Manuel José arrived in the Waiapu area in the late 1830s and became known to Māori as Manuera and to Europeans as Manuel José, or Josef, Emmanuel or ‘The Spaniard’.
Manuel José had five wives, all from Ngāti Porou: Tapita Te Here-kaipuke, Kataraina Te Auwhi (a sister of Te Here-kaipuke), Maraea (of Te Whānau-a-Takimoana), Mihi Tāheke (of Te Whānau-a-Hinepare) and Uruhana (who was also called Maraea Ruihi, of Te Whānau-a-Hinekehu).
His descendants now number near 30,000 and are known as the Pāniora (Spaniards) of Ngāti Porou.
His birthplace was shrouded in mystery until 2006 when journalist Diana Burns produced a documentary on Manuel.
This included original baptism records and the house of his grandfather.
The records stated: Manuel, son of José, baptised 1st of February 1811, a boy born the day before, the 31st of January 1811, legitimate son of Jose de Frutos and Maria Huerta, married citizens of Valverde. Paternal grandparents, Francisco de Frutos and Maria Lucia. Maternal grandparents, Manuel Huerta and Juana Garcia. All of Valverde.
The Manuel José whānau contingent from Down Under was made up of 40 descendants from New Zealand, 20 from Australia, and about 10 from other places around the world.
They made the hīkoi to Valverde to visit the birthplace of their tipuna.
They stayed in Segovia, which is about half an hour from Valverde.
James Barnes, chairperson of the Manuel José whānau, said it was a fascinating trip and great to finally make the journey to Manuel Jose’s birthplace as other chairs of the family have in the past.
“We had planned to go in 2020, but because of Covid-19 lockdowns we couldn’t, so we planned to go in 2023. For me, it was great to finally make the trip.
“Every chairperson from the whānau has gone. It’s one of the things you have to do — go on a hīkoi to where José came from.”
Along with travelling there to make connections, each side of the whānau exchanged gifts.
James said that the Gisborne District Council had sent through a present, a miniature taiaha sculpture for the Mayor of Valverde, Olga Llorente Tabanera.
The Mayor then gifted the José whānau a plaque that depicts the story of Manuel José meeting and connecting with Māori on the East Coast.
Along with this, there was an unveiling ceremony of a lane named after Manuel José that recognises his connection to Ngāti Porou.
The whakapapa of Manuel José was ever-present, as the mayor is a relative through marriage and the deputy mayor, Olga Llorente Ayuso, is a cousin.
“It was very special to take our flag to the birthplace of our ancestors. It was very meaningful for us,” James said.
He was taken to different significant sites around Valverde by the head elder of the José whānau in Spain.
One visit included King Carlos’ house, which James said was incredible and held massive artworks. Unfortunately photos were not allowed.
James said it was very busy in Spain as it was holiday time over there.
He said being in Spain felt like “how whānau feel when they go back home to the East Coast at Christmas time”.
“It’s a fascinating culture over there. It was very family orientated. It was just lovely.”
On the final night, the whole Valverde community came out to celebrate their visit.
“It was like a poroporoaki. Everyone was dancing, celebrating — it was absolutely packed with people saying their farewells.”
He says he will be going back again to keep exploring and building relationships in the family.
Not only is the whānau focused on keeping the connections alive, they are thinking about succession-planning of the whānau leadership and what that looks like.
“We want to get some younger people and when I say that, I am 74 years old, so young to me is anyone under 50.”
With the leaders of the whānau ageing, they are wanting to make sure younger members are stepping up or learning how to be a leader in the family.
James says there are some people in their late 20s to early 30s that the whānau want to link up with to help maintain a flow of leadership. They want to encourage younger family members to get the hang of leadership and step up for the family.
“This is a long-term kaupapa.”
Recently, Bianca Fallon was appointed deputy chairperson. James says Bianca can walk in both Pākehā and Māori worlds.
■ If anyone who is a descendant of Manuel José wants to connect with the whānau, get in touch via the Manuel-Jose descendants Facebook page.
