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 ( ...
(chief) of the
iwi
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.
...
Ngāti Pikiao
Ngāti Pikiao is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. They are one of the iwi within the Te Arawa tribal confederation. Their rohe (territory) centres on Lake Rotoiti and the area east of the Kaituna River in the Bay of Plenty. History
Ngāti ...
in the
Te Arawa
Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...
confederation of tribes in 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 ...
region of
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 ...
. He played a decisive role in the wars between Ngāti Pikiao and
Tūhourangi
Tūhourangi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand with a rohe centered on Lake Tarawera, Lake Rotomahana, Lake Okaro, Lake Okareka, Lake Rotokākahi, Lake Tikitapu and Lake Rotorua. It is part of the Te Arawa tribal confederation.
Their marae include ...
over Lake Rotoiti, which resulted in Ngāti Pikiao taking control of the lake. He is also the founder of the Ngāti Te Tākinga
hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
.
Life
Te Tākinga was the son of Pikiao the younger, through whom he was a direct descendant of
Pikiao
Pikiao was a Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of the Te Arawa tribal confederation based at Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, who was the ancestor of Ngāti Pikiao in Te Arawa, of Ngāti Mahuta in the Tainui confederation, and of Ng ...
, founder of Ngāti Pikiao, and of
Tama-te-kapua
In Māori mythology, Māori tradition of New Zealand, Tama-te-kapua, also spelt Tamatekapua and Tama-te-Kapua and also known as Tama, was the captain of the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' canoe which came to New Zealand from Polynesia in about 1350. A ...
Hawaiki
(also rendered as in the Cook Islands, Hawaiki in Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is, in Polynesian folklore, the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in man ...
to New Zealand.
Tūtānekai
Tūtānekai was a Māori people, Māori rangatira (chief) of the iwi Ngāti Whakaue in the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. He was an illegitimate son of Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri and is most famous for his romance with Hinemoa, which is refere ...
murdered Te Tākinga's grandfather, leading Ngāti Pikiao to relocate from Owhata to
Lake Rotokakahi
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...
and
Lake Tarawera
Lake Tarawera is the largest of a series of lakes which surround the volcano Mount Tarawera in the North Island of New Zealand. Like the mountain, it lies within the Ōkataina Caldera. It is located to the east of Rotorua, and beneath the peak ...
. After Ngāti Pikiao murdered relatives of Tūtānekai, he sacked the
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
of Moura on Lake Tarawera in revenge, but Ngāti Pikiao were at Te Puwha on the eastern side of Tarawera, when Moura was taken, so they survived and relocated to Matata, then to Otamarakau and Pukehina, before being invited to Te Puia on
Lake Rotoehu
Lake Rotoehu is the smallest in a chain of three lakes to the northeast of Lake Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It is located between the city of Rotorua and town of Whakatāne. The southern end of the lake occupies part of the Okataina ...
by Pikiao's friend Matarewha.
Battle of Harakekengunguru
Tūtānekai and his people went to visit his Tuhourangi cousins at Tumoana pā on Lake Rotoiti. During some friendly sparring, Tūtānekai's son Tamakuri was accidentally killed. Tūtānekai and his people fled. Meanwhile, the Tuhourangi people took Tamakuri's body to Omawhiti, where they ate it. Tūtānekai went seeking allies in getting revenge for this. Having been refused by more natural allies, Tūtānekai eventually decided to seek help from his former enemies, Ngāti Pikiao. He went to Te Puia, walked right in and sat down between Te Tākinga and his father Pikiao. Matarewha, raised his club to kill Tūtānekai and Te Tākinga winked at him, encouraging him to do the deed, but Matarewha decided not to, because he was afraid that he would hit Pikiao or Te Tākinga by accident. Tūtānekai managed to make peace with Tūtānekai and convinced them to join him in his attack on Tuhourangi. They brought the local members of Waitaha into the expedition as well. Tūtānekai then returned home.
Te Tākinga and Matarewha led an army from Waitangi hot springs, along Te Komutunga ridge to Tumoana. When they reached the pā, it was nighttime and they encountered and killed a lady called Turukutia, who had been fishing for
kōura
''Paranephrops'' is a genus of freshwater crayfish found only in New Zealand. They are known by the English common names freshwater crayfish and koura, the latter from their Māori language, Māori name of ''kōura''.
Species
The two species a ...
. Te Tākinga and Matarewha led a small group of the attackers appeared before Tumoana at dawn and challenged the Tuhourangi defenders to fight, while the rest of the attackers hid some distance away. Tuhourangi attacked, the Te Tākinga and Matarewha's group feigned a retreat, leading the Tuhourangi back to their main force, which ambushed and defeated them. This was called the battle of Harakekengunguru. During the feigned retreat, Te Tākinga tripped over a tree root and
sprain
A sprain is a soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers made of collagen that connect two or ...
ed his ankle at a place called Parua. He would have been killed by the Tuhourangi warriors, but his brother Hinekura leapt out and rescued him. Te Tākinga's other brother, Te Rangiunuora "took the last fish" of the battle (i.e. made the final kill), when he killed Whioi, as he attempted to swim to safety. The war party then captured Tumoana, ate the men they had killed and enslaved the rest.
After this, the war party travelled to Pareteiro and lit a fire to call Tūtānekai to come with canoes to collect the victorious warriors. When they reached Mokoia, they gave Tūtānekai the body of Whioi, as compensation for the death of Tamakuri. In return, Tūtānekai gave them a huge canoe called Whanaupukupuku. The war party took this canoe and two others along Lake Rotoiti to Tapuaeharuru, where they carried the canoes over to Rotoehu. When they got home, they killed all of the prisoners except for one woman, Te Aoniwaho, who was married by a Ngāti Pikiao rangatira called Kotiora.
Battle of Kotarahure
Kotiora mistreated Te Aoniwaho, so she helped her father to assassinate him. Te Whakatane of Ngāti Pikiao led an attack on the Tūhourangi in revenge, sacking Unaatekapua pā and killing the rangatira Te Karerepounamu. In response to this, two Tūhourangi rangatira, Te Heroro and Te Herapunga launched a war party from Te Weta Bay, which landed at Tapuaeharuru and advanced along the Tahuna path towards Lake Rotoehu. On this path, they encountered and killed three of Te Tākinga's sons - Te Rangikaheke, Tutaki, and Ruamoko - in the Battle of Kotarahure. Some sources say that Te Tākinga's sons were leading a Ngāti Pikiao and Waitaha war party, others that they had only a small band. After the battle, Te Heroro and Te Herapunga returned home with the bodies of Te Tākinga's sons.
Te Weta campaign
To get revenge for his sons' death, Te Tākinga travelled to the Bay of Plenty coast in order to recruit allies from the Waitaha and Ngāti Whakahinga. He visited Otomarakau, Kaikokopu, Pongakawa, Matamanu, and Tupuki and received promises of support from the chiefs of Waitaha: Te Kanewa, Tuteumu, Te Rawahirua, Tutumanga, and Tuweweia. They planned for the Waitaha forces to attack Tūhourangi at Te Weta from the northeast, while Ngāti Pikiao would attack the same pā from Lake Rotoiti. The Waitaha forces were led by Tutumanga, who mustered at Maketū, marched along the Kaharoa trail to Otuheroa by Lake Rotoiti, where they sent out scouting parties. These scouts came to a place called Te Parapara, where there were lots of ducks and they froze, afraid to move, in case the ducks flew off en masse and alerted the Tūhourangi of their approach. Tutumanga sang a
karakia
Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.hui (meeting) of all the forces at Opatia. He declared that he had got his revenge and instructed the Waitaha and Ngāti Whakahinga to return home. The surviving Tūhourangi gathered at Paeehinahina, Pukurahi, and Motutawa under Te Rangipuawhe.
Kotipu and Motutawa
In Te Tākinga's old age, Tūhourangi had largely rebuilt their position around Lake Rotoiti, so he decided to launch a final expedition to drive them out once and for all. They set out from Tapuaeharuru in two canoes, Te Tuhiterata and Tamateatuapiko. Te Tākinga captained Te Tuhiterata, along with Hinekura, Te Rangiunuora, Whakatane, Ruatai, Te Heheu, and Tokihapai. Tamateatuapiko was captained by Takaeuewa, Tuteumu, and Puku. The canoes stopped for the night at Ngatiti. At dawn, Tokihapai captured a woman called Kaitohi, who had been out singing. They interrogated her and used the information to attack and capture Kotipu pā, which was run by her father Te Rangiawharetiki (who escaped from the attackers). They discovered from the prisoners that most of the pā's inhabitants were in the forest at Kohangakaeaea, making canoes under the leadership of Purakau son of Paraoa, so they attacked and killed those people. Then they returned home to Rotoehu.
A little while later, Te Tākinga set out in Te Tuhitarata once more and landed at Purakau. He went on his own to Motutawa pā, the major remaining Tūhourangi stronghold on the lake. There he found Te Rangipuawhe, eating the preserved flesh of one of his sons who had been killed at Kotarahure. Te Rangipuawhe conceded that he could not give recompense for the death of the sons, so he voluntarily led his people away from Rotoiti to settle on
Lake Tarawera
Lake Tarawera is the largest of a series of lakes which surround the volcano Mount Tarawera in the North Island of New Zealand. Like the mountain, it lies within the Ōkataina Caldera. It is located to the east of Rotorua, and beneath the peak ...
and
Lake Rotokakahi
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...
(the island Motutawa in Lake Rotokakahi is named in memorial of Motutawa pā).
Four of Te Tākinga's sons came to Motutawa and divided the conquered land between themselves. Kiore received Mourea and Waikarangatia. Mangō and Manene got the land north of Ohau Stream. Te Awanui got the land between Pukurahi and Pukearuhe. They travelled north along the
Kaituna River
The Kaituna River is in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the outflow from Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti, and flows northwards for , emptying into the Bay of Plenty at Maketu. It was the subject of a claim concern ...
, surveying the area. At Turirau, the rangatira Te Huia gave Mangō a feast, but a disagreement took place, which culminated in the four brothers killing Te Huia and placing his head on a
rewarewa
''Knightia excelsa'', commonly known as rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand. It is found in the North Island and at the tip of the South Island in the Marlborough Sounds (4 ...
stake. The place where this hapened was named Te Upoko o Te Huia (the head of Te Huia) as a result. In a subsequent battle, they drove off some new settlers, led by Poia and Miromiro, from this area.
Family and legacy
Te Tākinga married Hinekiri, Hineui, and Hineora (daughter of Te Ra of Waitaha) and had children with all three of them:
* Manene (son of Hinekiri)
* Mangō (son of Hinekiri)
* Te Awanui (son of Hineui)
* Tāmiuru, who married Taiwere:
:* Pūkaki.
* Te Rangikaheke (son of Hineora), killed at the Battle of Kotarahure.
* Tutaki (son of Hineora), killed at the Battle of Kotarahure.
* Parua (son of Hineora)
* Ruamoko (son of Hineora), killed at the Battle of Kotarahure.
* Kiore (son of Hineora), who married Whakahi:
:* Te Whakaruru
* Hikaawarua (son of Hineora)
Te Tākinga is the ancestor of the hapū Ngāti Te Tākinga. Their
marae
A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
and
wharenui
A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...