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Waikato-Tainui People |
| Category: | People | |
| Sub Category: | Maori People |
| Place: | Central North Island |
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| State/Country: | Aotearoa - New Zealand |
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| Detailed Information: | |
Tainui is the name of the waka (canoe) which brought the ancestors of the Waikato-Tainui people to Aotearoa. The waka was carved from a tree which grew where an infant called Tainui had been buried. Waikato is the name of the longest river in New Zealand, which flows from Mount Ruapehu, through Lake Taupo and Hamilton, before meeting the sea at Port Waikato. Waikato-Tainui is a confederation of several tribes from the Waikato region.
Kiingitanga, the Maori King Movement, was an attempt to unify Maori tribes to protect their land from British settlement. The first king chosen in 1858 was Waikato chief Potatau Te Wherowhero. He died in 1860 and was succeeded by his son, Matutaera Tawhiao. In 1863 the British provoked a conflict with the Waikato tribes by sending troops south of the Mangatawhiri Stream, which King Tawhaio had declared to be a border between British settlers and the Maori people. The Waikato people were forced into exile in 'King Country' and the British confiscated more than 1.2 million acres of Waikato land. The Waikato peoples called this raupatu. In 1884 King Tawhiao went to England seeking justice from Queen Victoria. In 1995 the Maori queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Âtairangikaahu signed a Deed of Settlement with the Crown. Negotiations continue into the Waikato River claim and several other land claims.
Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died in 2006 and was succeeded by her son, Tuheitia Paki. | |
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