Tū-te-tawhā 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

. He established the border between Ngāti Tūwharetoa and

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 ...

to the west. Along with his brother-in-law Tū-hereua, he defeated

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. ...

in the Battle of Uwhiuwhi-hiawai, but he was subsequently killed in an ill-advised attempt to take the

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 ...

fortress of Orangi-te-taea. He is sometimes known as Tū-te-tawhā I to distinguish him from his grandson Tū-te-tawhā Whare-oneone / Tū-te-tawhā II.

Life

Tū-te-tawhā was the son of Taringa and Hinetuki. Through both of his parents, he was a descendant 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 ...

. He had a younger brother, Te Rapuhora. Taringa was one of the war leaders during the original

Ngāti Tūwharetoa invasion of Taupō The Ngāti Tūwharetoa invasion of Taupō was a conflict which took place in the sixteenth century on the east coast of Lake Taupō in the central North Island of New Zealand. The conflict marks the beginning of Ngāti Tūwharetoa's expansion int ...

Establishing the border with Ngāti Maniapoto

When Tū-te-tawhā had become one of the main ''rangatira'' of Tūwharetoa and was settled at

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 ...

, he sought to define Tūwharetoa's western border with

and take possession of the Tūhua region west of Lake Taupō. He set out with his younger brother Te Rapuhoro, travelling along the shore of Lake Taupō via Pukawa, Whare-roa, Karangahape, Hauhunga-roa. They had made it to Puke-tapu, near 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� ...

, when Te Kanawa, the ''rangatira'' of Ngāti Maniapoto, blew on his

pūtātara The pūtātara is a type of trumpet used by the Māori people of New Zealand. It is customarily made with a carved wooden mouthpiece and a bell made from New Zealand's small native conch shells (''Charonia lampas rubicunda'') or triton shell ( ...

(

conch shell Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends). Conchs ...

trumpet), and his

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 ...

was so great that Tū-te-tawhā fell over, at the place named Takaputīraha-o-Tū-te-tawhā or Tīrahatanga-o-Tū-te-tawhā (Tū-te-tawhā's fall). All the places on this journey, up to the location of Tū-te-tawhā's fall were subsequently settled by his descendants.

Battle of Uwhi-uwhi-hiawai

Kereru_perched_on_kowhai_at_Otari_Native_Botanic_Garden

Due to disagreements with

, Tū-te-tawhā subsequently resettled from Lake Rotoaira, to the Karangahape cliffs at the south end of Lake Taupō, where he made his fortress on Motuwhara Island. Shortly before moving there, Tū-te-tawhā had married Hinemihi, a woman of

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

from Whakatane 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 ...

. After some time, her brother, Tū-hereua decided to visit Hinemihi and meet his new brother-in-law. He arrived when Tū-te-tawhā was away, gathering maire berries and catching

kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin describ ...

at Huahunga-roa, so Hinemihi, her sister Te Ahi-pare, and a few slaves had to welcome Tū-hereua and prepare a feast of fernroot and ''huahua'' on their own. Tū-te-tawhā sounded his trumpet, Ngā-tai-o-para-nui, to indicate that he was on his way, and arrived just as the food was being served. Tū-hereua was so taken with the region that he married a lady of Waikato, Wai-pare and settled by Lake Taupō. Tū-hereua advised Tū-te-tawhā that Motuwhara Island would not be a good location to defend in the event of an attack, so the two of them set out in a canoe to find a new location. They visited various locations under Tū-te-tawhā's control: Whaka-uenuku and Whareroa, but Tū-hereua did not think either of them were suitable. Therefore, Tū-te-tawhā took them to

Kuratau Kuratau is a small village north of Omori and south of Whareroa Village, on the western side of New Zealand's Lake Taupō. The Kuratau Power Station was built on the Kuratau River near the town and completed in 1962. Lake Taupō is erodi ...

, considered a strategic location because it had a bay big enough for several canoes, unaware that it had been occupied by Ngāti Whitikaupeka. As they came in, Tū-te-tawhā noticed the enemy, already rowing towards them, so he leapt out of the canoe, grabbed the bows of two enemy canoes, one in each hand, and pushed them back to shore. Tū-hereua leapt to the shore with his

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 ...

and struck a man dead, shouting "The first fish is mine!" (''nāku¬ te ika tuatahi''), while Tū-te-tawhā killed the second and replied, "I have killed the next." In total, they killed four ''rangatira'': Kuratau, Te Rae, Te Mori, and Te Tatao, and put the rest of the enemy to flight. The place was named Kuratau, after the first man to be killed there, while the battle was named Uwhi-uwhi-hiawai. After this, there was peace, for a while, with Ngāti Whitikaupeka, and Tū-hereua returned to Whakatane, taking his sisters, Hinemihi, Hine-aro, and Te Aki-pare with him.

Death

Matangikaiawha, son of Umu-ariki of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Kahu-pounamu of

had a fortress on Lake Rotoaira, called Orangi-te-taea. He assaulted his wife, the 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 ...

, who then led a force to attack Orangi-te-taea. Tū-te-tawhā and Te Rapuhora came to the fortress and decided to go into the fortress and speak to Ngāti Apa directly. Before they did so, they covered themselves in ''kōkōwai'' (

red ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the col ...

), as part of a ritual called ''makama''. Fletcher says that they did this since touching someone with ''kōkōwai'' was a method of cancelling out someone's tapu.

John Te Herekiekie Grace John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

says that it was intended to conceal their identities and that they intended to mark the Ngāti Apa men with it, so that Wakari would know who to kill when they conquered the fortress. When they had done this, Hinemihi and Te Rapuhoro's wife said "your ''kokowai'' has an evil smell; it is an omen of misfortune," but they replied "No; it is a sign of good luck." They went by canoe to Rangi-te-taea and were welcomed into the village, performing the

hongi The () is a traditional Māori greeting performed by two people pressing their noses together, often including the touching of the foreheads. The greeting is used at traditional meetings among Māori people, and at major ceremonies, such as a ...

with all the men and women. However, the Ngāti Apa ''rangatira'' attacked them. They fought back with their

, Moeiti and Moerahi, but Miromiro killed them both, cut off their heads, and threw them into the latrine or stuck them on posts beside the latrine. After this, Ngāti Apa decided to flee, since their position was untenable, and Waikari recovered the heads of Tū-te-tawhā and Te Rapuhora. He conducted a special ritual to end the tapu created by their deaths, by erecting a shrine at the edge of the water called Waitapu a Waikari and lighting a fire in it. Tū-te-tawhā and Te Rapuhora's heads were interred in a cave at Whakarongo-tukituki.

Family

Tū-te-tawhā married Hine-mihi and had three sons and one daughter: * Te Rangi-ita, ancestor of the

Ngāti Te Rangiita 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. ...

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 ...

* Tuara-kino * Parapara-hika * Tūrū-makina, the ancestor of

Ngāti Tūrū-makina 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 married her cousin Tukino, grandson of Hinemihi's brother Tū-hereua and was the ancestor of

Herea Te Heuheu Tukino I ''Herea'' is a genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical specie ...

. gives the line of descent as Turu-makina and Tukino – Tawhio-te-rangi – Te Oinga-o-te-rangi – Tukino – Herea Te Heuheu Tukino I

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *{{cite journal , last1=McCallum-Haire , first1=Hermione , last2=Te Nana , first2=Rihi , last3=Gallagher , first3=Joanne , title=Hihiko O Mangarautawhiri: Power Sovereignty for a Prosperous Whānau and Hapū , journal=Scope: Contemporary Research Topics (Kaupapa Kai Tahu) , date=2021 , issue=6 , pages=33–43 , doi=10.34074/scop.2006011, doi-access=free Ngāti Tūwharetoa people 17th-century Māori tribal leaders People from Taupō