Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

'' (tribe) on the East Coast of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. Its ''

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...

'' (tribal area) covers the area from Tawhiti-a-Paoa

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community on the remote Gisborne District, East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne), Moun ...

to Te Toka-a-Taiau Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti comprises over fifty hapu: from Te Whanau-a-Te Aotawarirangi the northern hapu Tokomaru Bay to Ngati Oneone the southern hapu Gisborne. Many can trace their ''

whakapapa Genealogy is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, termed specifically in this context as ''whakapapa'' (, , lit. 'layering'). Reciting one's '' whakapapa'' proclaims one's identity among the Māori, places oneself in a wider context, and ...

'' (ancestry) back to Takitimu and Horouta ''

waka WAKA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Selma, Alabama, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM (channel 22); B ...

'' (migration canoes) that arrived in Tairawhiti, and back to the famous ancestor

Paikea is a notable ancestor who originated in Hawaiki according to Māori tradition. He is particularly known to tribes with origins in the Gisborne District such as , and . is the name assumed by because he was assisted by a whale to survive an ...

. However, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti trace their whakapapa from Rongomaituaho, grandson of Uenuku and son of Kahutiaterangi, who captained the Tereanini waka.

History

Early history

About the 16th century, following major political and social upheavals between the three brothers Taua-Ariki, Mahaki-Ewe-Karoro and Hauiti, Hauiti eventually stamped his mana over Uawa (Tolaga Bay) as it is known to many local inhabitants; hence the title of the major tribal group in this area ''Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti'', meaning the descendants of Hauiti. Local hapu and the Hauiti ariki Whakatataare-o-te-rangi encountered the British explorer Captain James Cook in 1769; including Tupaia the Tahitian who accompanied Cook on his voyage around the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. According to tribal tradition, Hauiti ariki Te Kani-a-Takirau was offered in 1854 the Kingite Crown, but he declined the offer.

Modern history

One of Te Aitanga a Hauiti's more famous modern ''

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

'' (meeting places) steeped in Māori history is Te Poho-o-Rawiri of Ngati Oneone situated in Gisborne. The origins of

Rongowhakaata Rongowhakaata is a Māori iwi of the Gisborne region of New Zealand. Hapū and marae There are three primary ''hapū'' (subtribes) of Rongowhakaata today: Ngāti Kaipoho, Ngāi Tawhiri and Ngāti Maru. Ngāti Kaipoho Ngāti Kaipoho descend fr ...

, the eponymous ancestor, is traced to the area occupied by Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Hauiti married the daughter of Rongowhakaata named Kahukura-iti. Titirangi Maunga is the tribe's ''maunga'' (revered mountain), holds a similar name as Titirangi Maunga (Kaiti Hill) in Gisborne. Uawa-nui-a-Ruamatua, dividing the township

Tolaga Bay Tolaga Bay () is both a bay and small town on the East Coast, New Zealand, East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay. The region around th ...

and Hauiti, is the tribe's ''awa'' (sacred river).

Notable people

Notable members of the tribe include: *

Parekura Horomia Parekura Tureia Horomia (9 November 1950 – 29 April 2013) was a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Māori Affairs between 2000 and 2008. Early life Horomia was born in Tolaga Bay of Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga Hauit ...

– politician *

Robyn Kahukiwa Robyn Fletcher Kahukiwa (14 September 1938 – 11 April 2025) was a New Zealand artist, children's book author and illustrator. She created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures. Background Kahukiwa was ...

– artist *

Harry Ngata Heremaia "Harry" Ngata (born 24 August 1971) is a former New Zealand association football player who played as a midfielder. Club career Ngata began his career with Hull City in England, and may have been the first Maori footballer to play in ...

– association footballer * Tūtekohi Rangi (died 1956) –

tohunga In the culture of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, ...

and

faith healer Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

Waimarama Taumaunu Waimarama Taumaunu (born 18 October 1962), often known as Wai Taumaunu, is a New Zealand netball coach and former international netball player. Biography Taumaunu was born in Waipawa, New Zealand. She was a member of New Zealand's national ne ...

– netballer * John Walsh – artist

References

{{Authority control Gisborne District

History

Early history

Modern history

Notable people

See also

References