Marriage and moe māori

Witnesses shared a range of perspectives on 'marriages' and unions between tāne and wāhine in te ao Māori before colonisation. Witnesses said marriage in te ao Māori was different to the European institution of marriage. First and foremost, it was motivated by whakapapa and bearing offspring. Wāhine had choice over who they married and had autonomy within the relationship itself, including the ability to leave a marriage. Witnesses also said it was common to have multiple husbands or wives or to remarry if needed. Witnesses also said marriages were frequently strategic and used as a way to increase mana, resources, whakapapa lines, and for peacekeeping.

Key witnesses who gave evidence

Professor Angela Wanhalla (doc A82) shared insights from her extensive research into intermarriage between Māori and Pākehā within a context of shore whaling. She emphasised how marriages between Māori women and Pākehā shore whalers were based on the authority of Māori women, not of Pākehā men. Indeed, these relationships uplifted the mana of Pākehā shore whalers within Māori communities, thereby allowing them to access resources and knowledge held by wāhine Māori. Her research reveals that ‘pre-1840 Māori women held rights over land and resources with the power and freedom to manage and direct the future of their land interests, including within marriage’. Professor Wanhalla highlighted that, despite the writing of some ethnographers and historians to the contrary, these marriages were strategic alliances based on tikanga Māori.

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

Moe Milne (doc A62) shared kōrero about marriage customs within Ngāti Hine. She said that tomo, or arranged marriages, were common practice in Ngāti Hine. In her words, tomo were ‘not marriage in the Pākehā sense, it was arranged ‘moea’, ka moea te tāne me te wahine, kia whai uri; the consummation of man and woman to produce offspring’. These marriages were used for the strategic purposes of strengthening whakapapa or brokering peace, and would be based on mutual understanding and responsibility for whānau and hapū wellbeing. She also said it was common for Ngāti Hine women to marry more than once, including if their husband passed away, if a couple were unable to have children, or in order to solidify alliances or strengthen connections to land.

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

Dr Ella Henry (doc A63) described intimate relationships in te ao Māori before colonisation, including premarital sex, puhi, tomo, strategic alliances, and marriage ceremonies. She supported her discussion with contemporary academic work as well as that of early ethnographers – including Mākereti Papakura.

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

Examples of tīpuna marriages

Witnesses also discussed many marriages and love stories of their tīpuna. This is a non-exhaustive list:

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))

What witnesses said

  • “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, doc A63, p 18)(external link)
  • “[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, doc A63, p 19)(external link)
  • “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, doc A63, p 20)(external link)
  • “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, doc A137, p 8)(external link)
  • “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, doc A141, p 3)(external link)
  • “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, doc A121, p 5)(external link)
  • “Marriages outside hapu were usually for political purposes.” (Hinemoa Ranginui-Mansell, doc A129, p 6)(external link)
  • “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, doc A110, p 8)(external link)
  • “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, doc A110, p 10)(external link)
  • “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, doc A94, p 10)(external link)
  • “Marriages were fluid, there was no restriction on how many partners one person could have.” (Kayreen Tapuke, doc A94, p 10)(external link)
  • “Tipuna tāne didn’t just marry anyone. There was a strategic purpose of the bloodlines for expansion of whenua tipuna [and] kaitiakitanga.” (Whirimako Black, doc A84, p 6)(external link)
  • “In precolonial / pre-1840 Māori society, marriage was not ‘legal’ unless copulation was known to have taken place.” (Patricia Tauroa, doc A60, p 20)(external link)
  • “Prior to colonisation, chiefs’ daughters were important as ‘gifts of peace’ to prevent any further bloodshed among warring tribes.” (Tiaho Mary Pillot, doc A91, p 8)(external link)
  • “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, doc A115, p 11)(external link)
  • “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, doc A60, p 8)(external link)
 
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