Tuhoromatakakā 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 ( ...

(chief) 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, who was based at

Maketu Maketu is a small town on the Western Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand. It is located roughly from Paengaroa, from Te Puke, from Tauranga, from Rotorua and from Whakatane. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow, ...

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 ...

and then at

Mount Moehau The Moehau Range is the northernmost range on the Coromandel Peninsula, extending from the settlement of Colville, New Zealand northwards to the tip of the peninsula. Mount Moehau is the highest point of the range, at 892m above sea level. Ph ...

at the tip of the

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula () on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean ...

. He probably lived in the second half of the fourteenth century.

Life

Tuhoromatakakā was born in

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 ...

as the eldest son 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 ...

. He had a younger brother,

Kahumatamomoe Kahumatamomoe (Kahu for short) was a Māori rangatira (chief) in the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. He undertook several exploratory journeys around the upper North Island of New Zealand on his own and with his nephew Īhenga. Lake Rotorua's ...

. Both sons accompanied their father when he captained the '' Arawa'' canoe on its journey to New Zealand and settled with him at

in the

. There Tuhoromatakakā and Kahumatamomoe lived together in the house of Whitingakongako at 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 ...

(fortified village) of Te Koari. Tuhoromatakakā attacked Kahumatamomoe, while the latter was working in his garden, Parawai. They fought and Kahumatamomoe won, but the people forced him to release Tuhoromatakakā because of his seniority. Kahumatamomoe threatened to kill his brother and Tuhoromatakakā attacked him again, ripping a

pounamu Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in the South Island of New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture. Name The Māori word ...

earring called Kaukaumatua out of his ear. He buried this earring under Tama-te-kapua's house. Kahumatamomoe disputed the ownership of a kumara patch with Tama-te-kapua, claiming that since he had cultivated the land it should be his. The people mostly agreed with Kahumatamomoe, so Tama-te-kapua decided to leave and settle at Moehau. Tuhoromatakakā accompanied him north. At Moehau, Tama-te-kapua grew sick. When he was dying, he instructed Tuhoromatakakā to bury his corpse. Afterwards, he was to keep himself tapu and reserve three fields around his house for the

atua Atua are the gods and spirits of the Polynesian people such as the Māori or the Hawaiians (see also ). The literal meaning of the Polynesian word is "power" or "strength" and so the concept is similar to that of '' mana''. Many of the atua ...

for three years, then to dig up his ''papa-toiake'' (lower spine) in order to remove the tapu. D. M. Stafford reports the ''

karakia Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.Īhenga Īhenga was an early Māori people, Māori explorer and rangatira of Te Arawa. After burying his father at Moehau, he travelled to Maketu to be purified by his uncle Kahumatamomoe, whose daughter he married. He explored the North Island and name ...

, to carry out a particular funerary ritual. Īhenga was to bite Tuhoromatakaka's forehead and

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

and then bury him next to Tama-te-kapua, in order to make him into an ''ikahurihuri'' ("twisting fish," a type of oracle). When he did this, Tuhoromatakakā's body twisted from side to side, signifying that his descendants would fail to hold their land in the Coromandel. After this, Īhenga placed Tuhoromatakakā's body in a foetal position, with his knees touching his neck, covered in him in two

kahakaha Kahakaha can refer to various plants in the genus ''Astelia ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennial plant, perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, I ...

cloaks, two cloaks for old men, and a dogskin cloak, placed feathers from toroa,

huia The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was another credible sighting in 1924 ...

, and kotuku in his hair, and toroa down in his ears. Then he buried him. In the night, Tuhoromatakakā's ghost came to Īhenga and forbade him from asking for food or water, taught him ''karakia'', and dispatched him to Maketu to be cleansed from the ''tapu'' of the funeral at the hands of Kahumatamomoe. Later,

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 anc ...

disinterred Tama-te-kapua and Tuhoromatakakā's bodies and took them away.

Family

Tuhoromatakaka married Uenuku-whakarorongarangi had four sons: * Taramainuku, father of; :* Hinetu-te-rauniao, who settled at Kaipara and married Uenuku-mai-rarotonga, grandson of Kahumatamomoe. ::* Rangitihi, ancestor of

Ngāti Rangitihi Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, based in the Bay of Plenty. The tribe is part of the greater Te Arawa confederation of tribes. Nga pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa, the 8 beating hearts of Te Arawa derives from the 8 childr ...

. * Warenga, who settled at Kawakawa in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

. * Huarere, who remained at Moehau, ancestor of

Ngāti Huarere Ngāti Huarere is a Māori iwi. It descends from Huarere, who arrived via the '' Arawa'' in the 14th century. History Ngāti Huarere was established by Huarere, the third son of Tuhoromatakakā in the mid to late 14th century. Tuhoromatakakā ...

. *

Īhenga Īhenga was an early Māori people, Māori explorer and rangatira of Te Arawa. After burying his father at Moehau, he travelled to Maketu to be purified by his uncle Kahumatamomoe, whose daughter he married. He explored the North Island and name ...

, who married Hinetekakara, daughter of Kahumatamomoe.

References

Bibliography

*{{Cite book, last1=Stafford, first1=D.M., year=1967, title=Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People, publisher=A.H. & A.W. Reed, location= Rotorua, New Zealand Te Arawa people 14th-century New Zealand people Māori tribal leaders People from Coromandel Peninsula