Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the 2023 census. The traditional rohe or tribal area of Ngāti Porou extends from Pōtikirua and Lottin Point in the north to Te Toka-a-Taiau (a rock that used to sit in the mouth of Gisborne harbour) in the south. The Ngāti Porou iwi comprises 58 hapū (sub-tribes) and 48 mārae (meeting grounds).
Mount Hikurangi features prominently in Ngāti Porou traditions as a symbol of endurance and strength, and holds tapu status. In these traditions, Hikurangi is often personified. Ngāti Porou traditions indicate that Hikurangi was the first point to surface when Māui fished up the North Island from beneath the ocean. His canoe, the Nuku-tai-memeha, is said to have been wrecked there. The Waiapu River also features in Ngāti Porou traditions.
History
Pre-European history Ngāti Porou takes its name from the ancestor Porourangi, also known as Porou Ariki. He was a direct descendant of Toi-kai-rākau, Māui (accredited in oral tradition with raising the North Island from the sea), and Paikea the whale rider.
Although Ngāti Porou claim the Nuku-tai-memeha as their foundation canoe, many Ngāti Porou ancestors arrived on different canoes, including Horouta, Tākitimu and Tereanini. The descendants of Porourangi and Toi formed groups that spread across the East Cape through conquest and through strategic marriage alliances.
Genealogical associations with other iwi also arise through direct descent from Ngāti Porou ancestors: Kahungunu, descending from Ueroa (the second son of Porourangi), is the founding ancestor of Ngāti Kahungunu. Taua, descended from Kahungunu, is a prominent ancestor in Te Whānau-ā-Apanui genealogy. Ngāti Raukawa and the Tainui iwi have association through Porourangi's daughter Rongomaianiwaniwa and through the marriage of the ancestress Māhinaarangi to Tūrongo. Tahupōtiki, younger-brother to the Porourangi, is Ngāi Tahu's founding ancestor.
Colonial history Ngāti Porou sustained heavy losses over the course of the Musket Wars, a period of heightened warfare between iwi unleashed by the adoption of firearms and resulting power imbalances. The iwi's first experience of musket warfare came in 1819, when a raid by Ngāpuhi rangatira Te Morenga led to the capture and killing of many members, including two rangatira. That same year a second attack by Hongi Hika of Ngāpuhi and Te Haupa of Ngāti Maru targeted the iwi’s pā at Wharekahika Bay, but Te Haupa was slain and the raid was repelled at the cost of heavy casualties. Heavy defeats came at the hands of a raiding party led by the Ngāpuhi rangatira Pōmare I and Te Wera Hauraki, who through force and guile sacked the pā of Okauwharetoa and Te Whetumatarau near Te Araroa. Te Wera Hauraki’s forces would then move on to sack additional pā in the area of Waiapu River and Whareponga Bay. A final defeat at the hands of Ngāpuhi took place in 1823, when a preemptive attack by a large army of Ngāti Porou warriors on Pōmare’s trespassing forces in Te Araroa was cut down in open field by musket fire. The rangatira Taotaoriri was then able to negotiate a favourable peace between the two iwi, a deal sealed by his marriage to the Ngāti Porou noblewoman Hikupoto and the return of Rangi-i-paea, who had been abducted and married to Pōmare in a previous raid. This peace was to have important religious consequences, as a number of Ngāti Porou rangatira freed by Ngāpuhi in later negotiations would go on to spread the Christianity they had adopted from European missionaries during the course of their captivity.
A second wave of violence rocked Ngāti Porou starting in 1829, when the presence of Ngāti Porou passengers on the ship where the Ngāti Awa rangatira Ngarara was assassinated by Ngāpuhi marked the iwi as a target for retribution. Minor raids by Ngāti Awa and their allies Whakatōhea and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui in 1829 and 1831 resulted in the deaths of some Ngāti Porou, which triggered retaliatory action from the iwi. In 1832 Ngāti Porou joined forces with Ngāpuhi, Rongowhakaata, and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki to seize Kekeparaoa pā and expel the four hundred Whakatōhea members who had come to occupy it after being unilaterally invited to do so by a Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki hapū. A second 1832 raid, this time against Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, did not meet with the same success, as the defenders of Wharekura pā rebuffed the attackers and slew two Ngāti Porou rangatira. Two years later, a retaliatory raid by Te Whānau-ā-Apanui was in turn rebuffed by forces under the rangatira Kakatarau, whose father Pakura was killed at Wharekura. Ngāti Porou then joined forces with Te Wera’s Ngāpuhi and Te Kani-a-Takirau’s Rongowhakaata to attack Te Whānau-ā-Apanui at Te Kaha Point’s formidable Toka a Kuku pā. After six months of siege and heavy fighting, including the defeat of numerous sorties and the routing of a relief force of fourteen hundred warriors from Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai, and Ngāti Awa, the attackers eventually proved unable to seize the pā and returned home. The extraordinary battlefield feats of the Christian Ngāti Porou rangatira Piripi Taumata-a-Kura lent him enormous prestige, which he soon leveraged to convert other Ngāti Porou rangatira and lead Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou to a peace accord in 1837.
The waning of the Musket Wars and the unifying influence of Christianity ushered in a period of relative calm and cultural development. Ngāti Porou chiefs were also signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Ngāti Porou experienced substantial economic growth during the 1850s.
During the 1860s, the Pai Mārire religious movement spread through the North Island, and eventually came into conflict with the New Zealand Government. From 1865–1870, a civil war emerged within Ngāti Porou between Pai Mārire converts seeking the creation of an independent Māori state (supported by Pai Mārire from other regions) and other Ngāti Porou advocating tribal sovereignty and independence. This conflict is generally viewed as part of the East Cape War.
Modern history Ngāti Porou once again enjoyed peace and economic prosperity during the late 19th century. The 1890s saw the emergence of Sir Āpirana Ngata, who contributed greatly to the revitalisation of the Māori people. During the early 20th century, the population of Ngāti Porou increased substantially. They were active in their participation in both World Wars.
After World War II, large numbers of Ngāti Porou began emigrating from traditional tribal lands and moving into larger urban areas, in a trend reflected throughout New Zealand. A large portion of the tribal population now lives in Auckland and Wellington.
Hapū and marae Name Rohe (tribal area) Marae (meeting grounds) Location Ngāi Taharora Waiapu ki Tawhiti Taharora Waipiro Bay Ngāi Tamakoro Potikirua ki Waiapu Tutua Te Araroa Ngāi Tangihaere Waiapu ki Tawhiti Kariaka, Ruataupare, Whareponga Ruatoria Ngāi Tāne Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinepare, Ōhinewaiapu Rangitukia Ngāi Tutekohi Tawhiti ki Rototahe Hauiti Tolaga Bay Ngāti Hau Tawhiti ki Rototahe Hinetamatea Anaura Bay Ngāti Hokopū Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinepare, Ōhinewaiapu Rangitukia Ngāti Horowai Waiapu ki Tawhiti Te Horo Port Awanui Ngāti Ira Tawhiti ki Rototahe Ōkurī, Tuatini Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay Ngāti Kahu Potikirua ki Waiapu Punaruku Hicks Bay Ngāti Kahukuranui Tawhiti ki Rototahe Hauiti, Hinemaurea ki Mangatuna, Ōkurī Tolaga Bay Ngāti Kōnohi Rototahe ki Te Toka a Taiau Te Poho o Rawiri, Whāngārā Kaitī, Whāngārā Ngāti Nua Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinepare, Ōhinewaiapu Rangitukia Ngāti Oneone Rototahe ki Te Toka a Taiau Te Poho o Rawiri Kaitī Ngāti Patu Whare Tawhiti ki Rototahe Te Rawheoro Tolaga Bay Ngāti Putaanga Potikirua ki Waiapu Kaiwaka, Putaanga Tikitiki Ngāti Rangi Waiapu ki Tawhiti Reporua Ruatoria Ngāti Tuere Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinemaurea ki Wharekahika, Hinerupe, Tutua Rangitukia, Hicks Bay Ngāti Uepōhatu Waiapu ki Tawhiti Mangahanea Marae, Uepōhatu, Umuariki Ruatoria, Tūpāroa Ngāti Wakarara Tawhiti ki Rototahe Hinetamatea Tokomaru Bay Te Aitanga a Hauiti Tawhiti ki Rototahe Hauiti, Te Rawheoro Tolaga Bay Te Aitanga a Materoa Waiapu ki Tawhiti Hiruhārama, Penu Marae, Rongohaere, Whareponga Ruatoria Te Aowera Waiapu ki Tawhiti Hiruhārama, Te Aowera Ruatoria Te Whānau a Hineauta Waiapu ki Tawhiti Tikapa Tikapa Te Whānau a Hinekehu Waiapu ki Tawhiti Kariaka, Rauru Ruatoria Te Whānau a Hinepare Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinepare, Awatere, Hinerupe, Hurae, Kaiwaka, Rāhui Rangitukia, Te Araroa, Tikitiki Te Whānau a Hinetāpora Waiapu ki Tawhiti Mangahanea Marae, Te Heapera Ruatoria Te Whānau a Hunaara Potikirua ki Waiapu Matahī o Te Tau, Ōhinewaiapu Horoera, Rangitukia Te Whānau a Iritekura Waiapu ki Tawhiti Iritekura Waipiro Bay Te Whānau a Karuwai Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinerupe, Karuwai, Waiomatatini Te Araroa, Tikitiki, Ruatoria Te Whānau a Mahaki Waiapu ki Tawhiti Te Horo Port Awanui Te Whānau a Pōkai Waiapu ki Tawhiti Tikapa Tikapa Te Whānau a Rākaihoea Waiapu ki Tawhiti Kākāriki Waiomatatini Te Whānau a Rākaimataura Potikirua ki Waiapu Rāhui Tikitiki Te Whānau a Rākairoa Waiapu ki Tawhiti Akuaku, Kie Kie Waipiro Bay, Ruatoria Te Whānau a Rerewa Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinepare, Ōhinewaiapu Rangitukia Te Whānau a Ruataupare ki Tokomaru Tawhiti ki Rototahe Pakirikiri, Tuatini, Waiparapara, Ruatepupuke II Tokomaru Bay Te Whanau a Ruataupare ki Tuparoa Waiapu ki Tawhiti Tūpāroa Tūpāroa Te Whānau a Takimoana Potikirua ki Waiapu Ōhinewaiapu Rangitukia Te Whānau a Tapuaeururangi Potikirua ki Waiapu Pōtaka Pōtaka Te Whānau a Tāpuhi Potikirua ki Waiapu Taumata o Tapuhi Rangitukia Te Whānau a Te Aotakī Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinemaurea ki Wharekahika Hicks Bay Te Whānau a Te Aotawarirangi Tawhiti ki Rototahe Te Ariuru Tokomaru Bay Te Whānau a Te Haemata Waiapu ki Tawhiti Kie Kie Waipiro Bay Te Whānau a Te Rangipureora Tawhiti ki Rototahe Puketawai Marae Tolaga Bay Te Whānau a Te Uruahi Potikirua ki Waiapu Tinātoka Marae Tikitiki Te Whanau a Tinatoka Potikirua ki Waiapu Te Poho o Tinatoka Tikitiki Te Whānau a Tuwhakairiora Potikirua ki Waiapu Hinemaurea ki Wharekahika, Hinerupe Hicks Bay, Te Araroa Te Whānau a Umuariki Waiapu ki Tawhiti Umuariki Tūpāroa Te Whānau a Uruhonea Waiapu ki Tawhiti Te Horo Port Awanui
Governance Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou was established in 1987 to be the tribal authority of the iwi. It is organised into a whānau and hapū development branch, economic development branch, and a corporate services branch, and aims to maintain the financial, physical and spiritual assets of the tribe. The common law trust is overseen by a board, with two representatives from each of the seven ancestral zones. As of 2022, the Rūnanga is based in Gisborne, and is chaired by Selwyn Parata, with George Reedy as the chief executive.
The trust administers Treaty of Waitangi settlements under the Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Act, represents the iwi under the Māori Fisheries Act, and is the official iwi authority for resource consent consultation under the Resource Management Act. Its rohe is contained within the territory of Gisborne District Council, which is both a regional and district council.
Media Radio Ngāti Porou is the official station of Ngāti Porou. It is based in Ruatoria and broadcasts on in Tikitiki, at Tolaga Bay, in Gisborne, in Ruatoria, and at Hicks Bay.
Notable people
There are many notable people who are affiliated to Ngāti Porou. This is a list of some of them.
References
External links Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou website