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I tuari ngā kaikōrero i te whānuitanga o ngā tirohanga ki te mārena me ngā hononga i waenga i ngā tāne me ngā wāhine i te ao Māori i mua i te tāmitanga. Ka kī ngā kaikōrero he rerekē te mārena i te ao Māori ki te tikanga mārena Pākehā. Ko te mea nui i whakahihikotia e te whakapapa me te whakaputa uri, ka tahi. Kei ngā wāhine te kōwhiringa kia moe i a wai me te mana motuhake i roto i taua whanaungatanga, tae atu ki te āheinga ki te wehe i te mārena. Ka kī hoki ngā kaikōrero i kitea nuitia ngā tāne maha a ngā wāhine, kia mārena anō rānei mēnā e hiahiatia ana. Ka kī ngā kaikōrero he maha ngā mārena rautaki e whakamahia ana hei ara ki te whakapiki i te mana, ngā rauemi, ngā tātai whakapapa, ā, hei whakaū i te maungārongo.

Ngā kaiwhakaatu matua i tuku i te taunakitanga

Ka tuari a Ahorangi Professor Angela Wanhalla (tuhinga A82) i ngā māramatanga i puta mai i tana rangahau whānui ki te mārena i waenga i ngāi Māori me te Pākehā i roto i te horopaki patu tohorā nō te takutai. Ka miramira ia ko te tūāpapa o ngā mārena i waenga i ngā wāhine Māori me ngā kaipatu tohorā Pākehā o te takutai ko te mana o ngā wāhine Māori, ehara i tō ngā tāne Pākehā. Otirā, i whakapiki ēnei whanaungatanga i te mana o ngā kaipatu tohorā Pākehā o te takutai i roto i ngā hapori Māori, nā reira, e āhei ai rātou ki ngā rauemi me ngā mātauranga i puritia e ngā wāhine Māori. Ka whāki tana rangahau 'i puritia e ngā wāhine Māori i mua i te tau 1840 ngā mōtika ki te whenua me ngā rauemi me te mana me te herekore kia whakahaere me te whakahau i te anamata o ō rātou mōtika whenua, tae atu ki ērā o roto o te mārena'. Ka miramira a Ahorangi Wanhalla, ahakoa te rerekē o ngā tuhinga o ētahi kaimātai mātāwaka me ngā tumu kōrero, he hononga rautaki ēnei mārena me te tikanga Māori hei tūāpapa.

Professor Angela Wanhalla presenting evidence virtually, pictured with Judge Sarah Reeves

Ka tuari a Moe Milne (tuhinga A62) i ngā kōrero mō ngā tikanga mārena i roto o Ngāti Hine. Ka kī ia he tikanga e mahia whānuitia ana ngā tomo i roto i Ngāti Hine. E ai ki ana kupu, ehara te tomo 'i te mārena ki tā te Pākehā, he 'moe' i whakaritea, ka moe te tāne me te wahine, kia whai uri. I whakamahia ēnei mārena mō ngā take rautaki kia whakapakari i te whakapapa, kia hohou i te rongo rānei, ā, ko te tūāpapa ko te mārama me te haepapa kotahi mō te oranga o te whānau me te hapū. Ka kī hoki ia he maha ngā wā i moe ngā wāhine o Ngāti Hine i ētahi tāne, tae atu ki te wā i mate ai tētahi tāne, mēnā rānei kāhore e taea e tētahi tokorua te whakaputa tamariki, tērā rānei kia whakapūmau i ngā haumitanga, te whakapakari rānei i ngā hononga ki te whenua.

Moe Milne giving a TV interview at Terenga Parāoa Marae, Whangārei

Ka tautuhi a Dr Ella Henry (tuhinga A63) i ngā whanaungatanga tata i te ao Māori i mua i te tāmitanga, tae atu ki te ai i mua i te mārenatanga, te puhi, te tomo, ngā haumitanga rautaki, me ngā mārenatanga. I tautokohia tana matapaki e ia ki te mahi kura wānanga onāianei tae atu ki tērā o ngā kaimātai mātāwaka tōmua – tae atu ki a Mākereti Papakura.

Dr Ella Henry pictured with her lawyers Natalie Coates (left) and Tara Hauraki (right)

He tauira o ngā mārena tūpuna

Ka matapaki hoki ngā kaikōrero i ngā mārena huhua me ngā pūrākau aroha o ō rātou tūpuna. He rārangi tēnei kāore e kapi ai te katoa:

  • I moe a Hinengakau ki a Tamahina nō te iwi tata, nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa i roto i te haumi maungārongo. (Hinemoa Ranginui-Mansell, tuhinga A129, p 7)

  • He wahine rangatira, he wahine toa hoki a Kohinetau, tamāhine a Te Rawheao. I muri iho i tētahi pakanga i waenga i Ngāti Manu me Ngāi Tū, ka kite ia i a Te Kohuru, he tohunga whakairo nō Ngā Puhi, nō Ngāi Tū, ā, i whakatau kia moe i a ia, nā reira, ia i whakarauora ai. (Marareia Hamilton, tuhinga A121, pp 4-5)

  • Ka moe a Te Rangingangana, te tamāhine a Te Whatanui nō Ngāti Raukawa me tētahi o ngā wāhine tino Rangatira o Ngāti Manu i te rangatira nō Ngāti Manu, i a Pōmare II i roto i te hononga maungārongo rautaki.  (Marareia Hamilton, tuhinga A121, p 5)
  • He puhi a Maikuku i moe i a Huatakaroa, nā reira i waihanga ai i ngā whanaungatanga i waenga i Waitangi me Whangaroa. (Esme Sherwin, tuhinga A110, pp 8-9)

  • He mana wāhine a Āhuaiti, nā tana hononga ki a Rāhiri i auaha i tō mātou hapū, i a Ngāti Rāhiri. (Esme Sherwin, tuhinga A110, p 9)

  • He wahine rangatira a Hēni Ngārino i hono atu ki a Maihi Kawiti ki te Tai Tokerau, nā reira i whakaūngia ai te hononga kaha i waenga i a Tainui Waikato me Ngāti Hine. (Esme Sherwin, tuhinga A110, p 10)

  • I moe a Waitohi i a Te Rākaherea, teina o Pikoterangi, te Kīngi o Ngāti Toa. I tautuhi tana mārena ki te whānau tino rangatira i tōna ake mana. (Elaine Bevan, Jane Wilson and Nganeko Wilson, tuhinga A119, p 1)

  • He puhi, he rangatira hoki a Ruaputahangao Taranaki i whakahē i ngā tono mārena maha tae noa ki tana tūtakitanga ki a Tūrongo, engari nā runga anō i ētahi takunetanga i muri iho ka moe kē ia i a Whatihua. I muri iho, ka wehe a Ruaputahanga i a Whatihua, ā, i mārena anō ki Mōkau. (Ripeka Hudson, tuhinga A128, pp 8-9)

  • I whakanuihia a Ruataupare hei tangata tino whai mana o roto o Ngāti Porou. I moe ia i a Tūwhakairiora, nāna i ārahi ngā whakamataaratanga tauā hira maha. Heoi anō, 'kua mōhiotia mai rā anō nō Ruataupare te mana whenua o tēnei hononga whaimana.'  (Tina Ngata, tuhinga A88, p 6)

  • Ka moe a Kura-a-whe-rangi, tētahi uri o Muriwai, i a Tamahaua, ā, nā tēnei i puta ai te hapū o Ngāi Tamahaua.  (Tracy Hillier, tuhinga A84, p 8)

  • Ka whai a Te Ao Putaputa i tana whaiāipo, i a Tawhito-Kuru-Maranga, ā, he tauira tēnei o te mana motuhake o ngā wāhine i roto i te mārena.  (Tracy Hillier, doc A92, p 12)

  • Ka moe a Turikatuku i a Hongi Hika nā ana pūkenga hei tohunga. Ko ia te kairautaki tauā mō ngā whakamataaratanga o Hongi Hika; 'E mau ana a Hongi i te pū okaoka engari nā Turikatuku te whakatau ki hea, āhea, ā, me pēhea.'  (Bryce Peda Smith, tuhinga A64, pp 2-3; see also Violet Walker, tuhinga A66, p 9)

  • E toru ngā tomo o Hēne Herengawaka. 'Ko te wā tuatahi mō ngā hononga whanaungatanga ā-Iwi. Kei roto te tomo tuarua i te Iwi kia tuari i te tiakitanga whenua. Ko te tomo tuatoru ... he tūmomo whakahaumanu i tō rātou hononga ki a Ngāpuhi, nā te mea kua whakakinotia tētahi o ō rātou uri i te wā i toro mai ki tō mātou whānau.'  (Te Miringa Huriwai, tuhinga A53(a), p 6)

  • Ka moe a Waitaha Māreikura i a Hei, ā, ka whānau mai tā rāua tama, a Waitaha. Nō konei te tīmatanga o te iwi o Waitaha.  (Te Miringa Huriwai, tuhinga A53(a), p 7)

  • I whakaritea hei tomo mō Hine-ā-Maru engari kāhore i whakaotia e ia, engari ka moe kē ki a Koperu. Nā tēnei hononga i whakapūmau te haumitanga i waenga i a Ngāti Hine me Ngāti Wai. E ai te kōrero ko ‘Ngāti Hine ki tai’, ā, ‘Ngāti Wai ki tuawhenua’, nā reira, kei te takutai a Ngāti Wai, ā, kei te tuawhenua a Ngāti Hine. Tērā tētahi kōrero e kī ana e 70 ngā rua pipi i tunua hei whakanui i a Hine-ā-Maru hei wāhanga o te whakanuitanga o tō rāua mārena. He whakaata te hākari nui pērā i te mana o Hine-ā-Maru.  (Moe Milne, tuhinga A62, p 22)

  • Ka kōrerotia te hononga i waenga i a Māhinaarangi rāua ko Tūrongo hei ‘tētahi o ngā kōrero aroha whakahirahira o te hītori Māori [ā] i hono tēnei hononga i ngā tātai rangatira e rua'. Ka 'whakamahi a Māhinaarangi i tana mōhio ki te rākau Raukawa me ana rau hei waihanga i te kakara kia auaha i te maumaharatanga pūmau ki a Tūrongo. ... Ina tino mōhio ia he pai tēnei hononga māna, ā, ka makona tōna aroha, ka whāki i a ia anō.'  (Naomi Simmonds, tuhinga A134, p 6)

  • Ka moe a Te Niho ki a Nihorere, te tamāhine mātāmua o Tuhuru, nā reira, i mutu te pakanga i waenga i a Te Niho rāua ko Tuhuru. (Ema Weepu, tuhinga A136, pp 12-13)

  • I whakaritea ngā mārena o Hinetore ki a Huitao me Parekarewa ki a Haetapunui kia hono anō ngā uri o ngā tuakana-teina nei, a Tūrongo rāua ko Whatihua, i whawhai mō te wahine te take, ā, ka wehea. He hononga anō hoki i waenga i ngā uri o Tūrongo rāua ko Whatihua mā ngā mārena o ngā tuāhine o Raukawa: Ka moe a Rangitairi i a Uenuku-tuwhatu, ā, ka moae a Hinewaituhi i a Motai II. (Heeni Collins, tuhinga A108, p 2)

  • Ka moe a Whakaotirangi, he wahine rangatira, he tohunga hoki, i a Hoturoa, kaihautū o te waka o Tainui.  (Heeni Collins, tuhinga A108)

  • Ka moe a Matire Toha i a Kati Takiwaru, e whakarite ana i te maungārongo i waenga i a Ngāpuhi me Tainui.  (Nora Rameka,  A152 and A152(a), pp 7-8)

  • Te Ākau, a wahine Rangatira, married Hape Ki Tuarangi and thus helped to bind Te Arawa and Raukawa. (Stephanie Turner, tuhinga A109, p 4)

Pipi Kutia, daughter of Te Ākau and wife to Te Rauparaha, by Isaac Coates (pictured in document A109(a))


Drawing of Te Rauparaha (pictured in document A109(a))

Ngā kōrero a ngā kaiwhakaatu

  • “We know that couples existed and that they: ‘had certain exclusive rights and duties to each other, especially sexual ones’. Once a couple selected each other they might announce their intentions to cohabit or simply begin to sleep together in the whare of either the male’s or the female’s family. As long as no relative opposed the union they would come to be seen as a couple …  Individuals in the tribe were not considered adult until they ‘married’ and had children … Those children who could trace their whakapapa through their mother and father were stable additions to the community. Prior to ‘marriage’, the sexual liaisons one engaged in should not result in pregnancy. If they did so, the relationship would need to be formalised by the community.” (Dr Ella Henry, tuhinga A63, p 18)

  • “[T]ono or betrothal was common, particularly among the chiefly lines, and a person who broke an engagement could create a situation where their family were the target of a taua (war party) sent to extract utu.” (Dr Ella Henry, tuhinga A63, p 19)

  • “Another aspect of Māori marital relationships, which reflects the status and role of Māori women is ‘marital separation’. [Jørgen Prytz] Johannsen notes that women were always free to dissolve their connection with a ‘husband’ and return to their people. No doubt, if this occurred her tribe would have cause for retribution in the form of utu, which would reflect badly on the husband, and could result in the exacting of costly revenge for the loss of mana to the wife and her whānau, because he had proven himself to be an inadequate marital partner.” (Dr Ella Henry, tuhinga A63, p 20)

  • “Māori did not marry in the Western sense and there was much more fluidity to moving in and out of ‘whakapapa’ relationships, depending on the contexts (which lands you were living on or moving to and what was happening). Whakapapa was the organising principle because of the relationships to the lands, not genders or patriarchal hierarchies. Rangatiratanga over land was held with both wāhine Māori and tāne Māori.” (Mere Skerrett, tuhinga A137, p 8)

  • “In Waikato, when your marriage was arranged, you would stay with your husband for the mana of the whenua and whānau. This was because tikanga emphasised the importance of these roles, which helped maintain balance in the greater hapū. Although the women would stay with the men, it remains on our marae, that we (wāhine) run the show. Wāhine and tāne knew their place. There was no whawhai between the wāhine and the tāne. It was tika that the wāhine sat down during the seasonal months and discussed the future of the hapū and iwi – not the tāne. Eventually, the tāne would join.” (Paihere Clarke, tuhinga A141, p 3)

  • “Te Tatau Pounamu or a greenstone door has been referred to throughout Ngāti Manu history. Used as a peace making the concept derives from the idea that greenstone represents the highest quality, and most chiefly of gifts. Multiple accounts of historic battles describe the gifting of wāhine Rangātira as instruments of enduring peace. Contrary to the belief that these events view women as possessions, it was of the highest prestige to be honoured in this manner. Furthermore, these types of marriages were strategic and had enduring political implications for the Hapū by way of continuing the whakapapa.” (Marareia Hamilton, tuhinga A121, p 5)

  • “Marriages outside hapu were usually for political purposes.” (Hinemoa Ranginui-Mansell, tuhinga A129, p 6)

  • “One of the powers of the mana wāhine was to implement strategic relationships. This would ensure generation, after generation had connection. Mana wāhine could help protect hapū from being wiped out. If wāhine were married off and strategically placed somewhere, they saved lives.” (Esme Sherwin, tuhinga A110, p 8)

  • “There was no stigma around having many husbands prior to colonisation. Women were not bound to a man, and as a mana wāhine, you could walk away and form a union, or form a new union if your man died. The only time you could not be with another man was if you were pregnant and mana wāhine would support these actions. If your man died and you were pregnant, you could not touch another man until you had given birth because you had to keep the seed clean.” (Esme Sherwin, tuhinga A110, p 10)

  • “My understanding of marriage in pre-colonial Māori society was that if people wanted to be together then they would choose to be with each other and if they wanted to separate, they would agree to separate. Upon separation, the community would wananga and decide whether it was what was best for the couple and the community for them to separate.” (Kayreen Tapuke, tuhinga A94, p 10)

  • “Marriages were fluid, there was no restriction on how many partners one person could have.” (Kayreen Tapuke, tuhinga A94, p 10)

  • “Tipuna tāne didn’t just marry anyone. There was a strategic purpose of the bloodlines for expansion of whenua tipuna [and] kaitiakitanga.” (Whirimako Black, tuhinga A84, p 6)

  • “In precolonial / pre-1840 Māori society, marriage was not ‘legal’ unless copulation was known to have taken place.” (Patricia Tauroa, tuhinga A60, p 20)

  • “Prior to colonisation, chiefs’ daughters were important as ‘gifts of peace’ to prevent any further bloodshed among warring tribes.” (Tiaho Mary Pillot, tuhinga A91, p 8)

  • “Customary Māori marriage held important social significance, and were categorised in several ways, ‘taumau’ arranged marriage, ‘moe Māori’, co-habitating, ‘tomo’, betrothed and ‘pakuha’ traditional wedding. Whakapapa was a vital component of the customary rules around customary marriage and was directly associated with land ownership. Arranged marriages were often politically motivated, as a result of protecting whānau land interests and resources for future generations and was consequently subject to considerably more tribal surveillance.” (Katarina Jean Te Huia, tuhinga A115, p 11)

  • “When a Māori woman married a Pākeha, her land became the land of the Pākeha male. This type of transfer of land did not occur in a Māori marriage. Whenua owned by Māori women only transferred into male ownership through whakapapa to a descendant.” (Patricia Tauroa, tuhinga A60, p 8)