Ko te tikanga o te Kotahitanga he whakakotahi i te iwi Māori, tae rawa ake ki ērā kua motu ō rātou taura here ki te kāinga.
He kanorau ngā rōpū kotahitanga; he rōpū ā-rohe ētahi, he rōpū ā-motu ētahi. He whakakotahi i ngā iwi te kaupapa a ētahi, he whakaū i te pūmautanga iwi tā ētahi. Arā hoki ērā i tautoko i te whakakotahitanga ki roto i ngā whakahaerenga Māori me te kore aro ki te iwitanga. Ko ētahi ka pū mai i te whakapono, hei tauira i te taha wairua o te iwi Māori. Tērā anō ngā rōpū kāore he here ki te kāwanatanga, me ērā ka whai huruhuru mai i te kāwanatanga.
Ko te tauira tōmua o te kotahitanga ko te kara tuatahi o Aotearoa. I mua i te tau 1840 kāore i whakaaetia ngā waka i hahauhia ki Aotearoa kia whakarere i te haki o Peretānia. Ā, ko te kaipuke o Patuone rāua ko Taonui, ko te Sir George Murray tērā, i puritia mō te kore mau kara. Hei whakaea i tēnei raru, ka whakarauikatia mai e te Kainoho Peretānia e James Busby ngā rangatira o te Tai Tokerau kia whiri rātou i te haki mō ngā kaipuke o Aotearoa. Kāti, i te 20 o Aperira i te tau 1834 ka whakatārewatia te kara o Te Whakaminenga o ngā Iwi, ā, ka whakamanaia e ngā rangatira 25 o te Tai Tokerau ki Waitangi. Ka whakamanaia hoki e Peretānia te haki me ngā rēhita a ngā Māori.
I te tau o muri mai ka kōwhiria te haki ā-motu, ā, ka whakahuia mai e Busby ngā rangatira o te Tai Tokerau ki Waitangi. Ka mutu i te 28 o Oketopa i te tau 1835, ka tāmokohia Te Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene, i whai mana ai te rangatiratanga ki te whenua rangatira. I te tuatahi ka waitohutia e ngā rangatira o Te Hiku o Te Ika, ā, taihoa ka kuhu haere mai ko Te Wherowhero o Waikato, me Te Hāpuku o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga. Ko te tikanga ka hui i ia rua tau, engari kāore tonu rātou i hui.
I te waituhinga o te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka kī a Hobson ki ngā rangatira, ‘He iwi kotahi tātou’ me te rūrū anō i a rātou. He momo kotahitanga hoki tērā. I roto i tētahi reta a Ngāti Whātua ki te kāwana i te tau 1860 ka whakapuakina ‘ko te kotahitanga o ēnei iwi e rua’.1 Heoi i te nuinga o te wā ka pā anake tēnei kōrero ki te Māori.
Ko te Tiriti o Waitangi te tūāpapa o ngā ture o tēnei motu. Kāti he waikanaetanga i waenganui i te Karauna a Kuini Wikitōria me ngā rangatira Māori. Ko tētahi take mō te whakahaere i te tiriti he whiriwhiri i te whakawhitinga o te tino rangatiratanga i runga i te whakatau kē o ngā rangatira i tō rātou mana motuhake i te tau 1835. Ka kōrero hoki te tiriti mō te whakataunga o mua ake, arā: ‘The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the separate and independent Chiefs’. E ai ki te wāhanga Pākehā o te tiriti, ka whakawhiti te tiriti i te tino rangatiratanga ki Peretānia, engari ki te wāhanga Māori, ka hoatu kē ko te kāwanatanga. I te wāhanga Pākehā hoki, ka pupuri tonu te Māori ki ō rātou whenua, engari i te wāhanga Māori, ka puritia tonutia e rātou ko te tino rangatiratanga. I roto hoki i te whakataunga o te tau 1835, ko te tikanga o te kupu rangatiratanga ko te ‘independence’.
Nō te tekau tau 1850 ka whakaarahia te huatau mō te Kīngitanga e Tāmihana Te Rauparaha rāua ko Hēnare Mātene Te Whiwhi. He whakapono hoki nō Te Whiwhi mā tētahi Kīngitanga rā anō e wawao i ngā whenua o te Māori. Ko te pūtake he whakakotahi i te iwi Māori ki raro i te awe o tētahi kīngi. I te huanga ake ka whiua te heitara he rōpū aukati hoko whenua (land league) te Kīngitanga.
I tū te hui whakatau kia kake te rangatira o Waikato, a Pōtatau Te Wherowhero ki te piki tūranga kīngi, i Pūkawa i te tau 1856. Ka whakatūria te pou haki,ā, ka titia ngā taura here maunga o ngā iwi o Te Waipounamu me Te Ika-a-Māui ki tērā whenua. I te tau 1858 ka pōtaea a Kīngi Pōtatau.
I te uinga o te ariki o te Tai Rāwhiti, a Te Kani-a-Takirau mō te kīngitanga ka whakautua, ‘Kua kīngi anō au i ōku tīpuna’. Ehara taku maunga i te maunga haere’.
He rangitahi te kīngitanga a Pōtatau – ina rā ka mate i te 25 o Hune i te tau 1860. Ko tōna piki tūranga ko tana tama ko Tūkāroto. Taro kau ake, ka whakaekea a Waikato e te kāwanatanga, i te tau 1863, i tōna wenerau ki te Kīngitanga. I te Ākuhata o 1864 ka tapā a Tūkāroto ki te ingoa Tāwhiao e Te Ua Haumēne. Nō te mutunga o te riri ka murua e te kāwanatanga te 1.2 miriona eka (485,622 heketea), ā, ka taui a Tāwhiao ki tua atu i te aukati ki te Rohe Pōtae o Ngāti Maniapoto. Nō muri mai ka karangatia ko ‘King Country’. Nō te tau 1881 rā anō ka hauraro a Tāwhiao i ōna patu me tōna kī taurangi ko te mutunga tērā o te pakanga i roto i te rohe o te kīngi. I te wā o te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao, ka tuaruatia e tōna mokopuna e Te Puea Hērangi te kōrero nei, ā, kāore i whakaaetia ngā tāne o Waikato kia uru ki te pakanga.
I te marama o Hune i te tau 1860 ka whakatū a Kāwana Gore Browne i te rūnanga ki Kohimarama i Tāmaki-makaurau ki te whakamana i te kaupapa pakanga o te kāwanatanga ki roto o Taranaki. He maha ngā rangatira puta noa i tae atu, ā, ka whakahētia ngā iwi o Taranaki me te Kīngitanga. Ka mutu koinei hoki ngā iwi i tuku i a rātou ki te Kīngitanga ki te hui i Pūkawa. I taka mai tēnei rūnanga ki ngā pūkoro o te kāwanatanga.
Kātahi ka whakaritea te hui ki te Whakaputanga o te tau 1835 i runga i te hui ā-tau o te rūnanga. Ka mōhiotia tēnei hui ko Te Tiriti o Kohimarama, ko Te Kawenata o Kohimarama rānei.
Whai muri i a Browne ko Kāwana Kerei me tana kaupapa rūnanga hou (ngā kaunihera Māori). Ka wehea ngā rohe Māori kia noho he whakarautanga (‘hundreds’ – koinei te kupu i Ingarangi mō ngā wāhanga o tētahi rohe). Ko tōna tikanga ka mahitahi ngā kaikōmihana ture ki ngā rangatira; waihoki me mahitahi ngā kaiwhakawā ki ngā wātene, karere Māori hoki. Heoi nā te uaua o tēnei whakaritenga me ngā pakanga whenua kāore i whakakitea.
He maha ngā rōpū kotahitanga i tua atu i te ao tōrangapū. Ko ngā kupu taurangi ērā a te hunga poropiti Māori me te karanga whakakotahi i te iwi Māori.
Nā Te Ua Haumēne ko te whakapono Pai Mārire. Ka karangatia ōna iwi he Hauhau, ā, he tini ngā apataki i kuramahora i tōna Rongopai ki ngā whaitua katoa o Te Ika-a-Māui. Ko ōna akoako te maruwehi o ngā kaiārahi i te kotahitanga pēnā i a Kīngi Tāwhiao rāua ko Te Kōti (te kaiwhakaū i te Hāhi Ringatū), i a Te Whiti rāua ko Tohu hoki.
Ka ara anō ngā rōpū whakahē i ngā hoko whenua i Ngāti Kahungunu. Mai i te tau 1871 ka tīmata te taki hui a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Matau-a-Māui ki raro i a Hēnare Matua mā me ngā kaitōrangapū e rua: ko Henry Robert Russell rāua ko John Sheehan. Ko Karaitiana Takamoana tētahi anō o ngā rangatira. He kaituku pūtea hoki te niupepa reo Māori a Te Wananga nō te rōpū.
I te takiwā o ngā tekau tau o 1870 me 1880 e rua ngā rōpū pāremata o te Kotahitanga. I te tau 1879 ka tū te pāremata Māori i Ōrākei, ki te whare rūnanga o Kohimarama (i tapaina ki te huinga rangatira o Kohimarama i te tau 1860). Nā runga i te karanga a Paora Tūhaere ka kōrero mō te Kawenata o Kohimarama me te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tō te rā ki te pāremata o Kohimarama i te tau 1889.
Ko te pāremata hoki tērā i tū ki Waitangi i waenganui i te tau 1881 me te tau 1890. I te tau 1881 ka puaretia te whare rūnanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi mō ngā whakaminenga o te pāremata.
I te tau 1892 ka mene te Pāremata Māori ki Waitangi. Ka whakatauria ko tētahi whare me tētahi pōti ā-motu. He Whare o Raro, he Whare Ariki hoki tō te pāremata. Ko te pirimia tuatahi ko Hāmiora Mangakāhia rāua ko te pika tuatahi ko Hēnare Tōmoana. Ko tōna tikanga ka whakamanahia e te pāremata Pākehā, ā, kia puritia e te Māori ōna whenua. I te tau 1902 ka tū tōna hui whakamutunga ki Waiōmatatini ki te Tai Rāwhiti.
Ko te kauhanganui te pāremata o Te Kīngitanga, ka mutu he whare o raro, he Whare Ariki hoki tōna. Ka tauiratia mai tā rātou minita take Pākehā i te minita take Māori a te kāwanatanga.
Nō te takiwā o te tau 1890 ka waihangatia te Whare Pāremata o te Kīngitanga, a Te Kauhanganui ki Maungakawa. He urupū minita, he tekau mā-rua (ngā kanohi ā-iwi) hoki tōna, tae atu ki te Whare o Raro me te Whare Ariki. Ko te kīngi Māori te ūpoko o te Kauhanganui. Ko ōna rongo kōrero ka whakaputaina i te niupepa a te Kīngitanga a Te Paki o Matariki. I te tau 1894 ka whakatakototia tōna ture ārahi, heoi nō te tekau tau 1920 ka peto te ngoi o ngā hui Kauhanganui.
I te pito o te rautau 1800 ka whakahau te kāwanatanga i ētahi kaupapa i kitea ai te kotahitanga i ngā kaunihera Māori me ngā kaunihera whenua. Ka karangatia ēnei whanatutanga ko Te Kotahitanga Hou, ā, ko Āpirana Ngata te pouturuki (koia hoki tētahi o ngā pou o te Rōpū Tauira o Te Aute). Ko ngā Māori tonu ka kōwhiri i ngā kaunihera Māori, engari nā te kāwanatanga tonu te mana whakahaere. Mai i te tau 1903 ka tū ngā hui o ēnei rōpū.
He taha tōrangapū anō tō te Hāhi Rātana. I puea ake te pā o Rātana ki tūtata mai o Marton. Nāwai ka whakatenetene te hāhi mō te whakamanatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi i mua i te rironga mai o ngā tūru Māori e whā. I te tau 1924 ka mea a Rātana ki te whakatakoto i te petihana i hainahia e ngā Māori 45,000 (e rua-hautoru o te taupori Māori) ki te aroaro o Kīngi Hōri e pā ana ki ngā whatinga o te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ahakoa kāore tēnei i hua, i whai hiranga anō te tiriti.
Nāwai ka puea mai ngā rōpū tōrangapū Māori pērā i te rōpū a Matiu Rata i a Mana Motuhake me te Rōpū Māori, i waihangatia i te tau 2004 ki raro i te ārahitanga o Tariana Tūria rāua ko Pita Sharples.
I hua mai tēnei rōpū i te waihanganga o te Ope Hōia Māori Rua Tekau Mā Waru. Nā te uaua o te whakatari hōia Māori (kāore i whakaturea kia pōti te Māori mā te rārangi kōwhiri). Nā whai anō i te tau 1942 ka hangaia e ngā mema pāremata e Paraire Paikea rāua ko Eruera Tirikātene te rautaki ki te whakatari i ngā Māori. Kātahi ka whakatūria te komiti o ngā mema pāremata Māori tokowhā me Rangi Māwhete o te Kaunihera Ture (whare o runga). E 21 ngā rohe i whakatūria, tae atu ki ngā komiti ā-iwi e 315. Mā konei whai wāhi rawa ngā iwi ki ngā whakahaerenga ā-motu mō te pakanga.
I te tau 1951 ka hui tuatahi te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora. I haramai ngā kanohi a ngā komiti toko i te ora i whakatūria e ngā āpiha Māori i raro i a Te Rangiataahua Royal. Ko Whina Cooper te tumuaki tuatahi, ko Miraka (Mira) Petricevich (nāwai ko Szászy) te hēkeretari tuatahi. Ka whai hiranga ngā mahi o te rōpū i te wā o te waihekenga taone i te pokapū o te rautau 1900. I tua atu i ngā mahi toko i te ora, ko ngā mahi tōrangapū hoki a te rōpū.
Ko te whakapae ka whiua ki te Kaunihera Māori ko tōna ahu mai i te kāwanatanga. Hāunga tēnei, mai i te tau 1987 he maha ngā wā ka hinga i a ia te Karauna i ngā take nui a te Māori.
Whai muri i te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao ka hanga houtia te rōpū Ngā Mahi Māori mō te Pakanga ki raro i te Ture Whanake Pāpori, Ohaoha Māori o te tau 1945. Nā ngā komiti matua i whakahaere ngā komiti iwi (nāwai ka kīia he komiti Māori) ki raro i te Tari Māori. I ia rua tau ngā pōtitanga komiti. Ka mutu ko te hunga pakeke Māori katoa o tētahi rohe komiti kā āhei te tuku pōti.
Nō raro i te Ture Toko i te Ora Māori o te tau 1962 ka whakarerekētia ngā kaunihera rohe kia ōrite ki ngā rohe Kōti Whenua Māori. Ko te huanga mai tērā o te Kaunihera Māori. Ko ōna mema ka ahu mai i ngā kanohi kaunihera rohe.
I whakaūngia te Hui Taumata Māori ki te marae o Tūrangawaewae, i te 14 o ngā rā o Hūrae i te tau 1990. He ōrite tōna āhua ki te Kaunihera Māori engari kāore ōna here ki te kāwanatanga. E 37 ōna kanohi ā-iwi, heoi kāore i whai kiko ki ngā take o tēnā iwi, o tēnā iwi. Nā reira ka aro pū tēnei rōpū ki ngā take e pā ana ki te iwi Māori whānui.
I ngā tekau tau o 1970 me 1980 ka tītoko ake ētahi rōpū mautohe Māori. Ko ngā take ko te whenua, ko te reo Māori me te whawhai i te whakawehe iwi me te mahi kaikiri. Ko ētahi o ngā rōpū ko te Komiti Mahi o Waitangi, ko Ngā Tamatoa, ko te Rōpū Manu Whititua Māori o Aotearoa me te Whakahaerenga Māori mō ngā Mōtika o te Tangata. I tau 1971 ka mauria e Ngā Tamatoa te petihana ki te Pāremata mō te reo Māori, ā, nā rātou i whakarautaki ngā whakatutū puehu tuatahi ki te Rā o Waitangi. Ko te mātotoru o ēnei rōpū nō ngā mātāwaka katoa.
Nā runga anō i ngā whakapau kaha o ngā momo kaitiakitanga me ngā rōpū tāngata ki te tauawhi i te Māori ki ngā taone, ka hua mai ētahi manatū Māori kaitā ki ngā taone. Ko ngā rōpū rongonui ko Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA) me Te Whānau o Waipareira ki te Uru o Tāmaki. Ko ōna ratonga he hauora, he pāpori ki ngā Māori noho taone ahakoa nō hea ake.
Orange, Claudia. The Treaty of Waitangi. Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Bridget Williams Books, 2011.
Ward, Alan. A show of justice: racial ‘amalgamation’ in nineteenth century New Zealand. Tāmaki-makaurau: Auckland University Press, 1995.