Tū-irirangi 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 the Ngāti Whāita

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 ...

of the

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

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. ...

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 ...

tribal confederation from the

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

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 is an ancestor of the

Ngāti Kinohaku Kinohaku was a Māori woman of the Ngāti Maniapoto tribe in New Zealand's Waikato region. She lived in the seventeenth century and is the eponymous ancestor of the Ngāti Kinohaku sub-tribe (hapū) of Ngāti Maniapoto. Life Kinohaku was a daugh ...

hapu (sub-tribe) of

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on th ...

and probably lived in the mid-to-late seventeenth century.

Life

Tū-irirangi was born 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 ...

. His father was Huiao, who was himself a son of

Whāita Whāita was a Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of the Ngāti Raukawa iwi in the Tainui tribal confederation based at Wharepuhanga near Rangitoto in the Waikato region, New Zealand and is the ancestor of the Ngāti Whāita ''hapū''. He probably li ...

and a great-grandson of Raukawa, the founder of

, through whom he 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 ...

, the leader of the

canoe. His mother was Māpau-inuhia, a daughter of Uenuku-tuhatu, son of

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

Rua-pū-tahanga Rua-pū-tahanga was a Māori people, Māori ''puhi ariki'' (chieftainess) from Ngāti Ruanui, who married Whatihua and thus became the ancestor of many tribes of Tainui. She probably lived in the sixteenth century. Life Rua-pū-tahanga was a daugh ...

. He had one full sister, Hine-moana, and a half-brother, Paiariki. Tū-irirangi married Kinohaku, a daughter of

Rereahu Rereahu was a Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of Ngāti Raukawa in the Tainui tribal confederation from the Waikato region, New Zealand. He probably lived in the first half of the seventeenth century. He is the ancestor of the Ngāti Maniapoto, ...

and sister of

Maniapoto Maniapoto was a Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of Ngāti Raukawa in the Tainui tribal confederation from the Waikato region, New Zealand, and the founding ancestor of the Ngāti Maniapoto iwi. Initially, he based himself at Waiponga in the M ...

. He was her cousin on both sides, since her father,

was a son of Raukawa, while her mother Hine-au-Pounamu was the daughter of one of Māpau-inuhia's brothers. The amount of food gathered by Tū-irirangi and his tribe for the wedding feast was enormous and remains a source of

mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...

for his descendants, Ngāti Kinohaku. In response to this, some Tainui people joked that Kinohaku had been “bought with pipi.”

Defence of Ngaku-raho

Tū-irirangi settled at Ngaku-raho, a rocky pinnacle near Hangatiki and very near the final base of

at Te Ana-a-Maniapoto / Te Ana-a-uriuri, along with his elderly father Huiao. The earthworks and cuttings carried out to fortify the site were still visible as of 1932 and include an unusual trench designed to allow access to a cliff face so that besieged forces could rappel down from the summit to a spring halfway up the pinnacle, called Nga-roro-o-te-Huaki. Pteridium esculentum kz5

A ''rangatira'' named Pākira brought a war party from

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

against Ngaku-raho at a time when most of Tū-irirangi’s men were away on a fishing expedition. It is not clear why this expedition cames,

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 ...

suggests that they were seeking revenge for the earlier campaign by

Tamāio Tamāio was a Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of the Tainui tribal confederation, based at Kāwhia in Waikato, New Zealand. He was the first chieftain to lead a war-party inland from Kāwhia, in a war against Ngāti Hā, sometime around the middl ...

against the Ngāti Hā who had established themselves on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

at modern

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

. This war party including a group of

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 ...

from Parininihi. Pākira encamped at the spring Nga-roro-o-te-Huaki. Tū-irirangi and Huiao ran all over the fortress, making themselves visible at multiple different locations, and performing war dances in many different parts of it, so that the besiegers would think that there was a large force inside the fortress. Eventually, however, it became clear that the rest of the tribe were not going to return from their fishing expedition in time, so Tū-irirangi and Huiao sent Hine-moana, Tū-irirangi’s sister down to Pākira’s camp and she arranged a peace treaty in exchange for marrying one of the members of his war-party, called Tūpito. Then Pākira’s force departed. A year after the expedition, Hine-moana had a son with Tūpito and, when the sons of Tū-irirangi heard about it, they decided to go and visit the child and that if it was a boy, they would murder it, so that Tūpito could not boast about having a son as his first-born. However, when they visited Hine-moana realised what they were planning and held the child in such a way that they could not see his penis, so they thought he was a girl and left without killing him. Tūpito was furious about this and chased after Tū-irirangi’s sons intending to kill them, but they set the '' rarauhe'' (bracken fern) on fire and got away while Tūpito’s men were dealing with the fire.

Later life

When Tū-irirangi's brother-in-law, Maniapoto, was nearing death, he went to Pukeroa and told Tū-irirangi to gather the people for a

hui The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

. When the people had gathered, they performed the '' tū waewae''

haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

(a war dance with weapons) for Maniapoto, who died before the end of the meeting. After many years, Hinerangi visited Ngaku-raho, while she was fleeing the murder of her father, Mania-takamaiwaho. Tū-irirangi developed a desire to marry her. She refused, but Kinohaku was furious that her husband had considered marrying another woman, so she had an affair with Tū-irirangi’s half-brother Pai-ariki. When Tū-irirangi found out, he went to Pai-ariki’s village, Te Rua-o-te-manu near

Te Kūiti Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of New Zealand State Highway 3, State Highways 3 and New Zealand State Highway 30, 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk rail ...

, intending to murder him. When he arrived, Pai-ariki went out to him without any weapons and said, "Your

taiaha A taiaha () is a traditional weapon of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand; a close-quarters staff weapon made from either wood or whalebone, and used for short, sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts with efficient footwork on the part of the wi ...

(spear) can be your brother from now on." Then Tū-irirangi was ashamed and went away to Kāwhia, where he re-married and had another son. Pai-ariki moved to Kāwā, where he married Kuo and Hinengako. One day, toward the end of the seventeenth century, Tū-irirangi went from Kāwhia to the Wai-tētē Creek, where he started to make a fishing raft from a whau tree. A man called Whanowhano-ake came out from nearby Manu-aitu and struck Tū-irirangi on the head with his

kotiate Kotiate is a type of traditional hand weapon of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. A kotiate is a short club normally made of wood or whalebone. Kotiate means to cut or divide the liver (koti = cut in two or divide; ate = liver), ...

club, killing him. Tū-irirangi's son Te Ariari escaped and told the people of Kāwhia, who led a number of unsuccessful expeditions against the fortresses of Tātahi, Kōrero-maiwaho, and Te Rua-o-te-huia, until his death was eventually avenged by a large force led by Ika-tāmure, Kārewarewa, and two thousand Te Ati Awa from

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

Family

Tū-irirangi first married Kinohaku and had three sons and one daughter: * Whakapau-tangaroa * Kāhui-tangaroa * Tangaroa-kino, who killed Hou-taketake after his uncle Maniapoto’s conflict with him. * Rangipare, who was meant to marry Wairangi, but eloped with her cousin Tū-taka-moana, son of Maniapoto, leading to the Battle of Waiponga: :*Rangatahi, an ancestor of the Ngāti Rangatahi and Ngāti Urunumia hapu of Ngāti Maniapoto. After he moved to

, Tū-irirangi re-married to Māmaua / Maromuka, by whom he had four sons: * Tūahu-māhina * Parekino * Te Pūhara-o-Tainui, who started the War of Te Whate-o-hua-raratahi against Tonga-nui and the other sons of

Māhanga Māhanga was a Māori people, Māori ''rangatira'' (chieftain) of the Tainui tribal confederation in the Waikato region of New Zealand, based at Kāniwhaniwha on the Waipā River, and an ancestor of the Ngāti Māhanga and Ngāti Tamainupō ''hap� ...

by chopping down a

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

tree with his uncle Pai-ariki, and was killed by Tonga-nui at Te Kawaroa. * Tū-paenga-roa, who took in Pai-ariki after the death of Te Pūhara-o-Tainui and killed Tonga-nui and his brothers while they were besieging his fortress at Manu-aitu. * Te Ariari.

Sources

and

Leslie George Kelly Leslie George Kelly (10 May 1906 – 6 August 1959) was a New Zealand journalist, engine driver and historian. Kelly's father, Sidney Mellish Kelly, was descended from Edward Meurant, a trader and interpreter at Kawhia in the 1830s, and his wif ...

report the life of Tū-irirangi, based on oral accounts that they both received from Whare Hotu of Oparure (an 8th generation descendant of Tū-irirangi). Kelly also received some information from Newton Moerua of Hangatiki.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite news , last1=Kelly , first1=Leslie G. , title=Ngaku-raho Pa, Hangatika, journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society, volume=43, number=170, date=1934, pages=101–105 17th-century Māori tribal leaders Ngāti Raukawa people People from Waikato