Abstract:
Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi is recognised today as a subtribe of the Taranaki peoples whose boundaries extend from Parininihi near Mokau, to Waitotara near Wanganui. Waitotara is regarded as the hub of Ngaa Rauru. Their oral traditions and those of the Aotea tribes, Taranaki and Whanganui, claim that the ancestors of Ngaa Rauru came originally in the Aotea canoe as part of the Great Fleet. However, as a result of analysing the oral traditions together with their songs and genealogies it is clear that Ngaa Rauru's history extends beyond the period of the arrival of Aotea. The tribe has an identity which is distinct from that of the Aotea people.
A close scrutiny of the oral traditions of Ngaa Rauru and its neighbouring tribes reveal that Ngaa Rauru was one of the original tribes that occupied the areas near Patea and Waitotara. There were others as well who lived in Patea and in the areas south to Waitara. There were also people living in the Whanganui area. When the Aotea came Turi discovered that there were tribes already occupying the place where he landed. Thereafter, as a result of inter-marriage, the Aotea people became dominant, so that not only Ngaa Rauru, but all the other tangata whenua or people of the land, became subdued and subjected to the policies and administrative powers of the Aotea people.
Some years after the arrival of the canoe and probably well after Turi's death his descendants who are associated with Aotea moved from their homes in Patea to various tribal territories nearby. Some of these people moved into the Ngaa Rauru area and inter-married with members of the host tribe. In time the inter-mixture was so great that Ngaa Rauru was absorbed to the point that its identity was almost lost. Ngaa Rauru's oral traditions were assimilated to the traditions of the Aotea and were modified to stress kinship connections with the Aotea people. It became fashionable to ignore Ngaa Rauru's tangata whenua status. The reasons for the elevation of Turi and his descendants above the status of the original inhabitants are not known and await the attention of scholars.
The main object of this thesis is thus to argue Ngaa Rauru's position as a tangata whenua group and as a consequence remove mistaken though generally accepted ideas that the original ancestors of the group came in the Aotea canoe.
