Ngāti Maniapoto
Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi of the Māori in the Waikato-Waitomo region on the North Island of New Zealand .
He is part of the Tainui tribal association , whose members trace their Whakapapa (genealogy) back to the people who reached New Zealand with the Tainui Waka ( Waka = canoe).
In the 2001 census, the tribe had 27,168 members, making it the eighth largest Iwi (tribe) in New Zealand.
Marae
There are numerous marae in the Maniapoto area , the most important of which is Te Tokanga Nui A Noho in Te Kuiti in the King Country . This marae was donated to the Ngāti Maniapoto by Te Kooti . He was a tribesman from Rongowhakaata who sought refuge here from the British colonial army during the New Zealand Wars .
Equally important but less known to the public is the Pā of Tiroa .
history
The Ngāti Maniapoto were involved in the New Zealand Wars (1845–72). The Waikato-Waitomo or Nehenehenui region they controlled often served as a retreat for allied iwi who were pushed back south by the British.
After the war, the chief of the tribe, Taonui Hikaka, and the war chiefs Rewi Manga Maniapoto and Wahanui negotiated with the British colonial government, which wanted to build a railway line through their tribal area. This was done because it had been heard that the Māori king Tawhiao and Te Kooti were also negotiating with the British government over rail access and the establishment of regional courts for the locals. This could have meant that the iwi Ngāti Maniapoto would in fact have become landless.
When Tawhiao heard of the Iwi's negotiations, he is said to have thrown his hat angrily on a topographical map of the Ngāti Maniapoto territory and claimed all the land under the hat as Te Rohe Potae ( the land of the king's hat ). This country is still known today as the King Country .
Known relatives
- Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - opera singer
- Temuera Morrison - television and film actor
- Dwayne Johnson "The Rock", American actor (including leading actor in The Scorpion King ); his father comes from this Iwi, Dwayn himself was born in Samoa .
- Dame Rangimarie Hetet - weaver and textile artist
- Pei Te Hurinui Jones - Maori scholar and writer
- Taonui Hikaka - Chief of the Ngāti Maniapoto in the second half of the 19th century
- Rewi Manga Maniapoto - war chief in the fight against the British
- Wahanui - war chief, famous for his negotiating skills
- Tiki Taane - guitarist and singer in the band Salmonella Dub
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2001 Census Snapshot 16 (Iwi) - Media Release - IWI . Statistics New Zealand , archived from the original on December 5, 2002 ; accessed on September 1, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).