Kūpapa

During the initial Taranaki skirmishes, British regulars were outnumbered and aided by Māori auxiliaries. However, Lieutenant-Colonel J. E. Alexander of the 2/14th Regiment questioned the effectiveness of these Māori allies but later noted:^[5] “It is true that they were very useful in detecting ambuscades in procuring and cutting firewood, building wharres ^[6] [sic] [huts] etc.; and in this way their presence to the force may be useful but the fighting should be perhaps confined to the white soldiers alone.”^[7] Regardless Lieutenant-Colonel’s observation kūpapa were frequently used in combats and they also were notably rapid at adaptation process including dress and customs, moreover, they turned out to be outstanding in tactics^[5] and the British had significantly benefited from it not just once.

The kūpapa chiefs frequently discussed organizational matters with their British employers. For instance, when Colonel J. Whitmore included Arawa chiefs in the later stages of the war, they were insisting on payment of four shillings per day for their warriors, the same rate as colonial militia in active service. Additionally, they demanded three officers for every 100 men and minimal deductions from pay for rations. At the same time, they required a blue shirt for each enlisted warrior. Imperial commanders found the independence of these officer-chiefs from time to time frustrating. Major-General Trevor Chute, known as ‘The Kerry Bull’ by his soldiers, even threatened them with execution during the final Taranaki campaigns, although he never carried out the threat because he needed their support.^[5] Kūpapa warriors were increasingly effective and for that reason they were allowed to discipline and train their own men. They were accomplished sharpshooters attacking from the cover of trees and frequently sneaking into enemy territory disguised as reinforcements. Despite wearing imperial uniforms and wielding swords, the chiefs of the auxiliaries were Māori warriors who followed the Māori code of warfare, including the concept of utu, or seeking revenge through murdering.^[5]

The meaning of the term in Te Reo Māori is interpreted as “cringing dog crawling along the ground”, however, the kūpapa themselves were in favor of more respectable references like ‘native auxiliaries’, ‘loyalists’, ‘members of the allied tribes’^[5] and were also called Queenites, from Queen Victoria,^[8] and the friendly natives.^[2]

The word kūpapa has originally been used as verb, noun and modifier (lexical cognates). If used as a verb, it means ‘to lie flat, stoop, go stealthily’, ‘to remain quiet’, or ‘to be neutral in a quarrel, collaborate, collude’. When it takes a role of a modifier, it conveys the meaning of ‘being at a low level, near the ground, or above the surface’.^[9] The idea hidden behind this word and its usage is clear, and it gave rise to a noun kūpapa which meant ‘a collaborator, ally’ and referred to Māori who sided with Pākehā opposition or the Government.^[9] The primal and historical meaning has undergone temporal changes and was adjusted to modern realities. It has become more derogatory and closer in meaning to terms such as ‘turncoat’, ‘traitor’, ‘quisling’, and ‘Uncle Tom’.^[9]

The term has also had an occasional modern usage in a derogatory sense to describe a Māori who is seen as being on the Pākehā or government side and acting against the interests of Māori in conflicts with government authorities.^[10][11][12]

According to R. I. M. Burnett, the translated name appeared to have had various meanings and shades of meanings before being adopted by the camp followers of the Native Contingent. For example in January 1862, J. Armitage associated ‘kupapa’ with ‘neutral’ when reporting the Ngatitahinga tribal council.^[13] Two years later the Rev. L. Williams confirmed that the Turanga Maoris “always call themselves ‘Kupapa’, as being partisans of neither side”.^[13]

In 1844 the term was defined by William Williams as a verb, 'stoop', and subsequent usages in print refer to stealthy movement. Kūpapa meaning 'neutrality' began to be used in late 1861, and only came to mean Māori supporters of the government around 1868.^[14]

However, “The New Zealand Herald”, on 17 June 1864 stated that Kūpapa was the “Kingite cognomen for Queen natives”. The Rev. B. Y. Ashwell appeared to embrace both meanings. In June 1865, he used the phrase “one of the (Kupapa) friendly natives”, and, five months later, reported seeing “a good many of the hostile natives who are living with the Kupapas or neutral party” at Tamahere.^[13]

During the war, senior chiefs gained remarkable reputations as talented tacticians and leaders but at the same time they were occasionally rivals. Major Kemp (Te Rangihiwinui, Taitoko, Te Keepa), a chief from the same region, had been the primary rival of Major Mete Kingi Paeteahi. Initially, as Paeteahi showed just some sympathy towards H. M. Army, Kemp organised a contingent of his own and received a captain’s commission, which encouraged Paeteahi to finally and fully support the British and provide his own contingent. Kemp’s bravery and skills in bush-fighting impressed the British, earning him a sword of honour, and his supporters gave him the title ‘General’.^[5]

Mete Kingi himself was one of the most renowned Kūpapas and quite possibly the first to receive a daily wage for his services, later provided a slightly altered interpretation of the term ‘kūpapa’. While speaking before the House of Representatives in June 1869 regarding the retreat from Waihi to Wanganui the preceding year and citing advice from Colonel T. Haultain to align with the pakeha and adopt their methods, he said, “I explained to him that it was customary for Māoris to employ strategy. Consequently, I persuaded the group at Wanganui to venture into the woods. Upon their return, the War Minister proposed that if the Maoris were organized as troopers, they could commence action. However, the Māoris objected to fighting as troopers; they preferred fighting as Kūpapas”. ^[13]

Another notable officer-chief, Major Ropata Wahawaha from the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island, also seized the chance to engage in warfare against his tribe’s longstanding adversaries, who aligned with the Māori king. Ropata’s bravery and self-promotion, forged by tales of his courage and innovative strategies, earned him a longstanding fame and adoration. Stories tell about his extraordinary courage, his preference for using only a walking stick as a weapon, his mastery in unarmed combat against rebels, and his fearless leadership from perilous positions, often ignoring his own safety.^[5]