Hoani Nahe (c. 1833 – 18 May 1894) was a Māori historian and author, and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1876 to 1879. His surname was spelt ''Nahi'' in some reports.

Early life and career

Nahe was born near

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

in 1833 or 1834. His father was Pātara Te Rangiteapake of Ngāti Maru and his mother was Riripeti or Rohu of

Ngāti Whanaunga Ngāti Whanaunga is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand, descended from Whanaunga, the third son of Marutūāhu. It is one of the tribes of the Marutūāhu confederation, the others being Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Ro ...

. Nahe's primary tribe was Ngāti Maru. He was a student at

St John's College, Auckland The College of St John the Evangelist or St John's Theological College is the residential theological college of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The site at Meadowbank in Auckland is the base for theological education ...

in 1852. His life work, which he began in the late 1850s, was recording Māori history and tradition, particularly of

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

and Hauraki. The ethnographer John White published a translated and altered version of some of Nahe's manuscript work on history in volume 4 of his ''The Ancient History of the Maori''. Nahe later complained to Percy Smith about White's faulty alterations. He was involved in contemporary affairs affecting Māori. He acted in

Native Land Court Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nati ...

cases, both on his own behalf and for others. He was on a committee at Thames whose aim was to support the Māori newspaper ''Te Wananga'', published in Hawke's Bay.

Member of Parliament

He was the MP for

Western Maori Western Maori was one of New Zealand, New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Eastern Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996 New Zealand general election, 1996, with the MMP in New Z ...

from

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

, when he defeated the incumbent

Wiremu Parata Wiremu Te Kākākura Parata, also known as Wi Parata ( 1830s – 29 September 1906) was a New Zealand politician of Māori people, Māori and Pākehā descent. During the 1870s he was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, House o ...

and fellow challenger

Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (died 15 April 1898) was a Māori military commander and noted ally of the government forces during the New Zealand Wars. First known as Te Rangihiwinui, he was later known as Te Keepa, Meiha Keepa, Major Keepa or Maj ...

. He was the third MP to hold the seat. He was a minister without portfolio, the only Māori minister, and on the Executive Council of the Grey Ministry (17 November 1877 – 8 October 1879). He faced difficulties in Parliament due to his lack of English. He retired after one term at the 1879 election.

Later career

Nahe continued with the recording of Māori history and tradition. He was made a corresponding member of the

Polynesian Society The Polynesian Society is a non-profit organisation based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, dedicated to the scholarly study of the history, ethnography and mythology of Oceania. History The society was co-founded in 1892 by Percy S ...

in 1893, a year after it formed. In 1893 and 1894 he wrote a new and expanded version of his account of Māori history. In 1894 Nahe went to

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kil ...

to assist in a land dispute between two tribal groups. He contracted a cold following long discussions outdoors, then a lung inflammation, and died at the home of his cousin Wīrope Hōterini Taipari near Thames on 18 May 1894. Percy Smith, editor of the ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'', published some of Nahe's work posthumously. This included his work on Māori history and on the etymology of the terms ''Māori'', ''

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

'' and ''kaipuke'' (ship).

Notes

References

*
''Hoani Nahe'' in Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (Wellington Provincial District, 1897)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahi, Hoani New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand historians 1830s births 1894 deaths Ngāti Maru (Hauraki) people Ngāti Whanaunga people Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 19th-century New Zealand politicians