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 Whānau- a-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-ringa- mutu, 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. Whanokao and Te 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 Whānau-a-Apanui 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 Whanokao from the east – ancestral mountain of Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Photo: Tui Warmenhoven its leader, Apanui-ringa-mutu. The story of the renowned warrior Tamahae intercedes the battles Mai i Taumata-o-Apanui ki Pōtaka group to Hikurangi (1752m). The group also of Opōtiki), then runs along the coastline to of Te Maniaroa and Toka-a-Kuku, the latter From the summit of Apanui to Pōtaka includes Aorangi (1272m), Wharekia (965m) Potikirua (near Cape Runaway), then inland being the final battle between Ngāti Porou and Te and Taitai (677m). Whanokao is a principal to Whanokao, tracking the ridgeline of Whānau-a-Apanui. Therefore, loosen up, read and Ko Whanokao te maunga boundary point marking the territory between the Raukumara ranges to the Mōtū river in let your thoughts wonder. Whanokao is the mountain Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou. the Mangatū area and seaward again to Te Te Whānau-a-Apanui are regarded as Taumata-a-Apanui. It shares its borders with Principal resources referenced for this collection Ko Mōtū te awa tuakana (senior relation) to Ngāti Porou. the tribes of Ngāitai (at Tōrere), Whakatōhea include: He Tipuna Whakahirahira (Richards and Mōtū is the river Various lines of whakapapa (genealogy) (Ōpotiki), Ngā-ariki-kaipūtahi and Te Paora, 2003); Horouta (Halbert, 1999); Story of reinforce this relationship, least of all their Āitanga-a-Mahaki (Mōtū and Mangatū), a Māori Chief (Kohere, 1949); Raurunui-a-Toi Ko Apanui te tangata descent from Taua-i-te-rangi, the eldest son of and Te Āitanga-a-Hauiti and Ngāti Porou Lectures (Ngata, 1944); Tolaga Bay (Laurie, 1988). Apanui-ringa-mutu is the chief Hīngāngāroa and Iranui of Ūawa. The bitter (Raukumara ranges). The entire area occupied A History of Te Aitanga-a-Mate (Soutar, 1988); feud between Taua-i-te-rangi and Mahaki- by all these tribes embraces part of the region Tūwhakairiora (Thesis by Waipaina Awarau, Ko Te Whānau-a-Apanui te iwi ewe-karoro against their younger brother, we know as Te Tairāwhiti. 1927); Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast Te Whānau-a-Apanui is the tribe Hauiti, resulted in their expulsion from Ūawa. This common tenancy of lands by these (Mackay, 1949); Takitimu (Mitchell, 1944); The Taua’s family and descendants eventually found tribes, together with their shared lines of Story of Tamahae (Waititi,1962). Tihe mauri ora! refuge in Whangaparāoa (Cape Runaway) and whakapapa, mandates the inclusion of Te Alas, the breath of life! with the rise of Apanui-ringa-mutu (Taua’s Whānau-a-Apanui in this collection of Walton Walker – School of Humanities, great-great-grandson), the tribe we now know stories. And whilst the stories that follow Tairāwhiti Polytechnic. HANOKAO, the ancestral as Te Whānau-a-Apanui emerged. But more indulge somewhat on the conflicts between maunga (mountain) of Te of that later. Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou, these (Ngā mihi nui ki a, Watene Tawhai, Chas WWhānau-a-Apanui tribe of The pepehā (proverb) above describes the events have only reinforced the strong bonds Tawhai, Ora Barlow, Tui Warmenhoven, Whānau- Eastern Bay of Plenty, is part of the cluster of tribal territory of Te Whānau-a-Apanui. It of friendship and co-operation that currently a-Apanui Area School and Tūkākī Marae) mountains in and around Mount Hikurangi. begins at Te Taumata-o-Apanui, the coastal exist between the two tribes. E te tuakana, e At 1625 metres it is the second highest of the headland near the settlement of Hāwai (north Apanui, mai e, mai e! The Battle of Te Maniaroa — Backpack Payback?

Kātahi manu āta pōkai for several hours. The fortunes of each side waxed There you huddle like a flock of birds and waned but as the slain piled up on the beach of Te Maniaroa, it was Apanui who emerged Ngā kurī pākā a Uetuhiao victorious. Walking amongst the piles of bodies The brown dogs of Uetuhiao he uttered, “Me te manu e taka ana i te pōkai te whakaruru e puta nei — Like a bevy of birds on the PANUI-ringa-mutu was destined for wing so thickly do the slain lie.” greatness from birth. Meanwhile, Taniwhā, who was humiliated A Born around 1650AD, he descended on the slopes of Hikurangi, came upon the from the senior aristocratic lines of Porourangi bodies of his tormentors Kuku, Korohau and through his mother, Rongomaihuatahi, and Rongotangatakē and exclaimed, “Kātahi manu from his father, Tūrīrangi, to Tamatekapua, the āta pōkai! Ngā kurī pākā a Uetuhiao!” principal ancestor of the Te Arawa confederation Taking hold of their hands he continued, of tribes. “E! O ringa kotikoti kawe nei! Ka eke hoki i ngā He was only seven years old when he was pikitanga o Kōrauwhakamae ka motu ngā kawe! presented to the people at a gathering at Ōmāio. — E! The very hands that cut my straps. When I From that gathering, Te Aotākaia, brother of ascended Kōrauwhakamae these hands cut my packs Rongomaihuatahi, gifted his land between from me!” Pōtikirua and Puketapu (near Cape Runaway) With that he proceeded to cut off their hands, to Apanui-ringa-mutu. And from his father, which he took home to Mōtū and attached to Tūrīrangi, he was to inherit the lands between poles to use as hangers for his food kits. Taumata-o-Apanui and the Mōtū river. After examining the battlefield, Apanui When Apanui reached adulthood he continued on to Ōkauwharetoa where he returned consolidated the lands between Taumata- Te Māniaroa at Te Araroa from Te Kōau bluff . . . . Whetumatarau dominates in the to Tūwhakairiora his slain son, Te Aowehea. o-Apanui and Potikirua and remained the background, with Ōkauwharetoa, the pā Tūwhakairiora, located to the left. As Tūwhakairiora wept over his youngest undisputed leader of all the people therein, son, Apanui — in a gesture that defies even the territory we know today as Te Whānau-a- our broadest understanding of tikanga and Apanui. kawa (rules and practices) — offered his own Apanui-ringa-mutu lived in turbulent times. son Pāhurutoa, who lived at Tauritoatoa, to be An incident in the forests of the Raukumara killed to comfort Tūwhakairiora for the loss of Te ranges was to pit his warriors against the might Aowehea. In another gesture that is also difficult of Te Āitanga-a-Mate of Whareponga and to understand, Apanui invited Tūwhakairiora Tūwhakairiora of Kawakawa (Te Araroa), on the to battle against his warriors whilst he, Apanui, sandy plains of Te Maniaroa. would absent himself from the fighting. Without Word had reached Te Āitanga-a-Mate that Apanui’s leadership, victory would certainly be poachers had encroached upon their lands on Taumata-o-Apanui Mōtū River Tūwhakairiora’s. the forest slopes of Hikurangi. Brothers, Kuku, Tūwhakairiora immediately set to work Korohau and Rongotangatakē went to investigate and the opportunity to redress this humiliation amongst them the brothers Kuku, Korohau and preparing his army and in quick time embarked and on the Kōrauwhakamae ridgeline they would present itself soon enough. There were Rongotangatakē. Tūwhakairiora, who by this time upon a fleet of waka to Te Kaha. engaged a group of bird-hunters led by Taniwhā also the deaths of Mokotara and Uekaiwhare, was a much older man, did not join the battle, On the way they called in at Tauritoatoa and, who were of Ngāti Ira and Te Whānau-a-Apanui. sons of Uetaha and his Whānau-a-Apanui wife, remaining instead in his pā at Ōkauwharetoa. as instructed by Apanui, killed his son, Pāhurutoa, Strapped to their backs were tahā (calabashes) Hinereia, to avenge. The task of leading the war party was left to his who had been out fishing. and back-packs full of birds. Kuku and Korohau So it was that Apanui-ringa-mutu, together sons Tūhorouta and Te Aowehea. Arriving at Takere-waka-nui near Te Kaha, relieved the group of their load by cutting the with a huge force, appeared at Te Kōau, the bluff Apanui’s forces far outnumbered those of Apanui signalled Tūwhakairiora to approach straps of their packs and sent them on their way. overlooking Punaruku and the stretch of beach Tūwhakairiora, however their finest exponents of at which point he removed himself from the When Taniwhā and his party returned to their known as Te Maniaroa. taiaha (spear) and patu (club) were engaged in a battleground. As anticipated, Tūwhakairiora was home near the Mōtū river, they told of their Tūwhakairiora meanwhile had gathered a battle of wit and skill that day, with victory the victorious that day and Apanui-ringa-mutu had humiliating treatment at the hands of Kuku formidable army which included reinforcements only guarantee of remaining alive. fulfilled the promise he had made to him on the and Korohau. The seeds of revenge were sown from the Waiapu through to Whareponga, The battle began in the early dawn and raged battlefield of Te Maniaroa.