Te Rehu was a 17th-century
Māori ''
ariki'' (chieftain) of
Ngāti Tūwharetoa and
Ngāti Apa from the region around
Lake Taupō,
New Zealand.
Life
Te Rehu was born at Orangi-te-taea on
Lake Rotoaira
Lake Rotoaira (sometimes written ''Lake Roto-aira'') is a small lake to the south of Lake Taupō on the North Island Volcanic Plateau in New Zealand. It covers an area of 13 km².
Lake Rotoaira is one of the few privately owned lakes in New Z ...
. His father was Matangikaiawha, a descendent of
Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri, the founder of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and from Ngāti Apa. His mother was Hinemihi, daughter of
Waikari, also a descendant of Tūwharetoa.
Revenge on Te Iwikinakia
When Te Rehu was young, Matangikaiawha severely beat Hine-mihi. Her father
Waikari, gathered a force and attacked Ngāti Apa, eventually catching Matangikaiawha at
Moerangi, where Waikari’s youngest son Te Iwikinakia killed him. Hine-mihi interceded on behalf of Te Rehu, and he was taken in by Te Iwikinakia, who raised him as a son at
Tauranga Taupō
Tauranga Taupō is a semi-rural area located at the mouth of Tauranga Taupō River, on the southern shores of Lake Taupō in New Zealand's North Island.
Settlements
The area includes three contiguous settlements: Oruatua, near the mouth of th ...
.
As Te Rehu was growing up, he learnt that Te Iwikinakia had murdered his father and eventually he resolved to get revenge. Therefore, he travelled to
Mōkai Pātea to form a war party. He was joined there by some of his Ngāti Apa relatives, as well as Tū-makau-rangi of
Ngāti Whitikaupeka
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
, who wanted revenge on Ngāti Tūwharetoa for the earlier
Ngāti Tūwharetoa–Ngāti Whitikaupeka War.
[ says Tū-makau-rangi belonged to Ngāti Tama.]
They attacked Te Iwikinakia at Tauranga Taupō. Since he had not been expecting an attack, his village was almost entirely undefended and after a short while he was defeated. The attackers cooked him with his own
kumara Kumara may refer to:
Places
* Kumara (Mali), a province
* Kumara, New Zealand, a town
* Kumara (New Zealand electorate), a Parliamentary electorate
Other uses
* Kumara Illangasinghe, an Anglican bishop in Sri Lanka
* Kumara (surname)
* The Four ...
and ate him. Then Te Rehu settled at Tū-makau-rangi's fortress, Kirimana, which was located on the
Moawhango River
The Moawhango River is a tributary of the Rangitīkei River and is located the central North Island of New Zealand.
Course
The river flows generally southwest from its sources in the Kaimanawa Range east of Mount Ruapehu to reach Lake Moawhango. ...
.
Death
Shortly after this, a war party of Ngāti Tūwharetoa attacked Kirimana in order to get revenge for the murder of Te Iwikinakia. Kirimana was on top of a high cliff, but they put it under siege and eventually captured it. The inhabitants of Kirimana tried to escape by jumping into the river, but most of them were not able to swim and drowned as they tried to cross the river – Te Rehu and Tū-makau-rangi among them.
The fall of Kirimana marked the final end of the conflict between Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Whitikaupeka.
References
Bibliography
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*
*
*{{cite book , last1=Jones , first1=Pei Te Hurinui , last2=Biggs , first2=Bruce , title=Ngā iwi o Tainui : nga koorero tuku iho a nga tuupuna = The traditional history of the Tainui people , date=2004 , publisher=Auckland University Press , location=Auckland
.Z., isbn=1869403312
Ngāti Tūwharetoa people
Ngāti Apa people
17th-century Māori tribal leaders
People from Tūrangi