FEATURE | TE AO MĀORI | WHAKAKĀINGA / HOME
Written by Sara Mckoy (she/her) | @saramckoy | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The mana of the great constellation of mountains surrounding Taranaki Maunga has been restored with the official passing of Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill.
The maunga is the third natural location to be granted legal personhood, both in Aotearoa and across the world, joining Te Urewera and the Whanganui River. The officiation of legal personhood translates the important Māori cosmological view of nature as an ancestor. For the local iwi in Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga is appreciated as a central element of the region’s history and environmental composition.
Ko Taranaki, ko Pouākai, ko Kaitake, koia te puna i heke mai ai te tangata. Koia ko hō mātou nei okiokinga, ko mātou nei tō rātou okiokitanga.
The restoration of Taranaki Maunga to the iwi of Taranaki has not been an easy feat. Before British settlers renamed the maunga ‘Mount Egmont’ in 1770, the mountain was known by local inhabitants as Pukeonaki or Pukehaupapa.
The legend of Taranaki told of a conflict of passion which drove the mountain away from others in the central North Island.
Taranaki Maunga and the surrounding ranges were confiscated in the early settlement period under the powers of the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863. Since then local iwi have struggled with severance from their whenua and tupuna.
While the mountain regained the official dual name Mount Egmont/Mount Taranaki in 1986 and sole title Taranaki Maunga in 2020, the granting of legal personhood marks a significant and essential step in the recognition of Māori rangatiratanga.
Iwi negotiator Liana Poutu (Te Ātiawa) described the momentous journey undertaken by the community to reach this milestone.
"So many people have fought for the recognition of our maunga as a tūpuna, the reinstatement and the recognition of his proper name. All of these things are coming to fruition today with these final readings of this bill."
For both the iwi of Taranaki and the wider community, the maunga are geographical reference points, from which a sense of place and mutual identity have been founded.
In a statement to Parliament, the Taranaki Iwi illustrated the maunga as “not simply landmarks [but] the embodiment of whakapapa… the essence of the region”.
The collection of peaks, named Te Kāhui Tupua, will be recognised in New Zealand legislation as a legal personality, possessing inalienable rights and protection. This will be protected by a collective called Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, featuring both iwi and Crown representatives, who will manage the park and act on its behalf. As part of the redress of historical wrongs committed by the Crown, a formal apology was issued alongside the officiation of legal personhood.
Taranaki iwi chief executive Wharehoka Wano was proud of the efforts of generations of Māori, honouring the momentous occasion as an opportunity for restored motuhake and kōmārohi of the iwi.
“Kia whai mana ngā iwi o Taranaki, kia kōkiri, kia whakahaere i ngā kaupapa ki runga i tō tātou tauheke maunga. Hīkaka katoa mātou o te whānau.”
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