Ko te whare whakairo te whare rongonui ake o te ahurea Māori. Kotahi te wāhi noho, he tuanui heke ka toro mai i te tuarongo ki te mahau, ki te pou mataaho. Tētahi mea nui, ka kitea he whakaniko i roto, i waho hoki, e whakaahuatia ai ngā tīpuna, ngā atua me ngā kaitiaki e pā ana ki te whare. Ko te whare whakairo he nui kē atu i ngā whare o mua ake pērā i te wharepuni. Ehara i te mea nō mai anō te whare whakairo. E whakaarotia ana nō te pānga ki te Pākehā i te puku o te rautau 1800 tīmata ai te hanga o ngā whare whakairo.
Ko ngā whare tuatahi he māmā noa iho te hanga. E ai ki a George French Angas, ‘kei raro iho i te pae one ngā moenga, ā, he tuanui heke ngā momo tuanui. Kei waho atu tētahi mahau, ā, hei noho mō te iwi. Kei roto ko te wāhi moe. Kia pō takoto, ka tahuna te ahi, ā, ka katia ngā putanga kia kore ai e puta te mahana. I te awatea kua putaputa katoa mai te iwi ki waho hongi ai i te hau mātao o te ata, me te heke o te werawera i te kiri.’1
Ko ngā whare tuatahi i hangaia e te Māori he mea tauira i ērā o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. He puni noa ngā whare tuatahi, arā, nā ngā nekeneke ki te kimi kai, rauemi hoki. Hangaia ai te tini o ēnei whare i roto i tōna rōpū whare tekau, otirā kotahi te wharepuni noho mō ia whānau. Kotahi noa iho te taiwhanga o ia whare. He porowhita ētahi whare, he tapawhā paenga i waenganui i te pouri me te auahi o roto me te ao o waho. Kīhai i kitea te mahau puta noa i te Moananui-a-Kiwa.
He maha ngā tūāhua i mahana ai ngā whare i ngā huarere mātao o Aotearoa. He kino ake te māeke i tō rātou kāinga i Hawaiki. He pāpaku ngā whare, he hāhaka te kuaha, kotahi koa, kāore noa iho rānei he matapihi hei pupuri tonu i te mahana. Kei roto kē ngā pakitara i te whenua e tapoko ana, ka mutu hei whakahaumaru i te whare. He takuahi anō tō ngā whare hei whakamahana, ā, he whare anō mō te tunu. Ko tōna aumanga he putanga iti i runga i te tuanui.
I te takiwā o te rautau 1500 ka mātotoru te iwi Māori, ā, ka whānui ake ngā kāinga, ka puta mai hoki he momo whare hou. Ko te wharepuni tētahi,, ā, neke atu i te kotahi whānau ka āhei te uru ki roto. Kāore e whakairotia te wharepuni, hāunga ngā whare mō te tangata whai mana. Nā whai anō ka whakairotia he pare, he tekoteko, he poutokomanawa rānei hei tohu i te mana o te rangatira. Nō muri ka tāpiritia ngā mahau hei paenga i waenganui i te pouri me te auahi o roto me te ao o waho. Kīhai i kitea te mahau puta noa i te Moananui-a-Kiwa.
Mai anō i te tau 1400, ka whai pātaka kai ngā kāinga Māori. He mea whakarewa te pātaka ki runga i te pou (i ngā pou e rua rānei), hei ārai i ngā kīrehe. Ko tōna huarahi piki he taura, he arawhata rānei. Arā atu te momo pātaka mō te pupuri kupenga, rākau, taonga, kākahu anō hoki. He tohu whai mana te pātaka, nā whai anō ka whakairotia a waho.
I waho noa atu i te whare ngā mahi taka kai, i roto kāuta rānei. He tīhokahoka, he rauwhare noa ēnei whare, i hangaia ki ngā peka tāwhao wahie mō te ahi tahu kai. I te kore e whakairotia o te kāuta ka mārama ki te tikanga a te Māori e pā ana ki te kai. Kīhai i pā te kai ki te tapu, mō te hunga tauware noa, tūtūā hei taka i te kai.
Kei roto i ngā kōrero tuku iho a te Māori ngā kōrero mō te waihanga whare, me tōna hono i te taiao, i ngā tīpuna me te whakapapa ki te ao tukupū. I roto i te hanganga o te whare haere ngātahi te tangata me te ao tūroa. Ko ōna taipitopito katoa kei roto i te hanganga o te whare.
Kei ngā kōrero a Ngāti Porou ko Ruatepupuke te tipuna i ahu mai i te whare whakairo tuatahi ki Te Tai Rāwhiti. Nōna e whakaora ana i tana tama i te whare o Tangaroa a Huiteananui, ka tūpono ia ki ngā hanganga whakairo tuatahi. Ka kitea e tū tekoteko mai ana te tama ki runga i te whare; he utu tēnei mōna i hara ki a Tangaroa. Ko te takenga mai tērā o te whakairo whare i ngā atua.
Ka hoki a Ruatepupuke rāua ko tana tama ki te ao mārama. Ka riro mai anō ngā whakairo i roto o Huiteananui, ā, ka tītokona ki roto i tōna whare hou i a Te Rāwheoro. Ka noho ko ēnei whakairo hei tauira tuatahi mō ngā whare whakairo o roto i a Ngāti Porou. I waenganui o te rautau 1800 e haere tonu ana te wānanga o Te Rāwheoro ki Ūawa, ā, nō te rautau 1900 ka whakaarahia anō.
Kei hea atu i te ingoa tipuna hei kārangaranga ingoa mō te whare whakairo. Ko te whare he tinana tonu. He kanohi (te koruru) tōna, he ringa (ngā maihi) ōna, he waha (te kūwaha) tōna, he tuaiwi (te tāhuhu) tōna, he rara (ngā heke) tōna.
Kei ētahi whare whakairo ngā whakarākai tātai whakapapa. Arā, ko te tekoteko te tipuna, ā, heke iho ko ngā kōwhaiwhai me ngā poupou ōna uri whakaheke.
E ai ki tētahi kaituku kōrero Pākehā mō te wharenui, ‘ka mihia te wharenui anō nei he tangata: ehara i te whare noa iho, hei noho mā te tangata. Ki tā te ahurea Pākehā, nō te ao kōhatu ēnei momo whare e aronui ana tōna aroaro, tōna mahau, me tōna poho. Engari me anga kē ki te whakaaro ake; he tipuna tonu te whare: arā, ka mihi ki tōna kanohi, kaua ki tōna tinana, ki tōna kumu rānei.1
I te wā e whaikōrero ana te tangata, me mihi te tangata i te whakairo anō nei kei te ora anō ērā whakairo. Inā ka huataki te kaikōrero kua kī ia, ‘E te whare e tū mai nei, tēnā koe’. Ka mihi te kaikōrero ki te whare anō nei he tipuna ora ia.
Ko te whare whakairo anō te tauira o te ao hurihuri. Ko te pou tuarongo te onamata, ko te pou wharau te inamata me te anamata. Ko te aroaro o te whare ka anganui ki te rāwhiti, ki te kāinga tahi o Hawaiki. Kei tua, ko te pare, ko te mahau, ko te paepae kaiāwhā.
Kei ngā whare katoa ōna ake tikanga ā-hanga, ā-iwi, ā-wairua hoki. Hei aha hoki te whakaaro he wāhi noa te whare me te ātea i waho.
Nō ngā pāpānga nui ki te ao Māori i puea ake i te pokapū o te rautau 1800, ka puea ake te whare whakairo. Nā runga i ngā hoko whenua, te tāmokotanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi me te Rongopai ka kōaro ki te kimi i ētahi wāhi nui hei huihuinga mō te iwi. Kātahi ka tīkina ngā whakairo o te pātaka, ā, ka tāpirihia ki te mahau o te wharepuni hei whakanui ake i tōna mana, ā, ka whakarahi ake i tōna hanga.
E ai ki ētahi i ahu mai te whakaaro mō ngā whare whakairo tuatahi i te kitenga a te Māori i ngā whare me ngā whare karakia a te Pākehā. Nō te tekau tau 1840 ka waihanga haeretia ngā whare whakairo tuatahi ki te Tai Rāwhiti. He rohe rongonui tēnei mō te mahi whakairo, ā, nō te tau 1840 tonu ka tau te Rongopai me te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te rohe. Ko tētahi o ngā whare whakamīharo o te wā ko Te Hau-ki-Tūranga whare ki Tūranga. Nā te tohunga whakairo o Rongowhakaata nā Raharuhi Rukupō i hahau mai tēnei whare.
Kāore te katoa o ngā wharenui i whai whakairo, mahau rānei. Ki te tai hauāuru me te tai tonga, tae atu ki Te Waipounamu, ka tāmate ngā whakairo i ngā pakanga ā-iwi (tae atu ki ngā riri mau pū o te tekau tau 1820), ngā pakanga whenua me te uru ki ngā ohaoha hoko taonga. Ka tauiratia ētahi whare i ngā hōro me ngā whare karakia Pākehā, ā, ka whakamahia ngā rauemi me ngā hangarau pērā i ngā papa huarere, ngā haeana, ngā whakamāeneene me ngā nēra.
I te pito o te rautau 1800 me te tīmatanga o te rautau 1900 ka hanga ngā whakapono me ngā rōpū tōrangapū Māori i ā rātou whare. Mai i te tekau tau 1880 ka huataki te hanganga o ngā whare whakairo a Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki. He rerekē ēnei whare, inā rā ka peitangia ngā tiki me ngā manaia ki ngā peita a te Pākehā.
Ko te kāinga o Parihaka tētahi o ngā kāinga Māori i tere tonu ki te hopu i ngā rākau hou a te Pākehā. I te tīmatanga, he Māori katoa ngā papanga o ngā whare, engari nāwai ka kapo ake ki ngā papahuarere me ngā papa rino mō te hanga i ā rātou whare. Nō te tau 1885, e anganui ana ngā whare ki ngā tiriti kē. He wai rere, he kōrehu, he rama hiko katoa tō Parihaka. I tērā wā kāore anō ēnei hangarau kia tae ki Pōneke.
I waenganui i te tau 1881 me te tau 1907 ka whakatenatena ōna kaiārahi a Te Whiti-o-Rongomai rāua ko Tohu Kākahi kia hangaia ngā whare Pākehā mō ngā rangatira o te hapori. He whare inu kaputī Wikitōriana anō i Parihaka. Nāwai ka whakakapia katoatia ngā whare Māori ki ngā kāinga papahuarere.
I te tau 1907 ka waihangatia e Rua Kēnana Hepetipa tōna kāinga ki Maungapōhatu, ki Te Urewera. I tīkina e ia te tauira o tōna whare i ngā karaipiture e pā ana ki te whare o Horomona, arā, te Dome of the Rock’.
He tikanga Romanesque te waihanga whare o ngā temepara a Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana. Nō te tau 1927 ka tuwhera te temepara tuatahi, ā, nō muri mai ka whakatūria ērā ki Mangamuka (i te tau 1947), ki Te Kao (i te tau 1952), ki Te Hāpua (i te tau 1954), ki Raetihi (i te tau 1957) me Ahipara (i te tau 1965).
He mea urutau ēnei whare i te koronga kia kapohia ake ngā rākau a te Pākehā me ōna hangarau hoki hei hiki ake i ngā tūmanako me ngā wawata Māori e pā ana ki te wairua me ōna mahi tōrangapū.
Tae tonu ki te tau 1920 kua haumate ngā mātauranga e pā ana ki te hanga whare whakairo. Nō konei ka hika te ngākau o Āpirana Ngata ki te rongoā i te mate. He māngai nō te Tai Rāwhiti, he kaimātai tikanga tangata hoki a Ngata, nāna i kōkiri te whakatūnga o te kura toi Māori ki Rotorua. E rua tau i muri i tōna whakatūnga i te tau 1927, kua puta te ihu o ngā tauira whakairo – pērā i a Pineāmine Taiapa rātou ko Hōne Taiapa, ko Piri Poutapu, ko Waka Kereama. Ko ngā tohunga whakairo tonu o Te Arawa ngā kaiako.
Nō te hanganga o ngā whare whakairo i te rautau 1900 ka tūpono ki ngā ture a te Pākehā. Nō konei me whai putanga ahi, puare hauhau, hiko, kōrere wai hoki te whare whakairo. I whakaae tonu a Ngata ki ētahi o ngā rerekētanga, engari ko tāna: ‘kua rahi kē ngā mahi whakapōrearea a ētahi ture, kua tūtū ngā matapihi, kua tiaho te mārama ki ngā wāhi kāore e tika.1
Ka tere tonu te tīmata o ngā mahi a te kura ki te waihanga whare whakairo, wharekai (he tūāhua hou i tērā wā) hoki. Ka whakaritea te mahi raranga tukutuku mā te hunga wāhine. I hiahia a Ngata kia whai wāhi te katoa o te hapori ki te hanganga o te whare, ā, nā te rāhui o te wahine i ngā tapu o te wāhi mahi, ka hangaia mai e Ngata mā ngā papa tukutuku, kia āhei te raranga ki wāhi kē.
He mea akiaki te hunga rangatahi ki te whakarākai anō i ngā wharekai ki te kōwhaiwhai, te tukutuku me ētahi momo whakairo. He whakapono tā Ngata ka noho anō ngā whare hei tohu ki te mahi tahi a te marae me te iwi. I te mea he whare kai, he noa te wharekai, ā, ka puta te wairua auaha. He whakairo māmā, he kōwhaiwhai, he tukutuku ka tāpirihia ki roto i te wharekai, otirā kāore i ōrite te kaha o te tapu ki ērā ki te whare whakairo. Nā te korekore o ngā tapu, ka puta te wairua auaha a te hunga rangatahi, ā, kāore i māharahara ki te tānoanoa i te tapu.
Nō te katinga o te kura whakairo i te tau 1938; kua puta kē te ihu o ngā tohunga whakairo maha me te huhua o te wahine raranga tukutuku, ā, e 21 ngā whare whakairo, 10 ngā wharekai, e ono hoki ngā whare karakia i hangaia e te kura. Heoi ko te hua nui, ko te putanga o te ihu o te reanga kaiwhakairo, raranga tukutuku, raranga kōwhaiwhai hoki. Nā rātou anō i para te huarahi mō te hanganga o ngā whare whakairo me ngā wharekai i whakaratohia e te kaupapa a te kāwanatanga ki te whakarato i ngā tohu whakamahara ki ngā pakanga. Nō te tau 1966 ka tuwhera a Te Puia ki Te Whakarewarewa i Rotorua.
Ko te whare whakairo tētahi o ngā kaupapa whakaora i ngā kāinga me ngā tikanga a te Māori i roto i te rautau 1900. Nā whai anō mai i te tau 1970, ka whai ngā kaupapa Māori i tēnei momo waihanga Māori, ā, kāore i whai ki ngā whare i tauiratia i a tauiwi, pērā i ngā whare a ngā poropiti pērā i a Rua Kēnana me Rātana. E kitea ana te whai hiranga ahurea o te whare whakairo i ngā marae o ēnei rā. Ka mutu i whakatūria ngā whare whakairo me ngā wharekai ki ngā marae i te taone: Ko ētahi o ngā marae:
I tāpirihia ki ēnei marae ngā tūāhua kīhai i kitea i te marae i mua, pērā i te wharepaku me te whare ora.
E ōrite tonu ana te āhua o te whare ki ngā whare i whakarērea, arā, kotahi te taiwhanga, kotahi te kūwaha, kotahi te matapihi kei mua. Heoi nō te tūponotanga ki ngā tikanga hanga i whai matapihi ai ngā whare, kia pai ai, kia hauhau ake ai te whare. I roto i te rautau kua pahure, kua whakawhenumia ngā hangarau me ngā tūāhua a te Pākehā, i toko ake ai te pātai mēnā he Māori tonu ngā whare.
Mai i te tekau tau 1980 ka kitea ngā marae ki ngā kura kaupapa, ngā wānanga me ngā kuratini. Nō te tekau tau 1990 ka hangaia ki ngā hōhipera me ngā whare herehere.
I hangaia a designTRIBE i te tau 1994 kia whai wāhi te iwi whānui ki ngā ratonga hanga whare Māori. Ko Rau Hoskins (o Ngāti Hau me Ngāpuhi) tētahi o ngā kaiwhakahaere o designTRIBE. Nāna i ārahi ngā tūmahi ki te whakaora i ngā whare Māori. I te tau 2002 ka kohia e ia ngā kōrero a ngā kaumātua mō te āwhina i ō rātou kaumātua ki te hanga whare, i a rātou e tamariki ana. I waihangatia tētahi whare raupō i te whanga o Te Patunga ki te Tai Tokerau, me tētahi whare nīkau ki Puataho ki Kaipara.
E tipu haere tonu nei ngā kaihoahoa me ngā kaiauaha whare ki waho i te horopaki o te whare whakairo. Ko John Scott rāua ko Wiremu Royal ētahi o ngā whakaihuwaka ki te hoahoa whare. Nō Ngāti Raukawa a Royal, ā, e whakaarotia ana koia te Māori tuatahi kia whiwhi i te tohu whare wānanga mō te hoahoa whare i te tau 1960. I te tau 1968 ka tū tōna ake whakahaerenga. He maha ngā tūmomo mahi ka whakaritea e ia ki te kāinga, ki tāwāhi. Kua whai wāhi ia ki ngā hanganga mō ngā marae 60 te maha.
I ako a John Scott (nō Taranaki me Te Arawa) ki te hanga whare ki Tāmaki-makaurau i te tekau tau 1940. I ngā tau whakamutunga o 1950 ka whakamanaia ia e te Marist Brothers (he peka nō te Hāhi Katorika) kia auahangia te whare karakia ki Karori. He tohu whakamahara tēnei whare ki te whakahere o Hato Pita Hanere ki te moutere o Futuna i te tau 1841. Nā te rōpū Brothers tonu i waihanga te whare me ngā papanga iti noa. Ko te whare karakia o Futuna tētahi o ngā whare whakahirahira kia hangaia ki Aotearoa i te rautau 1900.
I te tau 2014 ka tū i roto i te taiopenga Venice Architecture Biennale (te taiopenga nui mō ngā mahi waihanga) tētahi whakakitenga nō Aotearoa e kī ana ko Last, Loneliest, Loveliest. I pā te whakakitenga ki ngā whare whakairo me ngā whare o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. E ai ki te kaiārahi ki a David Mitchell, he rerekē ngā waihanga o Ūropi, inā rā, he kaitā katoa te hanga. Heoi ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, ka aro te hanga whare ki ngā poupou, ngā paepae me ngā tuanui nunui. E tipu tonu ana tēnei tikanga i ēnei rā, ahakoa ngā tukitukinga o te ao Pākehā.’1
Arā anō ngā kaihoahoa Māori i whai atu i ngā tapuwae a Scott rāua ko Royal, pērā i a Rewi Thompson rātou ko Tere Insley, ko Perry Royal (te tama a Wiremu Royal) me Rau Hoskins. Ka hāngai pū tonu ā rātou whare ki ngā huatau, ngā uara me ngā hangarau i whai pānga ki te hītori o te waihanga whare Māori tae atu ki ngā tikanga manaaki i te whenua. Hāunga ā rātou mahi ki ngā wāhi noho, me ā rātou tohutohu ki ngā whakahaere hauora, pāpāho, mātauranga, whare herehere hoki, ka whai wāhi nui anō ēnei kaihanga whare ki ngā kaupapa whakatū whare, noho taone hoki a te Māori. Arā anō te rōpū wāhine e hanga ana i ā rātou momo whare, ko Elisabeth Heta, ko Raukura Tūrei me Rebecca Green ētahi.
I whakatūria a Te Hononga ki Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka i te tau 1999. Ko te mahi a ngā tauira he ako ki ngā tūmahi hanga ki roto i ngā hapori Māori. I te tau 2002 ka whakaritea e rātou tētahi pānui ārahi hei whai mā Housing New Zealand.
Brown, Deidre. Māori architecture: from fale to wharenui and beyond. Tāmakimakaurau: Raupo, 2009.
Cresswell, John. Māori meeting houses of the North Island. Tāmakimakaurau: PCS Publications, 1977.
Neich, Roger, Painted histories: early Māori figurative painting. Tāmakimakaurau: Auckland University Press, 1993.
Prickett, Nigel. ‘Houses and house life in prehistoric New Zealand.’ MA thesis, University of Otago, 1974.
Walden, Russell. Voices of silence: New Zealand’s Chapel of Futuna. Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Victoria University Press, 1987.