A major arbitration hearing is underway to settle a long running dispute over ownership of the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley in Rotorua.
Ngāti Wāhiao and Ngāti Whakaue both have ancestral ties to the land, and have long fought for exclusive ownership.
But in 2013 an arbitration panel granted each of them a 50% share instead.
Ngāti Whakaue was dissatisfied with the result and is now challenging the arrangement.
"It's a connection that, in our view, has never been severed," said Ngāti Whakaue leader Rawiri Waru.
"Right back from the time of our ancestors, before even the Native Land Court."
Today, descendants of Ngāti Wāhiao took a giant scroll, inscribed with their whakapapa, to the hearing to show their historical links to the whenua.
It was written by their ancestor Mākereti Papakura, who grew up in the Whakarewarewa village.
"She was here in the village over 144 years ago... her house still exists today, and our family still live in those houses," said Mākereti's great, great granddaughter June Grant.
"We can trace all of our people, just by looking at the connections, so the connections are just stunning."
Pinenga Ariri Mere Kanea Taupopoki Iharaira, the direct descendant of one of the first Ngāti Wāhiao ancestors to arrive at Whakarewarewa, also attended the hearing.
"This is home, this is Wāhiao tūturu, the whenua, the wharenui, the people that are here," she said.
Ngāti Wāhiao has occupied the valley for at least 17 generations.
But Ngāti Whakaue argues its always had mana over the land, and claims Ngāti Wahiao's presence in the valley up until 1886 was only possible because it granted them permission.
"Of course you can have mana over something without having to be there," said Rawiri Waru.
"Ngāti Wāhiao themselves have whenua that they don't live on but have still been awarded."
The concept of mana whenua has been a key talking point at the hearing, with both parties challenged on whether it can exist or be maintained if there is no physical presence on the whenua, or if people leave the whenua for long periods of time and return.
"The tribe has been here from the 1600s... when you own something you don't have to always live there to establish your interest. It's there because you own it," said Ngāti Wāhiao Lawyer Donna Hall.
The two Te Arawa iwi are closely related, and there have been passionate views on both sides.
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