Tā Pou Temara hopes his new book about Ngāi Tūhoe who fought at the highly symbolic battle of Ōrākau in Waikato will help his departed ancestors who went there to be at rest.
Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.
“Finally, their sleep may be a peaceful one,” the knighted Māori philosophy professor said in an interview about Te Rautakitahi o Tūhoe ki Ōrākau (translated as The Movement of the Few of Tūhoe to Ōrākau).
Written in te reo Māori (an English language version is possible later), the book on his east coast iwi’s role in the 1864 battle near Kihikihi in Waipā district clearly has deep meaning for him.
Only about 20 Tūhoe out of a possible 400 or so went to the area to support Ngāti Maniapoto rangatira Rewi Maniapoto in his conflict with the British.
Tom Lee/Stuff
Ngāi Tūhoe kaumātua Tā Pou Temara – a professor at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi – is launching a new book about Tūhoe’s role at the infamous battle of Ōrākau near Kihikihi. He hopes it will help the spirits of those who died and those who survived be at rest.
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Asked about a key message from the book, Hamilton-based Temara said: “It would be putting the spirits of our Tūhoe ancestors who died at Ōrākau to rest.”
Those ancestors were mostly from Ruatāhuna where Temara himself comes from.
The Tūhoe turnout, he said, was well short of what could have gone.
“The vast majority didn’t go so that’s always been something that intrigued me and [wasn’t] quite addressed by previous writers.”
Tom Lee/Stuff
In English, the title of Tā Pou Temara’s book means The Movement of the Few of Tūhoe to Ōrākau.
He explained that about 40 years before Ōrākau, Tūhoe and Ngāti Maniapoto formed a mutual support compact for times of conflict. It was agreed when the influence of “incoming Europeans” wasn’t that great.
“But 40 years later they had made a telling impact.”
That meant the compact was viewed with fresh eyes and some felt it was better to hold back with support in light of current circumstances.
“That was the reality. Only a few went to fulfil the compact of 40 years before. But the vast majority of Tūhoe didn’t go. This was a new generation of leaders that felt that they needed to assess the situation and the new threat.”
Those who returned had subsequently considered the reasons for defeat.
“In reality, they were up against a foe far superior technologically and numerically than they were.”
Temara also refers to oral history about Rewi Maniapoto’s reluctance to fight at that time and the pressure he came under to make a stand from Tūhoe and Ngāti Raukawa fighters who’d come to support him.
The exchanges between rangatira (tribal leaders) over this have been “recorded down the generations”, he said.
“He [Maniapoto] was finally reluctantly convinced by the chiefs of Tūhoe that they should fight at Ōrākau. And I think that was a big mistake.”
Having the book in te reo was aimed at a Tūhoe, Maniapoto, Raukawa and Waikato audience but he will also consider an English language version in future.
Ōrākau continues to carry a potent symbolism. It was the last major action of the Waikato wars in the 1860s and saw the subsequent retreat of local Māori forces into the Rohe Pōtae (the King Country) where Pākehā without an invitation were banned.
Tom Lee/Stuff
Tā Pou Temara, a sprightly 75, says he’s optimistic about the growing interest non-Māori New Zealanders generally are showing in Māori language and culture.
On his thoughts about Ōrākau’s contemporary relevance, Temara said: “It has been a symbol of resistance and a symbol of mana motuhake [sovereignty] and tino rangatiratanga [self-government], especially from a Maniapoto perspective.”
On Pākehā needing permission to enter, he said: “That’s real mana motuhake when you are in control of your rohe [territory].”
But the Crown gradually ate away at that and the Rohe Pōtae was eventually opened up to all.
Still, against that background, and with issues such as Treaty settlements and co-governance, he appeared optimistic about race relations.
“There will always be the naysayers but I think the new generation of New Zealander, non-Māori, aren’t going to be influenced by the history of the settlers. They will make their own decisions about what is good for New Zealand.
“And I’m heartened by the way non-Māoris are taking up the challenge of learning te reo and being advocates for te reo.”
The former journalist and ongoing news buff said it was good to hear te reo being used on television more.
On those who don’t have time for Māori culture, don’t like Treaty settlements and think it’s time to move on from the past, he suggested they may miss an important cultural waka: “It doesn’t give them any identity. It doesn’t distinguish who they are.”
In a comment followed by a mischievous laugh, he added: “And, if they don’t jump on board, go back to where you come from.”
