Whatihua was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the hereditary Māori leaders of a hapū. Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that ...

(chief) in the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

confederation of tribes, based at Kāwhia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He quarrelled with his brother,

Tūrongo Tūrongo was a Māori rangatira (chief) in the Tainui confederation of tribes, based at Rangiātea, near Waikeria, New Zealand. He quarrelled with his brother, Whatihua, and as a result Tainui was split between them, with Tūrongo receiving the so ...

, and as a result Tainui was split between them, with Whatihua receiving the northern

Waikato region Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

, including Kāwhia. He probably lived in the early sixteenth century.

Life

Whatihua was a male-line descendant of

Hoturoa According to Māori mythology, Māori tradition, Hoturoa was the leader of the ''Tainui (canoe), Tainui'' canoe, during the Māori migration canoes, migration of the Māori people to New Zealand, around 1400. He is considered the founding ancestor ...

, leader of the ''

'' ''waka'' through his father Tāwhao. Tāwhao married two daughters of Te Aorere, another descendant of Hoturoa, Pūnui-a-te-kore and Maru-tē-hiakina. Whatihua was the first-born son, but his mother was the younger of Tāwhao's wives, Maru-tē-hiakina. His younger brother Tūrongo was born to the senior wife, Pūnui-a-te-kore. As a result, the relative status of the two sons was unclear and they competed for pre-eminence. As youths, Whatihua and Tūrongo went hunting ''kūaka'' (

Bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...

s) on Kaiwhai island off Kāwhia. At first, all the birds came to Tūrongo and he caught great numbers, but while he was focussed on cooking the birds, Whatihua snuck up behind him and "snatched the ''hau''" (the spiritual essence) from Tūrongo's head. After that all of Tūrongo's ''

mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

'' passed to Whatihua.

Courtship of Rua-pū-tahanga

When the two brothers reached adulthood, Tūrongo travelled south to

Patea Patea ( ) is the third-largest town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Pātea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Whanganui on . Hāwera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the ea ...

and got engaged to

Rua-pū-tahanga Rua-pū-tahanga was a Māori ''puhi ariki'' (chieftainess) from Ngāti Ruanui, who married Whatihua and thus became the ancestor of many tribes of Tainui. She probably lived in the sixteenth century. Life Rua-pū-tahanga was a daughter of Huetaep ...

, of

Ngati Raukawa ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

. He then returned to Kāwhia and began to build a house at Te Whare-o-Ngarue in Kāwhia in preparation for her arrival. As he was working on the house, Whatihua came and advised him that the planned house was too big, convincing him to shorten the '' tāhuhu'' (ridge beam) in order to complete the task on time. He also convinced him to plant huge gardens, using up all of his kumara, so that he had none remaining in his storerooms. Meanwhile, Whatihua at Te Wharenui ('The Big House') on the

Aotea Harbour Aotea Harbour ( mi, Aotea Moana) is a settlement and smallest of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and Kawhia Harbour to the ...

, where it is said that the outline of the house is still visible in the grass in the summer. While Tūrongo was waiting to harvest his kumara, Whatihua summoned Rua-pū-tahanga from Patea. Rua-pū-tahanga made the journey up the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

, through Tāngarākau, and

Ōhura Ōhura is a small town in the west of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the west of Taumarunui in the area known as the King Country, in inland Manawatū-Whanganui. It lies on the banks of the Mangaroa Stream, a tributary of th ...

, into the Mokau Valley. The places Te Umu-Kaimata, Taorua, and Te Puna-a-Rua-pū-tahanga are named after events that took place on her journey. When she arrived at Kāwhia, Tūrongo had no food for her and his house was too small to fit all the people whom she had brought along with her, while Whatihua had plenty of food and space, so she married him instead. Beaten, Tūrongo left Kāwhia.

Division of the Waikato

After Tūrongo left Kāwhia, he had travelled east and married Māhina-o-rangi at

Pukehou Pukehou is a farming locality in southern Hawke's Bay, in the eastern North Island of New Zealand. Pukehou is located on State Highway 2, about halfway between Hastings and Waipukurau. The locality's name (originally ''Pukehouhou'') is Māori, ...

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

. After the marriage had taken place, the elderly Tāwhao, travelled there and invited Tūrongo to return to Kāwhia. There he divided his lands between Whatihua and Tūrongo, roughly along the ''aukati'' line that later formed the northern boundary of the

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

. The north went to Whatihua, who remained at Kāwhia, while the south went to Tūrongo, who was sent inland and settled at Rangiātea, near

Waikeria Waikeria is a rural community in the Otorohanga District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Waikeria Prison, one of New Zealand's largest prisons, is located on a site on Waikeria Road. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture ...

Departure of Rua-pū-tahanga

Whatihua and Rua-pū-tahanga had two sons, Uenuku-tuhatu and Uenuku-te-rangi-hōkā. Shortly after the birth of Uenuku-te-rangi-hōkā, Apakura, asked him to catch her an

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, so he went to Ōparau, where there was known to be a large eel, and caught it, using one of Rua-pū-tahanga's ''mauri'' (magic talismans). This so infuriated Rua-pū-tahanga that she left Kāwhia, taking the baby Uenuku-te-rangi-hōkā with her. After a while Whatihua noticed that she had gone and set off in pursuit. At the Matatua headland, she realised that Whatihua was following her and buried the baby in the sand up to his neck, so that Whatihua had to stop to uncover him and fetch people to take him back to the village. While he did this, Rua-pū-tahanga swum across the Kawhia Harbour, reaching the shore at Te Maika. From there, she passed Lake Taharoa, Taumatakanae, and Harihari, crossed the Marokopa River at the coast, crossed Kiri-te-here stream and reached the base of Mount Moeātoa, where cliffs extend right to the sea. She stopped to rest there and a small stream at the spot is named for the event, Te Mimi-o-Rua-pū-tahanga ('Rua-pū-tahanga's pee'). As she was resting, Whatihua caught up with her and there was nowhere to run, so Rua-pū-tahanga leapt off the cliffs into the roiling waves, where a

taniwha In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respected ...

, Rākei, picked her up and carried her away. She shouted to Whatihua, "Go back! You will die in your pursuit of my body, now set apart" or "The tides of Rākei of the hundred monster's eyes have risen," both now proverbial sayings. He returned to Kawhia.

Battle of Mahea-takataka

Mangō, a cousin of Whatihua who was based at Te Whena on the Kāwhia harbour, wanted a comb owned by Whatihua. He broke into Whatihua's house in the night and stole it, wandering around repeatedly so that the tracks would appear to belong to a large group of thieves. However, because of a crooked leg, Mangō had a distinctive gait and the tracks were easily identified as his in the morning. Whatihua led a war party of a thousand men to Te Whena to reclaim the comb, but Mangō attacked him with a force of nine hundred at Mahea-takataka. Whatihua's party was defeated and most of his men were killed, but Whatihua himself was captured alive and brought to Mangō, who grabbed him by his hair and urinated on his head. After this, Whatihua was allowed to go free, but the defeat had caused him to lose his

and he was no longer seen as an important leader.

Death

Whatihua had made his base at the village of Manu-aitu. When he grew old he went out to a seaside cliff, which has a cave partway up called Poho-tangi ('sounding belly'), because of the sound it makes as the wind and waves crash against the cliff face. When the people saw Whatihua at the top of the cliff, some rushed to the top and others rushed to the bottom of the cliff, but he leapt off before they could get there. His body was not found at the base and it was believed that he had somehow ended up in the cave, which he had earlier predicted would be his tomb.

Family

Whatihua married Rua-pū-tahanga and Apakura, but it is not certain which of them he married first. Rua-pū-tahanga was a descendant of Turi, leader of the ''Aotea'' canoe. With Whatihua, she had two sons: *Uenuku-tuhatu, probably the same as Uetapu, who had three sons and two daughters: :*Te-Ata-i-ōrongo, who married Rangi-waea and had one son, Kai-ihu :*Mania-ōrongo :*Tū-a-tangiroa, who had a daughter, Hine-au-Pounamu, who married Rereahu :*Māpau-inuhia and Waengarangi, who both married Huiao, son of Whāita and had three children,

Tū-irirangi Tū-irirangi was a Maori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of the Ngāti Whāita hapu of the Ngāti Raukawa iwi in the Tainui tribal confederation from the Waikato region, New Zealand. He is an ancestor of the Ngāti Kinohaku hapu (sub-tribe) of Ngāti ...

, Hine-moana, and Paiariki. *Uenuku-te-rangi-hōkā, also called Uenuku-whāngai ('the adopted') because he was raised by Apakura, who had three sons: :* Tamāio :* Hotunui :*Mōtai, who married Hinewai, a daughter of Whatihua's brother Tūrongo, and had a son Kura-nui, whose daughter Rerei-ao married Pikiao, ancestor of

Ngāti Pikiao Ngāti Pikiao is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi, including Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The s ...

, creating a link between Tainui and

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

. Apakura was descended from Tamatea, the captain of the ''

Tākitimu ''Tākitimu'' was a ''waka'' (canoe) with ''whakapapa'' throughout the Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori traditions, the ''Tākitimu'' was one of the great Māori migration ...

'' canoe. gives the line of descent as Tamatea - Te Papa-whaka-iri - Moepuia - Whana-a-rangi - Apakura. Her children with Whatihua were the ancestors of Ngāti Apakura.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last1=White , first1=John , title=The Ancient History of The Maori, his Mythology and Traditions: Tai-Nui , date=1888 , publisher=Government Printer , volume=4, location=Wellington , url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Whi04Anci.html Tainui people New Zealand Māori men Māori tribal leaders 16th-century New Zealand people