Otakou Runaka

About Us

Tauparapara

I ora ki te Takutai o te Raki
I hika i te Tara o te Marama
Waiho rātou hai pōri
Heke iho a Tukiauau
Ka tū a Whakaraupuka
Tērā a Tūwiriroa ki Motupara
Arā te taumata o Hā-ki-te-kura
Mahue mai a Korokiwhiti
E kā kuru tokarerewa
Hapetuakiwhiti
Tūokioki
Mau atu ki Maru kaitātea
Tarere ki whenua uta
Tau ana e!

This tauparapara was written by Megan Ellison for the Wānaka we had at Sinclair Wetlands in July 2009. It is about our claim to Ōtākou’s rohe/area that extends through to Lake Wakatipu and includes the whakapapa of our ancestress Hā-ki-te-kura.

Ōtākou

This was written by Tahu Potiki in 1996 and explains who Ōtākou are. This is in our Incorporated society rules of Te Runaka o Ōtākou.

Te Runaka Otakou acknowledges the principles of Mana Whenua and their importance to the whanau who affiliate to Te Runaka Otakou.
These principles are well known and they include concepts such as:

2.1. Take Tupuna a right which can be established because an ancestor has asserted himself over land or resource using any of the tikanga below

2.2. Umu Takata rights through conquest

2.3. Tapatapa or Mahi Taunaha an ancestral right proven because of the discovery and subsequent naming of the land or resource

2.4. Tuturu Te Noho rights of settlement which are only valid if there is an established intergenerational permanence or Ahi Kaa

2.5. Kai Taoka exchange of land or resource for taoka

2.6. Tuku Whenua the gifting of land
The Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu Act 1996 defines the Te Runaka Otakou takiwa thus:

3.1. ‘The takiwa of Te Runanga o Otakou centres on Otakou and extends from Purehurehu to Te Matau and inland, sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains to the western coast with Runanga to the North and South.’
The origins of these rights are easily traced and extend back to the times of the Waitaha people which includes such callings as Kati Hawea and Te Rapuwai.
There is much traditional evidence of occupation by these early people and they are particularly remembered in local placenames.

5.1. The prominent hill standing alongside the Marae reserve is known as Te Atua O Taiehu. Taiehu was the kaihautu of the Waka-A-Raki, a canoe contemporaneous with Uruao, and is therefore associated with the earliest period of occupation.

5.2. When Waitaha arrived in the south Rakaihautu was responsible for the creation of the inland lakes and lagoons including Waihola, Wakatipu and Hawea as well as the naming of the Kaikarae stream (Kaikorai).

5.3. The pepeha associated with Rakaihautu are:

Ka Puna Karikari O Rakaihautu The Lakes Dug by Rakaihautu He Puna Hauaitu The Freezing Cold Lakes He Puna Waimarie; The Bountiful Lakes He Puna Karikari. The Lakes which have been dug by the hand of Man

5.4. These pepeha serve to illustrate the traditional principle of Tapatapa.

5.5. The Waitaha were successfully subsumed in to subsequent migrations but the marriages into Waitaha lines are acknowledged as particularly important as they embody the principle of Ahi Kaa.

(See Whakapapa 1 as an example of Waitaha whakapapa that extends to Otakou families)
Waitaha led a peaceful existence in the south until the arrival of Kati Mamoe. The Mamoe people originally claim descent from the ancestress Hotu Mamoe who is believed to have lived in the Heretaunga area of the North Island.

6.1. In traditional korero the name Kati Mamoe was taken to include all those who were here before the final wave of Kai Tahu. Therefore all the Waitaha and Mamoe hapu were often known as Kati Mamoe simply because their identity was subsumed through inter-marriage and they were traditional occupants before Kai Tahu.

6.2. Often those who claimed direct descent from Whatiua and Porouraki were also labelled as Kati Mamoe although there was no obvious descent from Hotu Mamoe.

6.3. This included important Kati Mamoe rakatira such as Tukiauau from whom many Otakou affiliates descend.

(See Whakapapa 2)
Other rakatira of Kati Mamoe maintained their mana in the inland areas.

7.1. Rakitauhopu had built his pa around Lake Ohau, Tuwiriroa was established at Lake Wakatipu and Tutemakohu in Central Southland. All three of these chiefs were offspring of Nukutauraro, a senior descendant of Hotumamoe.

7.2. Te Rakitauneke, another cousin, was the ancestor of many of the women whom ultimately married into the invading Kai Tahu.

7.3. It is clear from local tradition that Te Rakitauneke was living at, or near, Otakou during the first Kai Tahu occupation by Waitai.

7.4. A direct descendant of Te Rakitauneke, Hikapaki, married into a principal tupuna of the Otakou people, Pokohiwi. Hikapaki was taken captive in a battle at Kaka Point.

7.5. Another Te Rakitauneke descendant, Koraki, also married back into the Otakou lines and Tuhawaiki is descended from this union.

7.6. These, and other similar marriages, determine the boundaries of our shared interest in central Te Waipounamu. This right embodies the principles of Take Tupuna, Tuturu Te Noho and Ahi Kaa.

(See Whakapapa 3)
The Kati Mamoe were slowly displaced by the incoming Kati Kuri hapu of Kai Tahu descendants of Tahu Potiki.

(See Whakapapa 4)

8.1. Rakaimomona was defeated in the battle of Puhirau and his son, Tukiauau, was pushed south to Rakiura.

8.2. Waitai made his way south from Kaikoura and was quickly followed by Maru, Te Aoparaki and their nephew, Tarewai.

8.3. The Tarewai chapter is important as it sees the final expulsion of Kati Mamoe from the Otakou district. Whakatakanewha and Rakiamoamohia are defeated and forced into the Te Anau and Fiordland area with the mana, embodied in the principle of Umu Takata, ultimately resting with Kati Kuri.
Following the defeat of Kati Mamoe Moki, the son of Te Ruahikihiki, migrated south with his hapu to maintain the occupation right at Pukekura.

9.1. Moki’s son, Tukitaharaki, passed away under suspicious circumstances and Te Wera, a cousin from the hapu of Kai Te Kauae, was blamed for whaiwhaia.

9.2. Tuki warned his whanau to not seek revenge for his death as his death was natural (mate tara-whare).

9.3. The warning went unheeded and as a result an inter-hapu feud developed which climaxed with a violent confrontation on the Otago Peninsula.

9.4. Both Moki and Kapo were killed and Kapo’s ohaki is remembered in his fateful words

‘Purupuru te tarika. Kore e whakaroko i te takata mate’ ‘Block your ears. Never listen to the words of a dead man’

9.5. Kapo met his demise in a grotesque manner at the hands of Te Wera with Te Wera saying

‘Waiho te iramutu hei iramutu, waiho te papa hei papa, waiho te hakoro hei hakoro, tahuri tonu mai patu tonu nei. Akuanei mahaku mai ano i runga i tona upoko, ona waewae rawa.’ ‘Leave the nephew for a nephew, father for a father, uncle for an uncle as they may fall in battle. Soon I shall consume my relation from his head to his feet.’
The mana was transferred to Kai Te Kauae for a very brief period until Taoka, a brother to Moki, expelled Te Wera from the area following a lengthy siege at Huriawa.

10.1. Taoka then placed his nephew, Te Pahi, as rakatira of Pukekura and the greater Otakou area

10.2. Te Pahi married Hakuiao, who is a Rapuwai descendant.

10.3. This marriage become of great significance to the people of Otakou as it is symbolic of an undisturbed claim to Mana Whenua through the principles of Umu Takata and Ahi Kaa.

(See Whakapapa 5)
Te Runaka Otakou acknowledge the special status of Kai Te Pahi due to the descendants of Te Pahi and Hakuiao enjoying an undisturbed Mana Whenua right as of 1840.
Despite the status of Kai Te Pahi it is also acknowledged that the principle, and more inclusive, tupuna of Otakou are Taoka and Moki therefore Kai Taoka and Kati Moki are the primary hapu for affiliation to Te Runaka Otakou.

(See Whakapapa 5 & 6)
It is acknowledged that the descendants of Taoka and Moki have traditional mana whenua rights in areas other than the takiwa of Otakou and that within the takiwa of Otakou certain traditional rights are shared with other whanau, hapu and runaka.

Whakapapa

Whakapapa 1

Whakapapa 2


	Paikea


Hemo =	= Whatiua Te Ramarama	Tahu Potiki

	Porouraki

	Tawirioteraki

	Rakipopokiatane

	Rakaiotane

Te Moana Hapua == Rakaikatoro		Rakaimoari of Kahukunu

	Hine Te Maawe =	= Rakaimomona

	Tukiauau

	Korokiwhiti

	Kariwi

	Tukua

	Hape

	Maraea Rapatini

	Timoti Karetai =	= HARIATA RAPATINI

Whakapapa 3


		Hotu Mamoe

		Tutepewa

		Tumakoka

		Te Utuporaki

		Hikaroroa

		Tuhukutua

		Tukaumoana

		Whakataha

		Marunui

		Matamata

		Nukutauraro == Rakaiparae


	Te Rakitauneke			Tuteawhitia

	Karapohatu			Te Maiuru

	Tutemakohu == Te Kurahaukapua			Ururaki

			Kiritekateka == Paraparatewhenua

Kapa		Tauwharekiokio == Moehuka		Hinetutunawai

Rakiihia		Hikapaki

Koraki

Whakapapa 4


		Tahu Potiki

		Iratahu

		Rakatehurumanu

		Tahumuri

		Rakawahakura


	Rakaiwhakaata			Maruhoua

	Tuhaitara			Kuri

				Rakitawhiao

				Rakipaaka

				Manawaiwaho

			(1st wife) Hikaiti == Te Ruahikihiki

				Moki (II)


Hinetutunawai == Tukitaharaki			Kaapo		Te Pahi

Whakapapa 5


			Moki (II)


Tukitaharaki =		= Hinetutunawai		Kaapo		Te Pahi == Hakuiao


	Koraki == Taikawa			Hikapaki == Pokohiwi			Te Kuha

	Kohuai == Honekai

Umurau		Kura			Ihutakaru

Moki

Korako

Taiaroa		Tuhawaiki			Karetai		Te Waewae

							Te Au

Whakapapa 6


Te Aotaurewa =	= Te Ruahikihiki
(2nd wife)
	Taoka

	Te Whiwhi

	Tanewhakatorotika


Whakaka		Tuhoro

Tahatu		Titi

		Wi Potiki

The Land

Some of this general information about Otakou below is from the Ngai Tahu Deed of Settlement and the Ngai Tahu Act. If you have any further queries contact the office at Te Runaka o Otakou

HAPU
The principal hapū of Ōtākou is Te Ruahikihiki, one of the five major hapū of Ngāi Tahu iwi. It is from Te Ruahikihiki that the hapū of Kāti Moki II and Taoka derive. The Kāti Mamoe hapū of Kāti Hawea is also strongly linked to Ōtākou.

TAKIWĀ
The takiwā (area) of the Ōtākou hapü centres on Ōtākou and extends from Purehurehu (Heywards Point) to Te Mata-au (Clutha) and inland, sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains of Piopiotahi (Milford Sound).

ŌTĀKOU MARAE
The marae is a 10 acre Māori Reserve. It forms part of the 1,877 hectares on the Peninsula reserved by Kāi Tahu from the 1844 sale of the Ōtākou Block.

Some of the original reserve (which extended back to this side of Harwood Township, and included Ōkia and part of Kaimata (Cape Saunders)) has been sold to Pākehā farmers, although a proportion still remains in Māori ownership.

In some instances retention of lands has been enabled by the owners creating Māori land incorporations, such as Te Rauone and Akapātiki, resulting in multiple ownership, but achieving returns that ensure their Māori land stays in Māori hands. Other whānau farm their ancestral lands as individual units.

TAMATEA – TŌ TĀTOU WHARE NUI
Te Mahi Tamariki was replaced in 1946 by the current meeting house Tamatea. The name derives from Tamatea-Pōkai-Whenua who in tradition sailed the Tākitimu waka down the east coast of Te Waipounamu until it was wrecked near the mouth of the Waiau River in Southland. Tamatea-Pōkai-Whenua eventually made his way back to his home in Te Ika a Maui (North Island), but in the process of that journey applied many placenames to Te Waipounamu landmarks that related to his journey overland on his northward return home.

WHARE KARAKIA
The present church opened in 1941, and was part of a centennial memorial to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 13th June 1840 and the establishment of the first Christian mission in the southern part of Te Waipounamu at Waikouaiti in May 1840. Tamatea was to have been completed at the same time, but the outbreak of the World War II delayed work on it. The Reverend Riemenschnieder carved portions of the pulpit which comes from the original church built in 1864. Riemenschnieder came to Ōtākou from Taranaki where he was suspected by the local Māori of being a collaborator with the colonial forces during the land wars of the 1860’s.

The bell in the tower comes from Tuhawaiki’s schooner “Perserverence” which was one of the first boats in New Zealand to export goods, including flax, fish and pork, to Australia (Sydney). Tuhawaiki was a Kāi Tahu Rakatira based on Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait. He, together with chiefs Taiaroa and Karetai from Ōtākou, repelled Te Rauparaha’s invasion of the Te Waipounamu (South Island) from the Wanganui-a-Tara (Wellington region). Some say he was the Arikinui of Kāi Tahu during his time. Indeed he signed the Treaty at Ruapuke, and most of the sale deeds, including that of the Ōtākou Block.

PUKEKURA
Pukekura (Taiaroa Head) was an important fortified pā. Its position commands a great view up and down the coast and so was strategically important in times of political unrest. Some remnants of the old earthworks are still intact today. The headland was taken for defence purposes in the 1880’s, and then when no longer needed as a fort it was vested in other agencies without reference to Kāi Tahu, or the original owners.

TREATY SIGNED AT PUKEKURA
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by Ōtākou chiefs Karetai and Korako on board the HMS Herald moored off Pukekura (Taiaroa Head) on June 13th 1840. The Treaty cleared the way for the formal settlement and purchase of Kāi Tahu lands by Pākehā. The development of pastoral farming saw large tracts of land whose resources once formed part of the mahika kai cycle no longer accessible or in fact, destroyed. Kāi Tahu became restricted to the reserves allocated to them after the Ōtākou Purchase.

HISTORICAL USE AND ASSOCIATION
From early times Muaupoko (the name for the Otago peninsula and environs) provided a wealth of resources. The forests which once covered the area were rich in manu (bird) and plant life, the seashore with the famous tuaki (cockle) and seals, the offshore seas provided barracouta (favoured for preservation), red and blue cod and kingfish to name just a few.

MAHIKA KAI CYCLE
The peninsula was also part of a larger economy and lifestyle/cycle – the mahika kai cycle. It formed part of the web of resources that extended into the interior (which provided moa, weka and stone resources) to the inland rivers for tuna (eels) and waterfowl, to the south for the prized titi (muttonbirds) and to Wakatipu and Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) for pounamu. This movement about the landscape followed the seasonal availability of resources and the best time to take resources to preserve them for future use, particularly over the winter months or as items to be traded.

CHANGES IN RESOURCE USE
Early European contact with the Maori of Muaupoko brought with it changes and opportunities. The arrival of the potato saw the beginnings of a different economy and the arrival of sealers, whalers, and missionaries provided new opportunities in trade and technology that were eagerly adopted and developed by the Ōtākou people. It is said that whaling was responsible for the demise of the settlement at Okia as people flocked to the villages around Ōtākou to make the most of the new opportunities. Forests were cleared to make way for farming and new crops.

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