Kapi ai i te kupu rongoā ngā tikanga whakaora mate a te Māori, he mea tuku iho i tēnā whakatupuranga, i tēnā whakatupuranga. He tikanga mō tēnā rongoā, he tikanga mō tēnā rongoā. He nui te wāhi ki te taha wairua i roto i te hauora Māori. Ko ētahi rongoā ka tīkina i te taiao, i ngā tipu, i ngā otaota, i ngā rākau, ko ētahi mahi pēnei i te mirimiri ka pā ki te tinana. He nui te taha wairua i te rongoā.
Kei ngā tohunga ahurewa ngā kawenga o ngā rongoā, tae atu ki te taha wairua.
Nō te ūnga o tauiwi ki Aotearoa, i te pakari ngā tikanga whakaora mate a te Māori. He nui ngā taunakitanga ka tohu ki te mōhio a ngā Māori onamata ki te tinana o te tangata – te mahi a tēnā wāhanga, a tēnā wāhanga, ngā tohu mō te ora me te paheketanga, tae atu hoki ki ngā rongoā kei roto i tēnā tipu, i tēnā rākau, i tēnā otaota.
I te rau tau 1700, ka kite te tohunga pūtaiao a Joseph Banks i te pakari o te hauora o te Māori me te ruarua o ngā mate i waenganui i a rātou:
‘Nā te tika o te kai me te āta kai i pakari ai te hauora, ā, e tino manaakitia ana rātou e te oranga nuitanga….Kāore au i kite i tētahi e whakatakariri ana mō te kore noa iho… Nā te ora o te mauri kāore he tākuta.’ 1
I te taenga o te Pākehā ki Aotearoa, ko te tau toharite ka mate te tangata Māori ko te 30 tau, nā te aha, nā ngā mate ka pā i ngā niho ka pirau haere. Heoi, i tua atu i tēnei, he pakari te hauora, ā, ruarua noa ngā tahumaero. E ai ki a Joseph Banks, te tohunga pūtaiao i te taha o Kāpene Kuki, ‘kāore he iwi pakari atu i te Māori’. 2
Kotahi anake te mahinga rongoā mai te tipu ka kite a Kuki, arā, ko te tipu he mea koromāhu. Ka whakawera he kōhatu, ka ūhia ki ngā tipu, kātahi ka taupoki ki te whāriki. I konei ka nōhia e te wahine. Ko te whakapae a Kuki, ‘ka puta te rongoā i te koromāhu.’
I te tau 1824 ka tuhi a René Lesson o Wīwī mō te rongoā Māori, ‘ka inu te Māori i te wai o ngā tipu, kīia ai e rātou he rongoā…Kīia ai ngā tohunga mahi rongoā he “tangata rongoā”.’ 4
Nā ngā tuhinga a Kāpene Kuki mō te ora o te Māori, te kore o ngā momo tahumaero me te mahinga o ngā rongoā, ka whakapae ētahi nō muri rawa i te taenga o te Pākehā ka kaha haere te whāwhā a te Māori ki ngā tipu hei rongoā.
I ngā rā o mua ko te whakapae ka ahu mai ngā mate i te taha wairua. E ai ki te Māori, ko ia te kaitiaki o te ao tūroa, ā, ka noho tahi ia me te taiao. Hāunga te titiro ki te mate anō he mate ā-tinana, ka titiro kē te Māori ki te mate anō he take wairua.
E rua ngā momo o te mate, ko te mate atua, ko te mate tangata. Ko te mate atua ka pā mai nā te takahi i te tapu – hei tauira, te tango kai i tētahi wāhi i mate he tangata, te whati peka mai i te rākau whakairi tūpāpaku mō te ahi tunu kai.
Ko te pūtake o ngā mate atua ko te takahi i te tapu. Mā te tohunga rawa tēnei mate hei whakaora. Ko te mahi tuatahi mā te tohunga he kimi i te hara, me te rapu ko wai te wairua whakahaehae. Ka noho te tohunga ka whakamātau i ngā mahi me ngā nekeneke katoa a taua tangata i mua i te pānga o te mate, tae rawa atu ki ngā moemoeā.
He pūkenga tō tēnā tohunga, he pūkenga tō tēnā tohunga - ngā mahi toi, te ahuwhenua, te mahi ika, te taki i te riri, te whakaora tūroro, arā atu. Ko te tohunga te kauwaka ki ngā atua, inarā i whakangungua rātou ki te whare wānanga. He mana nui, he kawenga nui tō te tohunga ki te manaaki i te hauora o te iwi.
Tuatahi ake, me rapu he aha te pūtake o te mate, kātahi ka pana i te atua whakahaehae e patu ana i te tūroro. Whai muri ko te karakia whakahoro hei wetewete i ngā putanga o te tapu. He wā anō ka rukuhia te tūroro ki te wai me ngā karakia a te tohunga.
Ka whakamārama a Tuta Nihoniho o Ngāti Porou i te mariunga, arā, he matire karamū, māpou, maire rānei hei torotoro haere i te tinana o te tūroro kia whiwhi i te tino o te tūroro. Kātahi ka heria te matire rā ki te tohunga māna hei tohu ki te ora ki te mate rānei.
Ko tētahi tikanga ko te takutaku arā, ka whakapāngia te rau o te karamū ki te tūroro, kātahi ka whakaterehia ki te wai. Ka terengia te rau rā me te wairua kikokiko hoki, tae rawa atu ki te moana nui, ki Te Waha o te Parata, toremi rawa iho ki Rarohenga. Nō konei ka tāuwhia te tūroro ki te wai hei whakawātea.
Ko te nuinga o ngā mate tangata ka taea te whakaora mā ngā rongoā kei ngā tipu, rākau, otaota. Ka rūnā te tona i mua i te tākai ki te rau. Ka tapahi te whēwhē ka kōtē te nape. Mā te wera hei whakamauru i te mamae o te wahine whakawhānau me te rere o te tahe.
Nā te rongoā i ora anō ai te waewae o Hōri Nēpia, te toa whakaharahara o te kapa Ō Pango i ōna rā. Ka tohu ngā tākuta kia pokaina tōna waewae. Ka tono a Hōri Nēpia ki te hoa o tōna whāea, nō te whānau Paewai. Ka mahi rongoā te kuia rā i te kiri o te kōwhai, ka tono ki a Hōri Nēpia kia kaukau ki roto, kātahi ka pakini ōna waewae. E rua wiki i muri mai kei te tākaro whutupaoro a Hōri Nēpia. Nō muri ka mea te tākuta i whakapono a ia kīhai a Hōri Nēpia e eke anō ai ki runga i te papa tākaro.
Mō ngā mate pērā i te ānini o te māhunga, ka motuhia te kiri kia rere ai te toto. Mō ngā tāngata i tata toremi, me huri kōaro ka whakairi ki runga i te auahi. Ko ngā tipu anō hei rongoā mō te kōreke me te korere. He pai ngā tarawai o ngā tipu pērā i te rātā hei pani ki ngā taotūtanga. Ka nanao ki te kiri rākau me te rau harakeke hei pāpā-kiri mō ngā kōiwi whati, ko te karakia hei hāpai. Katia ai ngā taotūtanga ki te motumotu.
Kō atu i te e 200 ngā tipu ka nanao e te Māori hei rongoā. He rahi ngā whakamahinga i te harakeke, te kawakawa, te rātā, te koromiko.
Nō te tōmuatanga o te rau tau 1900 ka mau te nuinga o ngā kōrero mō te pai o te kūmarahou hei rongoā.
Ka tipu te tētēaweka ki Ngā Motu Tītī. Ka koromāhutia ki te umuroa mō te kirikā.
He nui te pānga o tauiwi ki runga i ngā rongoā Māori. Kāore i kaha ngā tohunga ki te ārai i ngā tahumaero i tae mai me te Pākehā. Ahakoa te kore take hoki o ngā rongoā Pākehā o taua wā ki te ārai i ngā tahumaero, hinga tonu ana te mana o ngā tohunga.
Ko te whakapae ka whiua e ētahi mihinare Pākehā, nā te kore whakapono a te Māori ka hōrapa ngā tahumaero. Nā te paheketanga o te mana o ngā tohunga tahuri ai ētahi Māori ki te whakapono Karaitiana. Nāwai ā, ka kati tēnā whare wānanga, ka kati tēnā whare wānanga, ko te otinga, ka paheke te mana me te kaha o te tohunga.
He none Wīwī a Mary Joseph Aubert, i kaingākau ki ngā rongoā a te Māori. Ka noho ia me ngā iwi Māori o te awa o Whanganui. He maha ngā rongoā nāna i mahi. I mātau ia ki ngā mātauranga Pākehā mō te huaota, te matū me te tū hei nēhi. Heoi, ka ako tonu a ia mō ngā rongoā Māori. Ka ranua e ia ngā rongoā Pākehā, me ngā rongoā Māori, ka hokona ki Aotearoa puta noa.
Ka rapu tonu te tini o te iwi Māori i te rongoā, ahakoa te mea kei waenganui i ngā ao e rua e noho ana. Ahakoa haere tonu ai te mahi a ngā tohunga tūturu, ka ara mai tētahi momo anō o te tohunga – kāore i whakangungua ki te whare wānanga, kāore he mana. Ko te mahi a ēnei tohunga he haere ki tēnā pā, ki tēnā kāinga me te kī kei a rātou ake ngā rongoā mō ngā mate katoa i te ao. Hauwarea atu. Taka rawa ki ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1900 ka tahuri ngā mana Pākehā me ngā mana Māori ki te ārai i a rātou.
I hua ake te Ture Whakamutu Tohunga nā te māharahara mō ngā mahi pokanoa a ētahi tohunga. Ka puta ngā whakahē a te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o Te Aute e mea ana ka tūkinotia ngā tūroro, ka tāmia te whanaketanga o te iwi Māori. Ka puta ngā whakahē a ngā tākuta Māori rongonui nei a Māui Pōmare rāua ko Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck).
Nā te mema pāremata Māori nā Tā Timi Kara te Ture Whakamutu Tohunga i whakatakoto ki te aroaro o te pāremata, he mea tautoko e ngā mema pāremata Māori tokowhā. Nō te tau 1907 ka mana tēnei ture. E ai ki te kupu whakataki:
Ko ngā tāngata ka whakawai, ka whakakotiti rānei i ngā whakapono a ngā Māori i runga i te kī, i te whakataruna rānei he mana atua tā rātou ki te whakaora tahumaero, ki te matakite hoki, ka whainatia e te Kaiwhakawā – kia kaua te whaina rā e eke i e 25 pāuna - ka mauherea rānei mō te wā tae atu i te ono marama.
Ruarua noa iho ngā whakawātanga i raro i tēnei ture, ruarua hoki ngā tāngata i whakaharaina – ko te putanga me kī, ko te huna a ngā tohunga i ā rātou mahi. Nō te tau 1962 whakakorengia ai te ture nei.
Ka whakapae ētahi ko te tino whāinga o tēnei ture kia tāmi i a Rua Kēnana te matakite o Ngāi Tūhoe, nāna tana hapori i whakatū ki te take o Maungapōhatu i te tau 1907.
Tērā ngā whakapae a ētahi kei te takahi tēnei ture i te Tiriti o Waitangi nā te werowero i te mātauranga Māori, kīia ai he taonga i te wāhanga tuarua.
Kia tae ki te whakamutunga o te rau tau 1900 ka kaha mai anō te rongoā Māori nā te:
Kei te whakaae te iwi Māori ki ngā tikanga me ngā mahi whakaora tangata a tauiwi. Hāunga tērā, kei te whirinaki tonu te tini ki ngā rongoā Māori hei ārai i te mate, tae rawa ki ngā mate kāore i taea e ngā whakaoranga a tauiwi te whakatika. Ka kīia ētahi mate he ‘mate Māori’ – i pā mai nā te takahi i te tapu.
Nō te tau 1993 ka whakatūhia Ngā Ringa Whakahaere o te Iwi Māori. Ko te whāinga o te rōpū nei kia kotahi te reo mō ngā rongoā Māori, hei tiaki, hei whakatairanga, hei manaaki i ēnei taonga. Ka whai mana ā-ture tēnei rōpū hei kanohi mō te tokomaha o ngā tohunga.
He rerekē ngā tohunga o ēnei rā ki ngā tohunga o mua. He pai ētahi tikanga whakangungu i te tohunga, ko ētahi kāore pea i pai. Heoi, kua ngoikore ngā wānanga o ngā iwi mō te ako tohunga.
He maha ngā tohunga e mahi ana ki ngā whare haumanu i te taha o ngā tākuta, nēhi o te hauora tūmatanui. Ko tā rātou he whakamātau, he whakamahi i ngā rongoā me ngā tikanga a tauiwi ki ā rātou mahi. Nā reira he rerekē ngā hua ki tēnā, he rerekē ngā whakahaere a tēnā, he rerekē ngā whakaoranga o tēnā. Hāunga tērā, he tokomaha ngā tohunga ka pupuri i ngā mātauranga he mea tuku iho i te whānau, te hapū, te iwi.
He maha ngā āhuatanga rite i waenganui i ngā tohunga. Ka whakamahia e te katoa te wai rākau, heoi he tikanga raweke tā tēnā tohunga, tā tēnā tohunga. He wāhi nui tō te taha wairua. He wāhi nui hoki tō te reo Māori ki ētahi tohunga.
Ko ngā tipu ka rite te whakamahia i ēnei rā hei rongoā ko te kūmarahou, te kawakawa, te mānuka, te kōwhai, te harakeke. Mai i te rau tau 1800, ka tuhia ngā tikanga rongoā o ēnei tipu.
Te Rangi Hīroa (Buck, Peter) The coming of the Maori. Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Maori Purposes Fund Board, Whitcombe and Tombs, 1949.
Durie, M. H., and others. Traditional Māori healing: a paper prepared for the Core Health Committee. Te Papa-i-ōia: Te kura Māori o te whare wānanga o Massey, 1993.
Lange, Raeburn. May the people live: a history of Māori health development 1900–1920. Tāmaki-makau-rau: Auckland University Press, 1999.
Lange, Raeburn. ‘The tohunga and the government in the twentieth century.’ In University of Auckland Historical Society Annual, 1968: 12–38.
Riley, Murdoch. Māori healing and herbal: New Zealand ethnobotanical sourcebook. Paraparaumu: Viking Sevenseas, 1994.
Tipene-Leach, D. ‘Māori medicines.’ New Zealand Pharmacy 18, no. 8 (Hereturikōkā 1998): 26–28.