The battle of Tāmaki Makaurau plays out in the court of Tū
Wednesday, 22 February 2023
In the court of Tūmatauenga, the Māori ātua of war, one iwi leader sought to establish guardianship of the land they were on, the other listened to him and retorted, “You don’t say?”
The battle of Tāmaki Makaurau where mana whenua status over certain areas has come into question, has seen two iwi, Tainui and Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei, not only meet to battle this question in the tapu court of Tū on the marae ātea, they have also paid lawyers to hurl words at each other in the Western judicial system.
Both are the perfect places to have these discussions, however, in this instance it was a strange conundrum for those not involved, given the purpose of the pōwhiri on Tuesday was to welcome Te Matatini rōpū, and whānau from near and far.
As the sun shone brightly over Ōkahu Bay on Auckland's waterfront, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei welcomed more than 1000 people from across the motu, including a contingent from Waikato Tainui.
**READ MORE:
* Te Matatini: Hundreds of kapa haka performers arrive in Tamaki Makaurau
* Ngātokimatawhaorua: Te waka o Waitangi
* He kāho hinu, e wheua kua nehua: I ahatia a Puhiwai Rangi, te parāoa i hōiriiri
**
When Ngāti Whātua kaumātua Joe Pihema gave his whaikōrero he asserted his iwi’s status as mana whenua in the city, his words sparking a fierce verbal battle.
Waikato Tainui chairperson Tukoroirangi Morgan took umbrage and, when it was his turn to whaikōrero, he declared Tainui was, in fact, mana whenua.
From the manuhiri side, Morgan stood, facing Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei leadership and laid out his thoughts directly, before he and his entourage were met with a fierce response.
“Whakamānawatia a Kīngi Tūheitia, te whakatinanatanga o te mana Māori motuhake. (Celebrate Kīngi Tūheitia, the embodiment of mana Māori motuhake.)
“Anei tō rahi kua tae mai. Kua hoki mai ki te kāinga, ki te kei o te waka o Tainui (Here are your people, they have arrived. They’ve come home to the stern of the waka Tainui),” Morgan said in his whaikōrero on the paepae.
“Anei kua hoki mai koe ki te kāinga, e te Kīngi. (Dear King [Tūheitia], you have returned home.) Ka whakarongo ki ngā kōrero a ngā tamariki nei. Te hunga tamariki e mea ana nō rātou te mana o te pokapū o Tāmaki – e kī, e kī, e kī. (We listened to what these children are saying. The group of children who say they have mana over the centre of Tāmaki – well, well, well.)”
Morgan then referred to the house of the first Māori King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero on Pukekawa below the Museum of Auckland.
Morgan continued with a historic account of a meeting between Te Wherowhero and Governor Grey in 1849 where an agreement was signed to protect Tāmaki Makaurau.
”Kīhai koutou i hiahia ki te kōrero, ka waiho ki te Pākehā, ki te kōti a te Pākehā tā koutou take hei whakatutuki. Ka pai, ka pai. Kei konei mātou. (You [Ngāti Whātua] didn’t want to talk, you left it for the Pākehā, to the Pākehā courts to settle your claim. Nice, nice, we’re here.
“Ehara mātou i te tauhou ki te pakanga – pai noa, pai noa. E ora tonu ana mātou i tēnei wā. (We are not strangers to war – it’s all good. We’re still living.)”
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s general manager for culture Te Kurataiaho Kapea’s response to Morgan was swift and condemning.
He opened by thanking Morgan for his “lies”.
“Tuatahi, mai rā anō tae noa ki te rā nei, kāore a Ngāti Whātua ki raro i te Kīngitanga. (Firstly, since long ago right until today, Ngāti Whātua has not been under the Kīngitanga),” Kapea retorted.
“Horekau ōna kīngi, horekau ōna kuīni (It has no kings, it has no queens).
“Kia mārama tērā ki a koutou katoa. Koutou e hamahama nei i te kōrero nei, ‘Tō tātou kīngi, tō tātou kīngi’ – āe mārika! (Let that be known to you all. All of you pounding home that narrative, “Everyone’s king, everyone’s king” – yeah right!”
Kapea questioned the origin of the kōrero, stating that while the narrative may continue, it is not one Ngāti Whātua are a part of.
“E kī nei koe, nōu te pokapū o Tāmaki – nekeneke mai! (You say that the centre of Tāmaki is yours – bring it on!)
“Koutou ka hiahia ki ngā whenua nei – nekeneke mai, haere mai! (Those of you who want these lands – bring it on, come here then!)
“Ko konei mātou pau te kaha, whawhai ai ki te tangata pokateka ki te kerēme i ō mātou whenua, pokateka ki te takatakahia mātou. Meinga! (We are here and will exhaust everything fighting the people who lie and claim our whenua, who slander and disregard us. You don’t say?)
“Nō reira, kua horaina e koe, e Tuku, te ngākau pono o roto i a koutou – kua mārama. (So Tuku, you have shared your true feelings – we understand.)
“Mehemea mō Te Matatini nei, kāore he take o te tangata nei ki runga mehemea koinei ngā āhuatanga. Waiho ko te kaupapa kia mahi i ana mahi. (For Te Matatini, there is no reason for that person to be up there if that’s the way things are. Leave the festival to speak for itself.)
“Nā wai i mea, me hanawiti… ngā iwi Māori ki waenganui i a kourua? Me hanawiti mārika, hei mīti mā kourua? Āe mārika. (Who says we need a sandwich… with Māori in between you two? We need a sandwich, with us as the meat for both of you? You don’t say?)
“Ko mātou kāore e noho atu ki roto i tērā hanawiti a kourua, a koutou rā! (We will never be in that sandwich of you both, of all of yours!)
“Hei aha noa atu ngā koha. Kua hē i a koutou. (Forget the koha. You’ve ruined it.)
“Huri, kia haka tātou. (I’m done. Let’s haka.)”
This story has been amended to change the translations of “meinga” and “āe marika” to “You don’t say?”