I ahu mai ngā tīpuna o Ngāi Tahu i Hawaiki kei Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Ka tīmata ngā kōrero i te uwhi makawe (ceremonial headdress) tapu a Uenuku, ka whakamaua e ia i ngā kawanga tapu o te iwi. Mārama katoa te iwi, me kaua rawa ō rātou ringa e pā ki taua uwhi makawe. Heoi, nā te mahara a Ruatapu ki tana tūranga mātāmua i roto i te iwi, ka whakamauhia e ia taua uwhi ki mua i te aroaro o te iwi. Nō te kitenga atu o Uenuku, ka kangaa e ia tana tama i mua i te iwi, ‘Kāore e tika māu mā te tama memehea moenga hau moenga rau-kawakawa nei.’ Ko te tikanga o te kanga nei, ahakoa ko Ruatapu te mātāmua o ngā tamariki a Uenuku, i hua mai ia i te moenga rau-kawakawa; ka noho kē ko tana teina ko Paikea te piki kōtuku o tōna matua, nā runga i ngā whakapapa ikeike o tōna kōkā.
Nā te whakamā ka toko ake te whakaaro ki roto i a Ruatapu me patua e ia ana teina. E ai ki te kōrero, ka hahautia e ia he waka nui e kuhu ai ngā tama rangatira 140 o te pā ki roto. Ka pāho a Ruatapu ka whakarewa e ia tōna waka. Nō te maunutanga o te waka, ka whakatika atu ngā rangatira o te pā ki roto. Nō te putanga atu ki te moana, ka patua katoatia rātou e Ruatapu. Ko Paikea te rerenga i kau atu ki te moana.
Ka karakia a Paikea, ka puta tētahi tohorā, ka mauria a ia ki Aotearoa. Ka noho a Paikea me te tangata whenua ki Whāngārā i Te Tai Rāwhiti o Te Ika-a-Māui. Ka puta a Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Porou i a Paikea.
He uri whakaheke a Tahupōtiki nā te tipua nei a Paikea rāua ko Hemo-ki-te-Raki. I tō rāua hononga ka puta ki te ao o te tangata. Nā ngā pakanga tara ā-whare i waenganui i a Ngāi Tahu me ōna whanaunga ka heke a Ngāi Tahu ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara noho tahi ai me ngā huānga o Ngāti Ira me Ngāti Māmoe. Nāwai rā, ka pakaru mai te pakanga i waenganui i a rātou. Hei ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1700, ka wehe atu he wāhanga o Ngāi Tahu ki Te Wai Pounamu i raro i a Pūraho rātou ko āna tama ko Maru me Mako. Ka tū tō rātou pā tūwatawata a Kaihinu i Te Awaiti i Kurateau (Tory Channel). Nō mua kē i a rātou a Ngāti Māmoe heke ai ki te tonga.
I taua wā, kua tīmata te mauāhara ki a Ngāi Tara. I tētahi mahinga, ka tūpono a Ngāi Tahu ki te tūpāpaku o tētahi rangatira nō Ngāi Tara i roto i tētahi ana. Ka tangohia, ka auahatia ngā kōiwi o taua rangatira hei matau, kātahi ka karangahia a Ngāi Tara kia haere tahi ki te hī ika. I te haerenga nei, ka puta te kupu whakaiti a ngā tāngata o Ngāi Tahu mō te pai o ngā kōiwi o te koroua rā hei matau. Hei reira kua mōhio a Ngāi Tara kua tūkinotia ngā kōiwi o tō rātou tipuna. Ko te utu mō tēnei mahi mōrikarika, ko Pūraho. I werohia tōna kōtore i a ia e noho ana i te paepae hamuti.
Nā te kōhuru o Pūraho i pakanga a Ngāi Tahu me Ngāi Tara. Ko te tomokanga tērā o Ngāti Māmoe hei haumi mō Ngāi Tahu, ko Rangitāne hei hoa pakanga mō Ngāi Tara. Nō te riu o Te Wairau ngā iwi nei. I tētahi o ngā pakanga rongonui ka hinga i te rangatira a Tūteurutira me ana toa a Rangitāne. Ko tētahi o ngā mauhere o te riri, ko te puhi a Hinerongo. I pōhēhē a Tūteurutira nō Rangitāne a ia. Heoi, nō te rewanga o ngā waka o Tūteurutira ki te moana, ka whakapuakina e Hinerongo tana whakataukī, ehara ia i te hoariri, nō Ngāti Māmoe kē a ia. I hopukina a ia e Rangitāne i mua atu ka kawea hei mauhere.
Nō te whakahokinga a Tūteurutira i a Hinerongo ki tōna iwi ki Matariki i te awa o Waiautoa (Clarence River), ka tū haumi ngā iwi nei ki a rāua anō. Nō konei whakaekehia ai e rātou a Rangitāne ki Te Wairau. Hei utu mō tēnei āwhina, ka tukua e Ngāti Māmoe te takutai moana ki tua whakateraki o te awa o Waiautoa ki a Ngāi Tahu. Ka moe a Tūteurutira i a Hinerongo, ka noho rāua ki te pā o Matariki.
Nā ngā pakanga, ngā haumi ā-iwi me ngā whakapākūhā, ka hōrapa te heke o Ngāi Tahu i te tai tonga. Nō te rironga o Kaikōura i a Ngāti Kurī, ka taka a Hakaroa me Ngā-Pākihi-Whakatekateka-o-Waitaha ki raro i a Moki rāua ko Tūrākautahi o Ngāi Tūhaitara. Nō muri i ngā riri, ka hangaa e Ngāi Tūhaitara a Kaiapoi, te pā nui whakaharahara o Te Wai Pounamu.
Ko ngā rohe whakateraki o Te Wai Pounamu ngā whenua whakatetonga rawa e tipu ai te kūmara ki Aotearoa. Ko te kūmara te tino kai a te Māori. E ai ki ngā kaimātai whaipara tangata (archaeologists), kua kitea e rātou ngā taunaki o tētahi mara kūmara kei te pūaha o Waiautoa - ki te wāhi i tū ai te pā o Matariki. Kei tua tonga mai kei te roto o Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) ki Taumutu ngā ‘kōruarua tiki paru’; ka hukea e ngā kaingaki māra ngā kirikiri i konei, ka putua ki ngā māra e mahana ai te one, e tipu ai te kūmara. Nō te taenga mai o te Pākehā me te rīwai, ka rerekē te ōhanga o te iwi o Ngāi Tahu ki te tonga.
Nā ngā hapū o Ngāi Tahu i whātoro atu ai te paenga whenua o te iwi ki te tonga. I ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1700 ka nōhia e Ngāti Kurī a Kaikōura. I te tekau tau atu i 1730, e noho ana a Ngāi Tūhaitara ki te takiwā o Waitaha-Hakaroa. I te taenga atu o Ngāi Tūhaitara ki Kaikōura, e noho mārire ana te hapū a Ngāti Irakehu i te taha o Ngāti Māmoe. Nā Tūrākautahi rangatira o Ngāi Tūhaitara a Kaiapoi, i te pā nui o Te Wai Pounamu i hanga ki Hakaroa. I hangaia te pā o Kaiapoi ki runga ake i tētahi pā tawhito o Waitaha - ka akona e Ngāi Tahu ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā tikanga a Waitaha ki reira.
Atu i Kaiapoi ka toro te mana o Ngāi Tahu ki ngā hapū o Ngāti Māmoe me Waitaha e noho ana ki te tonga. Koinei ngā tāngata whenua ake o Te Wai Pounamu. Nā ngā pakanga, te noho i te whenua me ngā whakapākūhā ka tau te noho a Ngāi Tahu ki Te Wai Pounamu. Nā ngā whakapākūhā mura ai ngā ahi o Ngāi Tahu ki tēnā whaitua, ki tēnā whaitua. Whāia, e noho ana a Ngāi Tahu ki te takutai o Ōtākou me te taha tonga rawa o Te Wai Pounamu.
Nō te whakamutunga o te rau tau 1700, kua tau te maungārongo ki waenganui i a Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Māmoe. Nā ngā taumau e rua i pūmau te rongo. Ko te moenga tuatahi, ko Raki-ihia o Ngāti Māmoe rāua ko Hinehākiri, te uri o Te hautapu-nui-o-Tū. Ko te moenga tuarua i waenganui i a Honekai, te tama a Te-Hautapu-nui-o-Tū, rāua ko Kohuwai, te tamāhine a Raki-ihia. I whakaritea ngā taumau nei ki te pā o Kaiapoi, ka whakatūturutia ki Taumata i Ōtākou.
Ahakoa ngā pakanga i waenganui i a Ngāi Tahu me ngā iwi o Raki-ihia, ka mau tonu te tatau pounamu. Heoti ia, ko ngā rangatira katoa o Te Wai Pounamu nā rātou te Tiriti o Waitangi i haina i te tau 1840, he uri whakaheke nō ngā iwi e toru - a Ngāi Tahu, a Ngāti Māmoe me Waitaha.
Ko Tūrākautahi te rangatira nui o Ngāi Tahu ki Waitaha. Nāna te whakatau kia ako rātou ko tana iwi i ngā kōrero mō te whenua. Ko te whakarewatanga tērā o te waitaua a Ngāi Tahu ki Te Tai Poutini kia akona ngā mātauranga o ngā iwi o reira. Ko Tūrākautahi rāua ko tōna uri a Te-ake anake ngā tauira i puta i ngā whakamātau o te whare wānanga; i patua ō rāua hoa, he takahi nō rātou i ngā tikanga.
Ko te pounamu te ingoa whānui mō ngā momo kōhatu pēnei i te nephrite me te bowenite. Kei Te Wai Pounamu anake kitea ai te pounamu (ki ngā takiwā o Te Tai Poutini me Piopiotahi i te tuawhenua o Ōtākou), te taonga nui rawa ki te Māori. Tērā tētahi kōrero mō Poutini, te taniwha kaitiaki o Kahue te atua o te pounamu. I kāhakina e Poutini a Waitaiki, tētahi wahine ātaahua i te moutere o Tūhua kei te taha rāwhiti o Moehau. Ka whāia rāua e te hoa rangatira a Waitaiki ki Te Wai Pounamu. Ka hunaia e Poutini a Waitaiki ki roto i te awa o Arahura i Te Tai Poutini. Ka tata kitea rāua, heoi, ka hurihia e Poutini a Waitaiki hei pounamu. Kātahi a Poutini ka puta ki te moana; kei reira tonu ia, e tiaki ana i ngā pounamu o Te Tai Poutini. E ai ki te kōrero, i hangaia te pounamu o te awa o Arahura i te tinana o Waitaiki.
I ahu mai a Ngāti Wairaki me Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri ki Te Tai Poutini i Te Tai Rāwhiti o Te Ika-a-Māui. He tino pātata ngā whakapapa o Ngāti Wairaki ki a Ngāi Tahu me Paikea i tō rātou whakahekenga mai i a Tura. Nāwai rā, ka huri ngā iwi e rua nei hei hapū mō Ngāi Tahu.
Ka riro hoki i a Ngāi Tahu te mana o Te Tai Poutini me te pounamu, ā, ka tū ko te pā o Kaiapoi hei pokapū tauhokohoko i te pounamu.
I tēnei wā, kua iri te mana o Ngāi Tahu ki runga i te nuinga o Te Wai Pounamu, atu i Te Parinui-o-whiti (White Bluffs) ki te rāwhiti, ki te koko o Kahurangi (Kahurangi Point) i Te Tai Poutini, ahu whakatetonga atu ki Rakiura (Stewart Island).
Kīhai a Ngāi Tahu i tino pai ki te āhuatanga, mā te riri e riro mai he whenua mōna. I te wā i kuhu a Ngāi Tahu ki Te Wai Pounamu, ka moe rātou ki ngā iwi tōmua o taua takiwā, pērā i a Waitaha. Ka ako a Ngāi Tahu i ngā tikanga me ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi tōmua. Ki tā te Māori titiro, ko te whakapapa te tohu o te mana ki te whenua – te kaihere i te tangata ki te whenua i roto i ngā whakatipuranga. Nā reira, ko Waitaha te iwi i toitū ō rātou whakapapa ki te whenua.
Nā te rironga o te pā o Kaiapoi, ka tau te noho a Ngāi Tahu ki ngā rohe o Waitaha me Hakaroa, ka tīmata tā rātou toro ki te tonga, ki te uru. Ka tahuri a Ngāi Tahu ki te ako i ngā tikanga a Waitaha.
E ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho, ko Rākaihautū te tipuna nui o te iwi o Waitaha. I wehe mai ia i tōna kāinga tawhito i Te-patunui-o-āio (ko Hawaiki anō tētahi o ōna ingoa). E ai ki te kōrero, i tōna hekenga ki Aotearoa, ka aukatia tōna huarahi i te tūtakinga o ngā tatau o te rangi me te moana. Ka nanao a Rākaihautū ki tana toki, ka takina ana karakia, ka haehaea he ara mōna. Nāwai ā, ka pae tōna waka a Uruao ki Whakatū (Nelson) i te pito raki o Te Wai Pounamu.
I te ūnga o tōna waka, ka whakatika a Rākaihautū me tana iwi ki te whakatō i te mauri o ō rātou tīpuna ki te whenua. Ka ūhia hoki ō rātou whakapapa ki runga i ngā tipu, ngā kararehe, ngā tohu whenua. Ko Rākaihautū anō te tipuna nānā ngā roto o te tuawhenua o Te Wai Pounamu i auaha ki tana kō. Nā tana tama, nā Rokohouia a Uruao i whakatere mā te tai rāwhiti kia tūtaki ki a Rākaihautū ki Waihao. Noho rawa ai a Rākaihautū ki Hakaroa (Banks Peninsula). Kei reira tonu tana kō, a Tuhiraki, kua huri hei maunga kei runga ake i te whanga o Akaroa.
Ara anō ngā kōrero mō ngā waka tawhito o Te Wai Pounamu; ko Ārai-te-uru, te waka i tuki ki Shag Point, ko Tākitimu, te waka o Tamatea-pōkai-whenua, i pakaru ki te ngutuawa o Waiau. Nā Ngāi Tahu me ngā iwi whai pānga o te tai rāwhiti ngā kōrero nei i kawe ki te tai tonga.
I te taenga o Ngāi Tahu, kua takoto kē ngā whakapapa o Waitaha e hāngai ana ki ngā tohu whenua o Te Wai Pounamu. Ko te tikanga o tēnei, ka hurihia ngā tohu whenua hei tipuna, ka whakaritea a Te Wai Pounamu ki te whare tapu (he rite tēnei tikanga ki te tikanga lan nama a ngā kaihōpara o te iwi Viking, i a rātou ka whakatō i ō rātou atua me ā rātou kōrero tuku iho ki te whenua o Tiorangi). Nō te hanumitanga o Ngāi Tahu rāua ko Ngāti Māmoe ki a Waitaha, ka kuhuna aua iwi ki ngā whakapapa o Waitaha.
He maha ngā tohu whenua i whakaingoatia e Rākaihautū rāua ko tana tama, a Rokohouia ki Te Wai Pounamu. Ko ‘Kā whatakai a Rokohouia’ te ingoa o ngā pari e tū tata ana ki Kaikōura; ka kohi a Rokohouia i ngā hua a te karoro ki reira. Ko te ingoa ake o ngā pārae o Waitaha (Canterbury Plains), ko ‘Kā Pākihi Whakatekateka a Waitaha’. Ka hopu hao (he momo tuna) te tokorua nei i te awa i tūtaki anō ai rātou, arā, i te awa o Waihao. Ko ngā roto whakatetonga e mōhiotia ai ko ‘Kā puna karikari a Rākaihautū’.
Mā te whakapapa ka mārama a Waitaha ki ngā hau katoa – mā konei anō ka whakatōkia te wairua o ngā atua ki ngā hau. Ko Raki te atua o ngā rangi. Ka moe a Raki i a Pokoharua-te-pō, ka puta ko Uru Te Maha, arā, ‘te hau mai i te uru’. Mai i tēnei tātai ka puta ko Tāwhirimatea rāua ko Te Māuru, e mōhiotia nei e Ngāi Tahu, ko te hau uru mā-raki.
Ko Rakamaomao te kāhui hau ka pupuhi mai i te tonga me te raki. Ko te hau o te tonga ko Te Pūnui o te Toka, ko Pūaitaha te hau tonga mā-uru. Ko te Ope Ruaraki ‘te kāhui hau mai i te raki’. Ko te tama a Rakamaomao ko Tiu, te hau raki; ko te hau mai i te raki mā-rāwhiti e mōhiotia ana e Ngāi Tahu, ko Whakarua.
Nā reira ko Uru Te Maha rāua ko Rakamaomao ngā pū o ngā hau katoa. He whakaatu ngā ingoa nei i te titiro a ērā iwi ki tō rātou ao, tō rātou taiao, mā roto katoa i te whakapapa.
Ka tau te kapua pōuri ki runga i a Ngāi Tahu i te tekau tau atu i 1820 me ngā tau pokapū o te tekau tau atu i 1830, i te whakaekenga o Ngāti Toa ki Te Wai Pounamu. He mea pana a Ngāti Toa i ō rātou whenua ki Kāwhia i roto i ngā riri. Nā Te Rauparaha tōna iwi i ārahi i roto i ngā pakanga ki ngā iwi kei te tonga o Te Ika-a-Māui. Ka nui ō rātou pū. Nō te taenga o Ngāti Toa ki Te Wai Pounamu, ka hāngai tā rātou titiro ki a Ngāi Tahu.
Nō ngā tau 1827-28 ka whakaekea tuatahitia a Ngāi Tahu ki Kaikōura. E ai ki a Ngāi Tahu, i tētahi rā, ka heke a Ngāti Kurī o Kaikōura ki tātahi ki te karanga i ō rātou uri, te hapū o Tū-te-pakihi-rangi nō Ngāti Kahungunu. Tērā pōhēhē. I te ūnga o aua waka ki uta, ko ngā waka mau pū o Ngāti Toa kē. Ka tukuna te waipū, ka mate a Ngāti Kurī. Ko te hunga anake i rere ki ngā puke i ora. Kīia ai taua pakanga ko Niho Maaka.
I muri i te pakanga o Waiorua, ka iri te mana o Te Rauparaha ki te moutere o Kapiti; ka whiua tana kanga ki te patu i ngā iwi katoa o Te Wai Pounamu. Ko te whakautu a Rerewaka, ki te kuhu a Te Rauparaha ki ngā rohe i te tonga, ka haea tōna puku ki te niho maaka. Nō te rongotanga o Te Rauparaha i te kōrero nei, ka kaha rawa atu tana hiahia kia patu i a Ngāi Tahu. I te toanga o Ngāti Toa, ka tapaina e rātou te pakanga ko Niho Maaka.
Kātahi a Te Rauparaha me ana iwi ka ahu ki Kaiapoi, te pā nui o Ngāi Tahu ki te tauhokohoko pū mō te pounamu. Heoi, ka tae te rongo ki te iwi o Kaiapoi mō te matenga o ō rātou uri ki Kaikōura. Nā tētahi toa nō Ngāpuhi i whāki ki a Ngāi Tahu, i rongo ia i a Te Rauparaha e kōrero ana kia whakaekehia a Kaiapoi i te ata. Aoake, ka patua e Ngāi Tahu ngā rangatira o Ngāti Toa, tae rawa ki a Te Peehi Kupe. Ko Te Rauparaha anake te rangatira nui o Ngāti Toa i puta.
He hingatanga nui tērā te patunga o ngā rangatira o Ngāti Toa. Heoi, i te ora tonu a Te Rauparaha; ā tōna wā ka hinga a Ngāi Tahu ki Waitaha ki tōna patu. Ka hoki a Te Rauparaha ki Kapiti ki te wānanga he aha tana utu. Whāia, i ngā rā tōmua o Nōema 1830, ka whakawhere ia i a Kāpene John Stewart o te kaipuke Elizabeth kia kawea hunahia a ia me ana toa ki Te Wai Pounamu. Ka whakatika rātou ki Hakaroa ka whakataruna ki a Ngāi Tahu he taonga hokohoko ā rātou. Nā runga i te tono a Kāpene Stewart, ka puta mai a Te Maiharanui (Tamaiharanui), te ariki o te iwi. Kia eke a Te Maiharanui ki runga i te kaipuke ka puta a Te Rauparaha mā, ka tāmia a ia me tana wahine, tamāhine hoki. Ka whakaekea a Takapūneke, te pā o Te Maiharanui. Ka hoki atu te kaipuke ki Kapiti, e mau herehere ana a Te Maiharanui rātou ko tōna whānau.
Nā tana mataku kei tūkinotia rawatia e Ngāti Toa, ka natia e Te Maiharanui tana tamāhine, ka whiua tōna tinana ki te moana. Ka tukuna e Te Rauparaha a Te Maiharanui ki te pouaru a Te Peehi, ā, nāna i whakamamae, i whakamate; ka pērātia anōtia te whakamate i tana wahine. I te rongotanga mō ēnei mahi a Kāpene Stewart, ka pōuri a Kāwana Darling o New South Wales, te kaiwhakahaere i ngā mahi mō te hunga Ingarihi i taua wā. Ka whakawāngia a Stewart i Poihākena mō tana wāhi ki te kōhuru nei. Nā te whakaaro, he tangata mohoao ngā kaituku taunaki a Ngāi Tahu, kāore i whakaaetia rātou kia whakahua i te kupu oati; i te otinga ka tukua a Stewart me ana kauhoe kia haere.
I te raumati o ngā tau 1831–1832, ka whakaeke ngā ope taua a Te Rauparaha i te pā o Kaiapoi. Kāore he pū a Ngāi Tahu. Ka tahuri rātou ki te whakakaha ake i tō rātou pā, e kore ai e taea e Ngāti Toa te wāwāhi i ōna tūwatawata. E toru marama te roa e whiria ana a Kaiapoi e Ngāti Toa me ana haumi. Heoi, i tētahi whawhai ririki, ka wera, ka kainga tētahi wharau i roto i te pā i te ahi. Nā te hau raki mā uru ka wera ngā tūwatawata, i āhei ai a Ngāti Toa mā te kuhu ki te pā ki te hopu, ki te patu i ngā tāngata ki roto.
Ka whakaekehia te takiwā o Hakaroa, ka hinga te pā o Ōnawe i te whanga o Hakaroa. Tērā pea i te whakaaro a Te Rauparaha kia haere tonu ki te tonga, engari kua hui kē a Ngāi Tahu o Te Muka rātou ko Ngāi Tahu o Ōtākou, ko ngā morehu o Kaiapoi ki te tūtaki i a Te Rauparaha. Nō konei ka hoki a Te Rauparaha mā ki Te Ika-a-Māui.
Haere ai ngā hapū o Ngāi Tahu i Te Ara-o-Kiwa (Foveaux Strait) me te takutai o Ōtākou ki Poihākena ki te tauhokohoko, e riro mai ai he pū. Ka tono a Ngāi Tahu e noho ana ki Kaiapoi kia āwhinatia rātou e ō rātou huānga o te tonga; nō te tau 1832–33 ka taka te whakatau kia whakaekehia a Ngāti Toa.
Ka wehe a Ngāi Tahu o te tonga ki te patu i a Ngāti Toa, i raro i te mana o Tūhawaiki, o Makere Te Whanawhana, o Whaititi, o Paitu. I te taenga o te tira ki Ōtākou, ka haumi atu a Taiaroa, a Karetai, a Haereroa mā, ka whakatika te tira ki Kaiapoi. I Kaiapoi, ka kotahi ngā peka katoa o Ngai Tahu, ka huri te ihu o ngā waka ki te raki. Ka haere te taua mā te takutai kia tae ki Kāparatehau (Lake Grassmere); i reira a Te Rauparaha e hopu pūtangitangi (paradise duck) ana.
Ka takoto te kokoti whakamoe a Ngāi Tahu ki muri i tētahi puke i te taha o te roto. Aoake i te ata, e hoe mai ana ngā waka o Ngāti Toa, ka maranga te taua o Ngāi Tahu. Ko Ngāi Tahu i eke panuku, heoi, ka puta te ihu o Te Rauparaha. Heoi, e ai ki tētahi koroua nō Ngati Toa, ‘Tērā te pakanga i ākina e Ngāi Tahu, i hinga ai te taua o Te Rauparaha ki Kāparatehau (Lake Grassmere). Ka ora a Te Rauparaha i tana putanga ki te moana. Ko te nuinga o te iwi i pae ki te tāhuna i patua e Ngāi Tahu.’
Ka whāia a Ngāti Toa e Ngāi Tahu ki te whanga o Karauri. Ka noho ko te whārua o Ōraumoa hei wāhi pakanga. Ka wehe atu a Ngāti Toa. Nō te ekenga o ngā rā e rua kua hoki mai a Ngāti Toa me ā rātou haumi. Pau katoa te rā ka whai i te pakū o ngā pū, ā, i te pō, ka hoki ngā iwi ki te tiaki i te hunga i mate, i taotū hoki. I te pakanga nei ka taotū a Karetai, te huānga o Tūhawaiki. Nā te iti o ā rātou matā, pō rawa, ka whakawātea a Ngāi Tahu.
I te ata ka whāia a Ngāi Tahu e Ngāti Toa. Nō te huringa o ngā waka o Ngāi Tahu ki te tūtaki i a Ngāti Toa, ka huri a Ngāti Toa, ka hoki. Nō muri, kīhai rawa a Ngāti Toa i whakawhiti i Te Parinui-o-whiti (White Bluffs). I te raumati o te tau 1833–34, ka whakaarahia e Ngāi Tahu tētahi taua nui; nō konei he rahi ake ngā toa, he maha ake ā rātou pū. I ēnei pakanga, noho atu ai a Ngāi Tahu ki Te Koko-a-Kupe (Cloudy Bay), e tatari ana kia puta mai a Ngāti Toa. Heoti, kīhai a Ngāti Toa i puta, nā runga pea i ngā raruraru i waenganui i ana haumi i Te Ika-a-Māui. Nō muri ka whakaeke a Ngāi Tahu i ngā iwi haumi o Ngāti Toa, kātahi ka hoki ki te kāinga.
Kotahi anake te riri i tū i mua i te whakatūnga o te tatau pounamu a Ngāi Tahu rāua ko Ngāti Toa i te tekau tau atu i 1830. Nō te tau 1836, ka rewa te taua o Te Pūoho, te rangatira o Ngāti Tama (he haumi nō Ngāti Toa) ki te whakaeke ohorere i a Ngāi Tahu mā muri. Ka haere te ope taua a Te Pūoho mā Te Tai Poutini mai i te kokoru o Whanganui ki te awa o Tioripātea (Haast River). Ka whakawhiti atu ia mā Tioripātea (Haast Pass) ka ahu atu ki te pokapū o Ōtākou, ki Murihiku. Heoi, ka rongo a Tūhawaiki, te rangatira o Ngāi Tahu ki Ruapuke, mō te taenga mai o te hoariri; kātahi ka whakatika tana ope taua ki te tūtaki i a Te Pūoho. Ka ohorere te kōkiri a Ngāi Tahu i a Ngāti Tama, ko te pae o te riri, ko Tūtūrau. Ka hinga a Te Pūoho mā ki konei, ruarua anake i mau ora hei herehere.
Nō 1839, kua mārama i a Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Toa, kāore he hua o ā rāua pakanga ki a rāua. Taro ake, ka tū te tatau pounamu i waenganui i a rāua, ka tukuna e Te Rauparaha ana pononga o Ngāi Tahu e noho mauhere ana ki Kapiti. I te mutunga o ngā pakanga, ka pūmau ngā paenga whenua o Ngāi Tahu. Nā ngā whakapākūhā i waenganui i ngā iwi, tae rawa ki tētahi i waenganui i ngā uri o Te Rauparaha rāua ko Taiaroa, ka pūmau te maungārongo a Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Toa.
I roto i te tau i tū te maungārongo o Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Toa, ka hainahia e ngā rangatira o Ngāi Tahu te Tiriti o Waitangi ki Hakaroa, ki Ruapuke, ki Ōtākou. I whakapono a Ngāi Tahu, ko te taonga nui ka puta mai i te tiriti, ko ngā hua o te ao hōu. Heoi, ko tētahi take o te tiriti, kia āhei te Karauna ki te hoko whenua i te Māori hei hoko atu ki ngā tāngata whai, ki ngā whakahaerenga arumoni rānei. I waenganui i ngā tau 1844 ki 1863, ka hokona e Ngāi Tahu ōna whenua ki te Karauna. E iwa ngā hoko, ā, ko te hoko nui rawa, mō te rohe o Waitaha i te tau 1848; he mea whakarite e Henry Tacy Kemp; e 20 miriona eka (takiwā o te 8 miriona heketea) i hokona mō te 2,400 pāuna. Ko tētahi atu hoko nui, ko te hoko o Ōtākou i te tau 1844: i hokona ngā eka 400,000 (neke atu i te 162,000 heketea) mō te 2,400 pāuna.
Kāore i roa ka mārama ki a Ngāi Tahu, kīhai rawa te Karauna e piri ki tāna i oati ai. I whakapono te iwi ka rūritia he whenua mō ratou, ka rāhuitia ō rātou mahinga kai, ka tū he kura, he hōhipera ki ngā kāinga.
Nō te tau 1849 ka takoto te whakamau a Matiaha Tiramōrehu, te tono ōkawa tuatahi a Ngāi Tahu e pā ana ki ngā hoko whenua. Nō te tekau tau atu i 1870, ka tīmataria e Hōri Kerei Taiaroa te kerēme a Ngāi Tahu ki mua i te whare paremata. Whai muri, ā, taka rawa ki te tekau tau atu i 1990, tata ki te katoa o ngā rangatira o Ngāi Tahu i whakapau kaha ki te kaupapa nei.
Ko te pōhēhē a Ngāi Tahu e noho ana ki Waitaha, kīhai i hokona te taiwhenua. Nā runga i tēnei, ka aratakina e te matakite e Te Maihāroa tana ope ki Te Ao Mārama (Ōmārama), i te rohe o Waitaki, ki te whakaatu i tō rātou mana ki ngā mahinga manu o te raumati. Ka whakaaturia rātou e te hunga pāmu hipi ki te kāwanatanga, ko te otinga, i te tau 1879 ka panaia a Te Maihāroa rātou ko tana ope i te tuawhenua kia rere ki tai.
Atu i ngā petihana i whakatakotohia ki mua i te aroaro o te whare pāremata me Kuini Wikitōria, whāia ai e Ngāi Tahu ana kerēme mā roto i Te Kōti Whenua Māori i te tau 1868, i mua hoki i ngā kōmihana roera, tae rawa atu ki te Kōmihana Roera o 1879, he mea whakatū e Francis Nairn rāua ko Thomas Smith. E ai ki te pūrongo a te kōmihana nei, kia rahi atu ngā whenua i rāhuitia mō Ngāi Tahu. Heoi kīhai te take nei i whāia, ka tapahia te pūtea hei whakahaere i te kōmihana.
I te tau 1879, ka kōrero tētahi rangatira o Ngāi Tahu ki te kōmihana roera e rangahau ana i ā rātou kerēme whenua. I reira te koroua nei i te hainatanga o te hokonga a Henry Tacy Kemp i te tau 1848:
“Ko te kupu oati a Kemp mō ngā whenua rāhui, ka mau tonu te iwi ki āna mahinga ika, ōna wāhi tanu tūpāpaku, mahinga kai, pā tuna, aha noa. Kōrerohia ai aua kupu oati e 30 tau ki muri! Kei hea te whakatinanatanga o aua kupu? Ko ngā mahinga kai ngā wāhi ka tiki kai mātou, ngā hua a Rongomatāne. Mahi kai ai mātou i te motu puta noa.” 1
Ka tū ētahi atu poari, kōmihana ki te rangahau i te take nei. Ka kōrero ā rātou pūrongo katoa mō te rawakore o Ngāi Tahu i te hokona o ō rātou whenua i ngā tau pokapū o te rau tau 1800. Ko te whakatau a tētahi kōmihana o ngā tau 1920-21, kia utua a Ngai Tahu ki te e 354,000 pāuna; kāore tēnei i eke. Nō te tau 1928 ka whakatūhia te tuatahi o ngā Poari Kaitiaki o Ngāi Tahu (Ngai Tahu Trust Board). I te tau i muri mai ka tū tētahi hui ki te aru ko wai mā ngā uri o Ngāi Tahu, e whai wāhi ai ratou ki te paremata tērā ka puāwai.
Kia taka rā anō ki te tau 1944, ka whakamanatia e te kāwanatanga reipa te Ture Whakatau i Ngā Kerēme a Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlement Act). Ko te ritenga, ka utua a Ngāi Tahu ki te e 300,000 pāuna, arā, ia tau ka utua te 10,000 pāuna ki te iwi mō ngā tau toru tekau. Ko te whakatau a te Kōmihana o te tau 1920-21, kia e 354,000 pāuna te paremata ki a Ngāi Tahu; kāore te iwi i rata ki tēnei. Nō te tau 1946, ka whakamanahia ā-ture Te Poari Kaitiaki o Ngāi Tahu, hei whakahaere i ngā tahua moni.
I te tau 1986 ka whakatakotohia e Hēnare Rakiihia Tau te kerēme a Te Poari Kaitiaki o Ngāi Tahu ki te aroaro o Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi. I kōrero te kerēme mō ngā nawe a Ngāi Tahu e pā ana ki ngā whenua i hokona. Nō te tau 1991 ka puta te pūrongo a te Taraipiunara, ā, i te tau 1992 ka puta āna pūrongo mō te kerēme a te iwi ki ngā rawa hao ika. Nō te tau 1993 ka puta te pūrongo nui a te taraipiunara mō ngā kerēme ki ngā whenua rāhui iti noa nei.
Ka noho ngā pūrongo nei hei tūāpapa mō tētahi whakataunga i waenganui i a Ngāi Tahu me te Karauna. Nā Tā Tīpene O’Regan i ārahi te taha ki a Ngāi Tahu. Nō te tau 1996 whakamanatia ai te Ture o Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu Rūnanga Act). Koinei te hanganga ture tuatahi ki Aotearoa i whakamanahia ā-ture ai tētahi iwi. E rua tau i muri mai, nā te whakamanatanga o te Ture Whakataunga mō Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act), ka tutuki ngā kerēme a Ngāi Tahu.
Ko ngā whakatikatika taha ōhanga, ko te tika ki te hoko i ētahi rawa o te Karauna, kia taea ai e te iwi te whakapakari i ōna hapori, i āna tikanga. I whakatauhia, me he nui ake ngā whakataunga a iwi kē i tō Ngāi Tahu i roto i ngā rā kei te tū, ka tāpirihia anōtia he tahua mā Ngāi Tahu, e noho mai ai ia ki tōna tūranga hirahira. I tua atu, ka takoto te whakapāha a te Karauna me te tuwheratanga ki te whakatika i ngā āhuatanga ka pā ki ngā tikanga.
I te tau 2013, tata ki te 55,000 ngā uri o Ngāi Tahu, nā reira ko ia te tuawhā o ngā iwi nui rawa o Aotearoa. Nōna te rohe whenua nui rawa atu.
Ko tētahi āhuatanga kua kitea, ko te whakaoranga anō o ngā marae o Ngāi Tahu. Kua tū he wharenui hōu ki Takahanga i Kaikōura me Awarua (Bluff). Kua tū tētahi whare whakairo hōu ki Ōnuku, e pātata ana ki Hakaroa (Akaroa). Ki Ōtautahi, kei te hapū o Ngāi Tūahuriri ki Tuahiwi te mana o te marae o Rēhua. Kua whakahōuhia, kua whakaarahia rānei ngā whare i ngā marae o Waihao, o Arowhenua, o Taumutu, o Koukourarata, o Tuahiwi, o Mangamaunu. Kua tū te whare whakairo hōu o te hapū o Puketeraki ki Ōtākou.
I ngā tatauranga o Aotearoa mai i te tau 1991 ka pātaihia ngā tāngata Māori nō tēhea iwi rātou.
Kei raro ko ngā nama e whakaatu ana tokohia ngā tāngata nō Ngāi Tahu (e whai pānga ana rānei ki ētahi atu iwi hoki). Kei raro anō whakaatuhia ai ngā iwi o ngā rohe nunui i te tatauranga o te tau 2013.
Ko 1901 te tau whakamutunga rawa i pātaihia ai te Māori nō tēhea iwi rātou. Heoi kāore i pātaihia kia whakatakotohia ngā iwi maha.
Anderson, Atholl. The welcome of strangers: an ethnohistory of southern Maori, AD 1650–1850. Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 1998.
Couch, Arthur. Rapaki remembered: history & reminiscence. Lincoln: Te Waihora; Christchurch: Canterbury Maori Studies Association, 1987.
Evison, Harry C. Te wai pounamu, the greenstone island: a history of the southern Maori during the European colonization of New Zealand. Christchurch: Aoraki Press, 1993.
Mikaere, Buddy. Te Maiharoa and the promised land. Auckland: Reed, 1988.
Tīkao, Teone Taare. Tikao talks: ka taoko tapu o tea o kohatu. Auckland: Penguin, 1990 (originally published 1939).