He ahakoa kua matemate noa atu tana tamaiti e kōwetewete tonu ana rāua. Nā wai rā, nā wai rā, ka ara ake ko Makawe hai atua atawhai i te mana o Ngāti Whakaue nui tonu. I te hinganga nui o Te Tumu i te tau 1836 ka mate a Ngai Te Rangi.
He nui ngā rangatira o Ngai Te Rangi i mate he ahakoa ko te utu o Te Tumu e 50 ngā rangatira me i kore a Makawe i taua riri kua mano mano noa atu te utu. Ka haria te atua nei a Makawe e Korokai me Ngahihi ki te hāputa o te mate he tohunga nui te ihi ēnei tangata nō Ngāti Whakaue.
Mutu kau ana te riri i Te Tumu ka ngākia ngā mate o Ngai Te Rangi e Te Waharoa, ka tu anō he pakanga ki Mātaipuku he whenua e takoto ana ki ngā rekereke o Te Pukeroa, ā, ora iti nei anō a Ngāti Whakaue otia a Ngai Te Arawa nui tonu i a Makawe.
I te wā i eke ai a Maketu i a Ngāti Whakaue me ngā hapū huhua o Te Arawa ko Makawe tō rātou atua. Tae rawa mai ki te taima o te Pākehā kai te kaha tonu a Makawe.
Ko Hāne Manahi te toa kikopuku nō te rua tekau mā waru te tangata whakamutunga ki te karakiatia tēnei atua kahukahu. Hai tāna, kua tata mai te mate ki te ihu o te tangata, e pāorooro kau ana te rere o ngā matā me ngā mōtā o ngā tiamana, e murakehu ana te tangata, ka karakiatia a Makawe, te tūnga o ōna kanohi ki runga, ko te kōperu tērā e tawhana kau i te rangi.
Ka whāia ngā waewae o te kōperu ka mā te ara tātaramoa, ka mate katoa te ito i a ia me ōna tangata ka puta rātou i te korokoro o te hamuti. He kōrero tuku iho ēnei kai te mau tonu i ngā pakeke o Ngāti Whakaue mōroki noa nei.
Whoi anō, ka taumaha a Ngāti Whakaue ka karakiatia a Makawe e ngā tohunga, tana terenga mai hai ngārara ki ētehi kanohi, hai kōperu ki ētehi kanohi, ā, ko te matakokiri hoki tōna ārikatanga. Ko tōna tūāhu kai Te Pukeroa tonu e tū ana.
He wāhi nui te tapu, he whenua nui te mana. Ko Makawe, he atua koia te ihi o ngā tapu, ko Makawe te mana nui o Ngāti Whakaue. Kokōia e ara e.
Makawe the awe-inspiring, Makawe the spiritual presence of Ngāti Whakaue. This begs the question who or what is Makawe?
According to some elders of Ngāti Whakaue, Makawe is a sacred medium, the spirit of a stillborn child. The child of Wainui and the elder chiefteness, Ngāhuahua. Again, in some oral histories the child of Ngāhuahua and the god Marutewhareaitu.
What is certain is the father of Makawe was not a mortal. He was a god that descended from the great body of water known as Te Pikopiko-i-Rangi.
Makawe was born with red hair signifying the child's sacredness, unfortunately, it was not long then Makawe was buried at the sacred site known today still as Te Pono, a quiet area located upon the once strongly fortified mountain called Te Pukeroa.
Even though the child had since passed away, Ngāhuahua spoke often with the spirit of her child and before long Makawe came to be acknowledged as a guardian deity for all Ngāti Whakaue.
Makawe was nurtured by the old priests of Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāhīhī and Korokai and summoned when Ngāti Whakaue were in distress. The storming of the strong coastal village of Te Tumu in 1836 where the local tribe Ngai Te Rangi were greatly overwhelmed by the forces of Ngāti Whakaue and other sub-tribes of Te Arawa was achieved with the spiritual guidance of Makawe.
It was often recalled that had it not been for Makawe the cost of life from Te Arawa would have been a lot higher than the 5o chiefs that were killed. Makawe protected Ngāti Whakaue against the Ngāti Haua warrior chief Te Waharoa at the great battle of Mataipuku and subsequently – it was through the widom of Makawe that all Te Arawa were successful in storming the coastal village of Maketu allowing Te Arawa to re-claim their ancestral soil.
The last noted sighting of Makawe, was made during World War 2 by Lance Sergeant Haane Manahi (VC), during the Battle of Takrouna in Tunisia in April 1943.
Pinned down by mortar and bullets Haane Manahi was led through the minefields and up the 300m rocky cliff where he and his troops, captured more than 300 German and Italian troops.
Haane Manahi would later reveal that he was led by Makawe who appeared before him as a rainbow in the sky, following the rainbow's path allowed him to navigate the dangerous terrain.
So it is that when Ngāti Whakaue are overcome with grief or in need of spiritual assistance, Makawe will appear either as a lizard, a rainbow or a comet in the sky.
To this day the resting site stands silent upon Te Pukeroa, an area of calm and great respect. This is the story of Makawe the awe-inspiring, Makawe the spiritual guardian of Ngāti Whakaue.
