Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri, also called Tūwharetoa-waekae-rakau, was a Māori '' ariki'' (chieftain) in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand and the eponymous ancestor of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi, who probably lived in the sixteenth century. During his life, he established control over a large section of the Bay of Plenty. In his old age, his children and grandchildren invaded Taupō, which became the centre of the iwi's rohe.

Life

Tūwharetoa was the son of Mawake-Taupō and Ha-ahuru. Through his father, he descended from Te Arawa, Mataatua, and ultimately from

Ngātoro-i-rangi In Māori tradition, Ngātoro-i-rangi (Ngātoro) is the name of a tohunga (priest) prominent during the settling of New Zealand ( Aotearoa) by the Māori people, who came from the traditional homeland Hawaiki on the '' Arawa'' canoe. He is the an ...

, who arrived in New Zealand on the '' Arawa'' canoe, and the atua, Rongomai-nui. Through his mother, he was descended from Hapuonone, a tribe that had been settled at

Ōhiwa Ōhiwa is a rural settlement in the Ōpōtiki District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is on a headland on the eastern side of Ōhiwa Harbour, and on the western side of the Waiotahe River mouth. The New Zealand Geo ...

before the arrival of ''Arawa'', and from Mataatua. This ancestry gave him great mana and a strong claim to the land. On account of this, the tribal elders married him to Paekitawhiti who was also of very high rank. From this marriage were born the pre-eminent chiefly lines of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. At the birth of their first and only son, Rongomai-te-ngangana, Tūwharetoa took the baby up Otukaira hill to announce the birth of the future ''ariki''. After this, Mawake-Taupō told Tūwharetoa to go out with a band to visit the surrounding tribes and lands. At the

Mōtū River Mōtū River is a major waterway in the eastern portion of the North Island of New Zealand. It rises on the slopes of Maungahaumi on the southern side of the Raukumara Range south of Opotiki, heads east and cuts its way through the range, whe ...

, he visited the village of Rongomai-ururangi, then paramount chief of Ngāitai. Rongomai-ururangi's daughter led a poi dance to welcome the band, which responded with a haka. Tūwharetoa and Hinemotu fell in love and she ran off with him. They married at Mawake-Taupō's

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites o ...

at Kawerau and settled at Waitahanui, where they had eight children. Once he had succeeded his father as leader of the tribe, he also married Te Uiraroa. John Te Herekiekie Grace reports that Tūwharetoa was a remarkable warrior, a wise advisor, and a master wood carver. With the help of his ally Tūtewero son of Maruka, Tūwharetoa established control of a region encompassing Ōtamarākau, the Awa-o-te-atua (

Tarawera River The Tarawera River is in the Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It flows from Lake Tarawera, northeastwards across the northern flanks of the active volcano Mount Tarawera, and past the town of Kawerau before turning north, ...

), and Kawerau.

Invasion of Taupō

When Tūwharetoa was an old man, Tūtewero was attacked by a group called Marangaranga / Maruiwi but handily defeated them. Ngāti Tūwharetoa were ashamed that this conflict had taken place without them, so Tūwharetoa's sons Rakahopukia, Rākei-poho, Rākei-makaha, Taniwha-paretuiri, and Rongomai-te-ngangana formed a war party of 240 men and attacked the Marangaranga / Maruiwi. They suffered a terrible defeat at Kaka-tarae near

Runanga Lake Runanga Lake is one of several small lakes (the others including Oingo Lake and Potaka Lake) located to the northwest of the city of Hastings in the Hawke's Bay Region of the eastern North Island of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aote ...

, but the survivors were able to avenge their defeat. According to Locke, as the war party was returning from this expedition, they travelled to Hinemaiaia on the coast of Lake Taupō, where they deposited their dead. Then they travelled north along the coast, past Maniaheke and Kowhaiataku to Lake Rotongaio, where an argument with the priestess Hine-kaho-roa culminated in her uttering a powerful curse and comparing Tūwharetoa's ancestors, Rangitu and Tangaroa, to fernroot (i.e. treating them both as food). According to Locke and Te Hata, when the war party departed and reported this to Tūwharetoa at Kawerau, a special sacred force was summoned to Kawerau by Tūwharetoa, who neutralised the curse by sacrificing a lizard. However, Tūwharetoa felt compelled to send an expedition against Ngāti Kurapoto to avenge the insult represented by the curse. According to Grace, the war party returned home to find that Tūwharetoa had died, and the expedition was dispatched by Rakei-Uekaha. This invasion force, led by Tūwharetoa's grandsons Rongo-Patuiwi and Taringa, his great-grandson Waikari, and his son Rereao defeated Ngāti Kurapoto on the northeast shore of Taupō and Ngāti Hotu on the southern shore and occupied both territories.

Death

Tūwharetoa died at an advanced age at Waitahanui. He was buried at the nearby cemetery. According to the section of Ngāti Tūwharetoa that now lives by Lake Taupo, the tohunga Te Ngako later disinterred his bones and moved them to Te Atuareretahi cave in the hills above Kawerau. According to the section still based in the Bay of Plenty, Te Ngako interred the bones in a hole in the trunk of a great tōtara tree, that was still alive as of 1959.

Family

Tūwharetoa married three women and had children with all of them. His senior wife was Pae-ki-tawhiti, by whom he had a daughter and a son: * A daughter, Manaiawharepu, first in a line of female chiefs (''ariki tūpuna'') which continued unbroken until Rangiamohia Te Herekiekie, who died in 1908. John Te Herekiekie Grace, Tamaku's brother gives the line as follows: Manaiawharepu - Topuni - Pitokura - Tutaramarae - Tupara-i-te-Aupouri - Hine-mihi - Te Rangituaiwa - Hinea - Ngarangikaruia - Matakai - Putai - Rangiamohia - Te Arahori - Ngatangi Rongopai - Rangiamohia: * Rongomai-te-ngangana, who died at the battle of Kaka-tarae, but left two sons the ancestor of the ''kāhui ariki'' of Tūwharetoa: :* Tūtapiriao, father of Rongoteahu, father of Piri, father of Tunono the ''upoko ariki'', father of Turanigitukua, the ancestor of the Aitanga a Huruao hapū, through his children by Te Rewhangao-te-rangi: ::* Hingaia, who married Rupokohuka and had descendants. ::* Te Maha-o-te-rangi, who had descendants. ::* Te Rangitautahanga, ''upoko ariki'' ::* Hinerangi, who married Taopowaha and had descendants. :* Whakatihi, father of Tūpoto, father of Tāne-turiwera, father of Hinetuki, who married her cousin Taringa. Tūwharetoa's second wife was Hinemotu, by whom he had one daughter and seven sons: * Hinewharangi (daughter) * Rākei-poho :* Rua-wehea :* Taringa, who married his cousin Hinetuki (descendant of Whakatihi) and had two sons ::* Te Rapuhoro ::* Tū-te-tawhā, ancestor of

Ngāti Te Rangiita 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, ...

and

Ngāti Tūrū-makina 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, ...

. :* Rākei-whakaniwha, father of Matangikaiawha, father of Umu-ariki, father of Matangikaiawha, father of

Te Rehu Te Rehu was a 17th-century Māori people, 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. His father was Matangikaiawha, ...

* Rereao * Taniwha, father of Rongo-patuiwi, father of Waikari. * Turangiawe * Te Aotahi * Poukopa * Poutomuri Tūwharetoa's third wife was Te Uiraroa, with whom he had five sons: * Rākei-marama * Manuwhare * Rākei-uekaha :* Rereao :* Moepuia * Mawake-hore * Kariawe She subsequently remarried to Awanui-a-rangi, with whom she was ancestor of Te Rangihouhiri (ancestor of Ngati Te Rangihouhiri) and

Manu-Tongātea Manu-Tongātea (also known as Mātotoru) was a Māori people, Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of Ngāti Ruanui and Mātaatua descent, who was probably based at Marokopa in Waikato, New Zealand and led a military expedition to the Bay of Plenty are ...

. On a visit to

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, Tūwharetoa slept with Rangiuru, the wife of Whakakauekaipapa, the ancestor Ngāti Whakaue, resulting in a son,

Tūtānekai __NOTOC__ Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island is a rhyolite lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the ...

, who is famous for his romance with Hinemoa.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *{{cite journal , last1=McCallum-Haire , first1=Hermione , last2=Te Nana , first2=Rihi , last3=Gallagher , first3=Joanne , title=Hihiko O Mangarautawhiri: Power Sovereignty for a Prosperous Whānau and Hapū , journal=Scope: Contemporary Research Topics (Kaupapa Kai Tahu) , date=2021 , issue=6 , pages=33–43 , doi=10.34074/scop.2006011, doi-access=free Ngāti Tūwharetoa people 16th-century New Zealand people People from Kawerau Māori tribal leaders