What is Waitaha?

Information about Waitaha

Waitaha is an early historical Māori iwi. Inhabitants of the South Island of New Zealand, they were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest first by the Kāti Mamoe and then Ngāi Tahu from the 1500s onward.

Today those of Waitaha descent are represented by the Ngāi Tahu iwi[1].

Another iwi known as Waitaha lived in the Horowhenua area of the lower North Island.

"Nation of Waitaha"

In 1995 a book by Barry Brailsford, Song of Waitaha: The Histories of a Nation, claimed that the ancestors of the "Nation of Waitaha" were the first inhabitants of New Zealand, a pale-skinned people who had sailed there from Easter Island more than 2000 years before Polynesians arrived. It was claimed the "secret" Waitaha story had been suppressed for 200 years and the evidence of their occupation and existence, such as stone structures, had been mistaken for natural formations or Maori artifacts.

Although a series of further books, web sites and New Age events have been based around these claims, they have been widely dismissed as a myth by conventional scholars. Historian Michael King noted: "There was not a skerrick of evidence – linguistic, artifactual, genetic; no datable carbon or pollen remains, nothing – that the story had any basis in fact. Which would make Waitaha the first people on earth to live in a country for several millennia and leave no trace of their occupation."[1]

Organisations

A number of organisations have "Waitaha" as part of their title, often in a generic "ancient links to the land" sense, or as a synonym for Canterbury rather than either claiming actual tribal descent, or links to the philosophies of Brailsford. These include:

External links

References

1. ^ Michael King (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-301867-1. 
Iwi (IPA: [iwi]) are the largest everyday social units in Māori society. Iwi means 'people' or 'folk'; in many ways its meaning is analogous to that of tribe or clan
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South Island<nowiki />

Satellite view of South Island

Geography
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Location New Zealand <nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki />
Area
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Anthem
"God Defend New Zealand"
"God Save the Queen" 1


Capital Wellington

Largest city Auckland
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Iwi (IPA: [iwi]) are the largest everyday social units in Māori society. Iwi means 'people' or 'folk'; in many ways its meaning is analogous to that of tribe or clan
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Horowhenua is a district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

Unlike many other districts, it has a distinct identity, so much so that "The Horowhenua", as it is usually called, is regarded more as distinct region than as part of the region of
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Capital Hanga Roa

Official languages Spanish, Rapa Nui
Ethnic groups (2002) Rapanui 60%, Chilean 39%, Amerindian 1%
Demonym Rapanui or Pascuense
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For other uses, see New Age (disambiguation).


New Age is the term commonly used to designate the broad movement of late 20th century and contemporary Western culture, characterised by an eclectic and individual approach to spiritual
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Michael King, OBE (December 15, 1945 – March 30, 2004) was a widely respected New Zealand popular historian, author and biographer.

Life

Educated at Sacred Heart College in Auckland and St Patrick's College at Silverstream (Wellington), he went on to study history at
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The New Zealand region of Canterbury (Māori: Waitaha) is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains.
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Dunedin () (Ōtepoti in Maori) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Otago.
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Otago ( pronunciation   (help info ) ) is a region of New Zealand in the south-east of the South Island.
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