Title: The Southern Districts of New Zealand : a Journal, with Passing Notices of the Customs of the Aborigines

Author: Edward Shortland

Publication details: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1851, London

Part of:

• The New Zealand Provincial Histories Collection
• New Zealand Texts Collection

License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence

Chapter V.

With the New Zealander, genealogical questions are inseparable from investigations of claims to land.

On this occasion I obtained much information respecting the early history of this tribe. And with what I afterwards learnt from other sources I was able to form some Genealogical Tables, in which the pedigrees of most of the principal persons alive at that time are traced for fifteen or sixteen generations; so that their relationship to each other may be seen at a glance.

It was not till I had compared the accounts given by different persons, who resided in distant page 93 parts of the country, that I attached any particular value to this sort of traditionary history. But I was then so struck with the remarkable manner in which they coincided with each other, often when least expected, that I felt satisfied that dependance might be placed on their general accuracy.

Part of Table A, namely, the direct line from Tahupotiki to Tuhawaiki, was taken down from the statement of the latter chief, when at Otakou; and the part of Table B in italics was communicated by a person learned in these matters, named Tiramorehu, who lived at Moeraki. Tiramorehu was most interested in the pedigree of Te Wakaemi, the chief of Moeraki, and therefore stopped short at Te Rangituamana; contenting himself with saying that he was an ancestor of Tuhawaiki. In fact, he merely made the digression to shew the connecting link between the families of the two chiefs; and then followed up Te Wakaemi's branch to its termination. We may therefore fairly regard his and Tuhawaiki's accounts as having been handed down through separate channels; and it will be seen that either of them confirms the validity of the other: for Table A page 94 gives nine generations from Tahupotiki to Ngakauiro inclusive; and Table B gives the same number of generations from Whatiua, the younger brother of Tahupotiki, to Te Aomuraki, a wife of Kakauiro or Ngakauiro.

The circumstance, also, that a name was in some accounts given at full length, while in others only in a contracted form, although at first rather perplexing, appeared to me to be an additional evidence of authenticity. Thus,—Tawhakiterangi, of Table A, is simple Tawha, in Table B.

I may further observe that, in tracing a pedigree from a particular source, when the line passes through a female, it is the constant practice to record the name of her husband; and hence an undesigned connexion was often discoverable between the statements derived from independent sources.

My informants did not content themselves with a bare recollection of names; but related the most remarkable actions connected with the lives of their different ancestors. The history of the migrations, and wars, and losses, and triumphs of the tribe, generation after generation, seemed page 94a page 94b page 94c page 94d page 95 to be preserved in their retentive memories, handed down from father to son nearly in the same words as originally delivered.

An old chief, when interrogated as to his belief in the traditions of his tribe, replied that he had been instructed by his grandfather, and that he now repeated to his grand-child, who sat at his feet, what he had thus learnt; so that he could speak positively as to the truthful transmission of what he had heard for five generations; and that his grandfather's grandfather could probably have done the same. Why, therefore, should he doubt of its faithful transmission from its origin?

We, who have so long trusted to the authority of books, are, I am persuaded, too suspicious of the credibility of the traditionary history of a people who have not yet weakened their memories by trusting to a written language.

It is worthy of mention also, that the more important families of a tribe are in the habit of devoting one or more of their members to the study of this traditionary knowledge, as well as to that of their “tikanga” or laws, and the rites connected with their religion. Persons so educated are their books of reference, and their lawyers.

When the right to a piece of land, or its boundaries, is disputed, these native lawyers are appealed to, and the case is investigated before all interested, generally near the spot in dispute. The counsel for the plaintiff opens his case by naming in a loud voice some ancestor, A, of his party, whom he calls the root of the land. “Ko Mea te taki o te kaigna. Na……” “So-and-so is the root of the estate. Now then……” is the form of words in which they invariably commence. He then endeavours to prove that this root exercised some right of ownership undisputed by any one, and deduces, step by step, the descent of his clients from this ancestor or root. If the adverse party cannot disprove the fact of original ownership, or find a flaw in the pedigree, the case would be decided nem. con. against them. The cases, however, which I have heard discussed have never been so simple. Counsel for the defendants has perhaps set aside the claim derived from A, by proving that that ancestor only exercised a right of possession as the husband of a daughter of B—the root from which his clients derived their claim—that A had no children by his wife, and that the land, therefore, page 97 on her death, reverted to her brothers, from one of whom his client was descended,—and did not belong to the offspring of A's other wife, the present claimants.

Of course, the advocates on either side are interested persons. They are often, indeed, on one side or the other, the chiefs of their party. For, as in England, and in all countries whose inhabitants have an instinctive love of freedom, the law is one of the high roads which lead to the posts of highest distinction.

The above is an analysis of a case I once heard discussed, from which I first became aware that, by native custom, a husband had only a recognized right over his wife's land during her life, if she had no children; and that, on her death, without issue, it reverted to her brothers.

I have always listened with interest to the accounts which the members of a tribe are able to give of the early wanderings of their ancestors, and of their wars with other tribes, subsequent to their first settlement in New Zealand. These narratives are generally fairly within the limits of probability; and I do not know but that they may rest on authority as worthy of credit as that page 98 of much of the early histories of European nations.

The following narrative rests on the authority of Tuhawaiki, and other natives belonging to the same tribe.

About three hundred years, or ten generations, ago, all that part of the Middle Island which extends from Waipapa, a point about twenty miles south of Cape Campbell, to “Rakiura” or Stewart's Island, including Foveaux's Straits, and probably a great part of the west coast, was possessed by one tribe, who were called Ngatimamoe.

Bordering on them, to the north, was a tribe called Te Huataki, whose ancestors had crossed over from the North Island, and settled themselves at Wairau. To the westward of them, the country about “Totaranui,” ^* was in possession of the tribe of Ngaitara, whose ancestors also came from the North Island, under a chief named Te Puhirere, who, Tuhawaiki said, was of the same lineage as the Nga-Puhi tribe.

The desire to possess themselves of the pounamu,^* which was only to be found on the Middle Island, seems to have been the chief inducement which urged large bodies of this tribe, at different times, to invade the country of Ngatimamoe, who had become celebrated as possessing this treasure.

About this time a powerful reinforcement, from Ngatikahununu, was brought over by a chief named Turakautahi, whose father and grandfather, in making a similar attempt before, had been drowned, with their crew, off Raukawa, where their canoe was upset. Turakautahi, with his younger brother Moki, landed his forces at Totaranui; and had to fight his way through Ngaitara, and Te Huataki, before he could join those of his own tribe, who had preceded him, and who were then seated at Kaikoura.

United with these, he stormed a Pa called Parewakatu. Soon after this, Ngatimamoe were again defeated at a place called Parakakariki; and then at Waikakahi, where one of their chiefs, named Tutekawa, was killed, and another, named Rangitamau, was taken prisoner. The life of the latter was spared, and he was allowed to reside at Kaiapoi, to catch eels and prepare food for his conqueror, when he should come that way.

This was frequently the condition on which page 101 the lives of their enemies were granted, on similar occasions, by the New Zealanders. In these cases, the former possessors of the land cultivated their farms as heretofore; but were obliged to acknowledge their altered condition, by sending the choicest part of the produce to the conqueror, who took the position of lord, and they of vassals. Even then, however, the conqueror, or lord, was expected to make some present in requital. Thus, if the conquered lived inland, and the conqueror near the sea coast, in return for preserved eels, the former usually received a portion of dried shark.

After this, the conquered lands were divided among the invaders. Te Ruahikihiki, a son of Manawa, who had gone back to the parent tribe, on the North Island, to raise fresh forces among his relatives there to avenge the death of his father,^* returned about this time, and settled at Taumutu. This, being the most southern point of their newly acquired territory, was the place where he would be most likely to encounter his foe, and obtain the “utu” or satisfaction he desired.

The Ngatimamoe retired farther south; and at length, feeling themselves too much weakened to hope to regain their lost position, they made peace with their invaders, and formed alliances with them. Thus the two races became incorporated into one tribe, which, as most of their principal families had in their veins the blood of Tahu, was called generally Ngaitahu, or Kaitahu.

I found that all the families of the present day, of any consideration, traced their origin to the Turanga, or Poverty Bay sources—as being the conquering side, and therefore the more honourable—and neglected altogether the Ngatimamoe sources, beyond the time of their conquest. Hence it was very difficult to obtain any information about the earlier history of that tribe. It must be sought for among the families which still remain of the old stock. There are two of these now living at Waiateruati, called Katirakai, and Katihinekato; and in Foveaux's Straits there are more; but I had no opportunity of learning from them what they might know of their own history.

Indeed, it is not an easy matter to acquire in- page 103 formation of this sort at all times. All do not equally know how to “wakapapa-tupuna,” literally, arrange their ancestors in ranks; and it requires generally the stimulus of a quarrel about some boundary line, or the prospect of selling land, or a dispute about what has been sold wrongfully by other natives, to induce those who possess the best information to enter on this subject. There also exists a delicacy in meddling with the ancestors of any but their own immediate families, unless in their presence. For, should an error be committed, by giving a false pedigree for another family, it would be a cause of quarrel; which is not to be wondered at, when we recollect how intimately their land titles are connected with their family history.

This difficulty of obtaining, from any one person, information about the ancestors of other than his own family, became indirectly a strong proof of the credibility of what I had heard of the history of this tribe. For I found the accounts derived from independent sources to tally with each other in a manner which could never have happened, if each family had not carefully and accurately preserved in memory these records.

From such independent sources, the table of pedigrees, above referred to, was composed. When it is borne in mind, that this was done merely from notes collected during three or four months' residence among the tribe, it will be understood that with time, and a sufficient knowledge of the language, data could be obtained, from which similar tables might be formed with very great accuracy; so that, when it was proposed by the Government to purchase land from the Aborigines, a reference to them would indicate the principal persons really interested in the sale, and lessen the risk of treating with persons as principals, whose claims were of a doubtful nature, or, at any rate, not worthy of preference to those of many others, who, perhaps, from living at a distance, or from being less importunate, might have been otherwise overlooked at the time.