Ko Te Kīngitanga tētehi o ngā kaupapa Māori tūroa mai i te wā o te taipūwhenua Pākehā, ko ia hoki tētehi o ngā kaupapa tōrangapū o Aotearoa. Mai o te tau 1858, kei te haere tonu i roto i ngā tau o te 2000. Ko te kīngi i tēnei tau 2012, ko Kīngi Tūheitia, te tuawhitu o ngā arikinui mai i te tīmatatanga o Te Kīngitanga.
I ngā wā o mua o te taenga mai o te Pākehā kāore he ‘Kingi’ o ngā iwi Māori katoa. Kei tēnā iwi tōna mana, kei tēnā tōna rangatira.Engari kei tēnā hapū tōna mana, kei tēnā hapū tōna rangatira. Heoi anō, i te tekau tau 1850 kua nui kē ake te tokomaha o ngā kainoho Pākehā, kua haukotia te Māori ki roto o ngā tōrangapū, kua kaha atu te hiahia a Te Karauna ki te hoko i te whenua Māori. Kua wehea te Māori, ko ētehi mō te hoko whenua, ko ētehi e kore rawa.
Ko tā ētehi Māori he rite te mana o tō rātou Kīngi kotahi ki tō Piritānia. He whakaaro nui nō roto o ngā tāngata i toro ki Ingarangi, i kite hoki i ngā kaupapa Piritānia, i ōna ahumahi, i ōna ope pirihimana, ope hōia e haere ana. Ko Piri Kawau (Te Āti Awa) tērā, i tūtaki i a Kuīni Wikitōria i te tau 1843, ko Tāmihana Te Rauparaha (Ngāti Toa) tērā, i tūtaki i a ia i te tau 1852. Ko tā rātou whakapono mā te kotahitanga o ngā iwi i raro i te kīngi kotahi, he ōrite te mana ki tō te Kuīni o Ingarangi, ka mutu ai te pakanga a tētehi iwi i tētehi, te pupuru a te iwi Māori i te whenua Māori, ā, ko te kāwanatanga o te Māori ka noho tonu ki te mana Māori motuhake.
Heoi tā Kawau rāua ko Tāmihana tahi, koia hei kīngi. Ēngari ko tā Kawau ki a Kuīni Wikitōria ko Pōtatau Te Wherowhero o Waikato te rangatira whaimana nui o Aotearoa. Ko tā Te Rauparaha, te rangatira rongonui, ki tāna tama ki a Tāmihana, kei wareware nā Waikato tōna iwi i pana i Kāwhia.
He rongonui te whakakāhoretanga a Te Kani-a-Takirau, nō te Tai Rāwhiti i te kīngitanga, me te kī:
Ko taku maunga ko Hikurangi,
He maunga tū tonu
Ehara i te maunga haere.
Ko tōku Kīngitanga
Nō tua whakarere,
Nō aku tīpuna o te Pō!
My mountain is Hikurangi,
It is an enduring mountain,
It is not a mountain that travels.
My kingship is from time immemorial,
Handed down from my ancestors.1
Mai i te tau 1853 ka haerea Te Motu e Mātene Te Whiwhi o Ngāti Raukawa rāua ko Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, ki te whakapāoho i te whakaaro ki te kīngi Māori mō te iwi Māori. Ka toroa e Te Whiwhi ngā ariki, e haere ana tuatahi ki Tōpia Tūroa, te ariki o Whanganui. Ko tā Tūroa, ‘Kāore au e whakaae. Ko taku maunga ko Matemate-a-onga. Ko tōku moana ko Whanganui, ko ngā kai o roto he toitoi he īnanga.’2
Ko tā Tūroa me inoi ki a Iwikau Te Heuheu, te ariki o Ngāti Tūwharetoa o Taupō Moana hei kīngi. Ko tā Te Heuheu, ‘Ko Tongariro te maunga, ko Taupo te moana, ko Te Heuheu te tangata. Kei waenganui ia o Te Motu, ka rere mai ngā roma i ngā tahataha katoa. Titiro, ko ngā ika o aua wai he kōkopu, he kōura, he kōaro.3 Ko tā Te Heuheu, kia tū ko Te Amohau o Te Arawa hei kīngi, ā, me taua kore e whakaae anō, pēnei: ‘Ko tōku maunga ko Ngongotahā, ko Rotorua te moana, ko ngā ika o roto he kōura, he kākahi, he īnanga.’4 Ko tā Te Amohau ko Te Hāpuku o Ngāti Kahungunu hei kīngi, nāna ko Te Kani-a-Takirau o Ngāti Porou. na, ko tāna, ‘Tūturu nō ngā tātai ariki o ō tūpuna, ēngari kei tētehi taha ahau o Te Ika nei. Waihoki, ehara taku maunga a Hikurangi i te maunga neke atu tōna wāhi.'5
He rangatira tūturu ēnei rangatira, he mārama pai he rangatira nō ō rātou iwi ake, engari mō waho atu me te hiki hoki i te kaupapa o te kīngi, nā reira te kupu mō ētehi atu. Ko Karauria o Ngāti Kahungunu, ko Tūpaea o Ngāi Te Rangi, ko Pāora Kīngi o Mataatua i toroa, kātahi te kaupapa ka whakahokia ki a Te Heuheu.
I te tau 1856 nā Iwikau Te Heuheu nō Tūwharetoa tētehi hui nui whakaharahara i karanga, ka kīia ai ko ‘Hīnana ki uta, Hīnana ki tai (he rapu mā te whenua, he rapu mā te moana) i Pūkawa, i te tahatika o Taupō Moana. I reira katoa ngā iwi nui. Ko tā Te Heuheu i reira, ko te ariki rongonui o Waikato, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, hei kīngi.
Nō te tau 1841 ko tā Kāwana Wīremu Hopihana rīpoata ki Rānana ko Pōtatau te rangatira mana nui o Aotearoa. Nā Mātene Te Whiwhi o Ngāti Raukawa te whiu o te pātai ki ngā tohunga mōhio ki te whakapapa ki a Te Hūkiki Te Ahukaramū rāua ko Te Whīoi o Ngāti Raukawa. Ko tā rāua ko Pōtatau te tangata. Kei tōna whakapapa he herenga, he hononga ki ngā iwi nui. Ko tōna Kīngitanga ka tautokona nuitia e ngā whenua mōmona me te nui o ngā rahinga o Waikato whairawa. He mea nui taua whairawa a Pōtatau, kia taea ai e tōna iwi te manaaki i te tini o āna manuwhiri.
Pērā me te nuinga, mau tonu a Pōtatau ki te kore e whakaae ko ia hei kīngi. He nui, he maha ngā hui i tū hei whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro i te kaupapa, tae noa ki te tau 1857 ki tētehi hui ka kīia ai ko Te Puna o te Roimata, i Haurua, i waenga i a Ngāti Maniapoto. I reira nā tētehi o ngā rangatira o Ngāti Maniapoto nā Tanirau te tautoko a tōna iwi i a Pōtatau hei kīngi. Ko tā Pōtatau, ‘E Tā, kua tō te rā!’, arā, kua koroheketia, kua kore e roa ka mate. Ko tā Tanirau, ‘E tō ana i te ahiahi, e ara ana i te ata, e tū koe hei Kīngi’ (Ka tō te rā i te ahiahi, ka ara anō ia i te ata: ka whakaarahia koe hei Kīngi). Nāna te whakaaro, ka mate ana a Pōtatau, mā tana tama mā Tāwhiao te kaupapa o te kīngi hei kawe, heke iho, heke iho i tōna whare. Ko tā Pōtatau, ‘E pai ana’.1 Nā reira ia i whakaae ko ia hei kīngi, ka riro mā Waikato te mahi hei kaitiaki o te Kīngitanga.
Nō te tau 1858 ka whakawahia a Pōtatau hei kīngi i Ngāruawāhia. Ko tā Iwikau Te Heuheu: ‘Pōtatau, i tēnei rā, nāku koe i tohu hei Kīngi o te iwi Maori. Ko kōrua ko Kuīni Wikitōria ka paiheretia kia kotahi. Ko te whakapono ki a Te Karaiti hei korowai manaaki i a koe; ko te ture hei whāriki mō ō waewae, ake, ake tonu atu.’2
I tētehi atu hui i Rangiaowhia i te tau 1858, nā Te Tāpihana o Ngāti Hikairo te pātai ki te iwi ki te taitara tika mō Pōtatau. Mai i te iwi i reira ka puta ko ngā ingoa Māori tūturu, arā, he ariki tauaroa, he toihau, he kahutātara, ka mutu nā Te Moananui o Heretaunga te karanga ‘he kīngi’. Ka whakaaea katoatia e te iwi.
Nō muri mai ka whakawahia a Pōtatau hei kīngi i Ngāruawāhia, nā Wiremu Tāmihana Tarapīpīpī Te Waharoa (arā, ko te ‘kingmaker’) te kawa o te whakawahinga ki te hinu i kawe, nāna hoki te Paipera i whakarewa ki runga o te pane o Pōtatau.
I tōna wā poto hei kīngi, ka noho a Pōtatau ki Ngāruawāhia, ki reira whakatū ai i tōna kaunihera nui, Te Rūnanga o Ngāruawāhia, hei ārahi i tōna kīngitanga. Ka mate ia tata ki te 25 o Hune ki tōna kāinga i Ngāruawāhia.
Nō te matenga o Kīngi Pōtatau ka whakawahia tāna tama a Tāwhiaohei kīngi i te 5 o Hūrae i te tau 1860 i Ngāruawāhia, e Wiremu Tāmihana Tarapīpīpī Te Waharoa Tarapīpīpī Te Waharoa, ki taua Paipera anō i te whakawahinga o Pōtatau hei kīngi.
I ngā tau tōmua o te kīngitanga o Tāwhiao ko te take nui rawa atu ko te pakanga. Ko tā Kāwana Tāmati Kō Paraone he akiaki i a Tāwhiao kia kūpapa ki raro i a Kuīni Wikitōria.1
Nō muri i a Kō Paraone, ko Tā Hōri Kerei. Kāore hoki ia i whakaae kia takirua ngā kīngi o Aotearoa. I tētehi haerenga ki Ngāruawāhia he rongonui te kupu a Kerei ‘Kāore au e whawhai i a ia ki te hoari, ēngari ka keri au ki ōna taha kia hinga ai a ia i a ia anō.’2 Kīhai a Kerei i moumou taima ki tēnei kaupapa here. Ka tere whakahau i tana ope hōia kia whakawhitia te Awa o Mangatāwhiri (nā Tāwhiao te awa nei i tohu hei aukati, hei rohenga) ā, ka whakaarikingia a Waikato i te Hūrae o 1863.
Ka whai mai te pakanga i Waikato, he nui ngā parekura, ka mutu ka horo a Waikato. Ka panaia a Tāwhiao me ōna kaiwhai, arā, ngā ‘Kingites’ ki tua o te Awa o Pūniu ki roto o Te Nehenehenui, me ō rātou huānga tata me Ngāti Maniapoto.
Ka kīia a Tāwhiao me ōna kaiwhai he whakakeke, ā, ka murua tata ki te 1.2 million eka (ka 500,000 heketea pea) o ō rātou whenua makuru rawa atu. Ka noho te whakahokinga mai o aua whenua nei hei take nui whakaharahara ki a Tāwhiao me ngā rangatira o Waikato mai i taua wā. Ko tā rātou kupu korero nui: ‘I riro whenua atu, me hoki whenua mai’.3
Ka takoto i a Tāwhiao me ngā rangatira o Ngāti Maniapoto te aukati (rohenga) mā te rohenga raupatu ki te Awa o Pūniu, kāore te Pākehā i whakaaetia kia whiti mai. Nō muri mai ka kīia te takiwā nei ko Te Rohe Pōtae.
Mai i Te Nehenehenui, ko te whakapuakinga a Tāwhiao me mutu te pakanga. Heoi anō rā, he whakapuakinga anō nāna kia kaua te rūri whenua, te hoko whenua, te kōti whenua, te maina koura, te pou waea, te kura, me te ture Pākehā. Nā te kore e whakapono ki te Pākehā, ko tā Tāwhiao me noho wehe te Māori me te Pākehā. Heoti rā, i te tau 1881, nō muri o ngā tau whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro me te kāwanatanga, ka whakatakotoria e Tāwhiao me ōna kaiwhai ā rātou pū ki mua o te kaiwhakawā o te rohe ki Arekahānara (Pirongia), ā, ka hoki ki Waikato.
Ka mau tonu a Tāwhiao ki tāna, kia whakahokia mai ngā whenua raupatu o Waikato. Nō te tau 1884 ka haere ia ki Ingarangi me ētehi atu ōna ki te kimi mai a Kuīni Wikitōria te puretumu. Ka ohorere a Rānana i te kitenga i te moko o te kanohi o Tāwhiao. Ēngari kīhai i tukua tōna tira kia tūtaki i te kuīni. Ko tā te hekeretari o te Tari Koroniara ki a ia he take nō tōna whenua te take raupatu, mā te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa hei whai.
Nō tōna hokinga mai, ka whakatūria e Tāwhiao te poukai – he haerenga ā-tau ki ētehi marae, i te tīmatatanga o Waikato – mō te poaru, te pani me te rawakore. Ko te poukai tuatahi i tū ki Whatiwhatihoe i te tau 1885, nāwai rā, haere tonu ana te kaupapa nei tae noa mai ki tēnei rautau 2000. Kei ngā marae tata ki te 30 tēnei tikanga o te poukai, he mea haere e te arikinui. Kei ngā poukai te whakahiki me te whakaheke i ngā kara, he karakia Pai Mārire, te pōwhiri me ngā kawe mate, he hākari, me te matapaki i ngā kaupapa ā-tōrangapū, ā-pāpori, ā-wairua hoki i mua i te aroaro o te kīngi. Ka whai wāhi atu te kīngi, te kuini rānei ki whakarongo ki ngā take ā-rohe me tuku i te wāhi ki te marae kia whakaatu i te tautoko mō te Kīngitanga.
Ka whakapau a Tāwhiao i ōna kaha ki te whai i te mana Māori motuhake . Nāna tāna Pāremata, Te Kauhanganui i whakatū i te tau 1892. He kaunihera tōna, ka 12 ngā māngai o ngā iwi (ko te Tekau-mā-rua), me ngā ‘minita’. Ko Tupu Taingākawa, te tamaiti tuarua a Wiremu Tāmihana (nāna te tūranga o tōna pāpā i taua wā), te Tumuaki (arā, te Pirīmia). Ka whakawhiwhia a Tāwhiao ki te penihana o te kāwanatanga. Ka raruraru te iwi, te āhua nei he tuku tēnei i tōna mana motuhake, ka whakahokia te penihana, me te itarete hoki.
Ka tata ana a Pōtatau ki te mate ko tāna kupu ōhākī ki a Tāwhiao mā. ‘I muri, kia mau ki te whakapono, kia mau ki te aroha, ki te ture. Hei aha te aha, hei aha te aha.’4
He rongonui a Tāwhiao me āna tongi maha. Hei tauira, he poropiti nā Tāwhiao e pā ana ki ngā rākau whakaiti, kāore i te rongonui, mō te tārewa tonu o te take raupatu i ngā whenua o Waikato, me te nui o te pōhara:
Māku anō e hanga tōku whare
Ko tōna tāhuhu, he hīnau.
Ōna pou he māhoe, he patatē.5
Nā ngā tongi a Tāwhiao Te Kīngitanga i ārahi mai i taua wā.
Ka mate a Kīngi Tāwhiao i te 26 o Ākuhata i te tau 1894 i Pārāwera. Ka tanumia ki runga o Taupiri Maunga, te urupā tapu o Waikato, i tanumia ai a Kīngi Pōtatau i te tau 1903. Ka 3,000 pea te tokomaha o te Māori mai i ngā tōpito e whā o Te Motu i tae ake ki te tangihanga o Tāwhiao.
I ngā rā o mua tata i tōna rironga i a Aituā, nā Tāwhiao ka mārama mai ai ko wai mō muri i a ia hei Kīngi:
Papa te whaitiri, ka puta Uenuku, ka puta Matariki. Ko Mahuta te kingi!
The thunder crashes, Uenuku appears, Matariki appears. Mahuta is the king!1
Ka whakawahia te tama a Tāwhiao, a Mahuta, hei Kīngi Māori tuatoru e Tupu Taingākawa Te Waharoa, te kaiwhakawahi Kīngi o taua wā.
Ko Mahuta te pane o Te Kauhanganui, me ōna hui. I te rautau 1890 ka whakatata a ia ki Te Kotahitanga (te Pāremata Māori), ahakoa rā, tē taea te whakakotahi. I tētehi hui me Te Kotahitanga i te tau 1895 ka tonoa Te Kīngitanga kia waitohutia te kawenata o Te Kotahitanga. Engari, te kawenata o Te Kīngitanga, nō muri mai i kīia ai ko te kawenata a Mahuta, i waitohutia e te 5,000 tāngata.
I te tau 1898 nā te Mema mō Te Taihauāuru, nā Hēnare Kaihau te Pire Whakakaupapa i Te Kaunihera Māori i kawe ki te Pāremata, i raro i te maru o Mahuta; he huarahi ki te mana Māori motuhake. Ka rukea te pire i mua i te pānuitanga tuarua.
He kaha tonu a Mahuta ki te whakatata i te Māori me te Pākehā. I te tau 1903, ka kitea e ia tētehi huarahi ki te whakahau i te kāwanatanga mā te whakaae i te tono a Pirīmia Richard Seddon kia whai wāhi ia ki te Kaunihera Ture me te manatū. Ko tā Seddon mā reira Te Kīngitanga e tautoko i a ia, ā, ka wātea te hoko i te whenua Māori. Ēngari nō te tau 1906, i tētehi o āna whaikōrero ruarua noa ki roto o Pāremata, i kī a Mahuta kia kaua e noho noa iho ki te whakawātea i te whenua Maori hei nōhanga mā te Pākehā. Me whakawātea e te Pāremata he huarahi e taea ai e te Māori te mahi i āna whenua.’2
I a ia i roto o Te Pāremata ka tukua taupuatia e Mahuta tōna pōtae ki tana teina ki a Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao. Ka mutu i te tau 1910 ka hoki ia ka mau anō ki te pōtae me te tūranga hei Kīngi.
Nā te kaitōrangapu nā Apirana Ngata ēnei whakaaro mō Mahuta i te tau 1900:
Ko te Kīngi o Waikato (a Mahuta) he tangata tūturu ki taua taitara, ā, he tika, māna ngā tūmanako o ngā iwi o Te Kīngitanga e whakaea. He mana tūturu nōna, heoi anō he kaha tonu kit e whaiwhakaaro. Ki a au he kakama, he aro nui ki te kupu tohutohu, he āta korero he whakahangahanga; tērā pea kua āhua haukotia ki tem au ki ngā tikanga o tōna wāhi o Waikato. Ki a au, he kaha ki te whakaara take hei whakaahu whakamua ngā hiahia o tōna iwi, he ngana ki te whakamahi i ngā tūāhuatanga tika o te ao Pākehā hei tautoko i taua whakaahu whakamua mo te iwi.3
Ka mate a Kīngi Mahuta i te 9 o Nōema i te tau 1912. Ka hui katoa mai ngā rangatira o Te Motu ki te uhunga, ka kōrerotia ko wai mō muri i a Mahuta. Nā ngā rangatira i tohu ko tāna tama ko Te Rata. Ka whakawahia ia i mua tata tonu o te nehunga o Mahuta ki runga o Taupiri.
Ka nui te tūmanako o te whakaaro mō te Kīngi hōu, mō Te Rata, engari i te kaha rawa te pā mai o te māuiui– te rūmātiki ātaraiti me te mate manawa. Ko tā Te Rata mahi nui he tirotiro i ngā tikanga o te iwi me te whakapapa. I roto i tōna wā hei Kīngi, nā tana karanga tuahine, nā Te Puea Hērangi te whakaawe kaha me te nui o ngā ārahitanga o Te Kīngitanga.
I tā rātou whīkoi ki Rānana i te tau 1914, ka kitea e Kīngi Te Rata me tōna tira ngā wāhi nui o reira, arā, ko te rerewē o raro o te whenua, ko Piccadilly Circus, ko te Whakataetae Tēnehi o te Ao (Wimbledon), tae atu ana ki te mauheretanga i waho o Buckingham Palace i a Emily Pankhurst, te rangatira o te rōpū toko i te pōtitanga mō te hunga wāhine o Piritānia. Ko Te Rata me tana tira i Westminster, he kaiwhakaatu ki te pānuitanga tuatoru o te Home Rule Bill mō te Raki o Airangi – ā, tērā pea he huarahi o reira mō Te Kīngitanga me te mana Māori motuhake.
Nō roto i ngā tau nā te hoa tata o Te Rata nā Tupu Taingākawa Te Waharoa te akiaki kia haere te Kīngi Māori ki Ingarangi ki te tuku petihana ki te Karauna o Piritānia. Hei ahakoa te whakahē a te nui o te iwi Māori, tae atu ana ki te kiatōrangapū a Apirana Ngata, i te tau 1914 ko Te Rata rāua ko Taingākawa, me Mita Karaka rāua ko Hōri Tiro Pāora i haere ki Rānana, he pērā anō i tā Kīngi Tāwhiao e 30 tau pea i mua. Nō tana taenga ki reira i pēnei te tuhi a Te Rata ki ngā pepamana mo te hunga manuwhiri e toro ana ki reira ko tāna mahi ‘te Kīngi Māori’. Ko tā Taingākawa tuhinga whakanehe: he ‘settler’.
I Rānana ka whakanuia a Te Rata e ngā arikitanga o Ingarangi, me ngā rangatira, ahakoa ōna pānga e te māuiui, tae atu ana ki ngā iwi i noho ki Aotearoa i mua. Nāwai rā ka whakaaetia te tūtakitanga ki a Kīngi Hōri V me tana Kuīni Mere, ēngari ko te tohutohu i a Te Rata, e kīia ana e tana hekeretari ko H. H. Te Rata, kia kaua ia e korero mō te raupatu. Pērā me Tāwhiao i mua i a ia, ko te kupu ki a Te Rata mā te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa aua take nei hei whai.
I Rānana ka kitea e Te Rata te pahūtanga o te Pakanganui Tuatahi o Te Ao. Ki ngā tuhinga a tana hēkeretari; ‘Kei te kino rawa atu inaianei te porangirangi o nga pakeha’.1 Te taenga ki te kāinga kāore i kaha te tautoko a Te Rata mā i ngā mahi mō te pakanganui nei. Ka whakahē a Waikato ki te māperetanga o te tau 1917, ka mutu ka mauheretia ētehi o ngā huānga o Te Rata. E ai ki ngā māngai o Waikato, i te tau 1881 i puta te kī a Tāwhiao, me mutu mō ake tonu atu te mau a Waikato ki te pū, arā: ‘Ko te pakanga i runga i tēnei motu, kua rite ki te koka harakeke. Ko te tangata whakaara pakanga ā muri ake nei, koia tonu hei utu’.2 Kāore te nuinga o Waikato i hiahia ki te pakanga mō te whenua a te Pākehā, kīhai rawa ō rātou whenua ake i whakahokia mai.
Ka mate a Te Rata, me ngā pānga nui tonu o te rūmātiki i roto i ngā tau e ono o mua atu, i Wāhi Pā, Rāhuipōkeka i te 1 o Oketopa i te tau 1933. Ka kotahi wiki te roa o tana uhunga, nā Te Puea ngā whakaritenga mōna. Ka kōrerotia anō e ngā rangatira o Te Motu ko wai hei kīngi, ko tā rātou kōwhiringa anō, he uri nō te kāhui ariki, nō te whare o Pōtatau.
He kaha a Te Puea ki te whakahē i te whai wāhi o Waikato ki ngā tautokotanga i ngā mahi mō te pakanganui. Ko Te Puea Hērangi te karanga tuahine o Te Rata. Ko ia hoki te tino kaiārahi o Te Kīngitanga o taua wā. Ka kore haere te nui o Taingākawa, ka tupu haere tō Te Puea hei māngai mō Te Rata. Ka whakapau ia i tōna kaha ki te whakaora i te mana o te Kīngitanga ki Ngāruawāhia hei pokapū mōna, nā te tongi a Tāwhiao:
Ko Arekahānara tōku haona kaha
Ko Kemureti tōku oko horoi
Ko Ngāruawāhia tōku tūrangawaewae.
Alexandra [present-day Pirongia] will ever be a symbol of my strength of character
Cambridge a symbol of my wash bowl of sorrow
And Ngāruawāhia my footstool.3
Ka korero kinotia a Te Puea mō tāna whakahē i te Pakanganui Tuatahi. Ka whiua te whakapapa Tiamana o tana tupuna o William Searancke (ka whā whakatipuranga te noho a tana whanau ki Ingarangi i mua i te haerenga mai ki Aotearoa), ka kīia ai a ia ko ‘the German woman’. Ko te koi o tāna whakautu, ‘Kāore he whakapapa Tiamana o te Kīngi o Ingarangi?’4
He pukenga ōna ki te mahi haka, nā Te Puea te kapa o Te Pou o Mangatāwhiri i whakatū. Ka toro haeretia Te Motu e te kapa nei ki te whakatū kōnohete hei mahi moni mō Tūrangawaewae Marae, ā, nō te tau 1929 ka whakatuwheratia tōna whare nui, a Māhinaarangi. Tae noa mai ki te rautau 21 ko Tūrangawaewae Marae tonu te pokapū o Te Kīngitanga.
Ao noa, pō noa, ko Te Puea tērā mō Te Kīngitanga. Hihiko ai te ngākau ki te whakatika tūāpapa ōhanga mōna, he tino kaingākaunui ia ki ngā kaupapahere a Āpiranga Ngata ki te whakawhanake i te whenua Māori, mā te pūtea taurewa a te kāwanatanga. I mua he iwi whakaioio, he iwi pukutohe ngā kaiwhai o Te Kīngitanga; ināianei he whakatauira mō tēnei kaupapa kāwanatanga. Ko Te Puea anō tētehi o ngā tino kaiārahi o te wāhi whakataunga i ngā whakapae raupatu o Waikato i te tau 1946. I tīmata i reira te whakatūnga o Te Poari Māori o Tainui.
Ka tahuri te pōtae o Te Kīngitanga ki te tamaiti kaumātua o Te Rata ki a Korokī. He mea uaua ki a ia te whakaae. Ka kīia ko Korokī Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, te Kīngi Māori tuarima. Ka whakawahia i te 8 o Oketopa i te tau 1933. Ka noho tonu te whakaawe o Te Puea Hērangi, nāna rā te taumau i a Korokī ki a Te Ātairangikaahu, te tamāhine a tōna tungāne a Wanakore Hērangi.
I runga i ngā pakihiwi taiohi nei o Kīngi Korokī te nui o ngā hui ōkawa, ko te tirotirohanga a te iwi whānui ki runga i a ia. Ko tāna hui nui tuatahi i Waitangi i te tau 1934 hei whakanui i te koha a Te Kāwana-tiānara a Lord Bledisloe o ngā whenua e mōhiotia ana ki tēnei rā ko te ‘Waitangi Treaty grounds’. Nā Korokī te tini, te mano o te manuhiri i ārahi ki runga o aua papa.
Ko tāna whaikōrero tuatahi ki te iwi whānui i whakapāohotia i te 18 o Maehe i te tau 1938, i te whakatuwheratanga o te whare o Tūrongo i Tūrangawaewae Marae, i Ngāruawāhia. I reira ka manaakitia e ia ngā apiha o te Hoahoatanga i roto i te Pakanganui Tuarua, me ētehi atu manuhiri tūārangi, tae atu ana ki a Kuīni Irihāpeti taiohi i te tau 1953. E kīia ana, ko ia i reira ki te whakahau i te iwi, pō noa, i roto i ā rātou whakatikatikatanga o te marae. He utu anō tā Kuīni Irihāpetia i aua manaakitanga, ko te Chrysler i tae mai ai ia ki te marae, nāna i tākoha mai ki te Whare Kāhui Ariki.
I a Korokī e toro haere ana ki ngā poukai, ki ngā tangihanga me ētehi atu hui a te iwi, ka kitea hoki ia e mahi tahi ana me tana iwi i roto i ngā māra, ā, ki āna pukenga mō te mahi motukā, he whakatikatika i aua waka pērā. He kaha hoki tāna tautoko i te ako a te hunga pakeke ki te pānui, a te hunga tamariki ki te whai i te mātauranga.
Ka koroheke haere a Korokī ka pāngia kinongia ia e te māuiui, ā, ka tukuna e ia ko tana wahine, ko tana kaitohutohu, kaiwhai i te mātauranga hoki a Pei Te Hurinui Jones, ko te tohunga whakairo o Tūrangawaewae, a Piri Poutapu, hei kaikōrero mōna. I raro i te maru o Te Puea, ko te tamāhine a Korokī ko Piki ka whai wāhi nui hoki hei kanohi mō Te Kīngitanga. Ka mate a Kīng Korokī i Ngāruawāhia i te 18 o Mei i te tau 1966.
He poropiti, he tongi anō nā Kīngi Tāwhiao , ‘Kei te haere mai te wā, ka puta mai i taku pito ake, he wahine, he urukehu, māna hei whakatutuki i tēnei oranga.’1
Nō mua tata noa o te nehunga o Korokī ka whakawahia a Piki taiohi nei hei Kuini Te Atairangikaahu. Ko ia rā te wahine tuatahi hei pane mō Te Kīngitanga, ko ia hoki te kuīni Māori tuatahi. Kua ea te poropiti a Tāwhiao. Ka mau i a ia te ingoa o tōna māmā, Te Ātairangikaahu, ā, ka tere kaingākaunui tana iwi ki a ia ki tana whai-whakaaronui, ki tana hūmārire. I roto i a Waikato ko tō rātou karangatanga ā-ngākau mōna ko ‘The Lady’, ā, ka mau i a ia te taitara Māori: Te Arikinui.
Ko taua āhua tonu o te haere a Te Ātairangikaahu ki ngā hui o te iwi whānui, nāna hoki ngā manuwhiri rangatira i manaaki. I te tau 1970 ka whakahōnoretia ia hei kahurangi, hei ‘Dame’, ka tohua hoki ia ki te Kairangi Hōnore o Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato i te tau 1973. Ko rāua ko Sir Edmund Hillary te tuatahi kia whakaingoatia ki te Order of New Zealand i te tau 1987, ā, nā Te Whare Wānanga o Wikitoria ia i tohu ki te kairangi hōnore o ngā ture i te tau 1999.
I raro i te ārahinga o Te Ātairangikaahu rāua ko tana tungāne atawhai a Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta, ka whakataua rawatia te take o te raupatu. I te tau 1995 ka waitohutia e Tainui–Waikato te whakataunga, ko tā te Karauna he tuku utu ki te iwi, ka $170 million, taea noatia te whakahokinga o ētehi whenua.
Nō te matenga o Te Atairangikaahu i te 15 o Ākuata i te tau 2006, kāore he kīngi o tua i a ia mō te roa o te noho ki te torōna, arā, ki te 40 ngā tau. Nō te taenga mai o te tini, o te mano ki tana tangihanga ka kitea te nui o tōna mana, te nui o te kaingākau o te iwi ki a ia, Māori mai, Pākehā mai, tae atu ana ki te tini o ngā rangatira, ngā ariki, ngā mana o rāwāhi.
I te tangihanga o Te Arikinui Dame Te Ātairangikaahu, ka toru ngā tukunga o te pātai nei e te kaumātua o Tainui e Tui Adams: ‘Ko Tūheitia hei Kingi?’ Ka toru ngā whakautu mai a ngā iwi i reira, ‘Ae!’.2 Kāti, ka whakawahia a Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII hei Kīngi Māori tuawhitu. Ko Tūheitia te tama mātāmua a Te Atairangikaahu me tana tāne, a Whatumoana Paki. Nā Anaru Tāmihana i whakawahi ki taua paipera tonu rā, nā tana tupuna nā Wiremu Tāmihana i uwhi ki runga ki te pane o Pōtatau i te tau 1859.
Kua kōrero tūmatanui a Tūheitia i ia tau mai i tana whakawahinga, engari kua whai wāhi atu hoki ki ngā hui hira me ngā mana ā-ao, i Aotearoa nei, i tāwāhi anō hoki. I te tau 2009, ka haere tahi rāua ko te Pirimia o mua, a Helen Clark ina pōwhiritia ana ia ki te Kotahitanga o Ngā Iwi o te Ao i Niu Ioka hei kaiwhakahaere o te Hōtaka Whakawhanaketanga o te Kotahitanga o Ngā Iwi o te Ao. I te tau 2019 he tūtakitanga tūmataiti tāna me Popa Francis ki te Vatican. Kua whai wāhi atu hoki ngā hui huhua puta noa i te motu. Kua aro atu ia ki ngā whakatairanga e whai ana ki te whakaiti i ngā pāpātanga whare herehere o ngāi Māori me te tautoko i te whakahokinga atu ki ngā hapori o ngā mauhere o mua. I te tau 2014, ka whakarauoratia e ia te kaunihera tohutohu, teTekau-mā-rua, kia haere tonu te kaupapa i whakatūria e Tāwhiao, engari ka whakauru mai i ngā kaumātua me ngā kaitohutohu i waho atu o Tainui mō te wā tuatahi.
I ngā tau tōmua o te manotau 2000 he whare tūroa Te Kīngitanga. Ko ngā tikanga mauroa pērā me te poukai (he toronga ā-tau e te arikinui ki ngā marae) me te koroneihana (ngā whakanuitanga i te koroneihana) ka haere tonu. Ko Te Kauhanganui (te pāremata o Te Kīngitanga) i haere tonu ki tōna āhua hōu.
I te tau 2018, i tū ngā whakanuitanga ki Tūrangawaewae hei tohu i te 160 tau o te Kīngitanga. Ka tae atu te tini me te mano, tae atu ki ngā rangatia o ngā iwi me ngā kaihautū tōrangapū puta noa i te motu. Neke atu i te 1,000 ngā tāngata i whai wāhi atu ki ngā mahi haka, ngā whakataetae hākinakina, ā, neke atu i te 100 ngā waka i tere i runga i te awa o Waikato mō ngā whakanuinga.
Gorst, John Eldon. The Māori king. Tāmakimakaurau: Reed, 2001.
Jones, Pei Te Hurinui. King Pōtatau: an account of the life of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king. Tāmakimakaurau: Polynesian Society; Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Huia, 2010.
King, Michael. Te Puea, a biography. Tāmakimakaurau: Hodder and Stoughton, 1977.
Kirkwood, Carmen. Tāwhiao: king or prophet. Rāhui Pōkeka: MAI Systems, 2000.
Te Kīngitanga: the people of the Māori King movement: essays from the dictionary of New Zealand biography. Tāmakimakaurau: Auckland University Press; Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, 1996.
Winiata, Maharaia. Centennial celebration, 2nd May, 1858–1958: founding of the Maori King Movement, Turangawaewae Marae, Ngaruawahia. Ngāruawāhia: King Korokī, 1958.