History of Ngati Porou

In accordance with the traditions and tikanga of Ngati Porou, we as People of this Land have been here since the beginning of time, or more aptly in the context of Aotearoa, since Maui fished up Te Ika a Maui (North Island).

Maui-Tikitiki-a-Taranga is attributed with fishing up the North Island, raising it out of the depths of the sea, for successive generations of Maori to populate and cultivate. We of Ngati Porou claim that when Maui fished up the North Island, his waka "Nukutaimemeha" was cradled on the top of our ancestral mountain – Hikurangi, where it still rests today in te roto o Hine Takawhiti.
Ngati Porou are the descendants of a number of illustrious tipuna including:

Maui Tikitiki a Taranga – the great fisherman, the sun catcher and entrepreneur who always pushed the boundaries and encouraging people to think beyond the realms of conventional thinking
Toi Kairakau – a contemporary of the Moriori who settled the Chatham Island, Toi is one of the Tipuna whose descendants spread across Aotearoa.
Rauru nui a Toi – who connects us to the descendants of Awanuiarangi and across to the Tai Hauauru.
Paikea Ariki Moana - the whale rider" who travelled to Aotearoa seeking refuge and new horizons in the wake of the “ te tai whakamate a Ruatapu”
Huturangi- one of the Mareikura o Hikurangi maunga the daughter of Te Whironui and Hine-Araiara, who married Paikea and had Pouheni, who begat Tarawhakatu, who had Nanaia who in turn married Niwaniwa. They are the parents of Porourangi.
Porou Ariki Te Matatara a Whare Te Tuhi Mareikura o Rauru – or as he is more commonly known, Porourangi , is the tipuna that Ngati Porou take their name from, and he is the Tuakana (elder brother) of Tahu Potiki, from whom Ngai Tahu in the South Island take their name. Porourangi as the late Ta Apirana Ngata said is the ancestor on which the senior lines of descent from Maui and Toi and the Hawaiki ancestors converge, in his words “some of the best blood of Polynesia” The following Ngati Porou Woman’s haka tells the story of the two brothers Porourangi and Tahu Potiki, who both married Hamoterangi and their progeny settled the whole of Aotearoa/NZ.

Ko Porou koa

Ko Hamo te wahine koa
Ko Tahu koa
Ko Hamo te wahine koa
Nana i toha toha ki
Niu Tireni ka hipoki
Irakaiputahi, Uepohatu and Ruawaipu are also recognised as stock ancestors, whose descendants married into the Porourangi families and contribute to the iwi that Ngati Porou is today.

Ngati Porou has a rich and colourful history which is inextricably linked to every mountain, river, bush, coastline, and fishing ground that is encompassed by our tribal territory. It is also stamped on the tahuhu of the 50 marae in Ngati Porou. The rugged, distinct and solitary nature of our natural environment has shaped the personality and psyche of Ngati Porou. One such example is the twin peaks of Hikurangi Te tone o Houku and Te tipi a Taikehu, one female and one male, reflecting the complimentary roles that men and women play in Ngati Porou. The story of Whatonga, the mokopuna who set sail from Hawaiki in search of his tipuna, Toi, illustrating the respectful and complimentary relationships between tipuna, matua, tamariki and mokopuna.

Ngati Porou throughout the passage of time has retained, despite the odds their mana whenua, mana moana, mana tangata, and mana Atua, as evidenced by our position on the foreshore & seabed and the Waitangi treaty negotiations that we have currently progressing to settle all historic and intellectual property claims.

Ngati Porou like most other iwi comprises a confederation of hapu who are linked by whakapapa and occupy defined areas within the Ngati Porou rohe. Every hapu had and to some degree still has its own recognised social order and hierarchy, sphere of influence and agenda for self determination.

Ngati Porou history has repeatedly demonstrated that in times of adversity, threats from external parties, in the past other iwi and in recent years the Crown, hapu moved together under the unifying banner - Ngati Porou. We still do this today, as we continue to strive to hold back the waves of external influences and systems that continue to threaten our equilibrium, culture, heritage and tikanga.

We, like many other iwi, have also paid the price of citizenship, through the blood of hundreds of Ngati Porou soldiers who fought in successive wars in foreign lands to protect "King and Country" , future generations of Ngati Porou people, our mana whenua and rangatiratanga.

This brief history provides the back-drop to who we are as Ngati Porou, recognising the many factors that have shaped and influenced us including, whakapapa, our history, our environment and our current context. We recognise the complimentary roles of various iwi members, some of us are;

Ahi Ka – the people that remain at home and keep the home fires burning, look after the lands, the marae, our tikanga, taonga and reo – “ Ko to ngakau ki nga taonga a o Tipuna Maori hei tikitiki mo to mahuna”
Ngati Porou kei te whenua - the many Ngati Porou people who reside outside of the tribal lands, seeking to make their way in the world, in search of “nga rakau a te pakeha hei oranga mo to ratou tinana”extract from E Tipu e Rea- Ta Apirana Ngata

However as the descendants of Maui, Toi, Rauru, Paikea Ariki Moana, Huturangi, Porourangi and Hamoterangi we are all people of this land — tangata whenua and mai i Potikirua ki te Toka a Taiau, we collectively are the Iwi kainga.

“Ko Hikurangi te maunga
Ko Waiapu te awa
Ko Ngati Porou te iwi.”