Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Look who’s talking: Ng¯ati Kuia
As Marlborough looks back on the first encounter between Ma¯ ori and European people ahead of national Tuia 250 commemorations in November, reporter Chloe Ranford talks to the four iwi taking part in the event. Here, she speaks to Nga¯ ti Kuia treaty negotiator and wha¯ nau member Mark Mosses.
Which waka does Nga¯ ti Kuia connect to?
Nga¯ ti Kuia are one of the oldest iwi (tribes) to originate from Te Tauihu, the top of South Island. Our tı¯puna (ancestors) were some of the initial explorers and settlers of the area. We descend from the well-known Polynesian navigators Ma¯ ui and Kupe, who explored this region.
Nga¯ ti Kuia tı¯puna descend from the Kurahaupo¯ waka with Nga¯ ti Apa ki te Ra¯ To¯ and Rangita¯ ne. Nga¯ ti Kuia continue our waka traditions with our new waka Te Hoiere, which will join the Tuia 250 Celebrations.
Who are Nga¯ ti Kuia’s eponymous ancestors?
Kuia is our eponymous ancestress and we developed our own unique identity over generations of settlement and intermarriage with other groups from the time of Matua Hautere.
What is the Nga¯ ti Kuia rohe (district)?
Our rohe covers Te Tauihu (the top of the south). Nga¯ ti Kuia developed layers of customary interests in our rohe through exploration, naming places, use of resources and occupation of land. These areas often overlapped with those of other iwi as new groups settled. This sometimes resulted in conflict, which was often resolved by intermarriage.
Is there a particular waiata (song) associated with Nga¯ ti Kuia?
Pepeha is a traditional saying used to express and identify our ta¯ ngata whenua (natural land) relationship by using significant landmarks – mountains, lakes, rivers, lakes, seas, marae. One of our Nga¯ ti Kuia pepeha is:
Ko Tu¯ tu¯ mapou te
(Tu¯ tu¯ mapou is the mountain)
Ko Te Hoiere te awa (Te Hoiere is the river)
Ko Te Hora te marae (Te Hora is the marae)
Ko Nga¯ ti Kuia te iwi (Nga¯ ti Kuia are the people of these places)
‘E Koro Paroa’ is a traditional waiata still sung today by Nga¯ ti Kuia at Te Hora marae. It encourages us to gather near our mountains Kahuroa and Tu¯ tu¯ mapou in the Pelorus Valley, where our urupa¯ (burial grounds), whenua (land) and marae are located, to be united and remember our departed ones.
What is Nga¯ ti Kuia’s association to Meretoto?
Our tı¯puna were transient with more than one place of residence and moving with the seasons. This transiency meant that groups had large areas of interests using pahi (camping grounds) with nearby ka¯inga (villages) and pa¯ (fortified villages) to return to. Captain James Cook observed this in his many visits, and this may explain why he met new groups and missed other groups he had met before.
Nga¯ ti Kuia tı¯puna traded with Captain Cook on his three visits to To¯taranui (Queen Charlotte Sound) in the 1770s, and with the Russian explorer Captain Bellinghausen in 1820. However, this didn’t always work out well. It was over a trade dispute that our tı¯puna lead by Kahura killed a boat crew from Furneaux’s HMS Adventure in 1873 at Wharehunga Bay. Furneaux retaliated later by firing upon our tı¯puna who had gathered at the bay.
We have many significant sites near Meretoto, including wha¯ nau (birth) land.
maunga