Manu-Tongātea (also known as Mātotoru) 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 Co ...

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

'' (chieftain) of

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori people, Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki Region, Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the rohe, traditional ...

and

Mātaatua ''Mātaatua'' was one of the great voyaging canoes by which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand, according to Māori tradition. Māori traditions say that the ''Mātaatua'' was initially sent from Hawaiki to bring supplies of kūmara to Māori ...

descent, who was probably based at Marokopa in

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and led a military expedition to the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

area, in around the late sixteenth century.

Background

Manu-Tongātea's mother was a lady of Marokopa called Peha-nui or Pēhā-nui, who was the daughter of

Tongātea Tongātea (or possibly Tongatea) was a Māori people, Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of Ngāti Ruanui, based at Pātea in southern Taranaki, New Zealand. He probably lived in the early sixteenth century. Life Tongātea was the son of Huetaepo ...

, a descendant of Turi, the captain of the '' Aotea'' canoe, and a local lady called Manu. His father was Kai-ahi, from the

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...

area, a direct descendant of Toroa, who captained the ''

'' canoe. gives the line of descent as Toroa – Ruaihono – Tahinga-o-te-rā – Awanui-a-rangi – Rongo-tangiawa – Ira-peke – Awatope – Kai-ahi. Kai-ahi met Peha when travelling with a group and had relations with her before returning to Whakatane, telling her that he would return later. After Kai-ahi left, Peha-nui gave birth to Manu-Tongātea, whose full name was Te-Tehe-o-Manu-Tongātea ('the circumcised penis of Manu-Tongātea'), referring to the fact that his grandfather had been

circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

Kai-ahi's attack on Marokopa

After a few years, Kai-ahi returned, leading a raiding party. The locals fled, but Manu-Tongātea, now a young boy, was caught and tied up in a '' kete'' basket in order to be eaten in the morning. During the night, he cried out "Manu-Tongātea's skin is chilled by the wind. Peha-nui of Manu, Peha-nui of Kai-ahi," and Kai-ahi realised who he was, released him, and promised that he would get vengeance in the future.

Expedition to Rotoiti

When Manu-Tongātea was an adult, his mother told him that he could find Kai-ahi's homeland in the east and he raised a war party to go in search of him. When the party arrived at Lake Rotoiti, they found a village that had been attacked by Kai-ahi and the local chief married his daughter Wawara to Manu-Tongātea, although she was already engaged to another man.

Pei Te Hurinui Jones Pei Te Hurinui Jones (9 September 1898 – 7 May 1976) was a Māori political leader, writer, genealogist, and historian. As a leader of the Tainui tribal confederation and of the Māori King Movement, he participated in negotiations with t ...

records a mournful '' waiata'' which Wawara sang about the arranged marriage, in which she weeps for the loss of her betrothed, describes her new husband as a 'shadow', and concludes: After the marriage, Manu-Tongātea's party sacked two villages, but when the war party reached Kai-ahi's village, Manu-Tongātea called the war-party to a halt, walked up to Kai-ahi and made peace with him.

Family

Manu-Tongātea and Wawara had two sons: *

Kōkako Kōkako are two species of forest bird in the genus ''Callaeas'' which are endemic to New Zealand, the endangered North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') and the presumed extinct South Island kōkako (''Callaeas cinereus''). They are bot ...

, named for the

birds eaten by Manu-Tongātea's war-party on their journey to Rotoiti. * Te Matau.

Sources and variants

The story of Manu-Tongātea is recorded by

based on an oral account which he heard from Te Nguha Huirama of Ngāti Tamainu-pō, Ngāti Maniapoto, and Ngāti Te Ata on 24 May 1932. The same story is reported by John White ''The Ancient History of the Maori. IV: Tainui'' (1888), but he gives Manu-Tongātea's father as Peha, son of Kai-ahi, and his mother as Peho and in this version Manu-Tongātea is captured and tied up when he goes to visit his father at Whakatane. In a version told to Bruce Biggs by Elsie Turnbull, Manu-Tongātea is instead a man of Maungatautari, who committed

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

with a lady of Marokopa and was tied to a wooden pole, but was released as a result of his cries and left a kokako-feather cloak for his unborn son, who was therefore named Kōkako.

References

Bibliography

*{{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 Ruanui people Mātaatua Māori tribal leaders 16th-century New Zealand people