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Ka moe a Rangitihi i ōna wāhine tokowha. Ka puta ki waho ko Ngā Waru Pūmanawa o Te Arawa.
He ahakoa tēnei whakataukī ka rerekē hoki tana tikanga kai tēnā tangata ki tērā whaitua ki tēnei takiwā.
Mēnā ka whakapuhaina atu tēnei kōrero e te rāwaho tērā e te iwi kē atu he kōrero ka whakahīhī ngākau whakaiti te hau kāinga. Ko tā te māngai kōrero he whakateitei i te mana whenua ki ngā kōrero nui onamata, pēnei i tēnei. Kāti.
Ko te pātai hoki ia, ko wai mā hoki ēnei tūpuna e kōrerongia ana e tātau? Ko te wāhine mātātmua o Rangitihi ko Rongomaiturihuia. Koia tētehi o te kāhui tokotoru i heke iho i te kāwai rangatira o Tia. Ka heke iho, ka heke iho nā wai rā ka puta ki waho ko Marutehe.
Ka whakataukingia nuitia e Mauriora Kingi, koia ēnei te whare tapu te whare tangata o Ngai Te Arawa. E tika hoki nā ēnei wāhine tokotoru ka puta ki waho ko tātau katoa. Wheoi anō rā, ko Rongomaiturihuia tētehi o ēnei wāhine, ko Manawakotokoto tētehi, ā, ko Kahukare tētehi. Koia wēnei ngā tamāhine a Marutehe, katoa i moea e Rangitihi.
Kai tētehi kōrero e mea nei. Kai Maketu a Rangitihi me tana wahine e noho ana.
Ka riro i a Rangitihi ngā whenua o tōna matua tāne. Ko tētehi o ngā pā nui ko Te Kaori, kai ētehi ko Te Koaretaia.
E kaha nohia tēnei whenua e rātau ka whānau tāna mātāmua. He tamaiti tāne. Ko Te Rātorua tona ingoa ara kē te roanga atu o te ingoa, wheoi anō rā. Ko ētehi kōrero kai te mau tonu i ngā uri whakatupu.
He tohunga a Te Ratorua. Koia tētehi o ngā rangatira i uru ki te whare wānanga o Ngāti Tarawhai ka noho hai pia o te ahurewa. Ka puta ia me te mana nui e ihi ai āna tangata.
Ko te kōrero tuarua māna kai te wā e tūkinongia kahangia ana tō rātau poumanawa.
Ko Tūhourangi, he kōrero nui hoki tēnei engari anō hoki mō tēnei wā, taihoa ake. Nā e tū ana a Tūhourangi ki runga ki te waharoa he whakaiti i ōna tuakana, tērā a Rātorua te haere nei ka whakatupatongia a Rātorua e Kawatapuarangi.
Ka heke a Tūhourangi i te waharoa. Kīhai te mana o Rātorua i riro i tōna taina.
Hāunga ētehi wheoi anō rā e wāuna rā.
Kā iti pea, ka nui pea te wā ki a rātau ki ngā whenua o Maketu ka hāpaingia ngā kame ka waha ki tuawhenua.
Ki Pākōtore ki reira rātau noho ai, kātahi ka haerehia te ara ka puta ki Ohoukākā, ā, ki Rangiwhakakapua. Ka pakekengia haerengia a Rātorua ka nōhia ngā whenua ki te taha uru o te Waiariki. Mai i Owhatiura tae ki Te Pukeroa. Tai timu, tai pari ka mate he rangatira ka rere te toto ko te whenua tonu te take ka puritia kahangia te whenua e Ngāti Tuteata. Ko ngā uri o Rātorua.
Ka moe a Rangitihi i a Rongomaiturihuia ka puta ki waho ko Rātorua tō mua ka rere i muri ko Tauruao.
He wahine, he puhi nā Rangitihi. Koia anake te wahine o āna tamariki tokowaru.
Tērā tētehi kōrero itiiti kai te takiwā e iri ana e mea nei, he mōkai tāna. He tūī kai te rerenga kōrero e mea ana, ko Tauruao koia te wāhine i tukuna ki a Apanui hai taunga mō te tūī koikoiareke e tīoro nei. Ka moe a Tauruao i a Tanemoetara he rangatira nui nō Ngāti Porou ko Pukehinau tana pā whakairo kai Hāparapara kai ngā whenua ururua o Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Ko ā rāua uri whekehekenga ko Te Aitanga a Tanemoetara. Nō reira tēnei wāhanga he whakamaumahara i ngā tamariki a Rangitihi te ūpoko i ngāwhātia i tākaia ki te akatea.
The famous Arawa warrior chief Rangitihi had eight children by four wives.
They are collectively referred to as Ngā waru pumanawa o Rangitihi or the eight beating hearts of Rangitihi. Variations of this proverb differ depending on the selected spokesperson throughout the region and country, often used as a term of honour that distinguishes those who descend from any one of these eight children as a descendant of distinguished pedigree.
So, who were these eight ancestors?
Rangitihi’s first wife was Rongomaiturihuia, about whom not much is remembered apart from the fact that her two sisters, Kahukare and Manawakotokoto, were daughters of the chief Marutehe, a descendant of the priest Tia.
Māuriora Kingi, on numerous occasions when linking the lake-locked Te Arawa with their Tapuika relations, would always acknowledge the people of Tapuika by reiterating the point that all Te Arawa descend from the sacred house of Marutehe— referring to his three daughters.
Through the union of Rangitihi and Rongomaiturihuia, two children were born at their pā known as Te Kaori, also known as Te Koaretaia, located at Maketu.
He had, by this time, succeeded his father, Uenukumairarotonga, a direct descendant of Tamatekapua.
The firstborn child was a male and may have had a different name at birth, but by adulthood, he was known, in short, as Rātorua. His immediate descendants still retain snippets of information concerning this ancestor. Two interesting facts about this ancestor are still prevalent.
The first is that as the eldest son, he was initiated into the sacred learning school, where he successfully graduated and was presented with a supernatural gift.
The second and most important fact is that he was lucky enough not to pass under his younger brother Tūhourangi’s legs, lowering his status among his immediate family.
The story of why such an event occurred in the first place will be discussed later. It’s unknown how long they stayed at Maketu before Rangitihi decided to move inland.
Still, on leaving Maketu, Rangitihi, with his children, spent a lot of time at Pākotore before moving further inland towards Ohoukākā and Rangiwhakakapua.
In adulthood, Rangitihi gifts the land at present-day Owhatiura, running west from Te Pukeroa to Rātorua.
This area of land, despite the intergenerational periods of warfare, is still occupied by his people today, the Ngāti Tuteata.
The second child of the union between Rangitihi and Rongomaiturihuia was a daughter and the only daughter of eight children. Her name was Tauruao.
Not much is known of this puhi, considering these people lived well over 500 years ago.
However, when speaking of Tauruao, reference is often made to a famous pet talking bellbird that belonged to a chief from Te Whanau-a-Apanui named Tanemoetara.
The pet bellbird escaped from Tanemoetara and found its way to Rangitihi.
Tanemoetara arrived to reclaim his pet and an argument ensued.
To resolve the argument Rangitihi gave his daughter to Tanemoetara and Rangitihi kept the bellbird.
Tauruao and Tanemoetara had a pā called Pukehinau and was situated at a place called Hāparapara in the region of Te Whānau-a-Apanui, her descendants are known as Te Aitanga a Tanemoetara.
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