NGāI TAHU

(Redirected from Kai Tahu)
'Ngāi Tahu', or 'Kāi Tahu', is the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch. The iwi combines three whānui, Kāi Tahu itself, and ''Waitaha'' and ''Kāti Mamoe'' who lived in the South Island prior to the arrival of Kāi Tāhu. The five primary hapū of the three combined whānui are Kāti Kurī, Ngāti Irakehu, Kāti Huirapa, Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāi Te Ruakihikihi
Some people claim to be explicitly descended from one or both of Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe whānui (often in conjunction with Kāi Tahu). However, others argue that due to conflict and intermarriage these groups have been incorporated into Kāi Tahu, and are no longer distinct.
The iwi's ''takiwā'' (tribal area) is the largest in the country, and extends from Kaikoura in the north to Stewart Island/Rakiura in the south, and includes the west coast area, Tai Poutini. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is constituted of 18 runanga/runaka representing geographical areas, generally based around traditional settlements.
Kāi Tahu descend from Tahupōtiki, who was the son of Paikea.^[1]
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Contents

Dialect

Papatipu Runaka

Canterbury Runanga

Otago Runanga

Southland Runanga

West Coast Runanga

Commercial Assets

Tourism

Seafood

Property

Notes

External links

Dialect

Kāi Tahu is recognised as having had a distinct dialect of Māori (sometimes referred to as ''Southern Māori''). It has been argued that this dialect is now extinct^[2]. The most obvious feature of the dialect is the substitution of ''k'' for ''ng'', as evidenced in the tribal name (this change to ''k'' did not occur over the whole of the tribal area, hence the common use of ''Ngāi Tahu'', the name used in certain acts of Parliament).^[3] Until the last decade or so, Southern Māori was discouraged in favour of standardised Māori, but has gained acceptance in recent years, leading to changes in the official names and translations of several southern places and institutions.

Papatipu Runaka

Papatipu Runanga/Runaka are constituent areas of Kāi Tahu, each with an elected board who then elect a representative to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Unusually, Kāi Tahu has a very corporate structure, in part due to the death of the last Upoko Ariki (paramount chief), Te Maiharanui, at around the time of the arrival of Europeans to New Zealand. Geographical descriptions are taken from the Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu (Declaration of Membership) Order 2001. English equivalents of places are included in brackets.

Canterbury Runanga

;Te Runanga o Kaikoura : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Kaikoura centres on Takahanga and extends from Te Parinui o Whiti to the Hurunui River and inland to the Main Divide.
;Te Ngai Tuahuriri : The takiwa of Te Ngai Tuahuriri Runanga centres on Runanga Tuahiwi and extends from the Hurunui to Hakatere (Ashburton, New Zealand), sharing an interest with Arowhenua Runanga northwards to Rakaia, and thence inland to the Main Divide.
;Rapaki Runanga : The takiwa of Rapaki Runanga centres on Rapaki and includes the catchment of Whakaraupo and Te Kaituna.
;Te Runanga o Koukourarata : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Koukourarata centres on Koukourarata (Port Levy) and extends from Pohatu Pa to the shores of Te Waihora including Te Kaituna.
;Wairewa Runanga : The takiwa of Wairewa Runanga centres on Wairewa and the catchment of the lake Te Wairewa and the hills and coast to the adjoining takiwa of Koukourarata, Onuku Runanga, and Taumutu Runanga.
;Te Runanga o Onuku : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Onuku centres on Onuku and the hills and coasts of Akaroa to the adjoining takiwa of Te Runanga o Koukourarata and Wairewa Runanga.
;Taumutu Runanga : The takiwa of Taumutu Runanga centres on Taumutu and the waters of Te Waihora and adjoining lands and shares a common interest with Te Ngai Tuahuriri Runanga and Te Runanga o Arowhenua in the area south to Hakatere (Ashburton).
;Te Runanga o Arowhenua : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Arowhenua centres on Arowhenua (Temuka and extends from Rakaia to Waitaki, sharing interests with Ngai Tuahuriri ki Kaiapoi between Hakatere and Rakaia, and thence inland to Aoraki and the Main Divide.
;Te Runanga o Waihao : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Waihao centres on Wainono, sharing interests with Te Runanga o Arowhenua to Waitaki, and extends inland to Omarama and the Main Divide.

Otago Runanga

;Te Runanga o Moeraki : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Moeraki centres on Moeraki and extends from Waitaki to Waihemo and inland to the Main Divide.
;Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki : The takiwa of Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki centres on Karitane and extends from Waihemo to Purehurehu and includes an interest in Otepoti (Dunedin) and the greater harbour of Otakou. The takiwa extends inland to the Main Divide sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains to Whakatipu-Waitai with Runanga to the south.
;Te Runanga o Otakou : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Otakou centres on Otakou and extends from Purehurehu to Te Matau and inland, sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains to the western coast with Runanga to the North and to the South (includes the city of Dunedin).

Southland Runanga

;Waihopai Runaka : The takiwa of Waihopai Runaka centres on Waihopai and extends northwards to Te Matau sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains to the western coast with other Murihiku (Southland) Runanga and those located from Waihemo southwards.
;Te Runanga o Awarua : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Awarua centres on Awarua and extends to the coasts and estuaries adjoining Waihopai sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains between Whakatipu-Waitai and Tawhititarere with other Murihiku (Southland) Runanga and those located from Waihemo southwards.
;Te Runanga o Oraka Aparima : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Oraka Aparima centres on Oraka and extends from Waimatuku to Tawhititarere sharing an interest in the lakes and mountains from Whakatipu-Waitai to Tawhititarere with other Murihiku Runanga and those located from Waihemo southwards.
;Hokonui Runaka : The takiwa of Hokonui Runaka centres on the Hokonui region and includes a shared interest in the lakes and mountains between Whakatipu-Waitai and Tawhitarere with other Murihiku Runanga and those located from Waihemo southwards.

West Coast Runanga

;Te Runanga o Makaawhio : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Makaawhio is centred at Mahitahi (Bruce Bay) and extends from the south bank of the Pouerua River to Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) and inland to the Main Divide, together with a shared interest with Te Runaka o Kati Waewae in the area situated between the north bank of the Pouerua River and the south bank of the Hokitika River. The runanga's marae, Te Tauraka Waka a Maui, at Mahitahi, was officially opened on 23 January 2005.
;Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae : The takiwa of Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae is centred on Arahura and Hokitika and extends from the north bank of the Hokitika River to Kahuraki and inland to the Main Divide, together with a shared interest with Te Runanga o Makaawhio in the area situated between the north bank of the Pouerua River and the south bank of the Hokitika River. Ned Tauwhare is the current Chair of the Runanga.

Commercial Assets

Ngai Tahu actively invests in many New Zealand businesses, especially those related to tourism. Investments are directed through the Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corperation and include:

Tourism

★ An 88% Share in Shotover Jet[1].

★ Aqua Taxi

★ Dart River Safaris

★ Franz Josef Glacier Guides

★ Hollyford Valley Walk

★ Huka Jet

★ Kaiteriteri Kayaks

★ Kiwi Encounter

★ Rainbow Springs

★ Whale Watch Kaikoura

Seafood

★ Ngāi Tahu Seafood

★ Pacific Catch

Property

★ Iveagh Bay Terraces

★ Tumara Park

★ Wigram Village

Notes

1. Tahupōtiki was also the uncle of Porou-rangi, founding ancestor of Ngāti Porou, a tribe of the East Coast of the North Island.
2. Harlow, R.B. (1979). Regional Variation in Maori. ''New Zealand Journal of Archaelogy'', 1, 123-138.
3. Some have interpreted the presence of non-standard consonants in the spellings of South Island place names, such as ''g'' (as distinct from ''k'', e.g., Katigi, Otago), ''v'' (e.g., Mavora), ''l'' instead of ''r'' (e.g., Little Akaloa, Kilmog, Waihola, Rakiula), and ''w'' or ''u'' instead of ''wh'' as reflecting dialect difference, but most of these seem much more likely to have resulted from the adoption of English phonemes and phonotactic rules by speakers who are more familiar with English. Similar spellings and pronunciations also occur in the North Island (e.g. Tolaga Bay, Booai (Pūhoi)). Another feature said to be characteristic of southern Māori is so-called apocope (the dropping of the final vowel of words) which has supposedly resulted in pronunciations like 'Wacky-white' for "Waikouaiti", but in fact the devoicing (rather than apocope) of final vowels is observable in the speech of native speakers from throughout the country, and the pronunciation of the names of North Island towns by locals often omits final vowels as well, e.g. "Paraparam", "Waiuk".

External links

★ Current Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu website

★ Ngāi Tahu's Commercial Operations [2]