My interest in the first people began with a walk between lock-downs in 2020, at Waitaha Pa on the left. It’s not far from the farm I moved to in 1971 aged eleven. I grew up six kms from the pa site at a place called Okoia. On the farm I found a toki, a small black argillite stone adze. It came to me and it was my treasure. Sadly I no longer have it, it was lost after my marriage broke up.
Above: the Wanganui River taken from the Waitaha Pa site.
The toki is traditionally a carving tool, as a taonga (treasure), it represents strength, determination and courage.
Who were the people of the adze? The signs at the Waitaha Pa site are blank. What was written there? I was determined to find out. Okoia means to ‘dig’ or ‘scrape,’ and I will dig. I will use the early historians and the Maori themselves to tell the story.
The version of New Zealand’s history I was taught as a child is different from the official version now being taught and I don’t like it. I want the truth. I don’t have an axe to grind about the Maori, and I don’t want to take anything away from them, but I will, metaphorically speaking, use an adze to scrape away at the revisionist’s version of history.
Here are the pages relating to the earliest tribes of NZ:
- The Waitaha
- Te Kahui Maunga (arrived with the Waitaha)
- The Maruiwi (Known in Taranaki as “Te Kāhui Maunga” and the Bay of Plenty as Pananehu)
- The descendants of the three crews were later known as Te Tini-o-Maruiwi, Te Tini-o-Ruatāmore, Te Tini-o-Taitāwaro, Te Tini-o-Pananehu, Koaupari and Te Wīwini.
- Ruatamore
- The Ngati Kahupungapunga (a division of Ruatamore)
I’ve also included a page for the Urukehu, white Maories who weren’t albinos. While not a tribe, they weren’t Pakeha.
I recommend you start with the pages relating to the Waitaha and Te Kahui Maunga.
If you want the truth I recommend starting with old books and the Journal of the Polynesian Society, as their findings are not tainted by modern day politics. Unfortunately the Journal of the Polynesian Society has been taken over by Auckland University, making it harder to get the information. This is why some of the older links may not work. For instance, you now have to login to view articles like THE TANGATA WHENUA; OR, ABORIGINAL PEOPLE OF THE CENTRAL DISTRICTS OF THE NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND.
During my cancer treatment, I visited Auckland Museum. I will do a page on museum exhibits. I found some of the artifacts mentioned by these early historians on display at Auckland museum. I have shown them here, so they and the people who made them won’t be forgotten:
- Maruiwi artifacts can be seen on the Maruiwi page.
- Artifacts and canals from the Far North – Ruatamore / Waitaha
Meanwhile, the mauri or essence of the early people lingers on in the following places. They have contributed to Maori culture and their genes are in many tribes today.
The Stones Cry Out
“What a lot of crap …” someone wrote to me about the ancient people. I would reply that the stones cry out. What happened to all the 140 stones at Atiamuri? Why was the discovery by Auckland University of the standing stones at Opito on the Coromandel Peninsula published without fanfare and forgotten about? Why aren’t the stone walls and structures protected in the Waipoua Forest?
The Ngāti Kahupungapunga
The rock to the left is next to SH1 at Atiamuri between Tokoroa and Taupo. I used to drive past without knowing it’s significance.
This was the last stronghold of the Ngāti Kahupungapunga, a tribe who no longer exist. Their last stand was on this rock. The town of Tokoroa is named after the chief who defended it.
Ngati Raukawa, the sub-tribe of Tainui who wiped them out acknowledge the Ngati Kahupungapunga as the original Tangata Whenua, the people of the land.
The Ngati Kahupungapunga lived all along the Waikato Valley. Piraunui Pa at Matawhana near Tokoroa was a major pa site which sadly has not been preserved. In 1930 the walls and domes were still intact and carefully trimmed rock showed a finish that would not disgrace a stone mason.
Just north of Pohaturoa rock on SH1 at Atiamuri is Hatupatu’s rock, the sole remaining rock of a row of 140 stones that stood in an unbroken line, with one standing 2 metres higher than the others.
There are two different stories about this rock, one is unlikely and the other on-site explanation is completely fanciful. The rocks were unlikely to have been put there by Ngati Raukawa, although they are now it’s guardians.
Ngāti Kahupungapunga also lived around Lake Okataina in the Rotorua Lakes district. Before they were called the Kahupungapuna, they were of the myriads of Ruatamore who had followed the myriads of Maruiwi. There’s more about them under ‘The people before Toi.’
Here’s some pictures from the Te Kouto pa site at Lake Okataina. Left is the ancient gateway to the pa, first photographed in 1904. Note the size of the men by comparison when it was put back upright. Right is me at the pa, which is dotted with small holes like these carved into the hillock.
I have dedicated a whole page to the Ngati Kahupungapunga here, Ngati Kahupungapunga for those who want to learn more.
The people of Kupe and Toi
This ancient stone is at Cornwall park, Auckland originally from up north at Te Arai and it belonged to “the people of Kupe and Toi.” It’s called Te Toka-tu-whenua: The stone which has travelled around.
Te Arai is up the coast from me, in the province of Rodney, just south of Northland. It’s where I did my first walk. The meaning of Te Arai is a “veil” or a “shelter.”
The stone was a tuahu, to mark a place where ceremonies for birth and christening, the planting and harvesting of the kumara and fishing and hunting were performed. Every village of importance in former times had one.
This is from an account of a speech by Eru Maihi, a Ngati-Whatua chief in 1909: “Tahuhu, chief of the Moekakara canoe, landed near Te Arai and set up a temporary shelter (arai). He there also set up this rongo stone found there as an altar to safeguard his folk against the witchcraft of the people of Kupe and Toi, who already lived thereabouts.”
This account of them is from the Polynesian Journal: Kupe and his people discovered people at various places. These people were the Mamoe, the Turehu, the Tahurangi, the Poke-pokewai, the Patupaiarehe, the Turepe and the Hamoamoa. They lived on the fronds and berries of the trees, and the roots of the earth. They were expert in preparing such foods, and in snaring and spearing the birds in forest and fish in stream. They also prepared food from the tender parts of the nikau, the tikoukou, the para and the mamaku (tree ferns).
Another name that people were called by was Te Tini-o-Toi-kai-rakau (the multitude of Toi, eater of trees). Toi being an ancestor of a section of that people. They dug the roots with long ko (spades), an implement unknown to the Maori before we came to those islands, and found those people just as Kupe had described them. Kupe was attacked by, and in return attacked those people of Karioi, near Raglan, and Aotea on the West Coast. These people were the Ngati-Matakore so-called, not the tribe of that name now living here in this island, who descend from us of “Tainui.”
Source: Volume 28 1919 > Volume 28, No. 110 > The account of Kupe and Tainui, by George Graham, p 111-116
The Bay of Plenty Ngāti Awa tribe are descendants of Te Tini o Toi (The people of Toi) in the Bay of Plenty region and the people of Mataatua waka.
“The task of Ngati-Awa when dwelling at Whakatane, Ohiwa, and Opotiki was continuous fighting against Maruiwi and Ngati-Ruatamore.”
The people before Toi
There were even earlier people than Toi.
TE WHARE WAANANGA AUTUROA give the names of those people whom were present in Aotearoa prior to the arrival of Toi te Huatahi: Tangata Whenua o Aotearoa.
Rotorua Lakes District:
According to Ngati Tarawhai history, the first people to settle in the area was an iwi called Te Tini o Maruiwi (the myriads of Maruiwi.) They were followed by Te Tini o Ruatomore (the myriads of Ruatomore) who were to later adopt the name Ngati Kahupungapunga. Source: Lake Okataina Scenic Reserve history
The Maori record that the original people, Ngati Ruatamore, were exterminated at Te Wairoa.
Below left: The stone pataka was unearthed at the Buried Village at Te Wairoa. It is unusual because the Maori never built with stone. There’s also a stone pataka on the south-east shore of nearby Green Lake, near the former village of Epiha. It’s like the one at the Buried Village at Tarawera, without the ornamentation.
Below right: This ancient carving is displayed at the Buried Village museum.
These people were absorbed into the people of Toi:
- The myriads of Ruatamore: The Wahine-iti (Whakatane) were a division of Ngai-Te Ruatamore.
- The Maruiwi: The Pananehu (Whakatane) were a division of the Maruiwi folk.
Both Ruatamore and Maruiwi people in the Bay of Plenty were absorbed into the people of Toi.
In Northland:
The Ngāti Kuri, a tribe at the top of the North Island claim descent from Ruatamore.
The Maruiwi
The extinct Maruiwi people were a pre-Maori tribe. As stated above the Maruiwi people in the Bay of Plenty were absorbed into the people of Toi. There was continual warfare between the Maruiwi tribes dwelling at Whakatane, Ohiwa, and Opotiki and Ngati-Awa.
Hawkes Bay
Heipipi Pa at Bayview near Napier is described in page 303 of The art workmanship of the Maori race in New Zealand as, “A celebrated pa of the autochthonous people overlooking the outlet of the Petane Valley, near Napier.” Autochthonous means “native to the place where found; indigenous.”
Source: The art workmanship of the Maori race in New Zealand
An article from 1904 in the Wairarapa Daily Times states Heipipi Pa was the home of the extinct Maruiwi tribe.
Auckland
There were other tribes occupying the Auckland isthmus before the arrival of the Arawa and Tainui canoes. Rangitoto has erupted more than once. These earlier people witnessed the eruptions of Rangitoto Island.
Rangitoto Island is said to have formed 600 years ago, which conflicts with the date of 1350 that DOC gave for the arrival of the Tainui canoe. The date of 1350 for the arrival of the canoe seems wrong. How can Rangitoto be formed 600 years ago if Tainui and Arawa anchored there? The captains of the canoes had a fight over adultery at Islington Bay on Rangitoto Island.
The answer is that Rangitoto Island was already formed and inhabited before the arrival of the immigrants from Tainui and Arawa. The inhabitant’s footprints are preserved in the ash of adjacent Motutapu Island. Was the 600 year date given for the formation of Rangitoto Island made to fit the arrival of the Tainui and Arawa canoes?
In this case the simplest explanation is the truest. The footprints on adjacent Motutapu Island had to have belonged to the original inhabitants of the area.
Here are their footprints from adjacent Motutapu Island, and those of their dogs, preserved in the ash.
Who were these people?
The Ngai Tai ki Tamaki tribe have clarified the matter on their page Ngai Tai ki Tamaki, Tipua, Tūrehu and Patupaiarehe.
The explorer Toi was there long before the arrival of the Tainui canoe, and when Toi Te Huatahi arrived in Tāmaki he found it to be extensively settled already by the Maruiwi peoples as firstly evident by the many occupation fires visible from his arrival. Hence, Toi called this land Hawaiiki tahutahu, ‘Hawaiiki of Many Fires’.
Peretū was a key Maruiwi ancestor.
Click here to see the page about the origins of The Maruiwi.
Pre-volcanic Auckland
People have been in NZ since before the volcanic era.
Tree and Axe found from before the Auckland Volcanic Era
An ancient tree and axe was found in Auckland 1874 at a depth of about 25 feet below the surface. From the surface downwards for about 14 feet, at the place where the root was found, the hill is composed of volcanic matter. So it was found well below that level.
Nuku-tawhiti
Has NZ been populated since the time of Noah?
The tradition of Nuku-tawhiti bears trace of great age. This Nuku-tawhiti, whose name is of interest etymologically, is almost certainly the Nu’u of the Hawaiian deluge legend, the Polynesian Noah (see also Deluge). Tupu-tupu-whenua was also called Kui, or had a wife named Kui, and they went down under the ground. Kui is now incarnate as a little insect.
Nuku-tawhiti is the father of Papa-tahuri-iho, and grandfather of Papa-tahuri-ake. The name of the house built by him in New Zealand was Whatupungapunga.
Source: Encyclopedia Mythica, Nuku-tawhiti
The Turehu
According to the tradition, the Ngati Kui were the first to occupy the North Island (Te Ika-a-Maui) including Motutapu. They were driven beneath the earth by the Tutumaio who were in turn supplanted by the Turehu. The Turehu or Patupaiarehe who occupied Motutapu, Motuihe and the adjacent mainland were known locally as Maewao (Murdoch 1991:5 citing Graham 1927 citing Ngati Kahu elder Wiripo Potene)
Source: Motutapu Archaeological and Historic Landscapes Heritage Assessment, Andy Dodd, Auckland Conservancy, MAY 2008
Turehu: Hoani Nahe, a Ngāti Maru (Hauraki) elder of the late 19th and early 20th centuries writes graphically of a people called the patupaiarehe and the tūrehu, who inhabited the land prior to the arrival of the Polynesian peoples. Source: TeAra, The Encyclopedia of NZ
The Maori have spiritualised the Turehu as the “little people,” but fairies don’t leave footprints.
Taranaki: Te Kāhui Maunga, the people of the mountains
Turehu Street is in New Plymouth. The earliest ancestors of the Taranaki people were Te Kāhui Maunga – the people of the mountains. Source: Te Ara: Taranaki Tribe.
“They were known as the Kāhui Ao, Kāhui Rangi, Kāhui Pō and Kāhui Atua, collectively called Te Kāhui Maunga. They occupied Mimi Maunganui (the mountain preceding Taranaki), Ruatupua (Pouakai), and Ruatawhito (Kaitake) ranges. Their principle village was Karakatonga, situated high up in the heart of the Waiwhakaiho river valley. When the new mountain surfaced the people temporarily evacuated the site with many also perishing.” Source: Taranaki iwi
Waipoua Forest
This area was home to the Turehu. ‘Puke’ means ‘hill,’ Turehu’ are the original inhabitants of the land. There are stone structures up in the hills we aren’t allowed access to. The best we could do was drive up to the forest tower which looks out over Puketurehu Hill.
Waipoua Whitewash, Challenging NZ History, Who were here first? “Waipoua Forest is best known for its primeval kauri trees, but there is also a major pine plantation in the forest which is wrecking the stone city. The roots of the pines are cracking ancient structures and when the pines are felled for timber, they’re likely to destroy a lot of the stone structures. Free ranging cattle are also damaging the site.” Source: elocal
The report on the stone ruins in the Waipoua Forest area can be found here: Waipoua Archeological Sites and Te Roroa History. The sites are being covered by pines and bracken fern. An archeological reserve was proposed in 1985 but nothing seems to have come from it and it’s very hard to find information. More info is in this post, Our walk at Waipoua Forest.
The Ngati Hotu
“Even in the 1880’s it was impossible to mistake the descendants of these ancient tribes, for they did not in any way resemble the true Maori of the migrations; this is specially noticeable in the case of the Ngati-Hako, whose type of face is Mongolian and who bear no resemblance to the fair descendants of Hotunui among whom they live.” Source: The Tangata Whenua of the Central North Island
The meaning of the tribal name Ngati Hotu is to sob, to yearn.
Ngāti Hotu were a light-skinned tribe that, according to tradition, lived in the central North Island of New Zealand in the area surrounding southern Lake Taupo, where the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe now resides. Ngāti Hotu were driven out of the area and suffered a major defeat by the Ngāti Tūwharetoa at the battle of Pukekaikiore (‘hill of the meal of rats’).
Some survivors were found living at Kakahi near Taumarunui. They were discovered there by a party of Wanganui Māori and were defeated in the battle of five forts. The final, brutal episode of the battle was played out on the flats between Kakahi and the Whanganui river when the now, effectively victorious Wanganui Māori hung the legs of fallen Ngāti Hotu warriors from poles mounted in the forks of trees – a gesture at which their remaining enemies broke and fled off into the depths of the King Country to vanish from history. Source: Wikipedia
There are some Ngati Hotu left, headed by matriarch Monica Matamua, a red-head with green eyes. The main results of her DNA test showed 40% Mediterranean origin, 12% European, and only about 14% Oceanic or Polynesian.
Although she admits that many of her ancestors kept a low profile because they were ashamed that they had lost battles, she also maintains that many of her family fled to the bush because of the danger of being found. “Nevertheless, the blood still thrives in our veins; it hasn’t been extinguished.”
Monica states that the Ngati Hotu had a language of their very own which was completely different to the Maori language of Kupe’s ancestors or the “Ngapuhi language which we learn in schools today.”
Monica Matamua said, “Everywhere Kupe went, there were fair-skinned people. When Kupe came here, the land was already populated. Many of them were Ngati Hotu.”
It appears there were many tribes descended from these light-skinned people with green eyes – but despite their different genetic makeup the Waitaha and Ngati Hotu have contributed dynamically to Maori culture and have formed the foundation of many tribes today. Source: the “Fairy People” aka Patupaiarehe and Turehu.
Because Ngati Hotu survived into the colonial era I’ve put proof of them on a separate page.
Click here to see an old tourist map, book and photo relating to the Taupo area. There’s also more about Monica Matamua, the matriach of the tribe from our current era.
I hope to convey something of the nature of the first people from the pa sites, stones, carvings, altars, stone constructions, frozen footprints, old photos, newspaper clippings, maps and DNA. How faint now is their memory but they lived, and this is the evidence.
Links
Ngati Hotu, Taupo / National Park
Kakahi – The Tongariro River Motel : Ngati Hotu
MAORI ROCK CARVINGS : Source, Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 84, 6 October 1925, Page 9
Walks related to the Ngato Hotu
Ngati Kahupungapunga, Waikato
Piranui Pa, Matawhana near Tokoroa
Hatupatu’s rock, Atiamuri:
Raukawa Charitable Trust, e-book “The Blade of the Club of Raukawa.” – The link constantly gets replaced, I recommend ask the Cambridge Museum for the pdf book.
Maori did not set up memorials of carved stone to commemorate victories over enemies – certainly not 140 of them all in a straight line with one standing 2 metres higher than the other. Source: Tangata Whenua, Atiamuri Stones.
Taranaki:
Here’s a walk we did in Taranaki at a pa site where there used to have a sacred stone. Who knows where that’s gone, but I have included info on the petroglyphs found in Taranaki and also NZ’s oldest wooden artifacts.
Land of the long, light – haired people? – Some unbiased reporting from Stuff in 2009 before journalism changed. Don’t be put off by the title, not all tribes had black hair, and ignore the fairy.
Elsdon Best: Volume 37 1928 > Volume 37, No. 146 > The Maruiwi folk of the Bay of Plenty District, by Elsdon Best, p 194-225
THE PATU-PAIAREHE
Patupaiarehe were also known as tūrehu and pakepakehā. Source: Te Ara, Patupaiarehe and ponaturi. That’s where we get the word pakeha.
See walks at Mount Ngongotaha and Mt Pirongia.
Other websites worthy of mention:
- Tangata Whenua: The Ancient Tribes of Aotearoa
- The Case For Prehistoric Civilisations In New Zealand
- John Aldworth, Evidence of an earlier culture living in NZ is becoming more apparent
- Geological Evidence of the Antiquity of Man – no pumice was found in the Waitaha middens of the Horowhenua area
THE SOUTH ISLAND:
NZShortWalks 