Te Rehu was a 17th-century

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 ...

ariki An ariki (New Zealand, Cook Islands), ꞌariki ( Easter Island), aliki (Tokelau, Tuvalu), ali‘i (Samoa, Hawai‘i), ari'i (Society Islands, Tahiti), Rotuma) aiki or hakaiki ( Marquesas Islands), akariki (Gambier Islands) or ‘eiki (Tonga) is o ...

'' (chieftain) of

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...

and

Ngāti Apa Ngāti Apa is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Rangitikei District of New Zealand. Its rohe (traditional tribal lands) extend between the Mangawhero, Whangaehu, Turakina and Rangitīkei rivers. This area is bounded by Whanganui River in the north-west ...

from the region around

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With ...

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 ...

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 ...

. His father was Matangikaiawha, a descendent of

Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri 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 ...

, the founder of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and from Ngāti Apa. His mother was Hinemihi, daughter of

Waikari Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its Anglican parish church is the Church of Ascension, 79 Princes Street, Waikari, where William Orange was vicar in the 1920s. The New Zealand Ministry for Cult ...

, also a descendant of Tūwharetoa.

Revenge on Te Iwikinakia

When Te Rehu was young, Matangikaiawha severely beat Hine-mihi. Her father

, 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 the ...

. 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 or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

, who wanted revenge on Ngāti Tūwharetoa for the earlier Ngāti Tūwharetoa–Ngāti Whitikaupeka War. says Tū-makau-rangi belonged to

Ngāti Tama Ngāti Tama is a Māori people, Māori iwi, tribe of New Zealand. Their origins, according to oral tradition, date back to Tama Ariki, the chief navigator on the Tokomaru (canoe), Tokomaru waka (canoe), waka. Their historic region is in north Tar ...

. 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 Fo ...

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 Moawha ...

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

* * * *{{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