Mokoia Island: The clear area to the extreme left is Te Koupaengatangata where Te Aokapurangi meet the combined Te Arawa forces. Photo / Raimona Inia
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Click here for English translation Kāore e kaha kōrerongia ana te wehi o te wāhine toa onamata. Kai ia hapū, kai ia iwi ōna ake wahine toa.
Ki a Ngai Te Arawa nei kai ngā pou-huriropa o ngā whare huhua rātou e ngangahū kau ana.Ko Hineheru tētehi, ko Rangipare tētehi, ko Te Kirimatao hoki tētehi ko Rangipawa, ā, me te tini noa atu.
Whoi anō ko tētehi tino wahine kai te puta o ngā ngutu i mau hereherengia e Te Wera Hauraki i ngā whawhai pū o mua ko Te Aokapurangi. He Ngai Tapuika, he Ngāti Rangiwewehi tēnei uho hinau.
He ahakoa e noho herehere ana a Te Aokapurangi, nā wai rā ka moe i a Te Wera Hauraki, kātahi anō rā ka kaha ake tana tu hei wahine rangatira e whai mana ai ōna whakaaro me āna kupu.
Nā tēnei mana ōna i ora ai a Ngai Tapuika i tā Hongi hoetanga mai i te awa o Pongakawa. Ka whakamanawatia e Te Wera tana wahine ki te whakaora i tana iwi i te heketanga mai o NgaPuhi ki te ngaki utu.
Ka noho rātou ki Te Whakahiakai he puna wai Māori kei te pūtake o Ngaukawakawa pā ki konei a Hongi whakatakoto ai i āna tangata mō te whakaeketanga ki runga o Mokoia. Tū ana a Te Aokapurangi ki te tuku i tana tono ki ngā rangatira o te huinga kia arohaina tana iwi, mātua ko ngā hapū kāre kau he toto ki o rātou ringaringa – pēnei i tana hapū a Ngāti Rangiwewehi.
I whai a Ngapuhi me tona ope i te ara o Te Ohau i a ratou e takahi ana i to tatou whenua. Whakaahua / Raimona Inia
Ka ngāwari te ngākau o ētehi o ngā rangatira, ka whakaaengia tana tono. ' Ko taku take ki te hunga patu i taku pōtiki, ka kore taku ringa e nanao ki ētehi atu'. Ko tā Tāreha kī tēnei, he pēnei hoki te ia o te kōrero o te nuinga o ngā rangatira.
Ko te kupu whakamutunga tēnei a te iwi ki a Te Aokapurangi, 'Kawea atu tā tātou kupu ki a Ngāti Rangiwewehi, kia noho atu ai rātou ki Te Rerenga o Pane ka kore te rau o te patu e pā ki a rātou'.
He kanapu ki te rangi ko te karawhiuwhiu o ngā hoe a Te Aokapuarangi ki te moana. Ka poua te wai. Taro kau iho ka whakawhiti rātou i te hiwihiwi-o-Kahumatamomoe nā wai rā ka tū ki waho atu o Te Koupaengatangata.
Rokohanga atu he tokorua tangata e pōtere kau ana ki wē moana, ka mōhiotia ngā kanohi, ka kawea te kupu ki a Hikairo, tēnā kua tatu mai tōna tuahine ko Te Aokapurangi. Ka karangahia e ōna tuakana tōna waka ki uta , ka whakakāhorengia tā rātou tono,' He kōrero tāku".
'Kōrerotia mai' ko te kī a Hikairo.
'Kua huia ngā rangatira ko te kupu tēnei a Hongi me ana tangata, kia wehe atu a Ngāti Rangiwewehi ki a haere kotou ki Te Rerenga o Pane e ora ai kotou. He ahakoa te ora o ngā kupu nei he ora iti, 'E Ao – e pai ana te aroha o NgaPuhi ki a kōrua. Ko taku kupu e te tuahine mauria atu ki a NgaPuhi, kai roto te tāne i ngā kūwhā o te wahine, e kore e taea te unu mai ki waho. Kāti, kia kotahi anō te ahi e tahuna ai a Te Arawa pērā anō i tā Raumati".
E whakamomori ana te ngākau o te tuahine ka hoki atu ai rāua ki te kōngutu awa o Te Ohautanga-a-Potakatawhitinui. Ka pātaihia a PōmareNui, ' I pēwhea nā?" Ka kī atu a Te Aokapuarangi, ' kāre i pai'.
He ahakoa te taumaha o te kupu a tōna tuakana e mau tonu a ia i te aroha nui ki tōna iwi, nā tōna wairua autāia anō ia i kawe atu ki a Hongi Hika, te hikuroa katoa o Nga Puhi, ka tonoa e Te Aokapuarangi te oranga o āna tangata.
E rīnoi kau ana te tau o tana ate, ka pūhaina atu e Hongi tana whakahau whakamutunga, " Karangahia tō iwi, pōhwiringia ō tangata kia ngaoki i raro i o kūwhā e ora ai rātou'. Mā te aha i tēnā hai a Te Aokapuarangi ka ora te tangata.
Ka ora taku iwi. Ko te whakaaro nui hoki tēnei o Hongi hai whakataurekareka anō i te marea o te tangata, ae ka ora ētehi engari e ora taurekareka nei.
Kia hoki atu tātou ki Mokoia kua whakatōpūngia ngā hapū huhua o Ngai Te Arawa i runga i te pōhēhētanga nui ka kore te wera o NgaPuhi e tatu mai ki a rātou.
Tērā pōhēhē tērā. E mura ana te rākura, e rere ana ngā kōtiri kua horomia te marama ko tā ngā hapū ināianei he whakatakoto i a rātou ki te kaupare i te ringa kaha o te tauā. E mea ana i roto i ngā kōrero a ngā kaumātua o Te Arawa, ka tū ngā hapū ki te taha hiwa o Mokoia ko tētehi matua ki Te Koupaengatangata, ki tua atu i a rātou ko tētehi anō mātua, nā wai anō tētehi nā wai anō tētehi ā tae rawa atu ki Paepaerau.
Anei te taupā nui o Te Arawa ihi.
Mō te waewae mōhio ki te takahanga o te whenua kōraha i haerehia ai e ō tātou tupuna ka tangi te ngākau i te hokinga o ngā whakamaumāharatanga ki ngā matakaikutu nui o Te Arawa e tū māia i taua rā wetiweti, anā tō tangata a Hikairo te wehi o Ngāti Rangiwewehi,tu mai ko Te Korekore ki tāhaki ko Te Rākau, ko Te Kahawai anō tētehi, ko Te Uremutu hoki, ā, ko wai atu ko wai atu rangatira whoi anō whakatōpūngia ngā kaha katoa ka hua mai ko te mātū o Te Arawa.
E whakatakoto ana ngā mātua o Te Arawa e hoea haeretia ana ngā waka o NgaPuhi me te hamuti o te kōrero, "Ko koe hai kai māku!", "ko tōku ihu taua kūmore rā!" – hā koia ko wēnei ngā tinihangatanga o ngā ika-a-Whiro. Kua tahuna te ahi o te riri. Tāria te roanga atu.
Women formed an integral part of large war parties and there are a few wahine rangatira who have secured their place in the chronicles of the Mokoia Island Invasion of 1823.
One was the captive wife of Te Wera Hauraki. Her name was Te Aokapurangi. Te Wera was a respected rangatira and capable warrior general who showed respect and empathy to others who he felt warranted it. Te Aokapurangi was one such person.
While travelling with the war party, Te Aokapurangi exerts all attempts to lessen the inevitable blow to her people allowing the weapons of the NgaPuhi to stay off her Tapuika people as they journeyed down into the Waihi estuary and along the Pongakawa.
Recognising her strength, Te Wera encourages her valiant attempts to save her people. Below the terraced village of Ngaukawakawa as Hongi Hika discussed the plan of attack, Te Aokapurangi stood among the fearsome warriors to plead for the lives of her Arawa kin.
With a display of courage, she was able to hold the attention of the great chiefs and sway the hearts of the majority. It was agreed that she could attempt to remove those who had no part in the killing of Te Pae-o-te-rangi.
Early the following morning, Te Aokapurangi and Taku paddled Te Hiwihiwi o Kahu channel making their way to the awaiting body of relations who assembled at the point Te Koupaengatangata. Both women were encouraged to land, with Te Aokapurangi's relations with Hikairo and Kahawai bidding them close and into the safety of their people.
Mokoia Island: The clear area to the extreme left is Te Koupaengatangata where Te Aokapurangi meet the combined Te Arawa forces. Photo / Raimona Inia
This they refused, and promptly the reason for their travel was made clear.
Te Aokapurangi spoke of her meeting with the NgaPuhi chiefs who advised that Ngati Rangiwewehi and those who did not participate in the murder of Te Pae-o-te-rangi should move off to Te Rerenga o Pane located on the northern side of the island where they would not be harmed.
What could the great chief Hikairo do?
Looking at his fellow Te Arawa chiefs, his reply was simple: "It is well that NgaPuhi has consideration for you and the message, but the husband is embraced in the arms of the wife and cannot withdraw – send forward the NgaPuhi so that all Te Arawa may be consumed together as it was with Raumati who torched our great waka."
With a heavy heart, Te Aokapurangi returned to Ohau to the massed war party. When she had landed, Pomare-Nui asked what the outcome of her mission was to which she replied that sadly she had failed.
Still driven to save her people again with her strong spirit she approached Hongi Hika — with great restraint Hongi advised her that he would spare all those who passed between her thighs. The thinking here was more to humiliate those who sought safety in such a manner.
Back on Mokoia, it seems that the many hapū of Te Arawa who sought sanctuary on the island had realised the battle was imminent and one can only imagine the many scenarios that had developed and were developing.
We are told by the Arawa elders that the Arawa were spaced out in intervals starting at the northeastern point known as Te Koupaengatangata spreading south towards an old hot pool called Papepaerau.
For those who have have been blessed to walk upon Mokoia, you will be well familiar with this long stretch of open ground. Here once assembled the forces of Te Arawa under their leaders, Hikairo, Te Korekore, Te Rākau, Te Kahawai and others ready for the assault.
Mokoia Island the lone sentinel that stands in the middle of the great lake of Kahumatamomoe, for a very long time has been the stronghold for the Arawa people, and today still occupies a dear place in the minds and hearts of those tribes with the greatest affiliations to the island.
It is easy to see then why the tribes decided to make a valiant stand and were prepared to shed their blood to keep it.
For the following consecutive days the warriors of NgaPuhi circled the island reconnoitring it spying for possible areas to land as this was conducted by the warriors, they would often taunt the islanders, "you will soon be in my belly!", "that piece of land I name after my strong arm!", the battle had commenced.
