Look who's talking: Ngāti Kuia

Monday, 19 August 2019

Ngāti Kuia whanau gathered at Te Hora Marae, near Canvastown.

As Marlborough looks back on the first encounter between Māori 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 Ngāti Kuia treaty negotiator and whānau member Mark Mosses.

Which waka does Ngāti Kuia connect to?

Ngāti Kuia are one of the oldest iwi (tribes) to originate from Te Tauihu, the top of South Island. Our tīpuna (ancestors) were some of the initial explorers and settlers of the area. We descend from the well-known Polynesian navigators Māui and Kupe, who explored this region.

Ngāti Kuia tīpuna descend from the Kurahaupō waka with Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō and Rangitāne. Ngāti Kuia continue our waka traditions with our new waka Te Hoiere, which will join the Tuia 250 Celebrations.

Who are Ngāti 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 Ngāti Kuia rohe (district)?

Raymond Smith, of Ngāti Kuia, co-chairs the Totaranui 250 Trust, which is organizing Tuia 250 commemorations in Marlborough later this year.

Our rohe covers Te Tauihu (the top of the south).

Ngāti 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 Ngāti Kuia?

Pepeha is a traditional saying used to express and identify our tāngata whenua (natural land) relationship by using significant landmarks – mountains, lakes, rivers, lakes, seas, marae. One of our Ngāti Kuia pepeha is:

Ko Tūtūmapou te maunga (Tūtūmapou is the mountain)

Ko Te Hoiere te awa (Te Hoiere is the river)

Ngāti Kuia traded with Captain Cook, pictured, on his three visits to Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound.

Ko Te Hora te marae (Te Hora is the marae)

Ko Ngāti Kuia te iwi (Ngāti Kuia are the people of these places)

'E Koro Paroa' is a traditional waiata still sung today by Ngāti Kuia at Te Hora marae. It encourages us to gather near our mountains Kahuroa and Tūtūmapou in the Pelorus Valley, where our urupā (burial grounds), whenua (land) and marae are located, to be united and remember our departed ones.

What is Ngāti Kuia's association to Meretoto?

Our tīpuna 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 kāinga (villages) and pā (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.

Ngāti Kuia tīpuna traded with Captain Cook on his three visits to Tōtaranui (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 tīpuna lead by Kahura killed a boat crew from Furneaux's HMS Adventure in 1873 at Wharehunga Bay. Furneaux retaliated later by firing upon our tīpuna who had gathered at the bay.

We have many significant sites near Meretoto, including whānau (birth) land. By retelling our pūrākau (stories), singing our waiata and remembering the karakia, we maintain the experience of our ancestors. They are a learning tools to help us remember our history and our heritage. Like Cook and his associates our ancestors left place names, oral maps, stories and artefacts to be remembered.