Kāhu ki Rotorua: Te Mapou marks site where chief fell

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See below for English translation

Kai te tai tonga o Te Rotoiti moana he kāinga onamata e tūtei ana.

He whenua kau i enei rangi wheoi anō rā nō te wā e takatu haere ana o tāua tūpuna he whenua nui i whawhaitia e ngā tini rangatira.

Ko Te Mapou te wāhi e kōrerongia e a hau. He kāinga i nōhia ai e Te Rangiunuora he rangatira nui onamata. Ko Te Takinga tōna tuakana, ko Hinekura hoki tētehi ā, ko Te Moho tō rātou whakapakanga.

Ko Te Rangiunuora te kākākura noho mātārae. He tiaki i ngā wai me ngā whenua o tēnei takiwā kai tāea e te hoa ngāngare.

Ki tūā ki te taha uru o Whakapoungakau tērā māunga e whakawehe ana i te moana nui o Kahu me Ikataina, he kāinga, he rangatira kē atu.

Ko Te Iwipaia te rangatira e kōrerongia ana e tātau.

Kati. E noho puku kau a Te Iwipaia, ā, ka tae ki a ia te hiakai. Te kai kikokiko tangata.

Engari anō rā kauaka ko te tūtūā ko te ware rānei, ā, me rangatira kē tana kai. Ka taka iho ki a ia te ingoa o Puwhakaoho. He rangatira mana nui nō Ngāti Hinekura. Koina he kai māna hai kinaki i āna kao. Āe ana tana puku. Ko te ao o nehe he ao, noho tahi me ngā kiriwhānaunga huhua.

E kore e tāea e te Māori te puta te karo rānei i ōna kānoi huhua.

Ka rere te purahokura o te pā o Te Iwipaia ki Te Mapou ki te whakatupato i a Puwhakaoho ko Te Wharepurangi tēnei rangatira. “E Pū, ko koe hai kinaki mā te rourou o Te Iwipaia kua rewa te tauā kai te huarahi e haere ana.” Ka rere te tauā whakakokoti a Puwhakaoho.

He whakapae hoki nōna ka mā te ara poka e tae kē a ia me te ope ki te huarahi matua, ki kōnā rātau whakatakoto pehipehi ai.

Ka iti ki mua, ka nui ki muri, ā, nā wai rā ka puta te tauā kawhaki a Te Iwipaia.Ka tū te pūehu, ka horo te patu a Puwhakaoho, he ahakoa ka hinga ngā toa nui i a ia ehara i a Te Iwipaia te ika a te ati, ka rere te manukawhaki, ngaro atu ana ki te kohukohu.

Ka hoki te tauā ki tō rātau pā, ā, ka whāia rātau e Te Iwipaia, ka tū anō he pakanga. Ka horo a Te Mapou, kīhai i kōrerongia ngā rangatira i hinga, engari kai te kaha kōrerongia kētia te kupenga ko Ngakirikiri.Ka riro ki te tauā a Te Iwipaia.

Kai titiro karu pātiki mai kotou ki a hau e whakateitei ana i te mana o Ngakirikiri. Ki o tāua tupuna he mana nui tō  te kupenga, kai reira te wehi, te wana me te ihi o te iwi.

Ko Te Mapou.

Ka rere anō ngā toa ki te haukoti i ngā hoa ngangare, ka rere ngā patu, ngā mere me ngā akerautangi ki  te oneone i Te Mātārae i o Rehu. Ka oma ngā iwi o te waiariki, ka whakahokia te kupenga ki tōna kāinga hai taonga whakamiharo mā te iwi.

Ka huri ngā kaupeka, ka huri ngā kaupeka, ka mate atu ngā rangatira nui, ngā rangatira Māori, ā, ka pirorehe hoki tā tātau kupenga whakahirahira ka puta tātau ki te wā o te hāhi o te whakapono.

Ka tirohia paitia te whenua o Te Mapou e te hāhi mihingare.

Ka puta te hiahia o te ngakau mihingare ki te whakaraara whare karakia e ora ai ngā iwi o taua takiwā o Te Mapou me ngā tahataha o te tai tonga o te moana o Te Rotoiti.

Ka arahina te iwi e Eruera Manuhia me te mihingare rongonui, ngākau pakiki a Tamati Hapimana ki a noho tika te iwi ki te huarahi o te whakapono.

Tu ai te whare karakia ki Tapuaekura, nā wai ka kawea ki Te Mapou.

Ko te inoi tēnei o Eruera Manuhuia ki a whakatata mai ngā hapū o Ngāti Hinekura, Ngāti Kawiti me Ngāti Te Rangiunuora ki te oranga nui o te karaiti ki a noho tata iho nei rātau ki raro ki ngā paihau o Ihu Karaiti.

Ko te moemoeā o te koroua nei kia whakatūria e ia, he whare karakia mātotoru, he whare whare karakia pakari e whakahīhī katoa ai ngā tini kanohi o te takiwā ki te mana o ōna iwi. He ahakoa i whakatōkia te kakano ki te oneone, e wāuna hoki kīhai i whai kaha, i whai hua, i whai paiaka.

Ka pau te wā ka pirorehe te moemoeā o te korokē.

Ka kore e oti i a ia te whakaraara i tōna whare mihingare e ora ai te iwi.

English Translation

Te Mapou pā was an ancient pā site that overlooked Te Rotoiti.

In a later stage of the conquest of lake Te Rotoiti it features as the main village of Te Rangiunuora, a brother of Te Takinga, a long-ago chief renowned for his combat prowess.

Te Mapou was a chief who was killed by the Waitaha during the expansion phase of Te Rotoiti and the site where he fell has forever retained his name.

Te Rangiunuora, a younger brother of Te Takinga, was stationed here as a sentinel, and so his descendants continue the role of guards to protect the lake and all its inhabitants from invasion.

From tribal history comes the story which originates on the slopes of Whakapoungakau were lived Te Iwipaia, a chief from the Rotorua tribes.

For some reason known only to this chief, he decided to kidnap a famous Ngāti Hinekura chief named Puwhakaoho who lived near Te Mapou.

Needless to say, Te Iwipaia kept company with people who did not have his best interests at heart, Te Wharepurangi relayed to Puwhakaoho that Te Iwipaia was on the warpath, and wanted to kidnap him. Puwhakaoho, with a chosen group of warriors, laid an ambush, taking the best guess as to which path Te Iwipaia and his men might use.

His logic was perfect, for it was not long before a party of men was scouted. Puwhakaoho wasted no time unleashing his surprise attack, and so fell a handful of warriors from the Rotorua district.

Following this, the Rotorua tribes raised a war party and quickly raided a site named Whangaikorea on the northern side of Lake Te Rotoiti. On their return, they managed to overwhelm the inhabitants of Te Mapou pā and amongst their many trophies was a famed fishing net named Ngakirikiri.

This mere act of carrying off a fishing net may seem trivial to today’s readers; however, in the past, such items represented the prestige of a tribe.

Without missing a beat, a follow-up group was hot on the heels of the Rotorua tribespeople who were successfully cut off at Te Mātārae i o Rehu. Again, weapons clashed, and men fell before finally, both parties withdrew with their survivors.

Beautiful setting on Lake Rotoiti. Pictures / Raimona Inia

Ngakirikiri was regained and returned to its rightful owner while the invading party left the area, leaving their fallen comrades where they fell. Te Mapou pā, in later times, played a significant part in the spread of Christianity throughout the Rotoiti region.

Under the leadership of Eruera Manuhuia and the influence of an early Anglican missionary named Thomas Chapman, a church that was first built at Tapuaekura was later relocated to Te Mapou.

It was the wish of Eruera Manuhuia to move the Ngāti Hinekura, Ngāti Kawiti, but more so his hapū of Ngāti Te Rangiunuora into the care of this new religion that was being introduced to the region.

The idea was to build the largest church seen in the area. This initiative sparked new energy that saw the explosion of gardens and building a sawpit to supply timber to maintain the physical structure.

However just as the idea was introduced into the region for some reason it just as quickly took an extreme dive, the guts of the project sadly waned, and the church was never completed.