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Kōrero: Te Aweawe, Te Peeti

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Te Aweawe, Te Peeti

?–1884

Nō Rangitāne; he rangatira

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Mason Durie, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1990. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

Nō te tau 1820 pea te whānautanga o Te Peeti Te Aweawe. He tama ia nā Te Aweawe rāua ko tana wahine matua ko Hinetārake. I takea mai i a Whātonga ki a Rangitāne. Ko Ngāti Hineaute tōna hapū. Ko ia tētahi o ngā kaiārahi i tana iwi, i a Rangitāne, i ngā tini pāhekeheke, i ngā taupatupatu o te wā i tae mai ai te Pākehā me ana pū.

I te whakaekenga a Waikato rāua ko Taranaki i ngā marae o Te Manawatū i ngā tau e 20 mai i 1820, ka hinga tana tipuna a Tokipoto, rāua ko Mahuri, hei karangatanga pāpā ki a ia. Ka mahue pani te iwi. Ka tau mai te taumahatanga ki runga ki a Te Peeti. He uri rā hoki nō ngā toa, me tū ia hei takere mō te waka ka tika. He tangata nui ōna pūmanawa mō ngā mahi tuku iho, tae atu ki ngā mahi hou, ki ngā ture hou, me ngā haumi hou.

Nō te haerenga mai o ngā iwi o Ngāti Raukawa, me ō Ngāti Kauwhata, ka noho i te rohe o Rangitāne, i runga i ētahi o ngā whenua o Ngāti Hineaute, o Ngāi Tamawahine, ka uru mai te ngākau hīkaka ki a Te Peeti. Nā reira, nō te tau 1863 ka tono ia ki te kāwanatanga kia whakahokia mai te whenua, 240,000 eka, i Rangitīkei atu ki Te Manawatū ki a Rangitāne rāua ko Ngāti Apa. Ka tautokona e te kāwanatanga te tono a Te Peeti (i muri mai nā rātou i whakahaere te hoko, ka whakahokia taua whenua). Heoi, i te tau 1865, nāna anō i whakahaere te hokonga o tō rātou whenua i Te Ahu-ā-Tūranga, e 250,000 eka, ki te Karauna, i noho tūturu ai te Pākehā ki reira. E tū mai rā te tāone nui o Te Papa-i-ōia (Palmerston North), me tōna rohe nui tonu i taua whenua i tēnei rā.

Ka rata mai hoki te Karauna ki a ia. Nō tana haerenga ki te āwhina i ngā hōia Pākehā, kātahi ka tino ū tana piri ki a tauiwi. Nō te tau 1866 te whakaurunga ōna ki te Ope Hōia Māori i te taha i a Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, ki te āwhina i a Meiha Tianara Trevor Chute i ngā pakanga i Taranaki. I muri ka hoki anō ki Taranaki pakanga ai ki a Tītokowaru i te tau 1868–69. Mō ana āwhina, ka tukuna te takoha a te kāwanatanga – he hoari (Sword of Honour) ki a ia, he haki mā tana iwi – e mau tonu nei ērā taonga i ngā uri. Āpiti atu ki ērā, i whakaaengia tana iwi ki te mau pū. I māia ai tā rātou tū atu ki a Ngāti Raukawa i Tūwhakatupua i te tau 1868. Heoi, nō te putanga atu o ana whanaunga, o Hēnare Te Herekau, o Pineaha Mahauariki, me Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotū – tokotoru he reimana Mihinare – ka herea te riri. Ka huri atu a Te Peeti ki te Kōti Whenua Māori hei whakatikatika, i hoki mai ai te hia mano eka i Ōroua, i Aorangi, i Tūwhakatupua ki te iwi o Rangitāne. Taka rawa iho ki te wā 1871–72, ka haere ia ki te āwhina i a Te Rangihiwinui me tana iwi o Mua-ūpoko ki tā rātou tono kia whakawākia, kia whakatūturuhia nō wai ngā whenua o Horowhenua. Ko te wā tēnei i whakaaro ai a Te Peeti kia tautohengia ngā whenua i a Ngāti Raukawa.

I taunuhia rā hoki a Te Peeti mā e ō rātou anō mō tō rātou haerenga ki te āwhina i te Karauna i ngā pakanga i ētahi takiwā kē. He wā anō, kāore ā rātou take i tautokona e ō rātou ake hapū. Ēngari, mehemea e whakaarohia ana ngā hua o ngā mahi a Te Peeti, ka kitea i hoki katoa mai ngā painga ki te iwi, i hoki mai ngā whenua i riro i a Ngāti Raukawa. Ahakoa tirohia atu kei te whakapiri pono ia ki te kāwanatanga a tauiwi, kāore koa, ko tana tino kaupapa ko te whakaora ake i te mana o tana iwi. Kāore i riro mā te pakanga, mā te muru, mā te raupatu e tango ō rātou whenua, ēngari mā te āta whakatakoto tikanga, mā te ture, ā, me utu rawa ki te whenua whakahoki mai, ki te moni rānei.

Na, nō te taenga ki te tau 1875, ka whakatika te hunga whakatū i ngā pou me ngā waea kawe kōrero atu i Te Papa-i-ōia ki Te Awahou (Foxton), ka tū atu a Te Aweawe ki te pei i a rātou i ngā whenua o Rangitāne. Kore rawa ia i whakaae kia takahia ō rātou whenua o te taha rāwhiti o te awa o Ōroua. Me mātua whiriwhiri rawa, me whakarite rawa he utu, ā, kia mau rawa ō rātou ringa ki ngā moni utu, kātahi anō ka tukuna ngā mahi kia haere. E waru marama e tāria ana kia whakatauria te take nei. Ka tipu te ngākaurua ki ngā Pākehā.

Ka haere te wā ka tae ki te tōnga o ōna rā, ka kite iho a Te Peeti, kei te whakakotahitanga o te iwi Māori katoa te ora mō rātou. Nā reira, ka riro nāna i manaaki, i tautoko a Tāwhiao i tōna haerenga tuatahi mai ki Te Manawatū i te tau 1883. Āki atu hoki ia ki tana iwi o Rangitāne, kia mau te pupuri i ō rātou toenga whenua, kia mau tonu ki tō rātou mana, ahakoa pēhea te tāmia mai e tauiwi.

Nō te 30 o Hune 1884, ka mate a Te Peeti i Awapuni tata mai ki Te Papa-i-ōia. I tanumia ki Puketōtara, he wāhi tū tata atu ki Rangiotū. Kotahi anō tana uri, ko tana tama, ko Peeti Rakiwhata, mai i a ia, ko ngā Rangitāne e noho mai rā i Tahoraiti.

Nō te tau 1907 i whakatūngia ai tana kōhatu. Kei waenganui tonu o te tāone nui o Te Papa-i-ōia kei runga i Te Marae-o-Hine. Hei whakamaharatanga tēnei ki a Te Peeti, he whakanui i a ia mō tana piri pono ki te Karauna, me tana manaaki i ngā Pākehā tuatahi i noho ki tērā takiwā.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Mason Durie. 'Te Aweawe, Te Peeti', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/1t27/te-aweawe-te-peeti (accessed 29 March 2024)