Kāhu ki Rotorua: Te Purewa’s war trophies

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See below for English translation

Waiho i kōnā te ika huirua a te tautahi a Kōkāmutu

He ahakoa te tini o ngā toa ō roto o te pōkaitara ō Te Urewera, kō Uhia anake te tohunga. Karekau he tohunga hai rite ki ā ia mō te kawe i ngā tao ā Tū. Ka tae ā Uhia ki Rerewhakaaitu, ka takahia ē ia te whenua, nā wai rā, ka poua tana tokotoko ki te wāhi ka mate ai ngā rangatira o Rangitihi.

Ka whakairia tōna kahu taratara ki te pou. Anei te māhanga e rorea ai te pōkaikutu a Rangitihi. Nā wai rā ka āta hoki mai ngā pūniho o te tauā ki te tokotoko ā Uhia ki reira whānga ai i ngā toa o Ngāti Rangitihi me Tūhourangi.

Ka tere te kuhu atu o ngā pūniho ki te puku o te mātua, kai raro katoa e tuturi ana. He ope tauā, he rangatira katoa, ko te mātua tapu tēnā kua tohia rātau ki a Tūmatauwenga te atua o te tangata o te riri. E tere ana ngā manawa o ngā Kāhū, kai te rongo rātau i te harurutanga o te whenua e pāorooro kau ana i ngā tapuwae o ngā toa whawhai taihoa rā ka huaki te rautaki a Uhia.

Katahi nā ka puta ngā kōtiri o Rangitihi me Tūhourangi, e wāuna hoki! Ko Tionga, ko Te Wahakaikapua, ko Te Hurinui ko Te Arero, kātahi te mātua o Te Urewera ka whakatika ki runga e ioio ana ngā tinana ka peru atu te weriweri, hōkai kau ana ngā waewae – me pēwhea e kore ai e whati te whatumanawa o te toa? Ka whakanā iti nei ngā waewae o Tionga mā, ka matika a Tamahore ki te matataki-a-Whiro ki a Tionga, ka tū atu a Te Purewa me tana kī, waiho māku te pakihiwi kaha rātau e patu, ki a koe e Tamahore te rangatiratanga o te iwi. Ka whitiki i ā ia, ko te manawatoa i roto i tōna ngākau.

Ka whiti rāua tokorua ngā hoa ngangare ki te matataki-a-Whiro, ko Tionga rāua ko Te Purewa. Kāore he titiro ki te ao mārama. Kai te kī mai ētahi he patu tā Te Purewa, he tokotoko te rākau a Tionga. Ki tana whitiki ko tana pararewha. Me te ahuatanga o tā rāua matataki- katoa kai a rātau anake. Kai tā Te Peehi pukapuka ngā whakamāramatanga e ai ki tā Te Urewera titiro, ko te taha mai ki ā hau ki ā Te Arawa, kai Rarohēnga.

Overlooking Rotomahana to Rerewhakaitu.

Ko te mutunga iho he ahakoa i werongia te pokowhiwhi o Te Purewa ka heke iho te pōkawe o tana pararewha ka pā ki te kohamo ō Tionga, nā reira i ngāwhāngia ai te ūpoko o tō tātau toa. Ko Te Wahakaikapua tona pikituranga ka tere ia ki te ranaki i te matenga o tona kākātarahae, engari e kaha ana ā Te Purewa, ka ngaua te tipi o tana pararewha ki te pukaru o te mahunga o Te Wahakaikapua, ka mate hoki tēnei toa. Tū ake a Te Purewa ka whakapuakina ē ia tana pepeha, ‘Waiho i kōnā te ika huirua a te tautahi a Kōkāmutu.’

Kā mate hoki i konei ā Te Arero, kō Hurinui kō wai atu, kō wai atu, he rangatira anake i mate. Ko te tini o Rangitihi o Tūhourangi o Kearoa me ētehi atu o ngā hapū. Ka taongia ngā ika, ka kaingia, pau katoa i ngā puku o Te Urewera.

Kā rere ngā kaupeka o te tau, nā wai ka kotahi atu ā Ngai Te Arawa ki Te Urewera, he hiahia nō Pareraututu me ngā pouaru ki te titiro iho ki ngā mokomōkai ō o rātau toa, kia tangihia rātau. Ka hipa a Kuhawaea, a Tawhiuau a Ohaua te rangi nā wai ka tae ki te pā ō Taumata o Te Riu. Ki reira rātau whakatumatuma atu ai, nā reira te pepeha, He whatitiri ki te rangi, ko Te Arawa ki te whenua.

Nā tēnei pakanga ohorere ka whakanohia e Ngāti Rangitihi ā Takawheta Kaipara me tana wahine rangatira ko Moewaka ki ngā whenua o Onuku hai manu noho mātārae. Ko Pareraututu tētehi o ngā taonga e kawea tonungia ana i te pakanga o Pukekaikahu me te koauau ko Ngarangikakapiti. Nō reira e ngā tao matarere o nehe, ngā mango nui haehae kupenga, e moe.

English Translation

Uhia was the war chief of the Urewera, even though the war party consisted of some of the most influential.

Urewera warriors of the period. Names immortalized by their descendants and still spoken of with great reverence. At a designated site, Uhia forced his staff into the earth and hung from it a worn cloak.

This single act confirmed the site for the great slaughter. Gradually, the runners from the decoy party arrived ahead of those eager to strike them down.

These men folded into the awaiting ranks of their tribe members. Hundreds of fresh fighting men, awaiting to avenge the insults of their relations, could only be restrained by strong leadership; the desire to strike and overwhelm such easy prey will only ever be known by those who came upon the site.

One can also only imagine what feelings jolted the hearts of those who were giving chase as a mass mob of fresh men greeted them. Uhia’s plan was near complete.

The lead runners of the pursuing force could only have been Tionga, Te Wahakaikapua, Te Hurinui and Te Arero because it was Tionga, according to the kaumatua of Te Urewera, who issued a single hand-to-hand combat duel. Initially, Tamahore, a brother of Te Purewa, accepted the challenge, but he was quickly reminded that the responsibilities of chieftainship lay upon him.

Te Purewa accepted the challenge on behalf of his warriors. With taiaha and onewa, these two men fought hand-to-hand combat with their lives to lose. Let me remind the readers that Tionga had just completed a half marathon and now had to fight for his life. Whether or not Te Purewa was one of the runners for the Urewera has never been stated.

Moewaka Kaipara.

But the victory belonged to Te Purewa, though it is recorded that such was the force of Te Purewa’s strike, Tionga died before he hit the soil. Tionga was not to be outdone, for as he received the death strike at the hands of Te Purewa, his weapon too found its mark; striking the shoulder of Te Purewa it was enough to near hinder him, as he dropped to his knees, Te Wahakaikapua, acting as second to Tionga rushed in to deliver the death blow, somehow Te Purewa had enough energy to now dash the handle of his short weapon into the skull of Te Wahakaikapua.

The words uttered by Te Purewa have since been immortalized. ‘Lie there, the double victims of the one born of Kōkāmutu.’

Here also fell Te Hurinui, Te Arero, and their relations. And so it was that over 200 years ago, on the shores of Rerewhakaitu, Uhia confirmed his place as a leading war strategist amongst the old warriors of the Māori.

It was not long following this defeat that a significant contingent of Te Arawa travelled to Te Urewera to view the heads of their loved ones; as they stood below the fortress of Taumata o Te Riu, they performed a great war dance that won over the hearts of their old enemy.

In honour of what they had witnessed, the people of Tūhoe proclaimed, ‘The sound of Te Arawa on earth is like thunder rolling across the heavens.’ A compliment that still humbles the Arawa people.