Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an
iwiIn New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
(Māori tribe) descended from
Ngātoro-i-rangiIn Māori tradition, Ngātoro-i-rangi is the name of a tohunga prominent during the settling of Aotearoa by the Māori people, who came from the mythical homeland Hawaiki.-Rangiātea:...
, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua (
Tarawera RiverThe Tarawera River is in the Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand.It flows from Lake Tarawera, northeastwards across the northern flanks of the active volcano Mount Tarawera, and past the town of Kawerau before turning north, reaching the Bay of Plenty six kilometres to the west...
) at
MatataMatata is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. The town is 24 kilometres to the north-west of Whakatane. The population of Matata in the 2001 Census was 666....
across the central plateau of the
North IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
to the lands around
Mount TongariroMount Tongariro is a volcanic complex in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres to the southwest of Lake Taupo, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of the central North Island....
and
Lake TaupoLake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in geopolitical Oceania after Lake Murray ....
.
The iwi is identified by the saying:
Mai Te Awa o te Atua ki Tongariro, ko Tongariro te Maunga, ko Taupo te Moana, ko Tūwharetoa te Iwi, ko te Heuheu te Tangata (From Te Awa o te Atua to Tongariro, Tongariro is the Mountain, Taupo-nui-a-Tia is the Lake, Tūwharetoa is the Tribe, te Heuheu is the Man.)
Tūwharetoa is the sixth largest iwi in Aotearoa with a population of 30,000 (
NZ Census 2001) comprising a number of hapu (subtribes) represented by 33
maraeA marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
. This collective is bound together by the legacy of
Ngātoro-i-rangiIn Māori tradition, Ngātoro-i-rangi is the name of a tohunga prominent during the settling of Aotearoa by the Māori people, who came from the mythical homeland Hawaiki.-Rangiātea:...
as epitomised in the
ArikiAn Ariki , ‘Ariki , Aliki , Ali‘i , Ari'i or ‘Eiki is or was a member of a hereditary chiefly or noble rank in Polynesia.-Aotearoa Ariki:Political leadership or governance in Māori society has traditionally come from two...
(Paramount Chief). 40% of Ngāti Tūwharetoa are under the age of 15.
History
Ngāti Tūwharetoa are descendants of the powerful tohunga and navigator, Ngātoro-i-rangi who piloted the great waka Te Arawa from Hawaiki to Aotearoa.
Ngātoro-i-rangi was tricked onto the Te Arawa waka by the chief
Tama-te-kapuaIn Māori tradition Tama-te-kapua was the captain of the Te Arawa canoe which came to New Zealand from Polynesia in about 1350. The reason for his leaving his homeland was the theft by his brother Whakaturia and himself of breadfruit from a tree belonging to a chief named Uenuku. The Te Arawa canoe...
as it was considered good luck to have him aboard. He was originally destined to travel aboard the
TainuiTainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato...
waka. This greatly angered Ngātoro-i-rangi and his disdain and animosity of the Te Arawa chief led to his leaving the group soon after arrival.
In Aotearoa they made landfall at Te Awa o Te Atua, and Ngātoro-i-rangi departed heading inland to Te Takanga i o Apa (Kawerau area), thence to Ruawahia where he encountered the monstrous Tama o Hoi and eventually reaching
TaupoTaupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....
district where he climbed
Mount TauharaMount Tauhara is a dormant stratovolcano, reaching 3,569 feet above sea level, situated within the Taupō caldera towards the centre of the Taupō Volcanic Zone, which stretches from White Island in the north, to Mount Ruapehu in the south, to Mount Taranaki in the west....
.
From Tauhara, Ngātoro-i-rangi made his way to Tongariro with the intention of standing on its summit and thus claiming the district as his own. While climbing the mountain a powerful southerly wind whipped his face, icy gales chiselled the warmth from his body while the frozen volcano cut painfully into his feet eventually bringing him to his knees with cold. As Ngātoro-i-rangi lay dying he called to his sisters Kuiwai and Haungaroa in Hawaikii, to send fire to warm him, "
Kuiwai e! Haungaroa e! Ka riro au i te tonga! Tukuna mai he ahi! (Oh Kuiwai! Oh Haungaroa! I am seized by the cold south wind! Send fire to me!)
Heeding his call, they sent fire in the form of two
taniwhaIn Māori mythology, taniwha are beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers...
(daemons), Te Pupu and Te Hoata. As they travelled underground the flames first erupted at White Island, then Rotorua and Taupo, finally bursting at the feet of Ngātoro-i-rangi, welling up from the large vent in the volcano’s summit, warming the tohunga and thus allowing him to achieve his goal.
On the summit of Tongariro Ngātoro-i-rangi gave thanks and established 'Te Wharetoa o Tūmatauenga' The Warrior House of
TūIn Māori mythology, Tū or Tūmatauenga is one of the great gods, and the origin of war. All war-parties were dedicated to him, and he was treated with the greatest respect and awe. He is usually a son of the primordial parent, sky and earth...
- the legacy of Tūwharetoa.
Ngātoro-i-rangi did not remain at Tongariro,instead returning to the coast to live out his life at
Motiti IslandMotiti Island is located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is north-east of Tauranga and north-east of Papamoa. There were 18 homes occupied by 27 people on the island in the 2006 Census....
. His descendants settled at Te Awa o Te Atua inland to Kawerau increasing over the generations until the time of Mawake Taupo, 8th generation descendant of Ngātoro-i-rangi. Mawake Taupo took as wife a woman of the Hapuoneone named Hahuru and their son Manaia would eventually take the name Tuwharetoa
Ngāti Tūwharetoa structure
The sons of Tūwharetoa moved from Kawerau across Waiariki and eventually into the district around Taupo and by skill at arms, strategy and might eventually established the rohe of Tūwharetoa settling in three divisions at Kawerau,
WaiarikiNew Zealand has a large number of hot springs, known as waiariki in Māori. Many of them are used for therapeutic purposes.The highest concentration of such springs is in the Central Plateau region of the North Island, in the Taupo Volcanic Zone...
and Tongariro.
Mai Te Awa o Te Atua Ki Tongariro, Tūwharetoa Ki Kawerau, Tūwharetoa Ki Waiariki, Tūwharetoa Ki te Tonga (From Te Awa-o-te-Atua to Tongariro, Tūwharetoa at Kawerau, Tūwharetoa at Waiariki, Tūwharetoa at Tongariro)
This pepeha (tribal saying) describes the tribal boundaries of Ngāti Tūwharetoa extending from Te Awa o Te Atua (a confluence of rivers at
MatataMatata is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. The town is 24 kilometres to the north-west of Whakatane. The population of Matata in the 2001 Census was 666....
) south to Tongariro
Lists of Paramount Chiefs
- Herea te Heuheu Tūkino I.
- Mananui te Heuheu Tūkino II, (famous Warrior/Military Tactician).
- Iwikau te Heuheu Tūkino III, (famous statesman).
- Horonuku Pataatai te Heuheu Tūkino IV
Te Heuheu Tukino IV was paramount chief of the Ngāti Tuwharetoa, a Māori tribe of the central North Island of New Zealand. His birth name was Pataatai but he assumed the name Horonuku - meaning landslide - after the death of his parents in a landslide in 1846...
, (bequeathed Tongariro National ParkTongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 28 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites....
to the Nation).
- Tūreiti te Heuheu Tūkino V.
- Hoani te Heuheu Tūkino VI, (Kakahi
Kakahi is a small village about 10 kilometres up the Whanganui River from Taumarunui in New Zealand. It can be accessed from State Highway 4 using access roads Waitea Road or Whakapapa Road....
-PūkawaPūkawa / Pūkawa Bay is a bay and a small township on the western shores of Lake Taupo in New Zealand. It is off State Highway 41 between Turangi and Taumarunui. It is home of the Ngati Manunui hapu of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the newly-opened Manunui-a-Ruakapanga marae, which was opened on 18 November...
Railway Line).
- Sir Hepi Hoani te Heuheu Tūkino VII KBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (Lake TaupoLake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in geopolitical Oceania after Lake Murray ....
Negotiations).
- Sir Tumu te Heuheu Tūkino VIII KNZM
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
, (Appointed in 2006 World Heritage Chairperson).
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