Tāwhao 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

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

confederation of tribes, based at

Kāwhia Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. Ka ...

, New Zealand. He probably lived around 1500 CE. He was the last chief to lead the whole of Tainui, as the feud between his two sons

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

and

Tūrongo Tūrongo was a Māori people, 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 ...

led him to divide it into northern and southern sections.

Life

Tāwhao was a male-line descendant of

Hoturoa According to Māori tradition, Hoturoa was the leader of the ''Tainui'' canoe, during the migration of the Māori people to New Zealand, around 1400. He is considered the founding ancestor of the Tainui confederation of tribes (iwi), who now in ...

, leader of the ''

'' waka through his father Kākāti. According to Jones, the line of descent is Hoturoa, Hotuope, Hotuāwhio, Hotumatapū, Mōtai, Ue (who married

Kahupeka Kahupeka (sometimes referred to as Kahu, Kahupekapeka or Kahukeke) was a Māori healer in the 1400s who helped pioneer herbal medicine in New Zealand. She is remembered in oral history as a Tainui explorer who travelled the North Island, naming s ...

), Rakamaomao, and Kākāti. His mother was Ururangi, a descendant of Taumauri from the ''

Kurahaupō ''Kurahaupō'' was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand in Māori tradition. In Taranaki tribal tradition, ''Kurahaupō'' is known as ''Te Waka Pakaru ki te moana'' or 'The Cano ...

'' waka. He was born at Kāwhia and had one older brother, Koro-te-whao, about whom nothing is recorded, and a younger half-brother, Tuhianga, who had further descendants, including

Haumia Haumia-tiketike (or simply Haumia) is the god of all uncultivated vegetative food in Māori mythology. He is particularly associated with the starchy rhizome of the '' Pteridium esculentum'', which became a major element of the Māori diet in fo ...

and Kaihamu. As a young man, Tāwhao moved to Whāingaroa ( Raglan), where he married Pūnui-a-te-kore, daughter of Te Aorere, another descendant of Hoturoa. After his marriage, Tāwhao fell in love with his wife's younger sister, Maru-tē-hiakina, who lived at Hōrea on the other side of Whāingaroa harbour. Tāwhao caught her attention by making a small raft out of

raupō ''Typha orientalis'', commonly known as bulrush, cumbungi, or raupō, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus ''Typha''. It is native to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, China and th ...

rushes, fastening his ivory cloak-pin (''aurei'') to it, and floating the raft across the harbour to Maru-tē-hiakina using a

karakia Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.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, ...

in the southern

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

. In his old age, Tāwhao travelled to Pukehou 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 Kawhia Harbour and the town of Ōtorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of th ...

. 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.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tawhao Tainui people Māori tribal leaders 16th-century New Zealand people