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History and traditions of the Maoris of the West Coast, North Island of New Zealand, prior to 1840

Te Ati-Awa (or Ngati-Awa) Tribe

Te Ati-Awa (or Ngati-Awa) Tribe.

Adjoining Ngati-Mutunga on the south was one of the principal tribes of the coast—the Ati-Awa—whose boundaries (for the last few generations) extended from To Rau-o-te-huia, near Onaero river, on the north, to Nuku-tai-pari, the sandy gully that descends to the coast immediately at the southern base of Pari-tutu, the main Sugar-loaf, where they were joined by the Taranaki tribe. This gives the tribe a coastal frontage of about twenty miles, which coast is generally low, with here and there a few sand hills, but behind extend fine plains and undulating country for miles. The boundary between Ati-Awa and Taranaki, was a matter of dispute when the lands came to be sold to the Government, for the Ati-Awa claimed that their boundary ran from Pari-tutu to Mount Egmont, a line that was fiercely disputed by Taranaki. The line was eventually drawn from Pari-tutu straight to a protuberance on the slopes of Mount Egmont, about half way down its eastern slope, called Tahuna-tu-tawa. From there it is said to have extended E.S.E. to the Matemate-onge range, which divides the waters falling into the Whanganui from those of the Waitara river; thence northerly and north-westerly to Te Rau-o-te-huia on the coast. But this apparently includes a large slice of the tribal lands of the Ngati-Maru, the boundaries between that tribe and Ati-Awa are not known to me. This same boundary has also been a matter of dispute with Ngati-Rua-nui whose territory adjoins on the south.