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Ka rite ngā kupu a ngā koeke ka riro ki te pō, ara ko Rangitihi whakahirahira i tākaia nei te ūpoko ki te akatea.
Tokowha ngā wāhine a Rangitihi. Ko tana wahine mātāmua ko Kahukare ka puta ki waho ko Rātōrua ka rere i muri ko Tauruao. Ka moe anō a Rangitihi i a Rongomaiturihuia ka puta ki waho ko Rangiwhakaekeau ka rere i muri ko Rangiaowhia.
Ka moe i tana wahine tuatoru ko Papawharanui ka puta ki waho ko Tūhourangi, ā, ka moe i tana wahine whakamutunga ko Manawakotokoto ka puta ki waho ko Rakeiao, ka rere i muri ko Kawatapuarangi ko te whakapakanga ko Apumoana.
Kai te kaha kōrerongia tonungia āna mahi i te tokomaha o Te Arawa.
He waewae takahi whenua, he mārama ōna whakaaro, he toa, he rangatira nui i whānau mai i Maketu i te pā o tona matua tāne ko Uenukumairarotonga.
Ko tēnei kāwai ōna he ure tu heke iho i a Tamatekapua te rangatira nui o Te Arawa waka o Te Arawa tangata.
Ka pakeke haeretia ka whāia rawatia e ia te awa e kīā nei e tatou ko Te Wai-Mimi-o-Tapuika.
Ka tae ki Pā-kotore, ko Matapara hoki tētehi, ki tua ko Te Hoe-a-Taunga he tapeha tata nōna a Taunga. He tohunga a Rangitihi,kai reira te tūahu e tū tonu ana.
Ko Rangitihi he tangata hakoke whenua i mā te ara o Taunga mai rātou ko tona hūnuku ka puta ki Matawhāura maunga ka kitea e rātou te moana whāiti i kitea e Ihenga. Te hokitanga āna ki Pā-kotore ka whānau mai āna tamariki.
Ka hia ngā tau ki tēnei pā o rātou ka takahia te nuku roa o te whenua ka noho ki Rangiwhakakapua. Kai Mourea tēnei pā e tu ana. He urupā engari he kāinga i kaha nōhia e Rangitihi me āna tamariki.
Ko te tino kōrero mō Rangitihi nāna e riri ana ka ngāwhātia tōna ūpoko, engari kīhai i mate. Ka tākaia tōna ūpoko ki te akatea, ka ora. Ka riria anongia te hoa riri, mārakerake ana ngā ika o te moana. Ka hinga te tokomaha i a ia. Ka ingoatia tēnei pakanga ko Te Huhurukitawhiti.
Whoi anō e kaumatuangia ana ka mate tarāwhare tēnei rangatira. Ko tana ōhākī ki te iwi, mā Apumoana ngā karakia ki runga ki a ia. Waihoki kia kawea hoki a ia e āna tamariki ki te tihi o Tarawera hai wāhi okiokinga whakamutunga mōna. He mea tāea ana e tēnei nā te waru o ngā pūmanawa.
Ka taki-warungia te herehere i a ia ki tana ātamira, nā reira te pepeha a Te Arawa e kīa nei, he waru pūmanawa o Te Arawa. Ko ētehi o tātou ka kī he mea māmā te kawe i tō rātou matua tāne ki te matatihi nā te mea he tokowaru āna tamariki. Mēnā he tika ana tēnei kōrero kai kōnei hoki te tauira e mea ana e pai ana mā te wāhine te tupapaku e kawe. Whoi anō he kōrero anō tēnā. Ka toa te tangata ka pepehangia, ehara ko te aitanga a Rangitihi.
Ka hinga te tangata ka matika anō te tangata ka pepehangia, Ko Rangitihi te upoko i tākaia ki te akatea, he karanga ki te whakakōtahi i te iwi e marara ana, ka karangangia, e waru ngā pūmanawa o Rangitihi.
Ko ēnei momo kōrero he whakamaumahara i te wehi me te mana o Rangitihi tangata ki kāua te rangatiratanga o tēnei rangatira e rite ki te rau parohea.
Te Arawa identify as children of Rangitihi. Rangitihi, the inspiring leader, had his head bound with the supplejack vine.
Rangitihi had four wives. His senior wife was Kahukare, and by this union, Rātōrua and his sister Tauruao were born.
His second wife was Rongomaiturihuia, and by this union, two males were born. Rangiwhakaekeau and Rangiaowhia.
By his third wife, Papawharanui, the fearless fighting chief Tuhourangi was born. And by his fourth wife, Manawakotokoto, he had three sons Rākeiao, then Kawatapuarangi and his youngest son, Apumoana.
His descendants still speak about the great deeds of Rangitihi. He was a great explorer; he had clarity of mind, he was a warrior and the son of Uenukumairarotonga.
His pedigree was noble, for he was a descendant of the great navigator Tamatekapua.
As he grew to manhood, Rangitihi's adventurous excursions increased; finally, he would travel the body of water named after his ancestor Tapuika and settle at Pākotore. A settlement located between the township of Rotorua and Maketu.
Here he would raise his family before again taking to the trail of Taunga and arriving at Matawhāura, where he would gaze upon the body of water discovered by Ihenga, another famous traveller.
In time, Rangitihi would move from Pākotore to settle at Rangiwhakakapua, a fortified stronghold that today stands as a sentinel as one approaches Mourea.
The most noted story retained by his people is during Te Huhurukitawhiti, where one warrior physically overcame Rangitihi, splitting his head and leaving him for dead.
Instantly his people lost courage, but in the true stubborn nature of the old-time warrior, he bound his head with the supplejack vine and charged back into the fray.
His courage turned the outcome of the battle, and he stood victorious.
Rangitihi died of old age; however, before death claimed him, his final words were that Apumoana would conduct the ceremonial rites over his body and that he was to be carried by his children to the summit of Tarawera.
Here we find that he was secured to his funeral pyre by eight strong ropes that kept his body taut; others still say that his eight children indeed carried him to the lofty summit, hence the origin of the proverb. "The eight beating talons."
When one falls and rises, the sayings of this chief come to mind.
"Rangitihi, he who had his cleft head bound with the supplejack vine".
When calling to unify the people, the expressions of this chief come to mind, "Pull together the eight talons of Te Arawa".
When difficulties are conquered by his descendants, again, the pedigree and spirit of this chief are acknowledged.
"For thou art a descendant of the great Rangitihi".