He tamāhine nā Marutehe ko Rongomaiturihuia tona tuakana, ko Manawakotokoto tōna whakapakanga, ko ia te pou tokomanawa o te whānau.
Ko Rangiwhakaekeau tana mātamua.
Ka nui ngā kōrero e kaha kawea tonungia e ngā arero o tātau ngā uri o te whare tapu o Marutehe.
E ai ki ētehi he toa a Rangiwhakaekeau. He tangata pūrotu hoki, ka hinga ngā wāhine i a ia.
Ko tētehi o ngā wahine rangatira i moea e Rangiwhakaekeau ko Uenukurauiri.
Ko ona tuakana ko Tūhoepōtiki, ko Tanemoeahi, ko Ueimua.
Ka whakamanuwhiringia a Rangiwhakaekeau e ngā tangata o Te Teko, nā wai ka moe tahi rāua ko Uenukurauiri.
Ka hapū te wahine.
Ka tae te wā e hoki ai a Rangiwhakaekeau ki te hāpai tao e ora ai ōna tangata.
Ka kī atu te rangatira ki tona wahine, “Ki te puta he wahine tapāia ki te au o te awa e rere nei, ara, ko Rangitaiki, engari ki te puta he tāne tapāia ki te au o te rangi e tū nei”.
Ā, ka whānau he tamaiti tāne ka tapaina ko Te Rangiteaorere.
Ka huri ngā kaupeka, ka huri ngā marama ka pakeketia haeretia a Te Rangiteaorere, e taipakeke ana ka tae ki te waiariki, he rapu i tōna mātu a tāne.
Ka tūponongia tōna mātua tāne, ka iriiringia tana tamaiti, ka whoatu whenua hai whenua mōna me tana whānau, ā, tūturu ka noho mai. Ko Te Rangiteaorere e rite nei ki tōna koroua ki a Rangitihi.
He toa kai tauā, ehara i te aitanga a Tiki.
Nāna te auahi nui ki runga o Mokoia i hinga ai a Kawaarero i riro i a ia i te Motu tapu , nā Te Rangiteaorere tonu, wheoi anō rā. Ko ngā uri heke iho i a Rangiwhakaekeau ko Ngāti Te Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Uenukukopako, Ngāti Tutenui, Ngāti Otewhaiwha me Ngāti Te Apiti.
Nā Kahukare ka puta ki waho ko tana tamaiti tane tuarua. Ko Rangiaohia.
Ko Rangiaohia e rite nei ki tōna mātāmua ki a Rātorua. Ka uru hoki ia ki te whare pūkenga. Ka noho hai pia. Ka oti i a ia te wānanga kua mana nui te ingoa o tēnei tupuna hai tohunga whaiwhaiā, hai tohunga o te ahurewa. Ka noho tēnei tohunga ki te taha whiti o Te Rotoiti ki te takiwā e kīa nei ko Te Hikuwai.
Engari he waewae hakoke hoki ōna. Ko ōna pā he rahi rawa atu. Kai Maketu, kai te moana o Te Rotoiti, ā, kai runga o Whakapoukorero hoki. Ka pirorehe pea te ngākau ka noho ki te pūtake o Tarawera ngā ai, ka rewa anō te hiakai ki te tomo whenua ka whāia e ia te awa nui o Tarawera ka puta ki te awa o te atua, ara, ki te moana nui o Toitehuatahi.
Kai Matata tona whare whakairo e tū ana ināianei ko ngā uri o tēnei tupuna ko Ngāti Mahi, Ngāti Rangitihikahira, Ngāti Rongomai o Mahi me Ngāti Tauahoehoewaka.
See below for English translation
English Translation
Of all the children born to Rangitihi – none was more famous than the renowned warrior chief Rangiwhakaekeau.
Born to Rangitihi and his second wife Kahukare, he was the third of eight children and had a younger full brother Rangiaohia.
Unfortunately, like the other three wives of Rangitihi, there is little known about Kahukare other than she was a sister of Manawakotokoto and Rongomaiturihuia making her a descendant of Tia through her father, Marutehe.
The most famous story told of Rangiwhakaekeau is his liaison with a wahine rangatira named Uenukurauiri, the sister of Tuhoe Pōtiki, Tānemoeahi and Ueimua. During a visit to a kāinga within the Te Teko area, Rangiwhakaekeau met Uenukurauiri and spent some time with her and her people.
In due course, Uenukurauiri became pregnant. Around this time, Rangiwhakaekeau had to leave her but, before departing, advised her as to the name of their child. Should the child be a female, name her after the current of Rangitaiki; if the child born is a male, call him after the clouds that drift in the sky.
Sure enough, the time had arrived when Uenukurauiri had to birth their child. Without knowing the gender of the child, all thought of the child’s name was pushed aside as she prepared herself for the difficult task before her.
The tohunga appeared to start reciting the lineage of Uenukurauiri; when he had arrived at the name of the mother, he was then advised that the chief of Te Arawa Rangiwhakaekeau was the father.
Immediately the priest commenced with the genealogy of the Arawa warrior chief. As he made his way down to the name of Rangiwhakaekeau, Uenukurauiri gave one last great push, and their child came forward.
After inspecting the child and seeing that it was a male, she named her son Rangiteaorere.
In time Rangiteaorere would search for his father and when finding him, was recognised and dedicated in the waters of his father’s ancestors.
To also honour his son, Rangiwhakaekeau bequeathed parts of his lands to ensure his son could raise and provide for his immediate family.
Through the daring deeds of this young child Te Rangiteaorere, the island of Mokoia is taken from the people of Kawaarero and restored to the pedigree of Rangitihi. His descendants are the Ngāti Te Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Uenukukopako, Ngāti Tutenui, Ngāti Otewhaiwha and Ngāti Te Apiti.
The younger brother was Rangiaohia, who followed suit of his older brother Rātorua and became an acknowledged and well-respected priest.
In his earlier days, Rangiaohia influenced the eastern end of Te Rotoiti, where at least two of his earlier pā sites still stand, retaining their form and reminding us of their past glory. Like his father and his siblings, he was also a traveller, and he is known to have occupied Whakapoukorero, Maketu, and the Rotoiti area, as earlier mentioned. Finally, with his followers, they relocated and took up residence around the mountain of Tarawera.
Over time we see through successive generations that the descendants of Rangiaohia then follow the Tarawera river before arriving at Te Awa o te atua and returning to their former pā along the coast line of Matata.
Today the descendants of Rangiaohia are acknowledged as the Ngāti Mahi, Ngāti Rangitihikahira, Ngāti Rongomai o Mahi and Ngāti Tauahoehoewaka.
