Nunuku's Law

`Nunuku’s Law

Many many years ago, there was heaps of fighting and killing between the tribes of Rekohu. A chief named Nunuku was so fed up with war that he made a treaty to end it, all chiefs of Rekohu agreed to this treaty. If someone wanted to fight then they were only allowed to strike each other with a wooden staff, but if they were to draw blood they had to stop immediately.

In 1835 Rekohu got invaded by two tribes  from Wellington New Zealand ( Ngati Mutunga and Ngati Tama). The chiefs of Rekohu got together and decided what they were going to do, they decided not to disobey Nunuku’s special law of peace, so that meant that they were not going to fight.

After the invasion many many Moriori men, women, and children were killed by the two tribes from Wellington and many more became slaves. But in 1863 the remaining Morioris became free from slavery.

In 1870 the native land court gave 97.3 percent of Rekohu to Ngati Mutunga, and 2.7 percent of the land was given to the Moriori. In 2004 the Moriori got back their fishing rights from the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.

By: Angelika