E rua ngaa marae, kotahi te Iwi – Stories of Ngaati Koroki Kahukura

Project Summary

Ngaati Koroki Kahukura are kaitiaki of lands and waters that span from their ancestral mountain, Maungatautari, to their tupuna awa, Waikato, including areas of national significance such as Cambridge (Te Oko Horoi a Taawhiao) and Karaapiro, the site of the last intra-iwi battle of Taumata Wiiwii in the 1800s.

Encompassing two marae, Maungatautari and Pohara, our tupuna, Te Kaapo Clarke, said the following words in reference to Ngaati Koroki Kahukura and its identity: “E rua ngaa marae, kotahi te iwi.” 

This research fills a gap in the literature about iwi and hapuu identity in the wider Waikato region. The research addresses a growing desire and need to bring to light and regenerate the origins, whakapapa, and histories of marae, hapuu and iwi.

Research Questions

1. How has Ngaati Koroki Kahukura fostered wellbeing within our tribal region and in Te Ao Maaori more broadly?
2. What role has Ngaati Koroki Kahukura played as both a repository and influencer for the revitalisation of whakapapa, reo, tikanga and mātauranga in Aotearoa New Zealand?
3. What factors underpin Ngaati Koroki Kahukura’s resilience in developing responsible economic and environmental relationships and how might we shift to a higher plane towards an integrated social, economic, environmental and living relational world, as whaanau, hapuu, iwi drawing upon reo, tikanga and maatauranga?

Lead Researcher

Assoc. Prof Linda Te Aho, Ngaati Koroki Kahukura, Ngaati Mahuta, Waikato, University of Waikato

Research Team

Rahui Papa, Ngaati Koroki Kahukura, Ngaati Mahuta, Waikato (Pohara Marae), University of Waikato, Co-Chair Ngaati Koroki Trust

Karaitiana Tamatea, Ngaati Koroki Kahukura, Waikato, Te Aitanga a Mahaki (Maungatautari Marae), University of Waikato, Co-Chair Ngaati Koroki Trust

Hinerangi Kara, Ngaati Koroki Kahukura, Waikato, University of Waikato; Trustee, Ngaati Koroki Kahukura Trust

Highlights

• Presentations in person and online to varying audiences including tribal members
• Guest lecture 
• Supporting three summer interns to undertake research
• A media article; A more balanced record: restoring mana whenua perspectives to our history | The Spinoff
• Forthcoming book of the Stories of Ngaati Koroki Kahukura