Kāhu ki Rotorua: The death of Tamakurī is avenged

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See below for English translation

Ko ngā uri a Te Takinga matakamokamo

Ki te taha uru o te moana Rotoehu a Waipuia. He pā maioro, he pā tūwatawata, whaihoki he pā whakairo nō ngā tuatahi.

E ai ki ngā pakeke nā ngā tūpuna o Waitaha i whakaaraara. Wheoi anō. Kai kōnei a Pikiaorangi me āna tamariki tokowha.

Ko Te Takinga te mātāmua, ko Hinekura, ko Te Rangiunuora ko Te Moho te whakapakanga. Ka whakaaro ake a Tūtānekai ki a haere ia ki ēnei rangatira ki te whakataka ope māna. Ka takahia te whenua, ka hoea te moana, kai runga ko Ngāmāwhiti ko te pā tēnei i hinga ai a Morewhati ko te ika nui o tana kupenga, ā, ko te pā hoki tēnei i maoa ai a Tamakurī.

Ka hoea tonungia e ngā toa te moana. Ka ū ki Te Tāhuna ka iti ki mua ka nui ki muri ka puta ki te kōhamo o Matawhaura maunga.

Ko Huiterangiora te pā ki runga. Kua puta te rongo kai te huarahi a Tūtānekai e haere ana, he ahakoa kai te whenua o āna hoa ngangare kāore tētehi patu, kāore tētehi tao i pā ki a ia. Ka tae ki Rotoehu, hoea te moana, ka ū ki te wahatieke o Waipuia, te whakahīhī hoki, tarouma panapana ana ka kakamā ōna waewae ki te kawe i a ia ki te māhau o
Kawatapuarangi ki reira noho tahi ai me ngā rangatira o te pā. Ko Pikiaorangi ki taha tete ko Te Takinga ki taha kōmako, e kī, e kī - ka tau tana tōu i raro noho ai. Whakahīhī hoki! E matakamokamo kau atu nā a Te Takinga ki tana tapeha tata ki a Matarewha ki te hahau i a Tūtānekai nā reira te pepehā, Ko ngā uri o Te Takinga matakamokamo.

Kāore e ea tēnei tono i a ia, ara, ko te patu i te rangatira i whai kē tana patu i te maihi o Kawatapuarangi. He wehi nōna kai patua kētia āna kiri whānaunga.

Kāore e kōrerongia te roa o te noho a ēnei rangatira i Te Waipuia engari rā ko te mutunga iho kua tūtuki tana whakataka ope māna.

Mā ngā uri o Waitaha te riri e kawe, mā Matarewha, mā Te Takinga tana mate e ngaki. Ka ora a Tūtānekai i te konae o te kūpenga a āna hoa ngarengare. Kua houhia ki te maunga o te rongo. Kua moe tahi ngā whare. Ko te tamāhine me te mokopuna anei e ai ki a Ngāti Te Takinga te tatau pounamu.

Kua ea te patunga a Tamakari me Morewhati. Ka whati tana hūnuku ka hoki rātou ki ō rātou ake kāinga ki ō rātou ake whenua. Kātahi ka ahu a Te Takinga me ngā rau ki te riri māna ka takahia te whenua, ka tae ki Tūmoana.

Waipuia Pa. Whakaahua / Raimona Inia

Ko ngā rangatira o taua ope he nui noa atu. Ka roa e haere atu, nā ka kitea he ahi i te pā. Ka noho i raro. Nō te ata ka riria taua pā, ka whawhaingia taua pā kāhore i whati, ka tākiri te ope taua a Te Takinga ki a arumia rātou e ngā toa o Tūmoana.

Ka oma mā uta tae ki Maraeroa ka hāmama te waha kua hinga a Te Takinga, ka huri te huka o te tai ki te riri atu ki ā rātou hoariri. Ko Hinekura te puruhi ngau, rere poupou atu ana te ate o tana mere, ka hinga ko Punutewhao, ko Rakaututakitahi, ko Tarimango, ā, ko Haumateki nō Te Aorauru ēnei rākau ko ngā ika ēnei a Hinekura.

Ko Whioi te ika whakamutunga o tēnei riri nā Te Rangiunuora, he ahakoa tēnā i tapangia kētia tēnei pakanga ko Pārua, he kōrero anō tēnā ā taihoa ake.

Ka tahuna ngā ahi ka kitea e Tūtānekai i Pareteiro, ka kawea te ika whakamutunga e Te Takinga ki a Tūtānekai.

Kua ea. Ko ngā mōrehu i oma i te pā i āta hoki ki Tūmoana. Ka nōhia te pā tūwatawata e Te Aorauru tae te wā i tukuna katoatia te taha hauāuru o Te Rotoiti e Te Rangipuawhe ki Te Takinga, kātahi ka whati rātou ki Rotokākahi noho ai. Ka nohopuku a Tūtānekai ki te pā o Te Whetungū kūwhewhewhewhe kau ana ōna pāpāringa.
Kātahi hoki!

At the eastern end of Te Rotoehu once stood a great stronghold called Waipuia.

Here under the leaders of the Waitaha, the descendants of Pikiaorangi and his children found safety. To Waipuia, Tūtānekai travelled to seek the assistance of his past enemies. Travelling via waka, he passed below the old fort of Ngāmāwhiti where he had taken the chief Morewhati but more so where his son Tamakurī was returned and consumed.

Reaching Te Tāhuna, his entourage passed through under the enormous Tawa trees before breaking out below Huiterangiora.

It would have been made quite clear to the residents of Waipuia that Tūtānekai was in the vicinity and heading towards them.

Throughout his journey, he was not molested, challenged, or threatened. As his waka landed below the grand gateway of the citadel, he strode towards the courtyard and, with chiefly confidence, placed himself quite comfortable between Te Takinga and his father, Pikiaorangi.

Te Takinga made signals with his eyebrows to his cousin Matarewha to kill the chief hence the proverb, Ngā matakamokamo a Te Takinga. But, so annoyed was Matarewha that he struck the bargeboards of the house instead for fear of striking Pikiaorangi or his cousin, Te Takinga.

Ngāmawhiti pā on the hill slope behind Te Kōmuhumuhu.

Tūtānekai had not only entered into the lion's den; however, he had successfully made peace with the families of Tamakari and Morewhati, the two chiefs he had earlier killed; lastly, he had managed to walk away from the stronghold, knowing that his newly found

allies would avenge the death of his son on his behalf.

So it was that Tūtānekai departed from the region and let the conquest unfold. Matarewha and his cousin began the task of organising their warrior; when they felt that they were prepared, they travelled overland from Te Waipuia west to attack the Tūmoana pā.
In the morning, they attacked the fort; the scene must have been one of absolute chaos and confusion, for the invaders had successfully achieved this without being spotted by the sentinels of Tūmoana.

The war party seeing that they could not break through the resilient outer stockade, reverted to past warfare tactics, quickly retreated and was chased by the defenders; when they had reached an area called Maraeroa further east of Tūmoana – a call went out that Te Takinga had been captured.

The intention was to draw courage and vigour from the attacking warriors. This call signalled the attackers to turn like the ocean and strike vigorously at the defenders. Punu-te-whao was killed, then Rakaututakitahi, then Tarimango and Haumateki all noted defenders of Tūmoana.

Whioi was the last fish taken on the expedition, and he was the final victim, termed by the past Māori warriors as te ika whakamutunga. After the fight, the bonfires were lit, signalling to Tūtānekai that the attack was successful and the murder of his son had been avenged.

Furthermore, Whioi was presented to Tūtānekai as a gift of closure. The pā was then left, and those of Te Aorauru who had survived eventually made their way back until Te Rangipuawhe gifted all pā in the area to Te Takinga to bring peace between the two groups.

Tūtānekai continued his occupation of Te Whetūngū pā with his wife Hinemoa; however, sadly, he succumbed to the lust of the war god Marutewhareaitu. But, that is another story.