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Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 184,470. This compares to 125,601 in 2001, 102,981 in 2006, 122,214 in 2013. and 165,201 in 2018. It is formed from 150 hapū or subtribes, with 55 marae.
Despite such diversity, the people of Ngāpuhi maintain their shared history and self-identity.[citation needed] Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi, based in Kaikohe, administers the iwi. The Rūnanga acts on behalf of the iwi in consultations with the New Zealand government. It also ensures the equitable distribution of benefits from the 1992 fisheries settlement[citation needed] with the government, and undertakes resource management and education initiatives.
Ngāpuhi, like most iwi, trace their pre-history back to the land of Hawaiki, most likely from Raiatea. The name Ngāpuhi has many stories about its origin, but the most commonly known version is related to a story of an ariki in Hawaiki who lived many generations before Kupe, known as Kareroaiki. Whilst pregnant, Kareroariki craved a human heart to eat, and as a woman of high status, her request was fulfilled. After eating the heart of another ariki, Kareroariki went on to give birth to three children, known as Puhikaiariki, Puhimoanaariki, and Puhitaniwharau. The name "Ngāpuhi" is said to be taken from these children - literally, Ngā Puhi or "The Puhis". A common misconception is that the name Ngāpuhi comes from Puhi of the waka Mātaatua and maternal grandfather of Rāhiri, however there is little corroborating evidence for this claim.
The kōrero (legends/stories) of Ngāpuhi about Kupe's arrival to Aotearoa also differ from other iwi accounts. The more common version among other iwi is that Kupe was tasked with chasing down and killing Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, the giant pet octopus of Muturangi. He eventually followed the octopus to Aotearoa, where he cornered it and killed it in the Cook Strait, plucking out its eyes and throwing them, becoming Ngāwhatu (lit. "The Eyes") also known as The Brothers island group. The common Ngāpuhi version, however, states that Kupe fled Hawaiki to escape retribution for attempted murder and adultery. Kūrāmarotini, also known as Kura was married to another man, Hoturapa, though she still desired Kupe. Kupe and Kura would meet in secret, with Kura anointing her body with taramea oil so that Kupe could smell the fragrance. As Kura fell out of love with Hoturapa, her and Kupe devised a plan to kill him. Kupe asked Toto, Kuramarotini's father, for permission to go out with Hoturapa in a waka to fish and set traps. After Toto agreed, Kupe and Hoturapa set out for the fishing grounds. After Toto let down the anchor, Kupe secretly gave an incantation to ensure the anchor would become ensnared. After they had fished, Kupe asked Hoturapa to pull back up the anchor. With Hoturapa unable to do so due to Kupe's incantation, Kupe told him to dive down to investigate as to why it was stuck. After freeing the anchor, Hoturapa rose up from the water only to discover Kupe had gone, leaving him behind to drown. However, as Hoturapa came from a priestly dynasty, he was able to utter karakia to help send him back to shore, where he lived in secret. When Kupe arrived back from his fishing trip, he told the people that Hoturapa had been lost at sea and drowned, and eventually went on to marry Kura. However, news later came back that Hoturapa had actually survived, and Kupe and Kura, fearing that their ruse would be discovered, quickly absconded upon Kupe's waka, Matawhaorua, to the island said to have been fished up by Māui, Te-Ika-a-Māui.
After Kupe and Kura's journey to Aotearoa, they landed at the Hokianga, where they lived for a time. When they set off to return to Hawaiki, they were never to come back to Aotearoa again. Kupe left his son Tuputupuwhenua at the spring of Te Puna-o-te-Ao-Mārama, ("The Wellspring of the World of Light") where he said, "Tuputupuwhenua, hei konei rā. E hoki ana tēnei, e kore rā hau e hoki anga nui mai" ("Tuputupuwhenua, farewell. I leave you here on my great journey home, and I will not be returning again"), thus the name Te Hokianga-Nui-a-Kupe (The Great Return of Kupe), commonly shortened to Hokianga.
Kupe's descendant Nukutawhiti also desired to travel and explore the world. He asked Kupe if he could have his waka, Matawhaoarua, and Kupe agreed, gifting Nukutawhiti his waka and giving him advice for his travels. Nukutawhiti, seeing that the waka was riding low in the water, decided to re-adze it in order to lighten it, leading to the renaming of the waka to Ngātokimatawhaorua ("Re-adzed Matawhaorua"). As Nukutawhiti travelled to Aotearoa upon his waka alongside Ruanui, captain of the waka Māmari, he gave a karakia in order to summon storm and winds to quicken his journey, now known to Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa as E kau ki te tai e ("Swim upon the sea"). During his journey, he was accompanied by a number of taniwha, Niniwa (also known as Niwa or Niua), and Āraiteuru being two of these taniwha. Upon Nukutawhiti's arrival to the Hokianga, he gave Niniwa and Āraiteuru each a strand of seaweed, and said to both of them "Ka [w]hakakōhatungia kourua e hau hei kaitiaki o te Hokianga" ("You two shall be cast into stone to be caretakers of the Hokianga"), thus the names of the two edges of the mouth of the Hokianga harbour; Niniwa at the northern end, and Āraiteuru at the southern end. Nukutawhiti and his descendants lived at the Hokianga for a number of generations until the birth of his descendant Rāhiri, at which time the iwi Ngāpuhi as it is known today would begin to take shape.
The main founding ancestor of Ngāpuhi is Rāhiri, the son of Tauramoko and Te Hauangiangi. Tauramoko was a descendant of Kupe, from Matawhaorua, and Nukutawhiti, of the Ngātokimatawhaorua canoe. Te Hauangiangi was the daughter of Puhi, who captained the Mataatua canoe northwards from the Bay of Plenty. Rāhiri was born at Whiria pā, near Opononi in the Hokianga. The early tribes led by Rāhiri's descendants lived in the Hokianga, Kaikohe, and Pouerua areas.
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Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 184,470. This compares to 125,601 in 2001, 102,981 in 2006, 122,214 in 2013. and 165,201 in 2018. It is formed from 150 hapū or subtribes, with 55 marae.
Despite such diversity, the people of Ngāpuhi maintain their shared history and self-identity.[citation needed] Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi, based in Kaikohe, administers the iwi. The Rūnanga acts on behalf of the iwi in consultations with the New Zealand government. It also ensures the equitable distribution of benefits from the 1992 fisheries settlement[citation needed] with the government, and undertakes resource management and education initiatives.
Ngāpuhi, like most iwi, trace their pre-history back to the land of Hawaiki, most likely from Raiatea. The name Ngāpuhi has many stories about its origin, but the most commonly known version is related to a story of an ariki in Hawaiki who lived many generations before Kupe, known as Kareroaiki. Whilst pregnant, Kareroariki craved a human heart to eat, and as a woman of high status, her request was fulfilled. After eating the heart of another ariki, Kareroariki went on to give birth to three children, known as Puhikaiariki, Puhimoanaariki, and Puhitaniwharau. The name "Ngāpuhi" is said to be taken from these children - literally, Ngā Puhi or "The Puhis". A common misconception is that the name Ngāpuhi comes from Puhi of the waka Mātaatua and maternal grandfather of Rāhiri, however there is little corroborating evidence for this claim.
The kōrero (legends/stories) of Ngāpuhi about Kupe's arrival to Aotearoa also differ from other iwi accounts. The more common version among other iwi is that Kupe was tasked with chasing down and killing Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, the giant pet octopus of Muturangi. He eventually followed the octopus to Aotearoa, where he cornered it and killed it in the Cook Strait, plucking out its eyes and throwing them, becoming Ngāwhatu (lit. "The Eyes") also known as The Brothers island group. The common Ngāpuhi version, however, states that Kupe fled Hawaiki to escape retribution for attempted murder and adultery. Kūrāmarotini, also known as Kura was married to another man, Hoturapa, though she still desired Kupe. Kupe and Kura would meet in secret, with Kura anointing her body with taramea oil so that Kupe could smell the fragrance. As Kura fell out of love with Hoturapa, her and Kupe devised a plan to kill him. Kupe asked Toto, Kuramarotini's father, for permission to go out with Hoturapa in a waka to fish and set traps. After Toto agreed, Kupe and Hoturapa set out for the fishing grounds. After Toto let down the anchor, Kupe secretly gave an incantation to ensure the anchor would become ensnared. After they had fished, Kupe asked Hoturapa to pull back up the anchor. With Hoturapa unable to do so due to Kupe's incantation, Kupe told him to dive down to investigate as to why it was stuck. After freeing the anchor, Hoturapa rose up from the water only to discover Kupe had gone, leaving him behind to drown. However, as Hoturapa came from a priestly dynasty, he was able to utter karakia to help send him back to shore, where he lived in secret. When Kupe arrived back from his fishing trip, he told the people that Hoturapa had been lost at sea and drowned, and eventually went on to marry Kura. However, news later came back that Hoturapa had actually survived, and Kupe and Kura, fearing that their ruse would be discovered, quickly absconded upon Kupe's waka, Matawhaorua, to the island said to have been fished up by Māui, Te-Ika-a-Māui.
After Kupe and Kura's journey to Aotearoa, they landed at the Hokianga, where they lived for a time. When they set off to return to Hawaiki, they were never to come back to Aotearoa again. Kupe left his son Tuputupuwhenua at the spring of Te Puna-o-te-Ao-Mārama, ("The Wellspring of the World of Light") where he said, "Tuputupuwhenua, hei konei rā. E hoki ana tēnei, e kore rā hau e hoki anga nui mai" ("Tuputupuwhenua, farewell. I leave you here on my great journey home, and I will not be returning again"), thus the name Te Hokianga-Nui-a-Kupe (The Great Return of Kupe), commonly shortened to Hokianga.
Kupe's descendant Nukutawhiti also desired to travel and explore the world. He asked Kupe if he could have his waka, Matawhaoarua, and Kupe agreed, gifting Nukutawhiti his waka and giving him advice for his travels. Nukutawhiti, seeing that the waka was riding low in the water, decided to re-adze it in order to lighten it, leading to the renaming of the waka to Ngātokimatawhaorua ("Re-adzed Matawhaorua"). As Nukutawhiti travelled to Aotearoa upon his waka alongside Ruanui, captain of the waka Māmari, he gave a karakia in order to summon storm and winds to quicken his journey, now known to Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa as E kau ki te tai e ("Swim upon the sea"). During his journey, he was accompanied by a number of taniwha, Niniwa (also known as Niwa or Niua), and Āraiteuru being two of these taniwha. Upon Nukutawhiti's arrival to the Hokianga, he gave Niniwa and Āraiteuru each a strand of seaweed, and said to both of them "Ka [w]hakakōhatungia kourua e hau hei kaitiaki o te Hokianga" ("You two shall be cast into stone to be caretakers of the Hokianga"), thus the names of the two edges of the mouth of the Hokianga harbour; Niniwa at the northern end, and Āraiteuru at the southern end. Nukutawhiti and his descendants lived at the Hokianga for a number of generations until the birth of his descendant Rāhiri, at which time the iwi Ngāpuhi as it is known today would begin to take shape.
The main founding ancestor of Ngāpuhi is Rāhiri, the son of Tauramoko and Te Hauangiangi. Tauramoko was a descendant of Kupe, from Matawhaorua, and Nukutawhiti, of the Ngātokimatawhaorua canoe. Te Hauangiangi was the daughter of Puhi, who captained the Mataatua canoe northwards from the Bay of Plenty. Rāhiri was born at Whiria pā, near Opononi in the Hokianga. The early tribes led by Rāhiri's descendants lived in the Hokianga, Kaikohe, and Pouerua areas.