SKETCHES OF ANCIENT MAORI LIFE AND HISTORY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 149, 23 June 1894, Page 12

SKETCHES OF ANCIENT MAORI LIFE AND HISTORY.

JOHN ALEXANDER WILSON.

U&t&j'a jndgeof the NatfreXand Court <rf Nfw Zealand, attthor"*of Story of Te Waharoa.

[All Bights Reserved.}

TUWHAXAIMOBA TBIBE.

This is a section of Ngatiporou trite whose country extends from a point a little south of the East Caj>e to Potikorna, west of Point Lottin a few miles. From these points their boundaries running inland converge rapidly towards each other until they meet. Their territory, therefore, is triangular in form. We have seen how this country was occupied by the aborigines, and how Ngaetuari came from Whangaip and conquered and settled upon the greater portion of it, and it will be remembered that the Ngaetuari were Hawaikians of Takitumu canoe. About sixty years after the Ngaetuan had Bettled themselves, Tnwhakainora appeared on the scene and altered the face of affairs in that district to such an extent that the tribe living there now owes its erigin to him, and bears his name. Tuwhakairiora was also of Takitumu extraction, and it is of the rather remarkable Takitnmuan movement that was made under him that I would tell. But first I will briefly outline the Takitumuan prelude to our story from the landing at Whangara to the time of our hero. We have seen that Paikea, the captain of Takitumu, settled the immigrants at Whangara, after which he sailed for Hawaiki in another canoe, and so disappears from our view. one hundred and twenty years after Paikea> time, the chiefs of the colony at Whangara ■were the brothers Pororangi and Tahu. The latter went south to Kaikoura, but Pororangi, from whom the Ngatiporou are named, uved and died at Whangara. When Pororangi died, Tahu returned from Kaikoura to mourn for him, bringing a number of slaves with him. He married liis brother's -widow, and the issue of the union was Raanuku, a son, to whom Tahn gave the party of slaves; which party became a tribe, bearing the name of Ruanuku, their master. After some years, Tahu returned to the other island, taking Ins son with him, and thus these two are removed from the scene; but the Ngatiruanuku were left behind to play an important part in it. Pcrorangi had two sons, Haa and Ue. The latter took the country southward from Turanga. The former and his descendants went northward, settling from time to time in various places, nor stopped -antil they had claimed the land as far as Taumata Apanui, near Torere. Here, however, their tide of success was met and rolled back by the Whanau Apanui, a tribe of Hawaiki-Awa descent. About two hundred and seventy years after the colony had been planted at Whangara, Poromata, a- descendant of Han, took ah active part m the movement northward, and settled at Whareponga, where Ngatiruanuku, who had become a numerous tribe, had arrived before him, and here they all lived for a timo, beside tho aboriginal Uepohatu tribe, of whom I have already made mention. Now, Poromata was not a young man. He had several grown-up sons and daughters, who, like himself, were' of a tyrannical disposition. They despised and oppressed the Ngatiruanukn as if they had been the slaves brought from Kaikoura one hundred and fifty years before; and, ignoring the fact that they were bnt a few individuals surrounded by a numerous people, they plundered the best of everything the Ngatiruanuku produced, and forcibly took their women from them, and they were particularly fond of seizing the best fish from the Ruanuku canoes when they returned from fishing out at sea. At length Ngatiruannku, goaded beyond endurance, conspired to slay the old man and his sons, and they managed to attack them unawares while fishing, and killed them all except one son, who escaped, and nothing more is heard of him in this story. At this time Haukotore, a brother of Poromata, lived near by at Matakukai. He was related to Ngatiruanuku by marriage, and was on better, terms with them than his brother had been. He did not attempt to avenge the death of his brother, or seek assistance for that purpose; neither did he retire from among his brother's murderers. His behaviour was altogether pusillanimous, as for many years he remained on sufferance in the presence of his natural foes, even after they had refused his request to be permitted to establish a tapu where his brother had been killed. Very different- was the spirit that animated Ataknra, the youngest of Poroznata's daughters. She was at Whareponga when her father and brothers were killed, and was spared by Ngatiruanuku. Her anger, however, was not appeased by their forbearance. All the thirst for revenge that was lacking in her soulless uncle was, as it were, added to her own thirst, an<J concentrated in her burning breast: ' Sfhe left Whareponga immediately, and went to Uawa, where she married for the avowed purpose of raising up a son to avengj the murder. Thence she and her husband, whose name was Ngatihau, went to Opotiki, to which place he belonged, and there a son was born whom they named Tu■whakairiora, from the odd circumstance that an uncle of his at Waiapu h*d lately Ibeen buried alive (or rather put in a trough made for the purpose, and placed up in a tree, for that was a mode of i sepulture). From his birth Tuwhakairiora was consecrated to the office of an avenger of blood. Atakura and her husband lived at Opotiki many years, and had a family of several children. It was there that Tuwhakairiora received the education necessary to a chief, and the military training that should fit Mm for the pa^t he was destined to perform. He was not like other young chiefs, for all knew, and he knew, that he had a mission to which he had been dedicated from the womb, and it was proverbial how his lusty embryonic struggles had been welcomed by his mother as a token of manhood and power to slay her father's murderers. And thus it was that our hero, when he came to man's estate, was the centre to ■whom a wide circle of adventurous spirits looked and longed for warlike excitement. Nor did he fail to take advantage of this ieeling, by visiting from tribe to tribe and increasing bis prestige and popularity. At length he determined to take action. For this purpose he moved with his parents to Te Kaha, Oreti, and Whangaparaoa, living at each place awhile, ingratiating themselves with the inhabitants, and drawing recruits to their cause. From the place last named his parents passed on to Kawakawa, leaving the rest of the party at

Whangaparaoa, where Kahupakarii, Atakura's first cousin, received them joyf ally and gave her several hundred acres erf land to live on. Kahupakari's father had taJcen. part in the Ngaetnere conquest sixty years before. - Shortly after this, Tuwhakairiora .followed his parents to Kanvakawa, travelling by himself. On this journey he s&.w Rnatanpare for the first time, and married her at Wharekahika in the masterful manner already described. She was the daughter- of the principal chief of that district, which was peopled at fcbat time by aboriginal tribes. Oar hero required something then to soothe his feelings, for he had just hurried away through wonnded pride from Whangaparaea, where he had met his match in a young wouiaa of rank named Hinenrpe, towards whom he b*d conducted himself in a plantation where they were working with a freedom .so unbecoming that she met him with her wooden spade, and hit him a blow on. the jaw that sent him off. The plantation is called Kauae (jaw) to this day. From Kawakawa Tuwhakairiora made an excursion to the East Cape, whence for the first time he viewed the Ngatiruanuku. country, and doubtless thought upon his mission and revolved in his mind the task oeiore him. But he was not to get vengeance yet, nor indeed for many years. Although he knew it not, he was even then in a path that would lead to a train of events fated to alter his position, and change him from a wayfaring adventurer to the warlike head of a powerful tribe. He turned and retraced his steps. He was alone, and his dog followed him. Passing near Hekawa pa, two men, Wahia and Whata, appeared and killed his dog. He slew them both, then, putting his dead dog on his back, he went on his way; but was presently overtaken by a number of men from Hekawa. He turned and killed Pito, the foremost, but others pressed on, and after slaying several he took refuge on a mound that is an island at high water. The people of Heka;wa surrounded the little mound and kept him there. In this position he was seen by his younger brother, Hukarere, and recognised by his red dogskin mat. Hin brother, who was fishing in a canoe, came instantly to the rescue. Tawhakairiora descended the hill, cut his way through his enemies, killing Waipao, and escaped to the canoe. That place is still called Waipao. Thus Hnkarere saved hia brother's life, and thus Tuwhakairiora became incensed against the Ngaetuere, and he determined to make war upon them. He sent, therefore, to his followers to muster and come to him, and they quickly responded, especially at Qpotiki, where he was so well known and admired. It was with these troops that he conquered the Ngaetuere. Now we have seen that Ngaetnere were a tribe of Takitumn descent who, sixty years before, had driven out the aboriginal Ngaoko, who were of Toi extraction. More than thirty years before that time the Ngaoko had emerged from the mountain forest of Tututohara and destroyed the aboriginal tribe named Ruawaipn, that occupied the coast from Pukeamaru to Maraehara, and killed their chief, whose name was Tamatea Arahia. Tarnatea Upoko, the daughter of this chief, escaped with ether refugees to Whangara, where Ngatiporou, of Takitumn, received and sheltered them. Tamatea Upoko married Uekaihau, of Ngatiporoa, and in due course three sons of that marriage, Uetaha, Tamokoro and Tahania, grew up. The Buawaipu element had, meanwhile, so strengthened itself among the Ngatiporou, that the three brothers named were able to raise an army of Ngatiporou and half-caste Ruawaipu-Ngatiporou sufficiently numerous to justify them in attacking Ngaoko, for the purpose of revenge and to regain the lost territory. They set out, and on their march were attacked a^ XJawa (Tologa Bay) by Te Aetanga Hauiti, who failed to bar their passage. Again at Tawhiti mountain they : were attacked"by the Wahineiti, and again they forced their way against those who would have stopped them. After this they 1 marched unmolested through the Waiapu ' country, belonging to the Wahineiti** an aboriginal tribe who were a section of Te , Iwi Pohatu a Maui. Having passed the East Cape the army, whom from this time I shall speak of as Ngaetuere, travelled i through Horoera and Hekawa withont meeting a soul, the Ngaoko had evidently fallen back to some vantage ground to await their When they arrived at Kawakawa, they found the Ngaoko posted in two pas, one at Karakatuwhero, tlm other, Tihi o Manono, at Kopuaponarau, was the largest pa they had. A scouting party of the invaders fell in with a similar party of the people of the place, and cut them off, killing the chief, Tuteuruao. Then the Ngaoko came out of their pas in full force and attacked Ngaetuere in the open field, when the latter, by a stratagem, cut Nga6ko off ki Awatere Valley, and, getting them at a. disadvantage, inflicted severe loss upon them, and killed their chief, Tangikaroro. At the next engagement Ngaoko were again defeated, and another chief named Bakaimokonui fell. At the third battle Ngaoko were completely worsted, and fled for the first time before their enemies. On this occasion the chiefs Maonoho and Te Awheng^a were slain. On the same day the great pa Tihi o Manono was taken by assault. Ngaoko rallied, however, at the pa at Karakatuwhero, and finally at Tarapahure, another pa at Pukeamaru, "but the three brothers pursued them and took these pas also, and this completed the conquest of the tribe and country. The remnant of the Ngaoko became slaves called Ngatirakaimatapu; but they intermarried with the conquerers, and became absorbed by them. This, then, was the tribe of Ngaetuere, against whom Tuwhakairiora was about to declare war. After a lapse of sixty years, the component parts of the tribe had consolidated into a homogeneous whole, of which the elements were probably half aboriginal and half immigrant in character. And the force, chiefly Whakatohea, that was coming against them, and destined to overthrow and absorb them—what was it? We have already seen that the people it was drawn from were a tribe of aborigines with but a strain of immigrant blood in its veins, and this is the material, united and cemented together by time, of which the Tuwhakairiora tribe is formed. From that time, more than three hundred years ago, the tribe has always been ruled by chiefs of the same distinguished Ngatiporou family. Tawhakairiora crossed the Awatere with his forces, and engaged and utterly defeated the Ngaetuere at Hekawa. Then he established himself at Kawakawa, and built a pa called Okauwharetoa at Awatere. Some of the Ngaetuere were now subject to him, but others were not. „ About this time some Ngaetumoana people killed Te Rangihekeiho of Ngaetuiti, of which tribe was Ruataupare, Tuwhakairiora's wife; this was a sufficient excuse for TuwhakaMora to wage war against them. He fought them at the battle of Whanakaixnaro, at Matakawa, and destroyed the tribe, driving the remnant off westward towards Whangaparaoa. Thus one tribe of aborigines disappeared from the district. Then another tribe of aborigines became uneasy at the presence of the invaders, and insulted them. These were the Pararake. War followed, and the battle of Pipiwhakau was fought, where the aboriginal chief Whakapuru te Rangi was slain, and his tribe was defeated and driven to Whangaparaoa. The aboriginal Ngaetuiti were allowed to remain intact because the conSueror had married into their tribe when c came from Opotiki, but they fell into a very subordinate position ; nevertheless, at

their desire some of the Pararake were, allowed to remain in the district. It happened that while Tuwhakairiora was taking a wife to himself at Wharekahika, his brother Hukarere was similarly engaged at Wliangaparaoa. He married Hinerupe, who had used her spade so well, the granddaughter of Tarnakoro, one o| the three brothers who led Ngaetuere from Whangara against Ngaoko. At the time of the marriage Uetaha, her father, was the chief of a large section of Ngaetuere. This alliance favoured the designs of Tuwhakairiora by neutralising at the time of active hostilities a great number of the Ngaetuere. It enabled him to conquer the tribe in detail, instead of having them all against him at one time. Not that Tuwhakairiora acted treacherously towards the Tamakoro section of Ngaetuiti. The trouble that came they brought upon themselves. The half-brothers of Hinerupe were jealous of some advantages granted to her by Tuwhakairiora, who was her brother-in-law, and they cursed her; this, of course, could not be overlooked, and action was determined upon. Tuwhakairiora sent to friends he had made at Waiapu and Uawa, asking them to come and assist him in the forthcoming struggle, and in response the chiefs TJmuariki and Kautaharua appeared, with their respective folVowings. In this manner a considerable force was collected, and the campaign of Waihakia took place, resulting in the entire defeat of the Tamakoro party, whom thii conqueror reduced to a state, not exactly of slavery, but of great degradation. 1* have now told how the tribe of Tuwhiikairiora was planted and grew up on the soil where it flourishes at the present time. The war had commenced with an attack made upon Tuwhakairiora while he was visiting nis cousin Kahupakiri at Katvakawa. The descendants of the people who made that attack are now'incorporated in the general tribe of Tuwhakairiora, under the name of Te Wakeoneone. [To be Continued.)