20 • TE AO MAORI MAI I TE TAIRAWHITI
NGĀ MAUNGA
He Mihi Anei noa te pūrongo whakaputa kōrero tekau mā rima e mōhiotia nei ko, Ngā Maunga Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti. Kua kaha whakawhiti tātau ki tua o Raukumara, ki te iwi tuakana nei o Te Whānaua-Apanui. He kōrero tāpiri ēnei o Ngāti Porou ki a Te Whānau-a-Apanui mai te pūtake o Ūawa, heke iho ki te tipuna tūturu ko Apanui-ringamutu, ā, tae atu hoki ki tōna mokopuna rongonui, te tauā, a Tamahae. Kei waenga ko te pakanga i Te Maniaroa tae atu ko te pakanga whakamutunga o Toka-a-Kuku. Kāti, whakatā mai, pānui mai, whakaarohia mai. This is the 15th issue in the series Ngā Maunga Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti. We take a large step in our journey venturing over the Raukumara range to the tribal region of Te Whānau-a-Apanui. The following stories show the strong links between Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Apanui, from its origins in Ūawa (Tolaga Bay) to the rise of its leader, Apanui-ringa-mutu. The story of the renowned warrior Tamahae intercedes the battles of Te Maniaroa and Toka-a-Kuku, the latter being the final battle between Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Therefore, loosen up, read and let your thoughts wonder. Principal resources referenced for this collection include: He Tipuna Whakahirahira (Richards and Paora, 2003); Horouta (Halbert, 1999); Story of a Māori Chief (Kohere, 1949); Raurunui-a-Toi Lectures (Ngata, 1944); Tolaga Bay (Laurie, 1988). A History of Te Aitanga-a-Mate (Soutar, 1988); Tūwhakairiora (Thesis by Waipaina Awarau, 1927); Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast (Mackay, 1949); Takitimu (Mitchell, 1944); The Story of Tamahae (Waititi,1962). Walton Walker – School of Humanities, Tairāwhiti Polytechnic. (Ngā mihi nui ki a, Watene Tawhai, Chas Tawhai, Ora Barlow, Tui Warmenhoven, Whānaua-Apanui Area School and Tūkākī Marae)
Whanokao and Te Whānau-a-Apanui Whanokao from the east – ancestral mountain of Te Whānau-a-Apanui.
Mai i Taumata-o-Apanui ki Pōtaka From the summit of Apanui to Pōtaka Ko Whanokao te maunga Whanokao is the mountain Ko Mōtū te awa Mōtū is the river Ko Apanui te tangata Apanui-ringa-mutu is the chief Ko Te Whānau-a-Apanui te iwi Te Whānau-a-Apanui is the tribe Tihe mauri ora! Alas, the breath of life!
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HANOKAO, the ancestral maunga (mountain) of Te W hānau-a-Apanui tribe of Eastern Bay of Plenty, is part of the cluster of mountains in and around Mount Hikurangi. At 1625 metres it is the second highest of the
group to Hikurangi (1752m). The group also includes Aorangi (1272m), Wharekia (965m) and Taitai (677m). Whanokao is a principal boundary point marking the territory between Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou. Te Whānau-a-Apanui are regarded as tuakana (senior relation) to Ngāti Porou. Various lines of whakapapa (genealogy) reinforce this relationship, least of all their descent from Taua-i-te-rangi, the eldest son of Hīngāngāroa and Iranui of Ūawa. The bitter feud between Taua-i-te-rangi and Mahakiewe-karoro against their younger brother, Hauiti, resulted in their expulsion from Ūawa. Taua’s family and descendants eventually found refuge in Whangaparāoa (Cape Runaway) and with the rise of Apanui-ringa-mutu (Taua’s great-great-grandson), the tribe we now know as Te Whānau-a-Apanui emerged. But more of that later. The pepehā (proverb) above describes the tribal territory of Te Whānau-a-Apanui. It begins at Te Taumata-o-Apanui, the coastal headland near the settlement of Hāwai (north
Photo: Tui Warmenhoven
of Opōtiki), then runs along the coastline to Potikirua (near Cape Runaway), then inland to Whanokao, tracking the ridgeline of the Raukumara ranges to the Mōtū river in the Mangatū area and seaward again to Te Taumata-a-Apanui. It shares its borders with the tribes of Ngāitai (at Tōrere), Whakatōhea (Ōpotiki), Ngā-ariki-kaipūtahi and Te Āitanga-a-Mahaki (Mōtū and Mangatū), and Te Āitanga-a-Hauiti and Ngāti Porou (Raukumara ranges). The entire area occupied by all these tribes embraces part of the region we know as Te Tairāwhiti. This common tenancy of lands by these tribes, together with their shared lines of whakapapa, mandates the inclusion of Te Whānau-a-Apanui in this collection of stories. And whilst the stories that follow indulge somewhat on the conflicts between Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou, these events have only reinforced the strong bonds of friendship and co-operation that currently exist between the two tribes. E te tuakana, e Apanui, mai e, mai e!
The Battle of Te Maniaroa — Backpack Payback? Kātahi manu āta pōkai There you huddle like a flock of birds Ngā kurī pākā a Uetuhiao The brown dogs of Uetuhiao
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PANUI-ringa-mutu was destined for greatness from birth. Born around 1650AD, he descended from the senior aristocratic lines of Porourangi through his mother, Rongomaihuatahi, and from his father, Tūrīrangi, to Tamatekapua, the principal ancestor of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. He was only seven years old when he was presented to the people at a gathering at Ōmāio. From that gathering, Te Aotākaia, brother of Rongomaihuatahi, gifted his land between Pōtikirua and Puketapu (near Cape Runaway) to Apanui-ringa-mutu. And from his father, Tūrīrangi, he was to inherit the lands between Taumata-o-Apanui and the Mōtū river. W hen Apanui reached adulthood he consolidated the lands between Taumatao-Apanui and Potikirua and remained the undisputed leader of all the people therein, the territory we know today as Te Whānau-aApanui. Apanui-ringa-mutu lived in turbulent times. An incident in the forests of the Raukumara ranges was to pit his warriors against the might of Te Āitanga-a-Mate of Whareponga and Tūwhakairiora of Kawakawa (Te Araroa), on the sandy plains of Te Maniaroa. Word had reached Te Āitanga-a-Mate that poachers had encroached upon their lands on the forest slopes of Hikurangi. Brothers, Kuku, Korohau and Rongotangatakē went to investigate and on the Kōrauwhakamae ridgeline they engaged a group of bird-hunters led by Taniwhā who were of Ngāti Ira and Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Strapped to their backs were tahā (calabashes) and back-packs full of birds. Kuku and Korohau relieved the group of their load by cutting the straps of their packs and sent them on their way. When Taniwhā and his party returned to their home near the Mōtū river, they told of their humiliating treatment at the hands of Kuku and Korohau. The seeds of revenge were sown
Te Māniaroa at Te Araroa from Te Kōau bluff . . . . Whetumatarau dominates in the background, with Ōkauwharetoa, the pā Tūwhakairiora, located to the left.
Taumata-o-Apanui
Mōtū River
and the opportunity to redress this humiliation would present itself soon enough. There were also the deaths of Mokotara and Uekaiwhare, sons of Uetaha and his Whānau-a-Apanui wife, Hinereia, to avenge. So it was that Apanui-ringa-mutu, together with a huge force, appeared at Te Kōau, the bluff overlooking Punaruku and the stretch of beach known as Te Maniaroa. Tūwhakairiora meanwhile had gathered a formidable army which included reinforcements f rom the Waiapu through to Whareponga,
amongst them the brothers Kuku, Korohau and Rongotangatakē. Tūwhakairiora, who by this time was a much older man, did not join the battle, remaining instead in his pā at Ōkauwharetoa. The task of leading the war party was left to his sons Tūhorouta and Te Aowehea. Apanui’s forces far outnumbered those of Tūwhakairiora, however their finest exponents of taiaha (spear) and patu (club) were engaged in a battle of wit and skill that day, with victory the only guarantee of remaining alive. The battle began in the early dawn and raged
for several hours. The fortunes of each side waxed and waned but as the slain piled up on the beach of Te Maniaroa, it was Apanui who emerged victorious. Walking amongst the piles of bodies he uttered, “Me te manu e taka ana i te pōkai te whakaruru e puta nei — Like a bevy of birds on the wing so thickly do the slain lie.” Meanwhile, Taniwhā, who was humiliated on the slopes of Hikurangi, came upon the bodies of his tormentors Kuku, Korohau and Rongotangatakē and exclaimed, “Kātahi manu āta pōkai! Ngā kurī pākā a Uetuhiao!” Taking hold of their hands he continued, “E! O ringa kotikoti kawe nei! Ka eke hoki i ngā pikitanga o Kōrauwhakamae ka motu ngā kawe! — E! The very hands that cut my straps. When I ascended Kōrauwhakamae these hands cut my packs from me!” With that he proceeded to cut off their hands, which he took home to Mōtū and attached to poles to use as hangers for his food kits. After examining the battlefield, Apanui continued on to Ōkauwharetoa where he returned to Tūwhakairiora his slain son, Te Aowehea. As Tūwhakairiora wept over his youngest son, Apanui — in a gesture that defies even our broadest understanding of tikanga and kawa (rules and practices) — offered his own son Pāhurutoa, who lived at Tauritoatoa, to be killed to comfort Tūwhakairiora for the loss of Te Aowehea. In another gesture that is also difficult to understand, Apanui invited Tūwhakairiora to battle against his warriors whilst he, Apanui, would absent himself from the fighting. Without Apanui’s leadership, victory would certainly be Tūwhakairiora’s. Tūwhakairiora immediately set to work preparing his army and in quick time embarked upon a fleet of waka to Te Kaha. On the way they called in at Tauritoatoa and, as instructed by Apanui, killed his son, Pāhurutoa, who had been out fishing. Arriving at Takere-waka-nui near Te Kaha, Apanui signalled Tūwhakairiora to approach at which point he removed himself from the battleground. As anticipated, Tūwhakairiora was victorious that day and Apanui-ringa-mutu had fulfilled the promise he had made to him on the battlefield of Te Maniaroa.
TE NUPEPA O TE TAIRAWHITI • 21
KŌRERO O TE TAIRĀWHITI
Moi! Moi! — The Fall and Rise of Apanui Hinga atu he tētēkura When one leader falls Ara mai he tētēkura Another rises in its place
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HE story of Te Whānau-a-Apanui begins in Ūawa (Tolaga Bay). The bitter feud between the sons of Hīngāngāroa and Iranui saw Hauiti, the youngest, emerge over his elder brothers, Taua and Mahaki (see Tītīrangi and Ūawa, December ’07). Whilst Taua and Mahaki were banished to the fringes of the territory, Hauiti consolidated his control over the lands wrested from his brothers. This responsibility was passed on to his son, Kahukuranui, and then to his sons, Kapihoromaunga, Tautini and Te Aketūangiangi. Between them they had control of the territory spanning from Ūawa northward to Anaura, to Tokomaru and Waikawa (near Waipiro). During this time, though, the children of Taua continued to battle with their cousins, the children of Hauiti and in particular Kahukuranui, to try and reclaim the land their father had lost. One incident, however, would see the complete expulsion of Taua’s family from the Ūawa district. Kahukuranui (circa 1600AD) was living at Ūawa and one day decided to visit his son, Tautini, who was living
Tamahae Warrior Supreme
at Anaura. On the way he passed the village of his first cousin, Apanui Waipapa, the son of Taua, who was living at Whakarapurapu near Māngātuna, with people of Te Wahineiti. As he walked by the village, Kahukuranui was mocked and jeered by its occupants with the words, “Moi! Moi! Moi!” These words are used to command the attention of a dog and, since there was no dog in sight, Kahukuranui knew they were directed at him. By the time he arrived at Anaura he was fuming and immediately engaged his son, Tautini, in a plot to kill Apanui and his people. Kahukuranui returned to his pā at Ūawa and instructed his sons to build a house which was named Whakarei. The intention was to host Apanui, his family and Te Wahineiti as pakuwhā, or relatives by marriage, of Kahukuranui’s son Tautini, who was married to Apanui’s daughter, Rongomaihuatahi. The proposal was accepted, however only a selected number were invited. When the formalities and feasting was over, Kahukuranui offered to escort Apanui and his entourage back to their village. When they reached the river crossing at a place called Tapuwaewhakaruke (near Dixon’s Cutting), Kahukuranui turned to face the party and attacked and killed Apanui. This was the signal for his people Rongomaihuatahi, mother of Apanui-ringa-mutu.
tangata i mahue iho i te kāinga nei, arā kei Kaimātai e whārona ana — Gone are the warriors of home, there they lie slain on the battlef ield of Kaimātai.” Kaimātai is near the coastal settlement of Whakakī near Nūhaka. Tamahae mourned the loss of his brothers but now he had two scores to settle with Ngāti Kahungunu. Ta m a h a e a s s e m b l e d h i s w a r r i o r s a t Māramarama-i-te-rangi, his pā at Wharekura, and laid down plans for the trek to Nūhaka. He also put them through their paces. When Taku taiaha ka hē ki te marahea demonstrating his taiaha skills to them he struck Such a shame to waste my weapon on a nobody and smashed a clump of tutu (bush) exclaiming, “Nā Kuriteko te rākau tuatahi ki a āu ka taha, AMAHAE was arguably the most kātahi ka whiu tāku ki te pū tutu, ko te rae tonu o notable warrior of Te Whānau-a- Kuriteko — Kuriteko’s first stroke I shall parry, but Apanui. His deeds and reputation just as surely as I have obliterated this clump of tutu, were renowned beyond the borders of his tribal likewise will I deal with Kuriteko.” territory and his name struck both fear and Kuriteko was the giant albino champion warrior respect amongst his peers. of Ngāi Tāwhiri of Rongowhakaata, who had Tamahae was the son of Tūkākī, the senior been engaged by Te Huki of Ngāti Rākaipaaka in grandson of Apanui-ringa-mutu and his first the earlier battles against Te Whānau-a-Apanui. wife Kahukura-mihi-ata. He was the younger Between them they had been responsible for all brother of Kaiaio and Te Ehutū, and the deaths which Tamahae hoped to they lived in Te Kaha. Tamahae was avenge. destined to be a warrior and was bored Tamahae and his party began with the sedentary existence of his their trek through the Mōtū, into the older brother, Kaiaio, who was famed Mangatū block, along the Waipaoa for the cultivation of kumara. Tamahae river, emerging at Te Karaka. They was only interested in kumara as a continued on and at the Te Ārai river food but his elder brother would near Manutūke they were ambushed by always remind him of its importance Te Huki, Kuriteko and their warriors. not only to the people but also to his Tamahae bided his time at the rear battle-hardened warriors. Kaiaio said, of his warriors, waiting until Kuriteko “Kotahi taku huata ki runga Hauruia, showed signs of tiring — at which te mano, te mano, te mano — For every point he emerged. With Kuriteko at his kumara I plant in my garden at Hauruia mercy, Tamahae scornfully remarked, there follows a progeny of thousands.” “Taku taiaha ka hē ki te marahea — Such Tamahae, however, turned his a shame to waste my weapon on a nobody”. attention to more pressing matters. To which Kuriteko retorted, “Nā wai Uppermost in his mind was avenging Tamahae with kī hē marahea a Kuriteko — Who says the death of his grandmother, taiaha in hand that Kuriteko is a nobody?” Tamahae Kahukura-mihi-ata, at the hands of stands atop Tūkākī looked down upon the hapless Kuriteko Ngāti Rākaipaaka of Ngāti Kahungunu. marae in Te Kaha. and delivered the death blow, thereby Kahukura-mihi-ata had returned in fulfilling the prophecy he had made at search of her relatives in the Tūranga (Gisborne) Māramarama-i-te-rangi. area soon after the birth of her son Tūkākī, father With the fall of Kuriteko, the warriors of Ngāi of Tamahae, after being embarrassed on two Tāwhiri scattered. Te Huki was found hiding occasions by her husband Apanui-ringa-mutu and by the river’s edge and he too was executed, but his people. Both incidences were over food. But suffered further indignity by having his head cut solace back home was short-lived and Kahukura- off and fixed to a pole. A location near Te Karaka mihi-ata would suffer a worse fate at the hands of is called Te Ūpoko-o-Te Huki (Te Huki’s Head). her own people than that of her husband’s. Whilst the main bulk of Tamahae’s warriors But before Tamahae avenged his grandmother’s returned home via the way they had come death, he and a group of his elite warriors through the Mōtū, Tamahae returned via the plundered the island of Hauturu (Little Barrier) eastern coastline, through Whāngārā, Ruatōrea and conquered the Ngāti-wai tribe resident and Kawakawa. He encountered more adventures there. While he was away, however, his younger along the way, which have appeared in a previous brothers Kahurautao and Mate-ki-tātahi, against issue — Puke-hāpopo and Whāngārā, October his advice, organised a war party to fight against 2007. For the time being though, Tamahae would Ngāti Rākaipaaka. When Tamahae returned from return home well satisfied that he had avenged Hauturu, he was greeted with the news of the the deaths of his grandmother Kahukura-mihitragedy that befell his brothers who had journeyed ata and his brothers, Kahurautao and Mate-kito fight against Ngāti Rākaipaaka — “Kāore rā he tātahi, at the hands of Ngāti Rākaipaaka.
Apanui-ringa-mutu — carving by Cliff Whiting of Te Whānau-a-Apanui at Te Papa.
to attack Te Wahineiti. The pakuwhā stood no chance and by day’s end most lay slain at the water’s edge. In the days that followed, other Wahineiti pā supportive of Apanui were attacked and those
who survived were driven out of the district. In an interesting twist of events, Kahukuranui had instructed his son, Tautini, to let his wife, Rongomaihuatahi, escape. Together with the survivors of the pakuwhā and the Wahineiti, the group retreated inland, crossing the Raukumara ranges and taking refuge on the Bay of Plenty coastline. Rongomaihuatahi ’s brothers, Pararaki Taikorekore and Te Aotākaia, settled in Ōrete and Raukōkore near Whangaparāoa (Cape Runaway). It is unclear though whether they were part of this migration or an earlier one. In an incident following this exodus, a fishing party comprising Kahukuranui’s people was swept ashore at Tunapahore on the coast near Hāwai. They were pursued by the local chief, Tūrīrangi, and dispatched. When Kahukuranui received news of the death of his kinfolk, he organised a war party and engaged Tūrīrangi and his warriors at Tunapahore. The battle was furious but Kahukuranui and his party were to meet their fate at the hands of Tūrīrangi and his warriors. In learning of the death of Kahukuranui, the children of Apanui Waipapa were elated and in recognition of the gallantry of the victorious war party, Rongomaihuatahi was betrothed to Tūrīrangi. The marriage resulted in a son who was named Apanui-ringa-mutu. The dog calls of, Moi! Moi! in Ūawa led to the fall of Apanui-waipapa, but the name Apanui was to rise again in his grandson, Apanui-ringamutu, the founding ancestor of the tribe, Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Hinga atu he tētēkura, ara mai he tētēkura!
Toka-a-kuku The Final Conflict
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Part of the coastal shoreline of Te Toka-a-kuku at Te Kaha.
E tipi taku mana ki a Te Wheuki e ki a Hikataurewa My prestige strives forth to Te Wheuki and Hikataurewa He kaitiaki koe nō taku whata kao i Toka-akuku rawa For you the sentries of my platform of dried food at Toka-a-kuku
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OKAAKUKU is in Te Kaha and forms part of the rocky knoll in the area behind the church and local hotel. It was the scene of the last major inter-tribal conflict involving Te Whānau-a-Apanui and other iwi. The year was 1836 and even given the changing face of Aotearoa, with the growing presence of Europeans and the teaching of Christianity, it is rather surprising that utu (revenge) would still be a major reason for tribes to do battle with each other. But such was the case at Toka-a-kuku. Several tribes took the opportunity to settle old scores with Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Te Wera Hauraki of Ngāpuhi, who was resident at Māhia, nursed the desire to avenge the death of his nephew, Te Marino, who had been killed by Te Whānau-a-Apanui in 1823 during the Ngāpuhi musket raids into the region. Ngāti Porou also were still smarting from successive defeats by Te Whānau-a-Ehutu and Te Whānau-a-Apanui, firstly at Ō-maru-iti in 1829-30 with the help of Ngāti Awa, and then at Wharekura in 1831-32. At the later battle the great Ngāti Porou chiefs Te Pori-o-te rangi and Pākura were killed. A massive war party comprising some 1700 men was assembled from tribes and hapū from the Wairarapa through to Wharekahika. It included Te Kani-a-Takirau of Ūawa, Kakatarau, the son of Pākura, and Piripi Taumata-a-Kura, a captive of the Ngāpuhi raids of the 1820s who
was responsible for bringing Christianity to the East Coast upon his release in 1834. By the time the war party set out on a fleet of waka towards Te Kaha, Whānau-a-Apanui and Te Whānau-a-Ehutu had already entrenched themselves in the seemingly impenetrable fortress of Toka-a-kuku. They were able to protect their access to the sea and therefore ensure regular provisions of food. It also enabled supporters to land under the cover of darkness and provide reinforcement to the people within the pā. Taumata-a-Kura, who had been asked to assist in the battle, agreed only if Christian principles were observed. These included that no enemy wounded should be slain, no enemy bodies should be eaten, no enemy waka should be wantonly broken up and no enemy food should be willfully destroyed. All these conditions were agreed to. Taumata-a-Kura claimed the right to initiate the attack and, carrying a musket in one hand and a Bible in the other, he went forth into the heaviest fighting. Although bullets flew all around him, he was not hit, considerably enhancing his prestige and the power of the new god he worshipped. There were no clear victors at Toka-a-Kuku and no exact numbers of casualties were ever provided of the battle other than both sides suffered heavily. The siege lasted about 12 months. It is said that Te Kani-a-Takirau withdrew his attackers and returned to Ūawa before the battle ended because he felt adequate utu (satisfaction) had been gained. Toka-a-kuku itself did not fall but the bodies of slain defenders were tied by the feet in pairs by the attacking force and hung on huge whata (hanging rails) in front of the pā, so as to taunt those inside. Viewing and walking over the location today belies the fury of what took place there all those many years ago. The battle of Toka-a-kuku is also referred to as, “Te Wera’s Invasion” and “Whata Tangata”.