Sidestep: Ngai Tahu's claim to land
"Land is either gifted, bought or taken."
Ngai Tahu came from the North Island to the south. They did not just give up their traditional land in the East Coast of the North (as indicated) and 'migrate' south - Maori do not just simply give up land - they were chased out. There not been much said or written of that event. But we do know that old wounds and tribal disagreements from their time in the north spilled over into the south involving Kati Mamoe, and by default, Waitaha's descendants as well.
Claim to the land
Ngāi Tahu make claim to most of the South island. They have stated that conquest had never been a preferred means of claiming territory. Mmmm.... What is true is that Ngāi Tahu learned the traditions and customs of the tribes they subdued. Among Māori the real basis to any claim on the land was genealogy. Yet they now claim the genealogy of those they conquered. It would be like America subduing Mexico, intermarrying, and then claiming their geneology back to the Aztecs (think about that one) by their blood ties that go back through the generations.
One description of Ngai Tahu's exploits is that they “secured” the Kaiapoi pā, settled the Canterbury–Banks Peninsula region, and begun to extend to the south and west. Ngāi Tahu “acquired” the tribal belief system of Waitaha.
By the time Ngāi Tahu had arrived, the South Island’s natural phenomena had been classified and consecrated as ancestors by the Waitaha people. When Ngāti Māmoe intermarried with Waitaha, and Ngai Tahu intermarried with Ngati Mamoe they were themselves absorbed into the genealogy of that tribe.
Ngai Tahu's eventual ownership
Ngāti Toa
In the 1820’s a small tribe, Ngāti Toa, who had been cast out from their homeland of Kāwhia in the North Island, raided the south as Ngai Tahu had when also pushed out of the north. Under Te Rauparaha, Ngāti Toa armed themselves with muskets and waged war against the tribes in the lower end of the North Island before crossing the strait to the South Island. The first attack was at Kaikōura during 1827–28. Why Te Rauparaha was there was because of an earlier insult. Maori are easily insulted, and he came south after Rerewaka’s challenge. After defeating those at Kaikoura he moved south the Kaiapoi ‘to trade’. A Ngāpuhi warrior staying with Ngāi Tahu at Kaiapoi pā overheard the Ngāti Toa leader planning how they would attack the following morning. The Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu countered the Ngāti Toa attack the following day, killing the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs, including Te Pēhi Kupe. The only prominent Ngāti Toa leader not slain was Te Rauparaha.
Ngāti Toa’s revenge
Te Rauparaha returned to Kapiti Island to plan his revenge. Coming back on an English ship they then visited the Ngāi Tahu people of Akaroa under the ruse of trading for flax. Once Te Maiharanui was below deck, Te Rauparaha and his men took the chief, his wife and his daughter prisoner. Te Rauparaha’s men then surged ashore to sack Te Maiharanui’s settlement, Takapuneke. The brig returned to Kapiti with Te Maiharanui and his family held captive. It is said that rather than see his daughter enslaved, Te Maiharanui strangled her and threw her overboard. Te Rauparaha then gave Te Maiharanui to the wife of the Ngāti Toa chief Te Peehi, who killed Te Maiharanui by slow torture. His wife suffered the same fate.
Capture of Kaiapoi and Ōnawe
Te Rauparaha then mounted a major expedition against Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu, lacking muskets to repel the armed Ngāti Toa, took a defensive strategy. The siege lasted for three months. Finally Ngāti Toa found a way to ensure after a fire and captured its leaders and killed the people.
Ngāti Toa then attacked the Banks Peninsula tribes, taking the principal fort at Ōnawe, in Akaroa Harbour.
Ngāi Tahu along the Foveaux Strait and Otago coastlines had been trading in Sydney to arm themselves with muskets. Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu sought the support of their southern kin, and it was decided to attack Ngāti Toa.
Te Rauparaha’s escape
A Ngāi Tahu war party made its way up the coastline to Kāpara-te-hau (Lake Grassmere) where, as it was the moulting season, they anticipated Te Rauparaha would be capturing paradise ducks. Ngāi Tahu hid behind the hill along the lake and launched a surprise attack. The victory went to Ngāi Tahu, although Te Rauparaha managed to escape. Nevertheless, in the words of one Ngāti Toa elder, ‘One campaign by Ngāi Tahu saw Te Rauparaha defeated at Kāpara-te-hau. Te Rauparaha escaped to sea and survived. The majority of people who went ashore were killed by Ngāi Tahu.’
The northern battles
Ngāi Tahu then followed Ngāti Toa and fought a series of running battles. Ngāti Toa departed, but returned in two days with reinforcements. The next day, there was heavy musket fighting and both sides retreated at night to take care of their dead and wounded. Because Ngāi Tahu were low on ammunition, it was decided to retreat under the cloak of darkness.
In the morning, Ngāti Toa set off in pursuit of Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu turned their flotilla and prepared for a marine battle, but Ngāti Toa declined the invitation to battle and retreated. After this, Ngāti Toa did not penetrate south of Ngāi Tahu’s northernmost boundary, Te Parinui-o-whiti (White Bluffs) again. Nevertheless, Ngāi Tahu mounted a larger campaign and this time their army was larger and better armed. During this campaign, they occupied the Cloudy Bay region in the north of the South Island, but Ngāti Toa failed to engage with them, largely because they were facing problems in the North Island with their allies. Ngāi Tahu returned home after attacking the allied tribes of Ngāti Toa.
While this was going on a chief of Ngāti Tama (allied to Ngāti Toa), undertook a long journey in an attempt to surprise Ngāi Tahu from the rear. Te Pūoho led his party down the West Coast, crossed the Haast Pass and travelled through Central Otago into Southland. However, the Ngāi Tahu chief Tūhawaiki, learning of Te Pūoho’s arrival, led a party from Ruapuke Island and took Te Pūoho by surprise at Tuturau. Te Pūoho was killed and his party captured.
Establishing peace
By 1839 both Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Toa had come to realise that any further fighting would achieve little. (!) As a result, a peace was established and the Ngāi Tahu people held captive by Te Rauparaha on his stronghold, Kapiti Island, were released. At the end of the wars, Ngāi Tahu’s boundaries remained intact.
The land purchases
Within a year of the peace settlement with Ngāti Toa, Ngāi Tahu also committed themselves to the Treaty of Waitangi, with its leading chiefs signing at Akaroa, Ruapuke and Ōtākou during 1840.
Ngāi Tahu believed that with the treaty would come material benefits. Ngāi Tahu sold their lands to the Crown in a series of nine purchases. The largest of these was the Canterbury purchase which saw 20 million acres sold for £2,000. The other principal transaction was the Otago purchase sold for £2,400. That is the equivalent of 429 million pounds in today’s money.
Ngai Tahu then, took 4200 pounds for land that was taken from someone else. Is this any different that Europeans sale?
At this point it is worth noting that Kati Mamoe took Waitaha land, Ngai Tahu took the land Kati Mamoe now held. Ngati Toa came from the north and attempted to take Ngai Tahu’s land and many battles occurred until peace was finally made. However - eventually Ngai Tahu sold large portions of what was originally Waitaha territory for an agreed sum.
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It is true that what was believed the treaty would provide was not completely honored. But it is true they received the agreed purchase price. It is true much land was taken but make no mistake that Ngai Tahu ‘sold’ large portions of land they had taken from those they defeated. Do not forget that Maori see ownership as something different. Please see the post of 30th January 2016 here...
It is like man C stealing a car from Man B who stole it from Man A. Now C sells it to man D for an agreed price and hands the car over only to find what is deposited in his account is less than agreed. Man C is furious and takes Man D to court. All the focus is on Man D as the bad guy, yet no one asks where man A fits into all this. Man C says man B and he have made peace, in fact man A died last year so he is of no consequence while C has a grievance with Man D, who happens to have a different colored skin and customs as he is a recent immigrant. Yet those connected to Man A by family relationship say that they should receive recompense for the theft. But the court and man C completely ignores Man A’s claim. Finally the court awards Man A with a small portion of the value of the car while Man C seeks damages against Man D for personal grievance due to the stress and dishonor of having received so little from man D for a car already stolen. (In a crude way, this sums up the situation from a European perspective). However, if it was proven that man A and Man B ceded the car to man C and it turns out that Man C is the legal owners of the car...then if he sells it and receives the agreed price, then the sale is completed. End of story.
Ngai Tahu’s history (in the south that they claim as traditional), only encompasses about 150 years at most before Europeans arrived. Hardly traditional lands in the true sense, lest any European family owing land since 1865 has a more historic claim than Ngai Tahu based on a treaty claim of ownership at a point in time.
What can be said, and is undeniable, is that Ngai Tahu have done extremely well to turn their payout from the Crown (the taxpayer) into a very well run and profitable group of investments. The payout was $170 million. Their worth is now over 1 billion dollars. This should be applauded and is a standout success of historic Treaty payouts.
However, their gain was the direct result of taking traditional land from another tribe who had done the exactly the same to those before. If you know the North Island tribal disagreements you know they were not peacefully absorbed. Two different laws, standards and sets of morals are applied to the gain of land (both cultural) but you cannot deny the treaty applies to the owners at the time of the treaty…I just despise the fact that past grievances seem to be forgotten and that Waitaha retrieved money from the Crown rather than Ngai Tahu - where it should have come from. Waitaha has no such treaty claim as Waitaha did not sign the treaty. The Tribunal itself, has left the true purpose of the treaty and has just descended into a animal so big no one can stop.
And once again, read the post about the tradition of land ownership. If the land is bad and there is no financial gain it seems to be ignored. If it is rich and the payout attention large – all attention seems to be given to it. The claim is for ‘traditional’ land, and yet what do they do with it if it city land and valuable? Sell it!
Nothing has changed really.
