Taranaki tribe today
Redress for grievances
In 1990 the Waitangi Tribunal began hearing the claims of Taranaki tribes relating to the land confiscations of the 1860s. The tribunal’s report, published in 1996, found that ‘Taranaki Māori were dispossessed of their land, leadership, means of livelihood, personal freedom, and social structure and values’. 1 Some tribes in the region have negotiated compensation with the Crown, but in 2004 the Taranaki tribe was still working out a settlement that would provide an economic base for future development.
Tribal organisation and enterprise
In the 2006 census, 5,352 people identified themselves as belonging to the Taranaki tribe. The main hapū (sub-tribes) are Ngāti Tairi, Ngā Mahanga, Ngāti Moeahu, Ngāti Haupoto and Waiotama, Ngāti Tuhekerangi, Ngāti Tara, Ngāti Kahumate, Ngāti Tamarongo, Ngāti Haumia, Ngāi Wetenga, Titahi and Ngāti Tamaahuroa.
Aside from the Parihaka region and its many marae, the main marae in the tribal region are Ōakura, Puniho, Pōtaka, Orimupiko and Ōeo.
Tribal initiatives include the retention of the language, traditions and customs of the Taranaki people.
Parihaka self-sufficiency
The settlement of Parihaka was a model of Māori autonomy in the 19th century, blending European innovation with traditional Māori values. By the end of the 1870s it had a permanent population of about 1,500, including people from Taranaki and Whanganui tribes. Parihaka had its own bank, and police to keep order. A large area of land was cultivated, and modern agricultural equipment such as reaping and threshing machines were used. The inhabitants harvested, hunted and gathered food to feed their many visitors.
Parihaka
Parihaka remains a potent symbol of non-violent protest. From the 1970s the settlement grew in size and received many visitors, both Māori and Pākehā, including trade unionists, artists, writers and historians. During the summer of 2000–2001 an exhibition at the City Gallery in Wellington brought together 120 years of art, poetry and songs about Parihaka. A book from the exhibition, Parihaka: the art of passive resistance, was joint winner of New Zealand’s premier book award in 2001. The success of the exhibition and the book underlines the iconic status of Parihaka, not just to the people of Taranaki and related tribes, but to the nation.
Footnotes
- The Taranaki report: kaupapa tuatahi. Wai 143. Wellington: GP Publications, 1996, p. 13. › Back
