He Pu Wananga ki Motatau

Te Matahauariki 

Issue 4, Jan 2002 

Laws and Institutions for Aotearoa/New Zealand 

Inside This Issue 

He Pu Wananga ki Motatau 

On 27 

d 

Mrs Mabel Waititi, QSM, with Motatau Mountain in 

the background. 

th September a seminar in the Pu Wananga series was held in Motatau, Bay of 

Islands, led by Mrs Mabel Waititi, QSM, with Kevin Prime, Chairman of the Ngati 

Hine Kaumatua Council. Several other members of the Motatau community were 

also present to welcome Judge Brown and members of Te Matahauriki on behalf of 

Ngati Hine. Other participants in the seminar were Drs Alex Frame and Richard 

Benton, Nena Benton, and Rev. Tukaki Waititi. The focus of the seminar was on how 

Maori customary law operated in Maori communities like Motatau in previous 

generations, when these places were comparatively isolated and virtually ran their 

own affairs. 

Topics discussed included the selection and authority of rangatira, the kinds of disputes 

and infractions of tikanga that arose, how these were resolved, and the kinds of sanctions 

that were imposed. The role of legend, history and myth were explored. Kevin Prime 

gave a very interesting illustration of how national legislation had subverted customary 

environmental safeguards by protecting wrongdoers from the threat of drastic sanctions. 

There was a well-known story, learned by every child in Motatau and adjacent 

communities, about how a poacher had been caught taking kiwi from a reserve and 

had his tongue gouged out as a punishment. The impression was left that the iwi 

authorities would impose the same penalty on future offenders. This system worked 

well until the government enacted 

legislation to protect wildlife in reserves: 

"… Maori actually felt protected by the 

legislation. Protected because they knew 

you were not going to get killed now for 

flogging kiwi. You might go to jail or get 

a fine, but you’re not going to die … and 

you get a free feed when you go to jail 

anyway." 

The origins of certain current Maori 

customary practices were also discussed, 

including the placement of the body of 

the deceased during a tangi. Mabel 

Waititi was actually present when Tau 

Henare, MP, decided in 1933 that Ngapuhi and Taitokerau should revert to their older 

traditions in this regard, rather than abide by the public health regulations enacted by 

the government. When Taki Shortland, a leading rangatira of Ngapuhi died, he was 

carried from Tau Henare’s house to a tent, as required by the regulations. Tau Henare 

said the body was carried out “E Taki, ehara i te kino ki a koe e maua nei koe ki waho, 

engari e mohio ana koe ki nga ture …”. (Taki, it is not anything against you why you 

are being carried outside. You are aware of the regulations...") Then, at midnight, a 

wild storm blew up and almost lifted the tent. Tau Henare then announced: 

"E Ngapuhi, whakahokia ta tatou tupapaku ki roto i nga whare. Kore au e whakaae 

kia mate o tatou tuahine o tatou kuia i te nohonga i te makariri”. (Ngapuhi, return our 

deceased back inside the house. I will not allow our old women to become sick from 

sitting in the cold.") 

A large number of other issues were traversed, with concrete examples of customary 

law as a dynamic system integrating the community. 

pg. 

pg. 

Paul Meredith and Alex Frame Present Paper to Historical Conference........................2 

Turnbull Library Interest in Te Matapunenga....................................................................3 

Rob Joseph Returns from Whirlwind Trip to North America..........................................4 

Website Proving Useful Tool...............................................................................................4 

Ko te Rongomaiwhiti o te Reo..............................................................................................5 

Alex Frame in Fiji Land Cases...............................................................................................6 

Re-Historicising Maoritanga.................................................................................................7 

1

Paul Meredith and Alex Frame Present Paper to Historical 

Conference 

On 1 December 2001 , Alex Frame 

and Paul Meredith presented a joint 

Paper to the New Zealand Historical 

Association Conference in 

Christchurch. The Paper was titled 

“Performing Law : Muru and 

Hakari” , and the authors described 

their intention as follows : 

‘Our purpose in this short Paper is 

firstly to describe the Project under 

way at Te Matahauariki Institute , led 

by Judge Mick Brown at Waikato 

University , to compile a 

‘Compendium of References to Maori 

Customary Legal Concepts and 

Institutions’ – more succinctly named 

in Maori ‘Te Mätäpunenga’. 

Secondly , we propose to demonstrate 

the kind of work which the Project is 

generating by laying before you some 

work in progress under the two titles 

‘Muru’ and ‘Hakari’ – we hope that 

this material will , even at this early 

stage, show the range of sources we 

are traversing and the form which we 

hope to give to the final product. 

Thirdly , and basing ourselves on the 

material we will have offered on 

‘Muru’ and ‘Hakari’, we will draw 

attention to the significance of 

‘performance’ in customary Maori 

legal transactions , and to the 

relevance this may have for the 

development in Aotearoa/New 

Zealand of a ‘common law’ which 

reflects the concepts and values of 

both our major founding cultures.’ 

Paul Meredith said that the 

Christchurch presentation was part of 

the continuing process of refining our 

techniques in relation to Te 

Matapunenga and of broadening and 

deepening the understanding of the 

Project in the wider community of 

scholars. 

The full text of the Paper may be 

found on the Te Matahauariki 

website. 

No te 1 o Tihema 2001, i 

whakatakotohia tetahi pepa mahi tahi 

e Alex Frame raua ko Paul Meredith 

ki te Huihuinga Hitori ki Otautahi Ko 

te ingoa o te pepa “Ko te Ture 

Whakaari: Muru me te Hakari” a ka 

penei nga whakaaro a nga kaituhi: 

‘Ko ta maua kaupapa mo tenei pepa 

poto nei kia matua whakamarama i 

nga mahi e mahia nei e te 

Matahauariki, e arahina ana e Tiati 

Mick Brown ki te Whare Wananga o 

Waikato ki te whakaemiemi i nga 

‘korero e pa ana ki nga tikanga 

tawhito a te Maori me ona Whare’ 

ka ata tapaina i roto i te reo Maori ‘ko 

te Matapunenga’ Tuarua, e hiahia ana 

maua kia whakaatuhia te ahua o te 

mahi e whakaara haerehia nei e te 

kaupapa a, ka whakatakotohia nga 

mahi e mahia haerehia nei i raro i te 

upoko ‘Muru’ me ‘Hakari’ - ko ta 

maua tumanako ka whakaatu nga 

korero nei ahakoa katahi ano ka timata 

i nga puna korero i keria e matau a ka 

pehea nei te ahua o te mahi ina oti ai. 

Tuatoru, ka whakamau te titiro ki nga 

painga o te mahi whakaari o roto i nga 

mahi whaimana a te Maori i runga ano 

i nga korero i whakatakotohia mo te 

Muru me te Hakari, a, he pehea tona 

hangai mo te whanaketanga o tetahi 

ture whanui ki Aotearoa/Niu Tireni e 

whakaata nei i nga tikanga me nga 

uaratanga o nga iwi e rua nona nei te 

mana o te motu.’ 

Ka meinga e Paul Meredith ka 

whaiwahanga tenei mahi ki roto i te 

mahi whakapakari i nga pukenga e pa 

ana ki te Matapunenga,a ka 

whakawhanuihia, ka whakahohonuhia 

te maramatanga o te mahi kia hou atu 

ki roto i nga ohu tohunga 

Ka rokohanga atu i te pepa nei ki 

runga i te wahi ipurangi a te 

Matahauariki. 


MURU AND AITUA 

An editorial in a Maori periodical in 

1917 points out that muru did not 

necessarily have to result from an 

intentional act and could instead be 

sought for unintended happening. 

The article gives the example of a 

muru caused when Hongi Hika was 

nearly hit by a falling tree and asserts 

that the object of the muru was to 

caution the tribe to take proper care 

of the chief. The rule was that if any 

aitua befell a chief it was through the 

“whakaarokore” or negligence of 

the tribe: 

“Ko te Muru Whakanui koia tenei. 

Me he mea ka pangia tetahi Rangatira 

e tetahi aitua- aitua ranei ki tona tinana 

tonu ake, aitua ranei ki ana tamariki, 

aitua ranei ki tana wahine, aitua ranei 

ki ona taonga i muri iho i te aituatanga 

ka tae te rongo ki etahi o nga Hapu o 

taua Rangatira, katahi ka whakatika 

mai aua Hapu ki te muru i nga taonga 

o taua Rangatira i pangia e te aitua 

ratou ko tetahi o ona hapu, ara ko te 

hapu i noho ai ia i te wa i pangia ia e te 

Aitua - ka murua katoatia. Ko taua 

Muru he mea mahi whakakite tonu i 

te tirohanga atu ano a taua Rangatira 

a ratou ko tona hapu. Heoi kaore e 

aha atu, nana ka muru i nga taonga, 

nana ka kotikoti i nga whenua - hei 

aha hoki? Heoti ano ta taua Rangatira 

ra ratou ko tona hapu e tiaki ko o 

ratou tinana ana ke kei pangia e te 

patu...”( [Translation in the original] 

If some aitua (qv) or evil omen should 

happen to any chief to his own 

person, or children, or wife, or goods 

as soon as intelligence thereof 

should reach the tribes related to, 

or under the mana or influence of 

such chief, those tribes would rise 

up and strip the chief, and also the 

tribe with whom he was residing, of 

all their goods and possessions; and 

this stripping would be done under 

the eyes of the chief and tribe, and 

they would raise no objection, even 

if they should deprive them of all 

their goods and landed possessions, 

and distribute them among 

themselves; and all that the chief and 

his tribe would protect, would be 

their own persons from blows…) 

‘Ko te Muru Whakanui’ (Stripping 

to Exalt) in Te Manukura-Maori 

Recorder, February, 1917, Auckland, 

p. 14. 

2

Turnbull Library Interest in Te Matapunenga 

Te Matapunenga Interest in Turnbull Library 

On 23 November 2001 , Alex 

Frame and Paul Meredith gave a 

presentation in the National Library 

Auditorium in Wellington on the Te 

Matapunenga Project , for the 

management and staff of the Library 

and other invited guests. The 

presenters were accompanied to the 

Library by Project Adviser, Dame 

Joan Metge , and would like to 

express their thanks to Joan for her 

generous support. Using their 

Christchurch Paper as a basis , Alex 

and Paul attempted to show the sorts 

of problems and issues which arose 

in compiling the Compendium. 

. In a letter of 5 December thanking 

the presenters , the Chief Librarian , 

Margaret Calder , wrote : 

"Sessions like this are a very good 

way to give Library staff some 

understanding of the scope of the 

research ; the range of scholarship 

covered; and the intellectual and other 

problems involved with researching 

these topics. We are also pleased that 

the Library has the resources to 

support such wide-ranging research. 

This can only be of advantage in terms 

of the assistance staff can give…In 

this connection , our Reader will be 

pleased to give a special tour of the 

various sections. Following this , we 

can arrange a meeting with the 

Curators to discuss ... further research 

and the relevant Maori resources in 

the Library." 

A collaborative relationship between 

Te Matapunenga researchers and the 

Turnbull Library is of great importance 

to the Project , and the Institute looks 

forward to continuing the dialogue 

begun on this occasion. The Institute 

thanks Margaret Calder and her staff 

for the scholarly and supportive 

initiative taken by the Turnbull Library 

in inviting the presentation. 

I te marama o Tihema te 23 rd , ka 

whakatakotohia he korero e pa ana ki 

te Matapunenga ki te wahi puoru o te 

Whare Pukapuka-a-motu ki Poneke 

mo nga kaimahi me etahi manuhiri. I 

haere hoki a Dame Joan Metge i te 

taha o nga kaiwhakatakoto korero, a 

kei te mihi atu raua mo tona tautoko i 

a raua. Ka tikina ko te pepa i mahia ki 

Otautahi hei putaketanga whakaaro a 

Ka whakamatauhia a Alex raua ko 

Paul ki te whakaatu i nga raruraru me 

nga take e ara mai ana i te mahi 

whakaemiemi korero mo te 

Matapunenga. 

I roto i tetahi reta mihimihi ki nga 

kaiwhakatakoto i te 5th o Tihema ka 

tuhi a Margaret Calder te rangatira o 

te Whare pukapuka: 

"ka mutu pea nga mahinga penei 

rawa e marama ai nga kaimahi whare 

pukapuka ki te huarahi whai o te mahi 

rangahau; te rahinga atu o nga puna 

korero i tirohia; me nga raruraru o te 

hinengaro e pa ana ki nga take nei e 

rangahautia ana. Kei te harikoa hoki 

matau mo nga rauemi o te Whare 

Pukapuka e tautoko nei i te mahi 

rangahau. He painga ano kei roto na 

te mea ka taea e nga kaimahi te 

awhina…i runga i tena e harikoa ana 

to matau Kaipanui ki te arahi i a Te 

Matahauariki ki etahi wahi o te whare 

nei. Whai muri iho, ka taea te 

whakarite he hui ki te Kaitiaki Matua 

ki te whakawhiti korero mo etahi ano 

o nga korero maori kei roto i teWhare 

Pukapuka nei. 

He take nui whakaharahara mo te 

Matapunenga mena ka mahi tahi nga 

kairangahau o te Matapunenga me te 

WharePukapuka Huripuru, a e 

arikarika ana a te Matahauariki kia 

haere tonu enei korero i timata ai i taua 

ra. E mihi ana a te Matahauariki ki a 

Margaret Calder me ona kaimahi mo 

te tono rangatira nei i tonoa e te 

Whare Pukapuka Huripuru kia 

whakatakotohia he korero ki mua i a 

ratau. 


HAKARI 

In 1849, a hakari was held at 

Kororareka in the aftermath of the 

Northern Wars at which tribes who 

had fought on opposite sides were 

present. In a despatch to Earl Grey, 

13 October 1849, Sir George Grey, who 

had personally attended the hakari, 

expressed his surprise at the 

assembling of such a large number of 

Maori, and that the former opponents 

had dispersed without the least 

disturbance: 

“I am happy to be able to inform your 

Lordship that although the largest 

assemblage of natives I have yet seen 

met at Kororareka; and although 

these were composed of tribes 

previously hostile to each other, the 

whole feast passed off in the most 

friendly and gratifying manner; and 

that before I left the Bay of Islands, 

the great body of natives had 

dispersed in the most amicable 

manner, having apparently 

completely laid aside their mutual 

animosities”. 

British Parliamentary Papers (New 

Zealand), Vol. 6., despatch of 13 

October 1849. 

Cuthbert Clarke made a sketch of 

this hakari, capturing the scale of the 

event: 

‘The stage erected to contain the 

food at the feast given by the native 

chiefs, Bay of Islands, September 

1849,’ B-030-007, Alexander Turnbull 

Library. 

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull 

Library, National Library of New 

Zealand Te Puna Mätauranga o 

Aotearoa, must be obtained before 

any re-use of this image. 

3

Rob Joseph Returns from Whirlwind Trip to North America 

Institute Researcher, Robert Joseph, 

has returned from what can only be 

described as a whirlwind trip to North 

America. Robert visited Canada and 

the United States from 5-31 August 

for primarily PhD research. Robert’s 

PhD research is on the complex 

dynamics of indigenous postsettlement 

development. 

However, while there Robert took 

the opportunity to promote the Institute 

and to explore possible opportunities 

for collaborative work. Robert had a 

very full itinerary and met with an 

impressive list of academics, 

government officials, first nations 

peoples and senior members of the 

legal profession. 

Robert noted a particular interest in 

restorative justice, culturally 

appropriate dispute resolution 

processes, the Matapunenga project 

and pluralistic legal systems. 

Robert hopes to build on the 

relationships established and is 

planning to make a return trip next 

year. 

A report on use of the Institute's 

website has brought home that it 

remains the major form of 

communication with end users and the 

wider community. 

The report shows a general trend 

of increase. 70% of traffic originates 

from New Zealand and includes 

tertiary institutions, government 

departments, local and regional 

councils, schools, media, the legal 

profession and private individuals. 

The other 30% of the traffic comes 

from overseas and includes countries 

such as Australia, USA, Norway, UK, 

Netherlands, Hungary, Chile to name 

few. 55% of traffic are accessing the 

papers online. 

The Institute plans to continue to 

monitor progress and further develop 

the site. 

Website Proving a Useful Tool 

Kua hoki mai a Ropata Hohepa, he 

kairangahau no Te Matahauariki nei, 

i tana haerenga amio ki America ki te 

Raki. Ko te kaupapa matua o tana 

haere ki Kanata me Amerika mai i te 

5 ki te 31 Akuhata, ko te mahi 

rangahau mo tona tohu Paerangi e 

whaia nei e ia. Ko te kaupapa o tona 

tohu paerangi, he ata wetewete i nga 

take taimaha whai muri i te 

whakataunga kereme. 

Otiia, i a ia i reira, i whakanuia e 

Ropata nga mahi o Te Matahauariki 

me te kimi huarahi hoki e taea ai e 

matou me ratou te mahi tahi. Kiki 

tonu nga ra i nga huinga, a, miharo 

ana te titiro ki te rarangi ingoa o nga 

tangata i tutaki ai, ara, nga pukenga, 

nga tangata kawanatanga, nga tangata 

whenua tae atu ki nga rangatira o te 

hunga ture. 

Hei ta Ropata, e aro mai ana ratou 

ki te kaupapa restorative justice, 

(Taumauri) ki nga huarahi i runga ano 

i nga tikanga a te iwi mo te whakatau 

raruraru, ki Te Matapunenga, a, ki nga 

ture mo tena iwi, mo tena iwi. 

Hei ta Ropata ano, ko ana tumanako 

kia whakapakari ake i nga herenga 

ki aua tangata, a, kia hoki atu ki aua 

whenua hei te tau kei te heke mai nei. 

Kua kitea e Te Matahauariki i tetahi 

ripoata mo te kainga ipurangi o Te 

Matahauariki, koia tonu tona huarahi 

nui mo te tuku whakaaro korero hoki 

ki te ao whanui. 

Hei ta te ripoata, kei te piki ake nga 

tangata, ropu hoki e whakapa mai ana 

ki to matou kainga ipurangai. Ko te 

70 orau o ratou no Aotearoa nei, ara, 

ko nga kura wananga, nga tari 

kawanantanga, nga kaunihera-a-rohe, 

nga kura, nga teihanga tiwi, te hunga 

ture hui atu I nga tangata noa. Ko te 

toenga notawahi, ara, ko Ahitereia, 

ko Amerika, ko Norway, ko 

Ingarangi, ko Netherlands, ko 

Hungary, ko Chile me te tokomaha 

atu. Kua tikina atu e 55 orau o aua 

tangata, ropu ranei o matou pepa. 

Ka tirohia tonutia e Te Matahauariki 

nga nama whakapa mai ki to matou 

kainga ipurangi I nga marama kei te 

tu mai nei, me te whakapakari ake I 

tona ahua, tona kiko hoki. 


RANGATIRA 

In a particularly insightful 

correspondence in 1956 to the 

Journal of the Polynesian Society, H. 

Te Kani Kerekere Te Ua offered some 

thoughts on chieftainship: 

Chieftainship is the prerogative of 

the tribe. They may depose any 

member of the tribe from that rank 

where he has been indiscreet or has 

been unworthy to hold the position. 

Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 

64, 1956 Auckland, pp. 489-490. 

4

He mea tiki atu ko te upoko o tenei 

korero hai whakaahua ake i te ahua o 

te reo e hangai ana ki aku 

whakaarotanga mo te mahi 

whakamaori, whakapakeha. Na Te 

Wharehuia tenei i kupukupu iho a ka 

whakamanawa i te hinengaro kia pau 

i a ia te haere ki te whakawananga i 

tenei ahuatanga o te reo. Kia 

whakamaorihia ake: tera e rangona 

ana i tona whitinga koia tera ko te 

rongomaiwhiti o te reo. Ka 

whakamatauhia kia nanao atu i tona 

matu, puawai ana ko te whakaaro nei 

na: no roto mai i nga mahi 

whakamaori, whakapakeha ka akina 

kia tirohia ko te wairua o te kupu, kaua 

ko te tinana kau. Ma kona ra e tika ai, 

e hangai ai ki tau e takahurihia nei. 

Engari, kei reira etahi e mea ana kei 

noho nga kaiwhakamaori ka takahia i 

te mana o te reo e whakamaori nei ia, 

kia noho tutua ke. 

Mai ano tenei whakaaro i titikaha 

ai ki nga hiringa mahara a te hunga 

Pakeha kia noho ko te reo Pakeha kei 

runga ko te reo o nga tutua ara ko te 

reo Maori ki raro kua kore te mana o 

te reo whai i tirohia. I perahia ai, i ta 

ratau herekino ki te reo matapuna ara 

te reo Pakeha i to ratau hauwarea ki 

nga purakau o mua, otira no te 

hinganga o te whare teitei o “Babel” i 

paoa rikirikihia ai nga reo ki nga topito 

katoa o te ao. Ka aitua te hunga no 

ratau te reo matua, te reo kotahi o te 

ao, a ka kawea te whakaaro ko nga 

reo o Iwi ke atu he reo tatakimori. He 

aha te aha ki a ratau kia aronui atu ki 

te mana o nga reo o etahi atu. Na te 

kore i whai wahanga atu ko te reo whai 

ki roto i nga aria mo te mahi 

whakamaori kua kore he huarahi 

rangahau i putaketia mai i te hinengaro 

Maori ake. 

Heoi, ko tetahi aria kei te kaha te 

whaia e etahi ko te tauira o te mahi 

kaitangata. Ka whakaritea ko te mana 

o te tangata ki tera o te kupu, ka mutu, 

ka kai i te tangata tona hoariri ko tona 

ano mana tana e hiahiatia ana ehara 

ko te parekareka o tona kiko. Kainga 

atu ana kua riro i te tangata taua mana, 

a ka nui ake tona ano mana. Ka pena 

ano mo te kupu. Ka uru mai mai ana 

he kupu hou ki roto i aku mahara kua 

penei ke taku titiro: ata koia tirohia te 

wahi i mapuna ai taua kupu engari 

kaua hoki e wareware ki nga waha e 

horomia nei i taua kupu. 

Ko te Rongomaiwhiti o te Reo 

Te Matahauariki is embracing 

translation as an integral part of the 

research activity designed for Te 

Matapunenga and it’s construction. 

Primary source entries that have 

been unearthed from documents 

written only in Maori will need to be 

translated, existing documents with 

their own translations will need to be 

examined, and providing further 

research stimulus as the project 

moves forward. As the scope of the 

materials being researched is 

extensive in terms of the genre and 

the historical context it was written 

would indeed require the translator 

to reflect these aspects as he 

translates. It is these kind of 

conceptual encounters that have led 

certain theorists to proclaim that 

fidelity is fundamental for a translation 

to be valid. This Post Babel complex 

led to sterile linguistic dissection that 

favoured the source text at the 

expense of the receiver. 

Contemporary theorists have 

ushered in a new era through which 

the receiver culture is rendered with 

the same importance. Cannibalism or 

Antropafagia is a new methodology 

being promoted as a means to which 

the imported word is viewed as a 

culinary delight for the consumption 

of the receiving culture. It’s fusion 

with the translator and receiving 

culture is taken figuratively as one 

would when participating in ritualistic 

feasts of human flesh, it ennobles the 

donor while it frees the receiver to 

amalgamate and appreciate his new 

mana. 

These polemics vividly show the 

intercultural tensions embedded in the 

activity of translation demonstrating 

the dangers of being located at the 

hiatus of cultures. It is unacceptable 

to think that a translator specifically 

deals with the husk of a word as 

opposed to its wairua. For as each 

culture superimposes it’s own ideals, 

nuances and idioms on the words it 

uses so must the translator attempt 

to emulate and pinpoint the actual 

meaning and proposed meaning of 

new word. In so doing the translator 

takes on a (meta)autonomous role 

in defining and determining the words 

to be used however discursive it 

appears on the surface. 


MANA WHENUA 

There has been a general 

assumption that the term 'Mana 

Whenua' emerged out of Native 

Land Court contestations for 

Maori land titles. However in a 

letter to Governor Gore Browne 

predating the establishment of 

the Court, the term was employed 

by the Te Arawa scholar,Wiremu 

Te Rangikaheke. Te Rangikaheke 

was informing the Governor of 

his discussions with Wiremu 

Tamihana: 

"E hoa, e te Kawana, 

Kua whakaae a Wiremu Tamihana 

ki te kupu i whakapuakina e au ki 

a ia. 

1. Ko te Tiriti ki Waitangi, ara ko 

te whakaae tanga a te Kuini i te 

mana Maori ki a tohungia mana 

tangata, mana whenua...." 

[Translation in the original 

source] Friend the Governor- 

Wiremu Tamihana has consented 

to the word that I spoke him. 

1. The Treaty of Waitangi, that 

is, the Queen's consent to the 

"mana" Maori being respected 

in regard to the men and the 

land...) 

Letter from Wiremu Maihi Te 

Rangikaheke to Governor Gore 

Browne, 9 July 1861, AJHR, E-IB, 

No. 22, p. 20. 

5

In a press statement on 29 August 

2001 the Native Land Trust Board in 

Fiji announced the engagement of Dr 

Alex Frame as Counsel in two cases 

concerning native lands and the status 

and effect of the Deed of Cession of 

1874 under which Fiji was ceded to 

Queen Victoria. 

Alex Frame is no stranger to the 

Pacific Islands , having been brought 

up in Tahiti. He has served as 

constitutional adviser to the Cook 

Islands and Niue Governments, and 

has conducted electoral litigation in 

Samoa. He is reported as saying that 

‘it was an honour to be asked to assist 

in the development of indigenous Fijian 

rights by constitutional process’. 

The General Manager of the Native 

Land Trust Board , Mr Maika Qarikau 

, said that the legal status and meaning 

of the 1874 Deed in modern Fijian law 

were important questions which 

should properly be determined by 

Fijian Courts , and that the further 

question arose whether obligations of 

a fiduciary nature assumed by the 

Crown in relation to the Deed of 

Cession have devolved upon the 

successor State of Fiji following its 

accession to independence in 1970. 

Alex was in Fiji in August preparing 

the cases , and visited the old capital , 

Levuka , where the Deed was 

arranged and signed in 1874 : 

‘We took all the historical material 

we could find on the Deed to the site 

in Levuka where the Deed was 

drafted , explained and signed over a 

three day period in October 1874.With 

the assistance of fellow Counsel 

Jekope Levaci , it was possible to build 

up a picture of the sequence of events 

and of their probable significance for 

the parties.’ 

Alex says that the cases required 

research into Fijian customary law, and 

that this was quite relevant to Te 

Matahauariki’s interest in customary 

law. 

Alex Frame in Fiji Land Cases 

No te rua tekau ma iwa o Akuhata 

2001 i roto i tetahi panui niupepa i 

whakahuahua i te Poari - Tangata 

Whenua Kaitiaki Whenua, ka kokuhua 

a Takuta Alex Frame hei Roia mo nga 

keehi e rua e pa ana ki nga whenua a 

nga tangata whenua, me te ahua o te 

mahi o te Deed of Cession i te tau 

1874 nana nei te mana i tukuna ai a 

Whiti ki raro i a Kuini Wikitoria. 

Ehara a Alex Frame i te tauhou ki 

nga moutere o te Moana nui a Kiwa i 

te mea i tupu ai ia ki Tahiti. I mahi ia 

hei kaitohutohu mo nga take whakatu 

mana kawanatanga ki nga moutere o 

Kukiairani me Niue, a, ka kawea etahi 

keehi e pa ana ki te mana poti ki 

Hamoa. Ko tetahi korero mona i 

whakahua i a ia ‘he honore nui ta ratau 

inoi mai ki ahau mo taku awhina ki te 

whakapakari i nga take tangata 

whenua o Whiti ma roto mai i te mahi 

whakatu mana kawanatanga’ 

Ka meinga e te kaiwhakahaere o 

te Poari Tangata Whenua Tiaki 

Whenua a Maika Quarikau he take 

nui whakaharahara ko nga patai e 

hangai ana ki te tu – a – ture me nga 

whakamarama o te purongo 1874 i 

roto i nga ture o enei rangi, a, me 

whaitikanga tonu ko te mahi 

whakamarama ki nga Koti o Whiti, 

waihoki ko te patai i ara ake mena i 

here te Karauna ki te mahi manaaki i 

raro ano i taua purongo tuku mana, i 

waimeha ke ranei i te ekenga o te 

Kawanatanga o Whiti ki runga i te tau 

1970. 

I te whakariterite keehi a Alex 

Frame i te marama o Akuhata ki 

Whiti a ka toro atu ki Levuka te 

nohoanga tawhito o te Kawanatanga, 

ko te wahi i whakarite ai i haina ai i 

taua purongo i te tau 1874: 

‘Ka heria e matau i nga korero hitori 

e pa ana ki taua purongo ki te wahi i 

Levuka i reira i whakamatauhia ai, i 

whakamaramahia ai, i hainahia ai o 

roto i nga ra e toru i te marama o 

Oketopa 1874. Na te mea i awhina 

mai te hoa roia a Jekope Levaci, i taea 

ai te whakaahua i nga mahi i mahia 

me nga ahuatanga i whaipaingia ai mo 

ia kaikorero.’ 

E meinga ana a Alex me na nga 

keehi nei ka ahu nga rangahau ki nga 

tikanga tawhito o te ture o Whiti a e 

tino hangai ana ki ta te Matahauariki 

aronui ki nga tikanga tawhito o te ture. 


TAPU 

In a late 19th century newspaper 

article defending the tohunga Maori, 

his/her training and practices, I. 

Rerekura Te Rangiwhakaewa, notes 

several different forms of tapu: 

Kowai koia te tangata nga tangata 

ranei maori pakeha e kaha ana ki te 

mahi i nga wai rakau, me nga hinu o te 

whenua hei rongoa patu i nga mana 

me nga tapu o tatou tupuna e tuake i 

raro nei 

Ika Whenua 

Rua Taniwha 

Makutu 

Tuahu 

Hau Taonga 

Wai Herekaha 

Toka Maara 

Wai Hukinga Toto 

me era atu tini tapu e noho maira i 

runga i te mata o te whenua. 

([Translation provided by Te 

Matahauariki] Who is the person or 

people, Maori, Pakeha, that is able to 

use the 

nutrients of the trees and land to 

restrain the energies of tapu listed 

below that came from our 

ancestors....and other forms of tapu 

existing on this plane). 

Te Tiupiri, Vol 2, Issue 56, 6 June 

1899, 6. 

6

Re-Historicising Maoritanga 

The following re-examines the orgins and development of the term 

'Maoritanga' and provides an indication of the nature of an entry under a Te 

Matapunenga title - only an early draft at this stage : 

Maoritanga: Literally, “Maoriness, circumstances or qualities of being 

Mäori” Etymology: mäori (stative) [from Proto-Polynesian *ma(a)qoli “true, 

real, genuine”] “normal, usual, ordinary; native, belonging to New Zealand, 

Mäori” (the use of this word to denote Mäori people dates from the early part 

of the 19 

The University of Waikato Library and Waikato Print 

proudly present the publication of 

The Ancient History of the Maori 

as compiled by John White 

on CD-ROM and also in print comprising 13 volumes of books. 

This unique collection consists of 7 reprinted volumes compiled and published by 

White from 1887-1891, as well as transcriptions of the 6 unpublished, handwritten 

manuscripts White intended to publish but was unable to do so before his death. 

th Century), + -tanga (nominalizing suffix). Note that an older use of 

the term mäoritanga denotes “meaning, explanation”. 

A search of 19th Century ‘Maori Newspapers’ reveals the use of the term 

Maoritanga as early as 1844 in the Governor’s newspaper, Te Karere o Nui 

Tireni. Complimenting the alleged many Maori who want their children educated 

in the ways of the Pakeha, the paper notes: 

“Ka maiengi ratou i roto i te pukohu o te Maoritanga”. [“They will rise out 

of the shrouds of Maoriness”] (Vol 3, July 1 1844, No. 7, p. 33) 

There are numerous other references to Maoritanga in the newspapers during 

the later half of the 19th Century. A discernible theme of the period is that 

Maoritanga as the cultural traits and practices of the ancestors, are antithetical 

to progress and civilisation. In a report on a Government council in Auckland 

in 1864 where a major subject of deliberation was ‘rebellious’ activity amongst 

the Maori population, it was asserted: 

“Te mahi a ena tangata he whakararuraru i nga iwi, he tuku pouritanga ki 

runga ki te whenua. E kore e noho pai i tona kainga ka whai pea ki nga ritenga 

totika. Tana i pai ai he whawhai, he tutu, he hoki ki nga ritenga o te maoritanga.” 

[What those people do is cause trouble for the people and misery over the 

land. He will not reside peacefully on his homestead and pursue lawabiding 

endeavours. What he prefers is conflict, mischief and to return 

to the customs of Maorihood.] (Te Waka Maori o Ahuriri, Issue 2, No. 40 24 

December 1864, p. 1.) 

By the turn of the century, there was ambivalence amongst many Maori 

towards the desirability of the total assimilation of the Maori people and the 

loss of Maori identity. At a hui at Te Kuiti in 1911, leading Maori rangatira 

from around the country gathered to discuss what was meant by the term 

‘Maoritanga’. The gathering moved the following motion: 

“E kotahi ana te whakaaro a tenei hui, kua tae tenei ki te wa e tika ana kia 

whakapaua te whakaaro o nga iwi Maori katoa o nga motu nei, ki te whakakotahi 

i a ratou ki runga ki tetahi tikanga tapu, i runga i te kaupapa o te Maoritanga 

motuhake, kaore nei ona tikanga e taupatupatu, ki te Ture ki nga hahi ranei me 

nga tikanga motuhake o ia iwi o ia iwi.” [“This gathering is of one mind, the 

time is now right for all the Maori tribes of the land to give real thought to 

uniting themselves around a sacred term, around the idea of a special 

Maorihood, its cultural traits not conflicting with the Law, religions and 

the individual cultural practices of each tribe.”] (H.H. Wahanui, Maori 

Development Hui, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, MSY-5005) 

There was a growing assertion that Maori must retain their Maoriness. One 

of the leading advocates was Sir Apirana Ngata’s father, Paratene Ngata, 

who in a letter to the Maori newspaper, Te Toa Takitini in 1920 lamented the 

state of the Maori language as part of a wider neglect by Maori of their 

Maoriness: 

“He Maori tonu te tangata ko ona whenua i heke mai i roto i tona taha Maori, 

ka haere ki te tono ki te Kooti kia kiia ia he tangata pakeha ko ona whenua kia 

whaka-pakehatia. He tohu enei hei kitenga iho ma tatou ko te Maori ano kei te 

takahi i tona Maoritanga me ona take Maori. [“A Maori person whose 

lands he inherited from his Maori side goes and requests the court to 

declare him or her a European and to Europeanise his/her lands. These 


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7

are signs that show us Maori that Maori themselves are transgressing 

theirMaoriness and Maori concerns.”] (Number 3, p. 4) 

Sir Apirana Ngata writes that at a hui in 1920 at Te Kuiti , Sir James Carroll 

urged his audience to: 

“Kia mau ki tou Maoritanga”. [“Hold onto your Maoriness.”] (‘Tribal 

Organization’, in Sutherland, I.L.G. (ed.), (1940) The Maori People Today: A 

General Survey. Wellington: Whitcombe & Tombs, p. 177.) 

This statement by Carroll has generally been credited with being the coinage 

of the term Maoritanga and is located within the climate of the first Maori 

renaissance. (See Toon van Meijl, ‘Historicising Maoritanga: colonial 

ethnography and the reification of Maori traditions.’ JPS, Vol. 105, no. 3, p. 

311) 

Part of the appeal for a retention of a Maori identity was the highlighting of 

tribal consciousness. In a letter, 17/6/1929, to Peter Buck, Sir Apirana Ngata 

maintained that when it comes to the development of race consciousness: 

“... that it should be based on tribal consciousness... The battle has been to 

break down tribal exclusiveness ... while appealing to tribal consciousness to 

reconstruct the elements that welded the tribe together. (Na To Hoa Aroha, 

Vol. I, p. 209) 

In a chapter on the tribal make-up of Maori society, Ngata commented on 

Carroll’s catch-cry, ‘kia mau ki to koutou Maoritanga’ and offered his own 

definition: 

“It means an emphasis on the continuing individuality of the Maori people 

the maintenance of such Maori characteristics and such features of Maori 

culture as present day circumstances will permit, the inculcation of pride in 

Maori history and traditions, the retention so far as possible of old-time 

ceremonial, the continuous attempt to interpret the Maori point of view to the 

pakeha in power.” (‘Tribal Organization’, in Sutherland, I.L.G. (ed.), The Maori 

People Today: A General Survey. Wellington: Whitcombe & Tombs, pp. 177- 

178.) 

William Cameron, writing in 1989, has noted the deployment of the term 

Maoritanga in the second renaissance of Maori language and culture: 

“The meaning of the term is debated and discussed, analyzed and defined, 

used and abused with great frequency in the present upsurge of interest in 

Maori culture and traditional ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. A second 

Maori renaissance seems to be under way, aided by this all-embracing term 

and strengthened by the success of the first one in the early decades of this 

century. . . .” (ANZAC, No. 2, http://www.arts.uwo.ca/~andrewf/anzsc/anzsc2/ 

2cameron.htm) 

Nevertheless the idea of a tribal consciousness remains a strong element in 

any discussion of Maoritanga with commentators often quoting John Rangihau’s 

declaration of his Tuhoetanga rather than his Maoritanga: 

“Although these feelings are Maori, for me they are my Tuhoetanga rather 

than my Maoritanga. My being Maori is absolutely dependent on my history 

as a Tuhoe person as against being a Maori person. It seems to me there is no 

such thing as Maoritanga because Maoritanga is an all-inclusive term which 

embraces all Maori. And there are so many different aspects about every 

tribal person... I have a faint suspicion that the term Maoritanga is a term 

coined by Pakeha to bring the tribes together. Because if you cannot divide 

and rule, then for tribal people all you can do is unite and rule.” (‘Being Maori’ 

in King, M. (ed) Te Ao Hurihuri: Aspects of Maoritanga, 1975). 


WHANGAI 

In an erly 20th century newspaper 

article, I.Hutana of Ngati Kahungunu 

offers his thoughts on the sucession 

rights of whangai: 

Ehara rawa i te tikanga Maori te 

whakawhiti ke i nga paanga o te matua 

whangai, ki te tamaiti whangai, ... ko 

te tikanga Maori mo te tamaiti 

whangai, ka hoki ano ki roto i nga 

paanga o ona matua ake, i runga ano 

i te take huihui, i heke mai i roto i te 

tino take ki te whenua, kaore hoki te 

whangai 

Robert 

e tangohia 

Joseph 

i waho o nga 

Ngati 

whakapapa 

Paretekawa, 

me te toto, 

Ngati 

a, ko 

Te 

nga 

Kohera, 

paanga wehewehe 

Ngati 

kei 

Kahungunu, 

runga tonu i 

Rangitane 

nga mahinga kai anake, a, ko nga 

paanga o te matua whangai, ka heke 

ano ki ona uri tipu, ki ona whanaunga 

ranei, mo nga mahinga kai, me nga 

taonga hapahapai 

([Translation provided by Te 

Matahauariki] It is not a custom of 

the Maori for the interests of the 

adoptee Father to be left to the 

adopted child.... The Maori approach 

is that he falls back on his rights 

through his birth parents.where it is 

done with people present, where the 

rights to that land also descended 

through lineage. The adopted child 

never took the land outside of the 

family, it is demarcated according to 

one’s labours, further the rights of a 

adoptee Father extend to his own 

children, or his relatives, for his 

labours and contributions, if however 

the assets extended to the adopted 

children it will be disengaged in 

particular it will have begun a 

completely genealogical right by the 

adopted child.] 

Te Puke ki Hikurangi, Vol. 5, No. 1, 

August 30 1902. 

8

Wishing ishing Y YYou 

Y ou All All the 

the 

Best Best for for 2002 

2002 

Members of the Research Team and Advisory Panel 

meeting in Hamilton in November 2001 

fr from fr om 

Te e Matahauariki 

Matahauariki 

Issue 4, Jan 2002

Te Matahauariki Online at 

www.lianz.waikato.ac.nz 

Researchers 

Nga Kairangahau 

Judge Michael Brown 

Tui Adams 

Professor Margaret Bedggood 

Associate Professor Richard Benton 

Professor Dame Evelyn Stokes 

Dr Alex Frame 

Manuka Henare 

Robert Joseph 

Paul Meredith 

Gay Morgan 

Rachel Parr 

Wayne Rumbles 

Tonga Karena 

Mark Henare 

Leon Penney 

The Advisory Panel 

Te Ropu Kaitohutohu 

Justice David Baragwanath 

Justice Eddie Durie 

Professor Mason H. Durie 

Denese Henare 

Dr Dame Joan Metge 

Professor Wharehuia Milroy 

David Oughton 

Professor Tamati Reedy 

Professor James Ritchie 

Judge Anand Satyanand 

Professor Michael Selby 

Professor Richard Sutton 

Professor Mathew Palmer 

Paul Heath QC 

Contact: 

c/- School of Law 

University of Waikato 

Private Bag 3105 

Hamilton, New Zealand 

Ph 64 7 858 5033 

Fax 64 7 858 5032 

Email smacleod@waikato.ac.nz 

Te Matahauariki i te Ipurangi ki 

www.lianz.waikato.ac.nz 

Some Publications Available/Forthcoming 

Etahi Pepa kei te Haere Mai 

Dame Evelyn Stokes, Wiremu Tamihana Te Waharoa: 

A Study of his Life and Times. 

Dr Alex Frame, Property and the Treaty of Waitangi: 

A Tragedy of the Commodities? 

Rachel Parr and Paul Meredith, Collaborative Cross- 

Cultural Research for Laws and Institutions in 

Aotearoa/New Zealand. 

Dame Joan Metge, Korero Tahi – Talking Together. 

Dame Evelyn Stokes, Tikanga Maori and Geothermal 

Resources. 

Robert Joseph, Historical Bicultural Development: A 

Recognition and Denial of Maori Custom in the 

Colonial Legal System of Aotearoa/New 

Zealand. 

Dame Evelyn Stokes, Bicultural Methodology and 

Consultative Processes in Research. 

Robert Joseph, Comparative Analysis of the Constitutional 

Frameworks of New Zealand and Canada 

within a Pluralistic Context. 

Dr Alex Frame, A Journey Overland to Taupo in 

1849 by Governor Grey and Te Heuheu Iwikau. 

Gay Morgan Reflections on Pluralist Conundrums. 

See www.lianz.waikato.ac.nz/publications1 

Whakapa Mai: 


c/- Te Wahanga Ture 

Te Whare Wananga O Waikato 

Pouaka Poutapeta 3105 

Kirikiriroa, Aotearoa 

Waea 64 7 858 5033 

Whaki 64 7 858 5032 

E-mere smacleod@waikato.ac.nz 

10

He Pu Wananga ki Motatau

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