Abstract:
This study is a history of the two sub tribes (hapu)
Whanau a Ruataupare, and Whanau a te Aotawarirangi of
Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast of the North Island.
The two hapu share the same gene logical basis, and
geographical area.
The study examines the identity of these people as given
in their history.
Traditional stories are treated as part of this identity,
that is, as a particular way of presenting history and
as such, worthy of study in its own right - as oral
literature.
It is further argued that by focusing on the concept of
'traditional history' we are in fact aided in understanding
what the stories are 'saying', that is, their meaning.
This study then, looks at the concept of Maori History as
it is applied to Tokomaru.
~he raw historical data begins with "a brief survey of the
creation of the Maori world as the people of Tokomaru
understood it and develops down through the migration
period to New Zealand, and "around the East Coast until the
hapu became established at Tokomaru. Once the ancestresses Rautaupare and Te Aotawarirangi
establish their rights to Tokomaru the study becomes
one of looking at the hapu, who derive their name from
these two women, as their society grows, -changes, and
alters; and as they mould their surroundings to meet
their spiritual, cultural and economic needs. They-become
in a real sense two hapu, but one people (just as Whanau
a Rua sub divides into smaller hapu), and so the term
'Tokomaru People' is appropriate.
The history follows the advancement of European intrusion
until approximately 1870 when the era of Maori Land Court
sittings herald a new era. However it is stressed that no
absolute break exists within the flow of Tokomaru society
and history. Life here is and always has been one of
adjustment; firstly, the move to New Zealand; the
settling of Tokomaru; movements around Tokomaru lands;
wars within Tokomaru society and with outside groups which
interrupted the 'flow of life'; gradual Pakeha intrusion;
and finally, in this study, the Land Wars of the 1860's
which more completely bring.Tokomaru society into wider
New Zealand history.
The second par~ to this study is an attempt to analyse the
material. The degree of awareness within Maori society
of history and a Maori framework for analysing the material,
is established, and to this is added insights apart from
the Maori perspective but nevertheless considered essential
to the understanding of it. In brief, this is that Maori stories indicate cultural beliefs but more importantly
stress strategies for reacting to and understanding
historical events. In this way it is argued we can
understand the meaning of identity for people of
Tokomaru.