakapapa link to a hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu.
• One representative is elected as a
  tikanga, kawa (traditional legal protocols), and reo. This representative is elected directly to the board by other kaumātua
  of Ngāti Kahungunu.
• One representative is elected at large by the iwi membership to the chair of the board of trustees. To be eligible for this position, the candidate must already be an elected board member of a Taiwhenua of one of the geographical subdivisions of the iwi. In addition, the candidate must be proficient in Ngāti Kahungunu
  tikanga, kawa, and reo
  . As a special provision, if the incumbent chairperson's term as a board member of a Taiwhenua expires during their tenure as chair of the iwi board, it does not disqualify them from seeking re-election.

The board employs a General Manager and staff, which oversees the operational affairs of the iwi organisation. General Managers have included Labour member of parliament Meka Whaitiri. An asset holding company was also established in 2005 to manage the iwi's investment portfolio.^[22] The company's directors include former rugby player Taine Randell.

Leadership

When Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Kahungunu Incorporated was established in 1988, its first chairperson was Pita Sharples. By 1994 a rapid succession of other chairpeople had led the organisation, while severe disharmony between board members was increasingly hampering the board's effectiveness.^[23] As a result, a case was brought to the High Court of New Zealand, where the dysfunctionality of the board was given as evidence of the need for the court to intervene. The court placed Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Kahungunu Incorporated into receivership, and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court.^[24][25]

After the creation of a new constitution, the period of receivership ended and in 1996 the organisation was renamed Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. The first election for the new board took place in March 1997.

Ngāti Kahungunu Treaty settlements

While NKII is the mandated iwi organisation (MIO) in charge of iwi development and overseeing the fisheries settlement it received in 2004, Ngāti Kahungunu have settled their Treaty settlements of historical grievances on a hapu basis. Because of this, Ngāti Kahungunu has seven separate entities that have (or are in the process of) received their Treaty settlements to govern for their respective affiliate hapu and whanau. This is contrary to a centralised iwi entity that has more power than its hapu/hapu collectives.

1997 election results

Radio Kahungunu

See also

• Maniaiti Marae

References