Ko te iwi o Te Āti Awa kei te raki o Taranaki, ko ia tētahi o ngā iwi i whakaheke i te tipuna i a Awanuiarangi. E ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a te iwi, he atua, he tangata a Awanuiarangi. Koia te hua o te piringa o tētahi wahine, a Rongoueroa rāua ko Tamarau-te-heketanga-a-rangi, he wairua i heke i te rangi.
Ahakoa te rerekē paku nei o ngā ingoa o Ngāti Awa o te rohe o te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi rāua ko Te Āti Awa, kotahi tonu tō rāua tipuna, ko Awanuiarangi. Ko ētahi kōrero e kī ana i noho tuatahi ngā uri whakaheke o Awanuiarangi ki ētahi takiwā o te Tai Tokerau ā, nō muri i ngā tautohetohenga ki ētahi atu iwi noho tata, ka panaia, ka heke whakatetonga rātou. Ā taihoa, ka tae rātou ki te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi, kei reira ko Ngāti Awa, ka tae rātou ki Taranaki, kei reira ko Te Āti Awa. Kāore i te mārama mēnā i nōhia ngātahitia ngā takiwā e rua nei, i nōhia rānei tētahi takiwā ā, nō muri ka nōhia ko tētahi takiwā kē.
Nō te tau 1820 ka pakaru te kotahitanga o ngā iwi o Awanuiarangi, ka tū motuhake ko tēnā iwi, ko tēnā iwi. He rite tahi ētahi o ā ratou kōrero tuku iho, ā rātou tikanga, ā rātou whakapapa. Heoi ko te kōrero he iwi tēnā, he mana motuhake, he iwi tēnā, he mana motuhake. Mārama te kitea o tēnei āhuatanga i te iwi o Ngāti Awa o te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi e here ana i a ia ki te waka o Mataatua, i te iwi o Te Āti Awa o Taranaki e here ana i a ia ki te waka o Tokomaru.
Ko te rohe o Te Āti Awa ki Taranaki kei te takutai moana i waenganui o Nukutaipari, e tata ana ki Ngāmotu, me Te Rau o te Huia e tata ana ki Motunui. I mua i te taenga o te Pākehā, i ora te iwi o Te Āti Awa i ngā hua o tēnei rohe. I tiria e rātou te whenua mō ngā kiromita e 32 i te taha moana, tae rawa ki te whenua mānia ka totoro whakauta mō ētahi kiromita te tawhiti. Ko te paenga whenua o uta kei te kōrerohia tonuhia, engari tokorua ngā pou rāhui e whakaaetia whānuitia ana arā, ko Tāhunatūtawa, tētahi kūrae kei ngā tahataha i te raki mā rāwhiti o te maunga o Taranaki, rāua ko te pae maunga o Matemateaonga kei uta.
Hūmārire te noho a ngā whakatipuranga maha o Te Āti Awa ki te rohe o Taranaki. Nō te taenga o te Pākehā ka tutū te puehu, ka raruraru te taha tōrangapū, te noho me ngā tikanga o te iwi. Nō te tau 1841 ka hohoro te tae o ngā tāngata whai o te Kamupene o Niu Tīreni, ka hīkaka ki ngā whenua mōmona o Te Āti Awa i Ngāmotu, i Waitara hei pāmu mō rātou. Nō konei ka tīmata te tutū o te puehu. I tēnei wā, he tini ngā tāngata o Te Āti Awa kei te tonga, e rapu whenua hōu ana mō rātou i te taha o ngā iwi haumi. Nō te tau 1848, nā runga i ngā akiaki a ngā tāngata whai kia hokona ngā whenua, ka hoki ngā uri e 600 o Te Āti Awa mai i ngā rohe o Waikanae, o Te Whanganui-a-Tara i raro i tō rātou rangatira a Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke.
I whakahē a Te Rangitāke i te hoko whenua ki te Pākehā, engari i te tekau tau atu i 1850 ka hokona e ētahi o te iwi tētahi wāhanga o ngā whenua o te iwi. Nō muri ka pakaru mai te riri tara whare i ngā hapū o Te Āti Awa me te toheriri ki ngā tāngata whai Pākehā. Hāunga tērā, i ngana tonu a Te Rangitāke me ngā hapū piri tata ki te rapu oranga mō te iwi mā te hoko kai ki ngā tāngata whai tauhōu i Ngāmotu e noho ana. Ka whakatipuria ngā uru rākau me te wīti, ka whakamōmonatia ngā kararehe. I hokona e te iwi ētahi kaipuke Pākehā kia pai ai te tauhokohoko ki waho atu i te rohe.
I te tekau tau atu i 1850 ko te kōrero, e whai wāhi atu ana a Te Rangitāke ki te Rōpū Pupuri Whenua Māori. He mea whakatū tēnei kaupapa nā te Māori, i waihangatia ai ki te whakatenatena i te Māori kia kaua e hokona ō rātou whenua. Ka tirohia a Te Rangitāke anō nei ko ia te kaiārahi o tēnei kaupapa, ka whakakinohia tōna ingoa e ngā nūpepa. Ka tirohia hoki a ia e ngā Pākehā noho tāone anō koia te whakaatatanga o ngā āhuatanga ‘kino’ a te Māori.
I te tau 1859 ka kitea tētahi nukarau tērā ka ea te ‘raruraru a Te Rangitāke’. Otirā i puta te kōrero, i te hiahia tētahi o ngā rangatira o te iwi, a Te Teira ki te hoko i ngā whenua kei reira a Te Rangitāke e noho ana. I tāpaea te hiahia o Te Teira kia hoko whenua ki mua i te Āpiha Hokohoko a te Karauna, i a Te Mākarini. Nā ngā kōhetehete i waenganui i a Te Rangitāke rāua ko Te Teira, ka hokona atu taua whenua e Te Teira, e raru ai a Te Rangitāke. Ahakoa te mārama pai o ngā āpiha a te Karauna ko Te Rangitāke kē te tino rangatira, kīhai i taea e Te Teira te hoko whenua i tāna kotahi anake, ka whakaae tonu rā rātou kia hokona.
Kāore a Te Rangitāke rātou ko ōna hapū i whakaae kia makere rātou i te whenua, waihoki, ka aukatia ngā kairūri e whakaoti ana i ā rātou rūri o te poraka. Ka tukuna e te Karauna tana pānui whakamutunga ki a Te Rangitāke rātou ko Te Āti Awa kia whakawātea te whenua; ki te kore, ka tonoa e ngā āpiha ngā hōia ki te puhipuhi i a rātou. Nā te kore whakaae o Te Rangitāke kia makere ia i ōna ake whenua i te marama o Maehe i te tau 1860, ka rongohia ngā pakūtanga tuatahitanga o te pakanga o Niu Tīreni, i te pupuhitanga a te Pākehā i te pā o Te Kohia, kei te tonga paku atu o Waitara.
Ahakoa te whānui o te tautoko a te Māori i a Te Āti Awa i roto i te pakanga, ka hinga rātou i te kotahi tau. Ka whakapaetia rātou e te Karauna mō te whakakeke, ka tāmia rātou, ka raupatungia ō rātou whenua. Whāia, nō te tau 1865 ka whakamahia e te kāwanatanga te 1863 Suppression of Rebellion Act me te Ture mō te Whakanoho i te Hunga Mārie (New Zealand Settlements Act) 1863 hei raupatu i te katoa o ngā whenua o Te Āti Awa ki Taranaki.
Ahakoa te whakapae a Te Āti Awa e tiaki ana rātou i ō rātou whare me ō rātou kāinga i ngā whakaekenga whakatuki a ngā taua hōia, ka haere tonu ngā mahi raupatu. Nā tēnei, ka hua mai ngā tino raru ki te taha tōrangapū, te noho a te iwi me āna tikanga hoki; ko ēnei pōraruraru e tāmi tonu nei i te iwi. I tua atu i ēnei takahitanga, i rahakina te mana o te iwi.
Neke atu i te 90 ngā hapū o Te Āti Awa i taua wā; kua tae mai ki ēnei rā e ono anake ngā hapū e ora ana: ko Ngāti Rāhiri rātou ko Otaraua, ko Manukorihi, ko Pukerangiora, ko Puketapu, ko Ngāti Te Whiti.
I te rau tau 1900, ka tāpaea e te Karauna ētahi paremata kore take ki mua i a Te Āti Awa hei whakaea i ngā mahi hē o mua. Hei tauira atu, i te tekau tau atu i 1920 i tūtohu te Kōmihana a Sim kia utua ētahi paremata, engari kāore ia i tino rangahau i ngā tino take pēnei i te whakahokitanga o ngā whenua raupatu ki te iwi, ngā wāhi tapu o te iwi, ngā taonga a te iwi.
Kia tae ki te tekau tau atu i 1930 kua whakatauhia e te kāwanatanga tētahi utunga engari kāore ia i kōrero tahi ki te taha o ngā iwi o Taranaki, tae atu hoki ki a Te Āti Awa. Ahakoa te kī a te Taranaki Māori Claims Act 1944 kua eke te katoa o ngā utu mō ngā hē i whakaputahia e te Karauna ki ngā tāngata o taua rohe, kāore pea tēnei i te tika ki tā te Māori i titiro ai. I te wā o ēnei whakatau, i te hokona tonutia, i te herea rāneihia ngā whenua i rāhuitia mō te Māori ki ētahi rīhi mutunga kore. Kia tae ki te tau 1974, kua hokona e te Public Trust te 63 ōrau o ngā whenua i rāhuitia mō ngā iwi o Taranaki.
Nā te tatauranga 2013 i whakaatu neke atu i te 15,000 te tokomaha o ngā uri o Te Āti Awa ki Taranaki. Nō te tau 1996 ka whakaae te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti ki ngā takahitanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi me te tika o Te Āti Awa kia tono paremata mō ngā whenua i raupatutia. Nō te tau 1998 ka tīmata ngā whakawhitiwhitinga kōrero mō tētahi Whakaritenga mō ngā Whakataunga i waenganui i te iwi me te Karauna. Kei te mahi tahi tonu a Te Āti Awa me te Karauna e tū pakari ai te iwi hei ngā rā kei te tū.
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 Te Āti Awa ki Taranaki (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.
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