Ko te ingoa o te iwi o Ngāti Maniapoto i ahu mai i tō ratou tupuna i a Maniapoto. Whakaheke mai ia i ngā tāngata o te waka o Tainui i whakawhiti mai i te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa i Hawaiki ki Aotearoa.
Kei roto a Ngāti Maniapoto i te kotahitanga o ngā iwi o Tainui ka heke mai i te tupuna rongonui i a Tūrongo. Nā tō rāua moenga ko Māhinaarangi i here a Tainui ki ngā iwi o te tai rāwhiti – he mea e whakanuia tonutia ana i ēnei rā. Whakanuia ai te piringa nei i te waiata e whai nei:
Taku ara ko Tūrongo;
I wawaea ki te Tai Rāwhiti,
Ko Māhinaarangi, i au e!
Ko te rua rā i moe ai a Raukawa
Nā Raukawa ko Rereahu;
Nā Rereahu ko Maniapoto
He ara tautika mai ki ahau
Totoro rawa te mana o Tainui ki te nuinga o te raki o te puku o te Ika-a-Māui. Kei roto katoa ngā whenua tūturu o Ngāti Maniapoto i te Rohe Pōtae, i mōhiotia whānuitia ai taua rohe, ko Te Nehenehenui.
Ko te takutai atu i Kāwhia i te raki ki Mōkau kei te tonga, koinei te paenga whakateuru o te rohe o Ngāti Maniapoto. I tau a Tainui ki konei ā, kitea tonuhia ai te punga o te waka ki konei i tēnei rā.
Ko te roto o Ngāroto te paenga whakateraki o te rohe. I te huringa o te rau tau atu i te tau 1800 i tū te pakanga nui o Hinga-kākā ki reira. E hia mano ngā toa i tū; i te otinga ko Waikato rāua ko Maniapoto i toa.
Ko te paenga ki te rāwhiti ka haere mā ngā pae maunga o Rangitoto me Hurakia ā, ko te paenga whakatetonga ko te pae maunga o Tūhua. E kī ana te kōrero ki te rarapa te uira i runga o Rangitoto he tohu tērā o te mate.
He iti noa ō rātou papakāinga; ko te nuinga kei ngā whanga i te takutai, i ngā tahataha rānei o ngā awa me ngā kōawa pērā i a Mōkau me te whārua mōmona o te awa o Waipā. E ai ki te kōrero, noho ai te taniwha a Waiwaia ki ōna rua kei ngā tahataha o taua awa. Kei ngā maunga me ngā karahiwi te maha rawa atu o ngā pā tawhito me ngā wāhi tapu.
Ko Hikurangi tētahi o ngā pā nui o Maniapoto, kei te raki mā rāwhiti i kō atu o Ōtorohanga. Noho ai te tuahine o Maniapoto a Te Rongorito rāua ko tōna hoa tāne a Tamatehura ki tua tata, ki Te Waka, kei te taha rāwhiti o te repo o Māhaonui. Ko te kupu whakatūpato a Maniapoto, me kaua te riri e whakaputaina ki taua takiwā. Nā tēnei whakahau āna i hua mai ai te whakataukī: ‘Kei hewa ki te marae o Hine’.
Ko Te Kuiti he whakarāpopotonga mō Te Kūititanga. Koia te manawa o te rohe o te iwi. Ehara i te mea he tohu tērā te ingoa o Te Kuiti mō te kūititanga o te whenua anake, engari he kōrero e whakanui ana i a Te Kuiti, te wāhi whāiti mai ai a Ngāti Maniapoto. He kōrero tēnei mō Te Kuiti:
Te Kūititanga o Ngāti Maniapoto
Te Kūititanga o ngā maunga
Te Kūititanga o ngā whakaaro.
E ora ana a Maniapoto i te rau tau 1600 ā, he tokomaha ngā iwi nui i whakatūria e ia. E mārama ai ngā kōrero mō te āhuatanga o tōna rironga i te mana kaiārahi o te iwi, me hoki rawa ngā kōrero ki te wā e whakahemohemo ana a Rereahu tōna matua.
Ko te tikanga o ngā wā o mua, mā te rangatira anō tana piki tūranga e tohu. Ko Te Ihingaarangi te mātāmua a Rereahu, te tama a rāua ko tana wahine tuatahi. Ko te whakapono o tēnei o ana tama, ka heke te mana o Rereahu ki a ia. Engari ka rata kē a Rereahu ki a Maniapoto, te mātāmua o ā rāua tamariki ko Hine-aupounamu. I te wā e ngaro atu ana a Te Ihingaarangi ka karangahia e Rereahu a Maniapoto.
Ka tohu a Rereahu kia ngaua e Maniapoto tana tipuaki, kua pania ki te kōkōwai. He tohu tēnei kua whakawhitia te mana o Rereahu ki a Maniapoto. Nō te hokinga atu o Te Ihingaarangi kua mate kē a Rereahu. I te kitenga atu o Te Ihingaarangi i te whero i ngā ngutu o Maniapoto, ka mōhio ia kua riro kē te mana o tō rāua matua.
Ahakoa tohe ai a Te Ihingaarangi ki a Maniapoto mō te mana o tō rāua matua, hauwarea atu. Nāwai ā, ka wehe a ia me ana tamariki ki te takiwā o Maungatautari noho ai. Ko ngā iwi o Te Ihingaarangi ki aua takiwā ko Ngāti Korokī rātou ko Ngāti Hape, ko Ngāti Haua. Engari i tōna matenga he rahi tonu tōna iwi i hoki ki Ōtorohanga. Kei reira tonu rātou i ēnei rā, kei raro i te karangatanga o Ngāti Te Ihingaarangi.
Ko ngā kōrero o mua e pā ana ki a Ngāti Maniapoto ka hāngai ki a Maniapoto rātou ko ana teina pēnei i a Matakore, tae rawa hoki ki ana tamariki, mokopuna.
Ko rātou ngā tūpuna taketake o ngā hapū maha o nāianei, pērā i a Ngāti Matakore. Nā Matakore tōna tuakana a Maniapoto i tautoko i te wā o ngā whakatumatuma a Te Ihingaarangi; ka riro i a ia ngā whenua kei te tonga o te awa o Waipā tae atu ki te pae maunga o Rangitoto. Nā tō rāua moenga ko Waiharapepe i hono atu ai tōna iwi ki ngā iwi o Te Arawa.
Tokotoru ngā wāhine a Maniapoto, ko tētahi ko Hinewhatihua, te mokopuna tuarua a Te Ihingaarangi. Nō muri rawa mai ka moea e ia a Paparauwhare, te tamāhine a Hinewhatihua; heoi, ehara ia nā Maniapoto, nā tētahi kē. Mai i tērā moenga ka puta a Rōrā te tupuna o Ngāti Rōrā i noho ki Te Kuiti.
Ko Te Kawairirangi te tama a Maniapoto rāua ko Hinemania, tana wahine tuatahi. Ka haere a Te Kawairirangi ki te raki ki te pā nui o Maungakiekie kei te rohe o Tāmaki-makau-rau. I reira ka moe ia i ngā māhanga a Mārei rāua ko Māroa. I kōhurutia ia i Tāmaki ā, ko tana tama a Rungaterangi i kōhurutia ki te tonga, ki te rohe o Mōkau. Nā runga i ēnei aituā ka hua ake te whakataukī; ‘Mōkau ki runga, Tāmaki ki raro’ hei whakamaumaharatanga ki a Ngāti Maniapoto. Nō muri mai ka whakahuatia te pepeha nei hei tohu mō te rohe o ngā iwi o Tainui puta noa.
I tōna kaumātuatanga ka noho a Maniapoto ki Te Ana-uriuri, tētehi ana pākeho kei te takiwā o Waitomo. I a ia e whakamatemate ana ka haere a Maniapoto ki Pukeroa, takiwā ki Hangatiki. I reira ka karangahia e ia te iwi kia hui. Ka whakapuakina e ia tana ōhākī, ka whakahauhia e ia ngā toa kia haka. Kātahi ka haka ana teina me ā rātou tamariki i raro i ngā tātakitanga a Te Kawairirangi. I te otinga ka tau ngā whakaaro o Maniapoto, ka tohungia pēneitia e ia tōna iwi:
Kia mau tonu ki tēnā; kia mau ki te kawau mārō! Whanake ake! Whanake ake!
He kōrero tēnei e whakarite ana i te taua ki te kawau, ka rere tika tonu tana whanake, kore he huringa atu. Koianei ia te pepeha mō te iwi.
He rite a Ngāti Maniapoto ki ētehi atu iwi arā, ko ngā Pākehā tuatahi i tūtakina ko ngā tāngata patu tohorā, ngā tāngata tauhokohoko me ngā mihinare. He pānga nui tō ngā tāngata whai Pākehā ki te iwi, inarā i whakamoea rātou ki ngā wāhine rangatira o Maniapoto.
He tangata Wīwī a Louis Hetet, he tangata whai i whakamoea ki tētehi wahine rangatira nō Ngāti Maniapoto. Ko tana haerenga tuatahitanga mai ki Aotearoa nō te tau 1835, mā runga i tētahi kaipuke patu tohorā; i te tau 1842 ka hoki mai anō ia ka noho ki Paripari (e pātata ana ki Te Kuiti). Ka moe ia i a Te Rangituatahi, te tamāhine a Taonui Hīkaka. Tokowhā ā rāua tamariki; ko George Ngātai, ko John Taonui, ko Henry Mate-ngaro, ko Mere Te Wai. Ka tū ngā tama tokotoru hei kaipakihi rongonui i ngā tau tōmua o te Rohe Pōtae. He tāngata rongonui ō rātou uri whakaheke ki roto i a Ngāti Maniapoto. Ka moe a Mere Te Wai i a Te Toko Turner, he tama nā tētahi atu Pākehā–Māori, a William Turner, nā rāua ko te whānau Turner.
He maha ngā whānau o Ngāti Maniapoto kua hua i ngā tūmomo moenga nei – pērā i ngā whānau Searancke, Barrett, Ormsby, Bell, Anderson, Emery, Hughes me te maha noa atu. Mai i ērā wā, kua whai tūranga nui ō rātou uri ki ngā take o te iwi, o te rohe hoki.
Kia tae rawa ki te tekau tau atu i 1850, kei te whakahaerehia e Louis Hetet tētahi o ngā mira mahi puehu parāoa hei tautoko i ngā mahi ahuwhenua me ngā ahumahi e mahia ana e te iwi. Ko ngā mahi he whakatupu wīti, ōti, kānga, he whakamōmona poaka, he hāro muka; ka kawea ēnei hei hoko ki Tāmaki, ki ngā mākete kei tua atu hoki. He kaipuke anō ō Ngāti Maniapoto - ko Rere-wiki, ko Parininihi, ko Re-wini, ko Aotearoa.
Nā runga i ō rātou māharahara mō te nui haere o ngā tāngata whai Pākehā me tō rātou hīkaka ki ngā whenua o te Māori, ka manaakitia e Ngāti Maniapoto te whakatūnga o te kīngi Māori, hei ārai i te hoko whenua.
I te tau 1857 i tētehi hui i tū ki Haurua, i whakapuakina e Ngāti Maniapoto tā rātou tautoko i a Pōtatau Te Wherowhero hei kīngi Māori tuatahi; karangahia ai te hui nei ko ‘Te Puna Roimata’.
Ka ātete tonu a Ngāti Maniapoto ki te rironga o ngā whenua me te rironga o te mana ā-iwi. Whāia, ka tautokohia e rātou te hunga i pakanga ki ngā hōia a te Pākehā i ngā riri i Taranaki me Waikato i te tekau tau atu i 1860.
Ko Rewi Maniapoto te rangatira ārahi i te riri ki te Pākehā. Ka puta te rongo mōna i te pakanga ki Ōrākau i te tau 1864. Ahakoa te nui o ngā hoariri me te karanga a ngā hōia Pākehā kia mutu tō rātou riri, ka whakahokia pēneitia taua tono:
E hoa, ka whawhai tonu mātou! Ake! Ake! Ake!
Nā te kore kai, kore wai, kore kariri, ka whakarērea te pā e te taua o Rewi. Ka rere rātou, ka whakawhiti i te awa o Pūniu, kia hou ki te rohe o Ngāti Maniapoto, ki te taha o ngā iwi o Waikato e rere ana me Tāwhiao, te kīngi Māori tuarua.
I whakatakotoria tētehi paenga whenua hei aukati i te kuhutanga o te Pākehā ki te rohe. Ka tū te Rohe Pōtae hei whenua motuhake. Kia taka rā anō ki te tau 1883, i te otinga o ngā kōrerorero ki waenganui i te kāwanatanga rātou ko ngā rangatira o Maniapoto pērā i a Wahanui, Rewi me Te Taonui, ka huakina te Rohe Pōtae ki te Pākehā. Ka wātea te Rohe Pōtae ki ngā mahi rūri whenua mō ngā huarahi me te rerewē matua o te Ika-a-Māui.
E kī ana te kōrero nā te kīngi Māori tuarua nā Tāwhiao, tōna pōtae i whiu ki runga i tētahi mahere whenua o te Ika-a-Māui; ko te wāhi i kapia e te pōtae koirā te whenua ka taka ki raro ki tōna mana. Nā reira i tapaina ai te Rohe Pōtae.
Ko tētehi o ngā whakaritenga o tēnei ‘piringa tapu’, i whakatūria e ngā rangatira e Wahanui mā, kia kaua e whakaaetia te waipiro i te rohe, nō te mea i kite rātou i ngā pānga kino o te waipiro ki ētehi atu iwi. Nō te tau 1953 hikina ai te aukati nei.
I tua atu, i te māharahara ngā rangatira mō ngā mahi a Te Kōti Whenua Māori me āna āpiha hoko whenua i roto i te rohe. Ahakoa tā rātou ngana kia pupuritia ō rātou whenua, i riro te nuinga o ngā whenua nā te hīkaka me te kaha uru mai o ngā Pākehā.
Neke atu i te e 35,000 te rahi o te iwi o Ngāti Maniapoto i te tau 2013; e taea ai te kī ko ia tētahi o ngā iwi nui.
E 42 ngā marae o Ngāti Maniapoto. Ko Te Tokanga-nui-a-noho kei waenganui pū i te rohe, kei te tāone o Te Kūiti; ka noho ia hei poutokomanawa mō te iwi.
Ko te tikanga o te ingoa o te marae o Te Tokanga-nui-a-noho ko te ‘rourou nui a te tangata noho’, e whakanuia ana i te pepeha:
He aha koe i haere mai ai i te rourou iti a haere, tē noho atu ai i te tokanga nui a noho?
He kōrero rongonui tēnei nā Ngāti Maniapoto. Waihoki, ka whakatūpato a Parewhete i tana tāne a Wairangi, e mea ana a Ngāti Maru ki te patu i a rātou ko tana tira. Ka pātai a Parewhete ki a Wairangi, ‘He aha koe i haere mai ai ko tāu iti, tē noho atu ki tō iwi kaha.’
Kua marara ngā uri o Ngāti Maniapoto ki te motu, ki te ao hoki. He rite a Ngāti Maniapoto ki ētehi atu iwi arā, nā te hekenga nui ki ngā tāone nunui i muri mai i te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao, kua ruarua noa ōna uri ki ōna kāinga papatupu.
Nō ngā tau tata kua pahure, kua kaha a Ngāti Maniapoto ki te whakaara i āna mahi toi, i tōna reo hoki. Tokorua ngā tāngata nui o te iwi i tū hei pou tikanga i te rau tau atu i 1900.
Nā Tākuta Pei Te Hurinui Jones a Tā Āpirana Ngata i awhi ki te whakarauika i Ngā Mōteateangā pukapuka o ngā kohikohinga waiata tawhito. Ka noho ēnei pukapuka hei mātāpuna o te reo ōkawa o te Māori. Kua tāngia e Tākuta Pei Te Hurinui Jones ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā whakapapa o Maniapoto me Tainui.
I hau te rongo ki te ao mō ngā pūkenga o Tākuta Rangimārie Hetet ki ngā mahi raranga, whatu. Kua whakaheke te taonga nei ki ngā whakatupuranga me te iwi Māori puta noa.
Nō te tau 1988 i waihangahia ai te Poari Māori o Maniapoto ‘hei pupuru, hei tiaki i te tuakiri, te mana, ngā pānga hoki o Ngāti Maniapoto’. Tohutohungia ai te poari ki ngā tikanga, ngā kōrero tuku iho me te taha wairua e te kāhui kaumātua, e Te Mauri o Maniapoto.
Ia rua tau ka tū te Kawau Mārō o Maniapoto, he hui whakataetae hākinakina i waenganui i ngā marae. Ko te mea nui kē pea, he kaupapa tēnei e hokihoki ai ngā uri ki te wā kāinga, ki reira whakanui ai i tō rātou tū hei Maniapoto.
I ngā tatauranga o Aotearoa mai i te tau 1991 ka pātaihia ngā tāngata Māori nō tēhea iwi rātou.
Kei raro ko ngā nama e whakaatu ana tokohia ngā tāngata nō Ngāti Maniapoto (e whai pānga ana rānei ki ētahi atu iwi hoki). Kei raro anō whakaatuhia ai ngā iwi o ngā rohe nunui i te tatauranga o te tau 2013.
Ko 1901 te tau whakamutunga rawa i pātaihia ai te Māori nō tēhea iwi rātou. Heoi kāore i pātaihia kia whakatakotohia ngā iwi maha.
Craig, Dick. Land of the Maniapoto. Te Kuiti: King Country Chronicle, 1951.
Jones, Pei Te Hurinui, and Bruce Biggs. Ngā iwi o Tainui. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1995.
Jones, Pei Te Hurinui. King Potatau: an account of the life of Potatau Te Wherowhero. Wellington: Polynesian Society, 1959.
Kelly, Leslie G. Tainui: the story of Hoturoa and his descendants. Wellington: Polynesian Society, 1949.
Morgan, B. Historic Maori place names, from the Waipa River to Mokau. Auckland: B. Morgan, 1976.
Phillips, F. L. Landmarks of Tainui/Ngā tohu a Tainui: a geographical record of Tainui traditional history. 2 vols. Ōtorohanga: Tohu, 1989–95.