I puta te tuakiri o Ngāti Ruanui i ngā ahi o te riri.
Ko te pepeha mō Ngāti Ruanui arā:
Ko Aotea te waka
Ko Turi te tangata ki runga
Ko Taranaki te maunga
Ko Waingongoro te awa
Ko Ngāti Ruanui te iwi.
He tini ngā moutere ririki i te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Ko tētahi o aua moutere paku ko Rangiātea, e 200 kiromita te tawhiti i Tahiti. E 30 whakatipuranga ki mua, e noho ana a Turi ki reira; koia te tipuna o Ngāti Ruanui.
He whakataukī mō te awa o Pātea, inā:
Pakupaku noa koe, e Pātea, me hoki a Rau i konei.
Nō tō rāua rongotanga mō te ātaahua o Tāneroroa te tamāhine a Turi, ka haere tētahi tokorua, a Uenuku-puanake rāua ko Rau ki te raki kia riro mai i tētahi o rāua a Tāneroroa hei wahine. Kia tae ki te awa o Pātea, ka tīmata a Uenuku ki te whakawhiti. Ka kite ia i te pāpaku o te awa. I konei ka tūturi tana haere, kia pōhēhē tōna hoa he hōhonu te wai. Ehara a Rau i te tangata kaha ki te kauhoe me te aha, ka hoki ia ki tōna kāinga. Ehara, mā te tangata kaha e riro ai te wahine purotu! Nā reira ka hua ko Uenuku–puanake, kāpā ko Rau.
Heoi, nō te tutūnga o te puehu ki waenganui i a Turi rāua ko Uenuku, he rangatira e noho pātata ana ki tōna kāinga, ka rere mōrehu a Turi i Rangiātea. He waimarie ia i te mea i tuaina e tōna hungarei e Toto tētahi rākau nui rawa atu, nānā ka whaongia ngā waka e rua, a Aotea rāua ko Mātā-hou-rua.
I te pō kerekere ka wehe mai a Turi me tōna iwi i Rangiātea mā runga i te waka Aotea-utanga-nui (Aotea taonga nui), i whakaingoatia pērātia nā te huhua o ngā momo tipu, kararehe hōu i mauria e ia. Nō muri mai i tētahi hekenga roa, mōrearea hoki, ka tau rātou ki Kāwhia i te whanga o Aotea. E ai ki te kōrero, ka wehe a Turi me tōna iwi ka hīkoi ki Pātea. Ka whakatūria e rātou te pā o Turi, a Rangitāwhi me tōna whare a Matangirei ki te taha tonga o te awa o Pātea.
I moe te tamāhine a Turi, a Tāneroroa i a Uenuku-puanake nō te waka Tākitimu. Ko Ngāti Ruanui ngā uri whakaheke o tā rāua tama a Ruanui. I tapaina a Ruanui ki te ingoa o tōna tipuna kei Rangiātea.
I roto i ngā whakatipuranga torutoru ka matika ngā uri o Ruanui hei iwi matua ki te tonga o Taranaki, i te takiwā kei waenganui i te awa o Whenuakura me te kōawa o Ōeo.
I tū te maha o ngā pakanga i Taranaki i ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1800, i te whakaekenga ake o ngā taua mau pū o te tai tokerau. He hua kino tō te pū: whakamahia ai ngā pū ki te hopu taurekareka hei mahi muka e pai ai te hoko i ētahi atu pū.
I whakaekea a Ngāti Ruanui e Ngāpuhi i ngā tau 1816–17. Ka tae rawa ki te tonga, ki te pā o Waimate kei te pūaha o te awa o Kapuni. Nō te tau 1818 ka whakaekengia anōtia a Ngāti Ruanui e te taua o Ngāti Toa, o Ngāti Whātua, o Ngāpuhi, i raro i ō rātou rangatira a Te Rauparaha, a Murupaenga, a Tūwhare. I te tau 1819 i arahina he taua e ngā rangatira nui o Ngāpuhi e Patuone mā, kia toro tika ki roto o Taranaki. Ka whakaekengia a Ōkahutītī, te pā o Ngāti Ruanui. Nā tō rātou ngoikore ki te ārai i ngā pū o te hoariri, ka marara a Ngāti Ruanui. Tini te tangata i mate, i heria rānei hei whakarau.
I te marama o Nōema o te tau 1820, i kōrero a Patuone ki te mihinare, kaiwhakawā a Samuel Marsden, e mea ana ia kua tū tōna maungārongo me Taranaki me Ngāti Ruanui. I rongo a Marsden i a Patuone e kī ana, ‘tekau ana tāngata i waiho e ia ki reira kia moe wāhine, ka mutu, i kawea ētahi o Taranaki i tōna taha, ko ētahi kei konei tonu’. 1 Koianei pea te take i te wā i tukuna ai ngā herehere i te rohe o Hokianga e Ngāpuhi i runga i te tono a ngā mihinare i ngā tau tōmuri o te tekau tau atu i 1830, he tokomaha kīhai i hoki ki te tonga. Ko te āhua nei, he maha rātou ehara i te herehere engari he hoa, he tamariki rānei o ngā moenga maungārongo kua whakaritea noatia e Patuone.
Hāunga anō, he nui ngā pakanga ā, kātahi anō ka mau te rongo ki a Ngāti Ruanui.
Nō te tau 1820 ko Te Rauparaha anō tērā i whakaeke mai. I te wā 1821–22 ka puta te taua nui i mōhiotia ai ko te Āmiowhenua; ko tōna rangatira ko Āpihai Te Kawau o Ngāti Whātua.
Nō te tau 1834 ka whakaeke te ope taua nui o Waikato. Nā Te Wherowhero rātou ko Te Waharoa, ko Te Kanawa ā rātou toa e 2,500 te rahi i ārahi ki mua i te pā o Te Ruaki kei te kōawa o Tangāhoe. Ko te kōrero, e whai ana rātou i a Te Rei Hanataua o Ngāti Ruanui.
I te tau 1829 i mauheretia tētahi wahine, a Kōtiro Hinerangi o Ngāti Ruanui e te taua muru o Ngāpuhi ka heria hei taurekareka mā Hone Heke. Nāwai, ka moe ia i tētahi Kōtimana, ko Alexander Grey. Ko tā rāua tamāhine a Te Paea i whānau i te tau 1832. I a ia ka pakeke ka hau te rongo mō tana tū hei kaiārahi matua ki Te Tarata me Ō-tū-kapua-rangi (Pink and White Terraces), ki Rotomahana i mua i te pahūtanga o Tarawera i te tau 1886. I ngā rā tata i mua i te pahūtanga ka kite a Te Paea i tētahi waka wairua e hoea ana i te roto, ka mōhio ia he aituā kei te haere. Nō muri o te pahūtanga ka hūnuku a Te Paea ki Rotorua, ki reira mahi ai hei kaiārahi tāpoi i Whakarewarewa. Nō te tau 1911 ka mate ia.
E toru marama e awhitia ana te pā, kātahi anō ka horo. I kōrero te minita a William Woon mō te pakanga i Te Ruaki, ‘kāore he kōrero atu i te pōuri nui, nā te nui o ō rātou pāpā, hoa i hinga ki reira’. 2 Ka haere tonu te ope taua, ka riro te pā o Ōhangai. Ka awhitia te pā o Waimate-ōrangi-tuapeka i te riri e mōhiotia ana ko Ngā Ngutu-maiore. E iwa rā i tū ai tēnei riri. Tini te hoariri i mate i te pū o Te Matakātea. Nāwai, ka tono a Te Wherowhero kia mutu te riri i runga i tana kōrero:
Kātahi anō taku patu ka hoki mai. Ka hoki ake nei au, e kore anō e ara mai te rau o taku patu. 3
Koinei te whakaekenga whakamutunga a iwi kē ki runga i a Ngāti Ruanui. Kua pāhuatia te whenua, kua mau herehere te tokomaha, kua rere rānei kei whenua kē.
Ahakoa ngā riri o mua, i tū pakari a Ngāti Ruanui i roto i ngā kaupapa whai hua. I kuhu mārika te iwi ki ngā tūmomo mahi ahuwhenua a te Pākehā. Kia taka ki te tau 1849 kua whai wāhi nui rātou ki ngā mira wīti e rua i tō rātou takiwā. Nō te korenga ake o te hokohoko i te kuhuna mai o te moni, ka tahuri a Ngāti Ruanui ki te mahi i Ngāmotu. Hīkaka tā rātou whai i te mātauranga a te Pākehā. I te tau 1846, hei tā Minita Woon e mārama pai ana te Māori ki ngā Karaipiture, ka mutu e matatau ana rātou ki te tuhi me te pānui. Inā te pai o ngā kura i whakahaerehia e te Māori. I hua tēnei nā te tū motuhake o te Māori me te kore whakapono ki ngā kura Pākehā. I a ia e kōrero ana mō tētahi kura Māori ki Kākaramea, ka tohu te minita hāhi a Richard Taylor ki te mea, haere ngātahi ai ngā take tōrangapū me te mātauranga.
Nō te marama o Pēpuere o te tau 1842 ka tau ki Ngāmotu te mihinare Wēteriana tuatahi, a John Skevington. Kāore i roa ka tae atu te tini o Ngāti Ruanui kia kite i a ia. Ka tuhi reta a Skevington mō te āhua o ‘tā rātou haere tika tonu mai ki a au ki te tono mōku me te kōrero anō, kua whakatapua ahau ki a rātou’. Nā te hīkaka o Ngāti Ruanui kia kawe i te mihinare atu i Ngāmotu ki Waimate, ka wahaina e te e 100 tāngata o te iwi āna tueke katoa – tae atu ki a Mrs Skevington. I hangaia e Skevington tōna whare mīhana ki Heretoa ki ngā tahataha o te kōawa o Inaha. He pāriha nui tōna i toro atu i Ōeo ki Waitōtara.
Ka ātete a Ngāti Ruanui i te hoko whenua ki ngā tāngata whai Pākehā, nā tō rātou mōhio koinei te tīmatanga o te huarahi e ngaro ai ō rātou whenua katoa. I te tau 1851 ka kōrero tētahi rangatira ki a Minita William Woon ‘ko tā rātou oati kia kaua e hoko, ka mutu he tapu te whenua mai i Tataramaika ki Kai-iwi!’ 1 I Ketemarae ka kite a Minita Taylor: ‘He tāngata whai rawa ngā tāngata whenua o konei…He tino ātaahua te whenua i hipa ai mātou … mārama tonu ana te Māori ki tēnei; ka mutu tūpato ana rātou ki te Pākehā, kei kuhu ki waenganui i a rātou’. 2
Waihoki, nō te pakarutanga mai o te pakanga whenua tuatahi i waenganui i a Te Āti Awa me te Karauna i te tau 1860, ka tono a Ngāti Ruanui i ana toa ki te raki kia whawhai i te taha o Te Āti Awa hei aha, hei whakatūpato i ō rātou huānga kia kaua e hokona te whenua.
He nui te utu a Ngāti Ruanui mō tana noho pūmau ki a Te Āti Awa. I ngā tau o 1865, o 1866 ka whakaekengia te tonga o Taranaki e ngā ope taua Pākehā, ka pāhuatia ngā pā me ngā papakāinga.
Heoi i te tau 1868, ka hinga ngā hōia a te Pākehā. I whakaekea e Tītokowaru (nō Ngāti Manuhiakai, he hapū nō Ngā Ruahine, he wāhanga o Ngāti Ruanui) me ana toa te taupuni tawhiti ki Turuturumōkai, e pātata ana ki Hāwera. Tekau ngā hōia Pākehā i mate. I te rongotanga ake mō tēnei patunga, ka whakarōpū ētahi tāngata whai i a rātou, ka kuhu ki te ngahere kia kōkiri i te pā o Tītokowaru arā, Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu, kei te takiwā o Kaponga. Tō rātou heahea. I mate ngā hōia Pākehā e 24 te tokomaha, tae atu ki a Meiha Julius Von Tempsky. Maurirere, mataku ana ngā hapori Pākehā i ngā rā o muri tata mai, ko ētahi i rere mōrehu ki te tonga.
Ka neke whakatetonga a Tītokowaru ki Moturoa, kei uta ake o te wāhi kei reira te tāone o Waverley i ēnei rā, ka whakatū pā ia. Ka noho, ka tatari ia mō te whakaekenga o te ope taua o Kānara George Whitmore. Kātahi anō a Whitmore ka hoki atu ki Taranaki whai muri i ngā pakanga ki a Te Kooti ki Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa. Nō te pūaotanga ka arahina e Whitmore ana hōia ki mua i te pā. I a rātou ka whakatata ki ngā tūwatawata, ka tukuna te waipū, ka hinga ngā hōia e 20; ka whakawāteatia e Whitmore te pae o te riri.
Ka nuku whakatetonga anō a Tītokowaru ki te pā nui o Taurangaika, e pātata ana ki Maxwell. Engari i te pō i mua o te whakaekenga o Whitmore me ana hōia, ka wehe, ka marara te kotahitanga o ngā iwi o Taranaki i te pā, ka haere whakauta rawa, ki te rohe o Ngāti Maru kei te puku o Taranaki. Whāia, ka riro i te kāwanatanga te mana o te rohe. Nō ngā tau tata ki muri mai, ka riro te nuinga o ngā whenua o Ngāti Ruanui. Nō te tau 1888 ka mate a Tītokowaru, ka tanumia ki tētahi wāhi muna. Neke atu i te e 2,000 te tini i tae ki tōna tangihanga.
I te tau 2006 neke atu i te 7,000 ngā uri o Ngāti Ruanui, ko te nuinga e noho ana ki waho atu o Taranaki. Nō te tau 1996 ka puta te pūrongo a Te Rōpu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi mō Taranaki. I whakaaturia e te pūrongo te hē o ngā whakaritenga a te Karauna i te rau tau 1800 ki runga i ngā iwi o Taranaki. I runga i ēnei kitenga i whakatūria e Ngāti Ruanui tana Ohu Muru me te Raupatu, ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero mō tētahi whakataunga me te kāwanatanga.
I te tau 2001, i te pā o Pariroa ka hainatia tētahi whakataunga. Nō te tau 2003 ka mana te Ture Whakatau a Ngāti Ruanui. Whāia, i te pā o Pariroa anō, ka pānuitia e te Karauna tana whakapāha ki ngā uri e 600 o Ngāti Ruanui.
I tēnei wā ko Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui te kanohi o te iwi. E whakaae ana te Karauna koia hei māngai mō Ngāti Ruanui, kei a ia ngā kawenga ki te whakahaere i ngā rawa o te iwi hei painga mō ngā uri katoa.
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 Ngāti Ruanui, including those who indicated more than one tribe.
The only previous census asking Māori to indicate tribal affiliation – but not of multiple tribes – was that of 1901.
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Cowan, James. The adventures of Kimble Bent. London: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1911.
Cowan, James. The New Zealand wars. 2 vols. Wellington: Government Printer, 1983 (originally published 1922–23).
Hammond, T. G. The story of Aotea. Christchurch: Lyttelton Times, 1924.
Houston, John. Maori Life in old Taranaki. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1965.
Smith, S. Percy. History and traditions of the Maoris of the west coast, North Island of New Zealand, prior to 1840. New Plymouth: Polynesian Society, 1910.
Sole, Tony. Ngāti Ruanui: a history. Wellington: Huia, 2005.