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Rereahu

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Rereahu
Iwi(tribe) inMāoridom
Map
Location of traditionalrohe
Rohe (region)Waitomo District(Maniaiti / Benneydale,Pureora,and Maraeroa)
Waka (canoe)Tainui

Rereahuwas aMaorirangatira(chieftain) ofNgāti Raukawain theTainuitribal confederation from theWaikato region,New Zealand.He probably lived in the first half of the seventeenth century.[1]He is the ancestor of theNgāti Maniapoto,Ngāti Hauā,andNgāti Korokī Kahukuraiwi,and ofRereahu,a group based aroundManiaiti / Benneydale,Pureora,and Maraeroa inWaitomo District,whose status as a separate iwi or as ahapu(‘sub-tribe’) of Ngāti Maniapoto is a matter of dispute.

Life of Rereahu[edit]

Rereahu’s father was Raukawa, the son ofTūrongoandMāhina-a-rangi,and a direct male-line descendant ofHoturoa,leader of theTainuiwaka.[2]His mother was Turongoihi.[citation needed] He had three younger brothers: Kurawari (father ofWhāitaand Korokore), Whakatere, and Takihiku (father ofTama-te-hura,Upoko-iti,Wairangi,and Pipito).[3]

War with Ngāti Hā[edit]

Mamaku('black tree fern') frond.

There was a tribe called Ngāti Hā, led by three chiefs, Hā-nui ('Big Hā'), Hā-roa ('Long Hā'), and Hā-kūhā-nui ('Big-thigh Hā'), who had been driven out of theTaupōregion byNgāti Tūwharetoaand headed west, establishing a village on theMōkau River,upstream fromPuketutu.[4]Rereahu noticed the Ngāti Hā at Te Tīroa while he was foraging formamakushoots and reported to his third-cousinTamāiothat they were coming to seize the land.[5]As a result, Tamāio raised a war party, which advanced on the Ngāti Hā village and drove them out of the region.[6]

Family[edit]

Rereahu married Rangi-ānewa, daughter of Tamāio.[2]They settled in the village called Tihikoreoreo, next toWaimiha,[citation needed]where they had one son:

Rereahu later married Hine-au-pounamu, whose parents were Tū-a-tangiroa and a daughter of the Ngāti-Hā chief Hā-kūhā-nui.[7]Tū-a-tangiroa was a son of Uenuku-tuhatu Uetapu, the older brother of Tamāio’s father Uenuku-te-rangi-hōkā, which meant that Hine-au-pounamu was senior to Rangi-ānewa, which had implications for the relative status of Rereahu’s children.[2]From this marriage, there were six sons and two daughters:

These children were raised in the region aroundKāwhia.[11]Subsequently, they settled along theWaipā Riverand the Manga-o-kewa Stream, with a central hub atTe Kūiti.[2]Rereahu is depicted on the front post of Te Tokanganui-a-noho marae at Te Kūiti.[12]Rereahu himself settled at Ngā Herenga in Maraeroa, where he lived until his death. The location remains awāhi tapu(sacred space) for his descendants.[13]

When Rereahu was on his death-bed he decided to give hismanato Maniapoto, rather than Te Ihinga-a-rangi, because he thought the younger brother had proven himself a better leader. Therefore, he told Te Ihinga-a-rangi to go to thetuahu(altar) and perform the rituals, promising to pass the mana to him when he returned. While he was away, he called Maniapoto to him, covered his head inred ochreand instructed him to bite the crown of his head, passing the chiefly mana to him. Maniapoto objected, but Rereahu declared that Te Ihinga-a-rangi was illegitimate in some way.[14]Pei Te Hurinui Jonessuggests that this was because Rereahu already planned to marry Hine-pounamu when Te Ihinga-a-rangi was conceived and/or because Hine-moana was genealogically senior to Rangi-ānewa.[15]Maniapoto accepted the mana and by the time Te Ihinga-a-rangi returned, Rereahu was dead. This led to a conflict between the brothers, in which Maniapoto was victorious.[16]

Rereahu tribe[edit]

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Places associated with the Rereahu iwi/hapu
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Mangapeehi Marae
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Te Hape Marae
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Te Ahoroa Marae
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Ōwairaka Rāwhitiroa Marae
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Maraeroa
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Ngā Herenga

The Rereahu tribal group are descended from Rereahu. Theirrohecentres on MangapeehiMarae/ RereahuWharenuinearManiaiti / Benneydale,and Te Hape Marae / Te Kaha Tuatini Wharenui nearPureora.[9]They are also among the hapu that share Otewa Pā Marae / Aroha Nui Wharenui nearŌtorohanga,[9][17]and of Te Ahoroa Marae / Tapairu Wharenui near Te Kūiti.[18][9]The Ngāti Raukawa branch of Rereahu is based at Ōwairaka Rāwhitiroa Marae / Takihiku Wharenui nearParawera.[19]

The status of Rereahu as an iwi orhapuis subject to dispute.Te Puni Kōkirirefers to them as a hapu within Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Raukawa,[9]while the Māori Maps project administered byTe Potiki National Trustcalls them an iwi and a hapu in different contexts.[20]In the context of the Ngāti ManiapotoTreaty of Waitangi claim,representatives of Rereahu have emphasised their “distinct identity within Ngāti Maniapoto”[21]and some members have claimed not to be part of the Ngāti Maniapoto iwi.[22]

Treaty of Waitangi settlement claims[edit]

Rereahu’s treaty claims are pursued by Te Maru o Rereahu Iwi Trust.[23]This organisation, and others, form part of Te Whakaminenga o Rereahu, which has partnered with the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board as party of Ngāti Maniapoto’s treaty claim, but from 2016 it attempted to withdraw and pursue an independent claim. This culminated in an unsuccessful vote to withdraw from the Maniapoto claim in 2021.[24][21][25][22]

Rereahu are among the groups represented by the Maraeroa A & B Trust, which administers two blocks of land within Te Rohe Pōtae, which were subdivided by theNative Land Courtin 1887 and 1891 rulings.[26]Following these rulings, the Crown began negotiations to purchase land in the blocks, acquiring 90% of it by 1908 and alienating the rest of it, in favour of private timber companies, between 1916 and 1958, through procedures established by theNative Land Act, 1909.[26]They were the subject of aTreaty of Waitangi claimand were returned by the New Zealand government in 2012, under theMaraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Act.[27][26]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,p. 170.
  2. ^abcdeJones & Biggs 2004,pp. 170–171.
  3. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,p. 143.
  4. ^Phillips 1989,p. 24.
  5. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 98–99.
  6. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 100–101.
  7. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 100–101, 170–171.
  8. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 180–181, 188–193.
  9. ^abcdeTe Puni Kōkiri."TKM: Iwi: Maniapoto".Te Kahui Mangai.Retrieved6 March2022.
  10. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 170–171, 368–369.
  11. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 176–177.
  12. ^Adams, Tūhuatahi Tui; Meredith, Paul."The ancestor Rereahu".Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.Retrieved6 March2022.
  13. ^"The Settlement: Maraeroa A and B Trust".Maraeroa A & B Trust.Retrieved6 March2022.
  14. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 170–173.
  15. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 172–173.
  16. ^Jones & Biggs 2004,pp. 172–175.
  17. ^Te Potiki National Trust."Otewa Pā: Maori Maps".Maori Maps.com.Retrieved6 March2022.
  18. ^Te Potiki National Trust."Te Ahoroa: Maori Maps".Maori Maps.com.Retrieved6 March2022.
  19. ^Te Puni Kōkiri."TKM: Tainui: Raukawa".Te Kahui Mangai.Retrieved6 March2022.
  20. ^Te Potiki National Trust."Search" Rereahu ": Maori Maps".Maori Maps.com.Retrieved6 March2022.
  21. ^ab"Rereahu make last ditch fight against Maniapoto settlement".Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.3 May 2021.Retrieved6 March2022.
  22. ^abForbes, Mihingarangi(13 October 2016)."King Country iwi take a step towards settlement".RNZ.Retrieved6 March2022.
  23. ^Te Maru o Rereahu Trust."Claim History".Te Maru o Rereahu Trust.Archived fromthe originalon 12 June 2019.Retrieved6 March2022.
  24. ^Ruki, Ariahuia Te."Withdrawal process".Maniapoto Maori Trust Board.Retrieved6 March2022.
  25. ^Campbell, Andy (25 June 2021)."Maniapoto preparing to settle treaty claims".RNZ.Retrieved6 March2022.
  26. ^abc"Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Act 2012 No 52 (as at 28 October 2021), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation".www.legislation.govt.nz.Retrieved6 March2022.
  27. ^Te Puni Kōkiri."TKM: Tainui: Maraeroa A & B (Land Block)".Te Kahui Mangai.Retrieved6 March2022.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Jones, Pei Te Hurinui; Biggs, Bruce (2004).Ngā iwi o Tainui: nga koorero tuku iho a nga tuupuna = The traditional history of the Tainui people.Auckland [N.Z.]: Auckland University Press.ISBN1869403312.
  • Phillips, F. L. (1989).Nga tohu a Tainui Landmarks of Tainui: a geographical record of Tainui traditional history.Otorohanga: Tohu Publishers.ISBN9780908596263.

External links[edit]


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