I ahu mai te ingoa o te iwi o Ngā Rauru Kītahi i tō rātou tipuna a Rauru. Nā te rongo, he tangata toa, he tangata kōrero ia, ka karangahia ia, ko Rauru Kītahi. Me he tangata kī tahi koe, arā, he tangata whakamana i āu kupu, kua mihia koe ki te kōrero nei.
Ko ngā kōrero tuku iho ka kī, ka heke te iwi o Ngā Rauru i te waka a Aotea me tōna rangatira a Turi. Ko te kōrero ināianei, i heke a Ngā Rauru i tētahi iwi i noho ki te takiwā o Waitōtara ki te taha tonga o Taranaki, i mua i te taenga o Aotea. I ahu mai te iwi nei i te tai rāwhiti o te Ika-a-Māui; ka hoea te moana e rātou kia pae ki Pātea me Waitōtara. Ko tō rātou ingoa, ko Te Kāhui Rere. Nō te taunga o Aotea ki te taha tonga o Taranaki, ka moe ngā uri o Turi ki te iwi o Te Kāhui Rere. Koinei te take i tū ai te kōrero e kī ana, i ahu mai te iwi o Ngā Rauru i te waka a Aotea.
I tapaina a Ngā Rauru ki te ingoa o te tupuna, a Rauru Kītahi. Ko Rauru Kītahi, he mokopuna nā Toitehuatahi. Koia te mātāmua a Ruarangi rāua ko Rongoueroa. Tērā pea, ko te wāhi i whānau mai ia, ko Whakatāne. Ko te tupuna taketake ake o te iwi o Te Āti Awa, a Awanuiarangi, hei tuakana, teina rānei ki a ia.
Anei he pepeha nā Ngā Rauru:’ Ko Rauru Kītahi, e kore te kupu e whati’
E pā ana te kōrero nei ki a Rauru Kītahi, he tangata iti te kupu, engari pono tonu ki tāna i kōrero ai. Ko tētahi atu pepeha, ‘Ko Rauru koe’, he kupu whakamihi mō te tangata he pono āna kōrero.
I a ia e taiohi ana, hau ana te rongo mōna, inā, he toa, he tangata whakatinana i āna kupu. Huri āmio rātou ko tōna iwi i ngā rohe o Aotearoa puta noa. I a ia ka kaumātua, ka tau ia ki te tonga o Taranaki noho ai, mate noa. Nō muri, ka hurihia e taua iwi o te tonga o Taranaki tō rātou ingoa ki a Ngā Rauru.
Ko te rohe whenua o Ngā Rauru i te tau 1840, atu i ngā kāinga e ono o Kaihaukupe (Castlecliff, Whanganui), ahu atu ki Kaierau (ko St Johns Hill, Whanganui ināianei), toro atu ki Tawhitinui (e aro nui ana ki Rānana, kei tērā taha o te awa o Whanganui), ki ngā pae maunga o Matemateaonga, kei reira te mātāpuna o te awa o Pātea. I ngā rā o mua, he maha ngā pā, ngā kāinga i te awa o Pātea, mai i tōna pūaha, rere tika atu ki Kaihaukupe.
I ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1800, ka tomokia te rohe e ngā taua o ngā iwi mai i te raki - a Ngāpuhi, a Ngāti Toa - i te rapu whenua hōu, rawa hoki mō rātou. I te tekau tau atu i 1820, ka tīmata ngā heke o Ngāti Toa me ngā iwi o te taha raki o Taranaki – a Ngāti Tama, a Ngāti Mutunga, a Te Āti Awa. Ka tapahi tō rātou huarahi ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara mā ngā whenua o Ngā Rauru. Nō te tau 1822, ka whakaekea e Te Rauparaha o Ngāti Toa a Te Ihupuku, te pā matua o Ngā Rauru. I te tekau tau atu i 1840, ka whakaekea a Ngā Rauru e Ngāti Tūwharetoa, heoi, nō te taenga o ngā iwi o Taranaki ki te awhi i a Ngā Rauru, ka parea atu te hoariri.
Nō muri i te taenga o ngā mihinare me ngā tāngata whai Pākehā ki te rohe o Taranaki, ka whirinaki atu a Ngā Rauru ki te whakapono Karaitiana. Whāia, ka ora te iwi i ngā mahi tauhokohoko. I te tau 1848, ka hoko te kāwanatanga i ētahi whenua i te taha tonga o Taranaki. I te tekau tau atu i 1850, ka whai ētahi o Ngā Rauru i ō rātou huānga o Taranaki ki te ātete i ngā hoko whenua. Ka ātete ngā Māori i te hoko whenua ki Waitara; kīia ai rātou, he tāngata whakakeke. I te mutunga, ka pakaru mai te riri ki te taha raki o Taranaki. Ka tautoko tētahi wāhanga o Ngā Rauru i ngā iwi e whawhai ana mō ō rātou whenua.
I te tau 1859, ka whakaaetia e tētahi wāhanga o Ngā Rauru te hoko i te poraka whenua o Waitōtara ki te kāwanatanga. Ahakoa ngā ātete a te rahi, nō te tau 1863 ka mana te hoko. Ka pakaru mai anō te riri i taua tau, tae rawa ki te tau 1867. Ka tau te urupatu o te kāwanatanga, ka tahuna ngā kāinga me ngā mahinga kai o te iwi. Tokomaha ngā tāngata o Ngā Rauru ka hinga i ēnei pakanga, nui te whenua i raupatutia. I te tau 1865, ka raupatutia neke atu i te e 150,000 (e 60,700 heketea) o ngā whenua o Ngā Rauru.
I te tau 1868, ka pakaru mai anō te riri ki te rohe o Taranaki, ka tautoko a Ngā Rauru i a Tītokowaru o Ngāti Ruanui. Ka whāia a Ngā Rauru e ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga ki te tuawhenua rā anō; ka pāhuatia ngā mahinga kai, ngā kararehe, ngā whare. I mua i te tau 1873, kāore i whakaaetia kia hoki a Ngā Rauru ki ō rātou kāinga. I ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau atu i 1870, ka riro i te Karauna ngā whenua o Ngā Rauru kei waho atu o te rohe raupatu, ā, kīhai i tika te rangahau nō wai te mana whenua. Nā te kore whenua, ka kore he oranga mō te iwi.
I tautoko a Ngā Rauru i ngā kaupapa a Te Whiti-o-Rongomai rāua ko Tohu Kākahi ki Parihaka i te pū o Taranaki. Ko tā rāua take, he ātete aumārie i te noho a ngā tāngata whai ki ō rātou whenua i raupatutia. Ko ētahi o Ngā Rauru i roto i te rahi i panaia i Parihaka e ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga i te tau 1881, ka heria mauheretia ki Te Wai Pounamu.
I te tekau tau atu i 1880, i whiwhi paremata ngā iwi o Taranaki - tae noa ki a Ngā Rauru - mō ngā whakawhiu a te Karauna i a rātou. He maramara whenua noa iho ka whakahokia ki te iwi. Ko te mate kē, i taka ngā whenua nei ki raro i ngā whakahaere o te Public Trustee. Kāore i arotia nuitia ngā tikanga pupuri whenua a te Maori, ka mutu, ko ētahi o ngā whenua i whakahokia ki a Ngā Rauru, i hokona, i rīhitia rāneitia ki ngā tāngata whai mō ake tonu atu. I ngā tau 1926–27, i whakawhiwhia e te Kōmihana Sim tētahi paremata iti ki a Ngā Rauru.
Nō muri i ngā pakanga o te tekau tau atu i 1860, ka puea ake ētahi tirohanga tōrangapū, whakapono hōu. Ka whai ētahi o Ngā Rauru i te whakapono Pai Mārire. Ka haere tonu ngā rangahau mō tētahi whakapono ka rite ki te wairua Māori. Atu i te tau 1920, he tokomaha ngā uri o Ngā Rauru i whai i ngā akoako a Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, nāna nei te hāhi Rātana. Nō muri, ka whānui ana kaupapa ki ngā mahi tōrangapū. Heoi, i manawapā ētahi, i tō rātou whakaaro kei te tawhiti rawa te hāhi Rātana i ngā akoranga a te Karaiti. Nā tēnei āhuatanga, ka waihangahia te hāhi, a Te Māramatanga, ka whāia e Ngāpiki Hākaraia rāua ko tana tāne, a Hoani. Mai i te tekau tau atu i 1940 i Kai Iwi te pokapū o Te Māramatanga, heoi, ka paheke haere te hāhi nei i te tekau tau atu i 1950. Kei te whakapono ngā pononga o tēnei hāhi, tērā te wā ka ara ake he kaiārahi hōu ki te whakaora anō i te hāhi.
E 3,000 ngā uri o Ngā Rauru i ēnei rā, nō ngā hapū 14.
Ka pā ngā hapū ki ngā marae e whai iho nei, arā, ko:
Ko te māngai o te iwi, ko Te Manatū o te Iwi o Ngā Rauru.
I te tau 2000, ka tīmata ngā kōrero i waenganui i te iwi me te Karauna hei whakaea i ngā whakamau i roto i ngā tau, tae noa ki ngā tāngata i mate, ngā whenua me ngā taonga i murua i ngā pakanga o te tekau tau atu i 1860, me ngā pēhitanga i pā i te hokonga o ngā whenua o te iwi. I tīmata mai ēnei whakaritenga i muri i ngā whakawhitiwhitinga kōrero, ngā tāpaetanga tono, ngā tono kia pono te Karauna ki tāna i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nō te marama o Noema, 2003, ka hainahia te whakataunga, whai muri i te whakaaetanga o te iwi katoa. Ko ngā wāhanga o te whakataunga, ko te whakapāha a te Karauna ki a Ngā Rauru, ko te whakamana i ngā tikanga a Ngā Rauru mā te whai wāhi o Ngā Rauru ki ngā kaupapa tiaki i ngā whenua rāhui kei raro i ngā whakahaere a Te Papa Atawhai i te taha tonga o Taranaki, ko te utu moni hoki. Kei te iwi anō te mana tuatahi ki te hoko, ki te kore hoko rānei i ngā whenua o te Karauna.
Ka oti te taha ki te Tiriti, ka tahuri te iwi ki te whakaora i te Ngā Raurutanga – ngā uara, ngā whakapono, ngā tikanga ake o Ngā Rauru. Kei te whakapakari te iwi i tōna matatau ki te reo Māori, kei te whakanuia te wāhi ki ngā marae me te iwi. Kei te hiahia anō te iwi ki te whakapakari i te taha ōhanga. Ko tētahi umanga a te iwi ko te kato me te hoko i ngā rongoā Māori.
In the New Zealand censuses since 1991, residents of Māori descent were asked to indicate the tribe to which they were affiliated. The figures below show the number who indicated Ngā Rauru (including those who indicated more than one tribe), and the regions where they were found in the greatest numbers.
Broughton, Ruka. The origins of Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi. Wellington: Dept of Māori Affairs, 1983.
Simon, Morvin T. Taku whare e: he mauri tu. My home my heart: the spirit dwells still. Wanganui: Wanganui Regional Community College, 1986.
Waitangi Tribunal. The Taranaki report: kaupapa tuatahi. Wai 143. Wellington: GP Publications, 1996 (reprinted with corrections in 2001).