Chapter V.

The Aboriginal People of the Rangitaiki Valley.

How Tangiharuru and "Wharo-pakau destroyed Te Tini-o-Te Marangaranga.

The traditions prewrved by the des-[unclear: endants] of the aboriginal people of the Bay of Plenty District prove that [unclear: be] district between Tauranga and [unclear: potiki] must have been densely popu-[unclear: ted] for a long time beforse the pre-[unclear: nt] Haori race arrived from the [unclear: awaikian] father land. The number [unclear: tribes] which occupied this district is quite astonishing and it is a fact that their descendants, who now occupy the Valley of the Rangitaiki and other parts, are proud of their descent from the pre-Maori tangata whenua and never tire of extolling the virtues of the "Multitude of Toi." In regard to the genealogies from the aboriginal tribes given in a former chapter, it is probable that the migrants from Hawaiki intermarried with the aboriginal people at the time of the commencement, of the genealogy and that the first name given isthat of a tribe and not of an individual.^* In like manner, it is by no moans certain that the great ancest [unclear: r]Toi [unclear: florished] at the time of the coming of the Mataatua canoc from Hawaiki, but more than probable that he had departed to Te Ranga generations before that time and that the trihal name (Te Tini-o-Toi) is preserved by the Mataatua migrants as that of an individual. It is strange to note how some of the people of the Rangitniki District are divided in their loyaltybetween Toi and Toron, [unclear: Tangiharu] and Wairaka, aboriginal and migrant. Not that it should be inferred that the indigenes were not a Polynesian people for they were simply an early migration of that far reaching raco.^†

I will now give what, few notes I have collected in regard to the aboriginal people who formerly occupied

^* See egbealogies from from Tuoi to Te Raupo-ngaucue given in Chapter III.

^† Since I have benn [unclear: bronght] contact with the descendants of the [unclear: orignal] people of this District, I have come to the conclusion that the primary ancestors of the tangata orata [unclear: whena] of New Zealand came from a totally different part of the Pacific to that which sent forth the [unclear: floe] of [unclear: cauces] known amog [unclear: ethen] as the historic stori e [unclear: migration.] Not only were they of a different grade of culture but many of their traditions assert that their tupunas did not come from Hawaiki but from Mataora, which is a difterent place, and that they were desccnded from Maui.

page 14 the Valley of the Rangitaiki and Whirinaki. This people were known as TeTini-o-Te-Marangaranga-the multitude of the Marangaranga-and were destroyed by an invading host from the Hauraki district, under the chiefs Tangiharuru and Whare-pakau. The whence of this invading force has been a subject for discussion, but native authorities mostly agree in declaring that their original homo was at Wharepuhunga, and that they left the Waikato district and journeyed to Hauraki where they remained for a time, afterwards coming on to Tauranga Matata and Rangitaiki.

It will, however, be well to let my informant fell his own story in his own way and in his own peculiar idiom:—

Friend! this is my thought, that you and I shall remain here for a while and I will recite the doings of my ancestors and tell you of tin? brave days when they fought the multitude of Te Marangaranga in the valley that lies before you. Fur, Bebold ! Yonder is the hill from which the forces of Tangiharuru and Wharepakau first saw the lands On the Whinaki and the numberless homesteads of the tangta whenua. There flows the Wai-irohia, whose waters were red with the Mood of the followers of Haeana, and away to the right is the Mangamate, and where you see that dark shadow on the cliff that is Te Ana-kaj tangata-a Wharepakau from whence that old wairior was wont to issue forth and attack the people of the land. Now. Listen!

This is the story of the coming of Wharepakau and his nephew Tangiharuru. Who destroyed the people of Aotearoa. The tribe they destroyed was Te Marangaranga, and the place they came from was Ahuahu. The reason they left Ahuahu was on account of the poor quality of the fish of that place, so they went to Whare-puhunga. They did not stay long at that place, but, leaving Manawa-uha behind, they came away and [unclear: arr] at Oruamatua where they [unclear: utterl] stroyed the people of that place. [unclear: Th] remained for some time at [unclear: Oruam] for it was a good place and [unclear: resen] Ahuahu, but when the food [unclear: because] short they left and went to [unclear: Otaman] (Tena ingoa o Otamarakau he [unclear: whe] tutanga no a raua rakau). From [unclear: C] place they wont to Awa-tarariki [unclear: where] the people said—"Ekore korua e [unclear: p] i te Tini-o-Te Marangaranga. [unclear: T] will never escape the multitude [unclear: of t] Marangaranga.) Then came [unclear: for] saying of Wharepakau—"Tene [unclear: b] kokoti moe roa a Tangiharuru." [unclear: A] they left that place they held [unclear: a] sulfation and spoke as warriors [unclear: s] in the days of brave men. [unclear: And] place where they uttered those [unclear: spee] was named Whakapau korero [unclear: T] they travelled or until they entered the Marnugnranga who [unclear: one] the whole land, and they [unclear: we] talked by thousands of those [unclear: pe] and many were slain. And the [unclear: n] of that battle was [unclear: Tarewaka] These warriors did not [unclear: remisin] but travelled onwards and were [unclear: a] attacked by the [unclear: Marangranga] again the people of the land fell [unclear: s] name of that battle was [unclear: Kabu] nea. Yet another battle they [unclear: fo] it was Kowhatu kanihinihi, many slain. Then our ancestors [unclear: re] at Tatara-knu and the foodo of [unclear: s] place was fish-eels, and [unclear: resemb] food of Ahuahu. It was at [unclear: that] that Wharepakau said to his [unclear: r] [unclear: Tangihn] :—"Let us cease [unclear: t] ling on the sea coast, and [unclear: rather] pursue the odour of the rich [unclear: food] the interior. T here will a [unclear: p] for us to live when we have [unclear: con] these lands." His nephew [unclear: con] and again they rose, and when [unclear: I] ascended Ohui they looked [unclear: up] whiuau which was covered with [unclear: s] from the fires of those they [unclear: ca] destroy. And it was hero that [unclear: t] great chief of these people [unclear: d] page 15 [unclear: gain] these warriors fought and again [unclear: e] survivors of the Marangaranga [unclear: pd] to their chief Haeana. And [unclear: I] pepakau and his nephewremainod [unclear: I] Mangamate and their place of abode [unclear: e] was cave, Te Aua-kai-tantrata-[unclear: wharepakau]—that is it. It was a [unclear: red] house too, like a pakeha's house. [unclear: t] house is still there and if anyone [unclear: ld] desire to look upon it—let them there and see see it.

[unclear: Wharepakau] said to Tangiharuru, [unclear: G] you by way of the Raugitaiki [unclear: d] Kaingaroa and I will march by [unclear: aki] to T Whaiti-nui-Toi." [unclear: pharuru] consented to this [unclear: are] [unclear: ment] these two warriors [unclear: hed] forth to conquer the Multi [unclear: d] of the Marangaranga. Tangi-[unclear: pu] won the battle called [unclear: Puharau-] and to Wharepakau fell the pa [unclear: kokorahi] which stood at the base of i [unclear: e] Pae-whakataratara and just, below [unclear: s] Pewa a-Te-Winirehe. And the [unclear: ivous] fled to their chief Haeana, [unclear: d said,] "This man who has come [unclear: inst] us cannot be conquered for he [unclear: ls] two and three men with a blow [unclear: J] his taiaha." Then [unclear: aama] forth the [unclear: ying] Haeana:—" Haore mai! [unclear: re] mai! Kia kite koe nga Kaka [unclear: ppepo] popo a Haeana." (Come! Come! you may see the wood-rend-[unclear: g] kaau of Hoeano.) And Whare-[unclear: ak] [unclear: kan] heard of this boastful speech of ana, and he spake these words:—[unclear: Tena] kokoti moo ron a Tangiha-[unclear: ru] te haere atu na!" (Behold! The [unclear: g-] slum bering weapon of Tangiha [unclear: ru] is approaching!) When march-[unclear: g] in parallel lines the two leaders [unclear: gnalled] to each other across country [unclear: y] means of tires. When Tangiha [unclear: ru] advanced against Haeana, and [unclear: the] atter beheld him standing forth [unclear: a] front hisarmy, Haeana advanced [unclear: ad] two leaders engaged in deadly [unclear: om] bat. The tangata whenua chief [unclear: ck] at the invader with his hoeroa [unclear: t] Tangiharuru despatched him with [unclear: a] taiaha. The two hostile forces then closed in to fight, and the struggle was a long and bloody one, but finally ended in the defeat of the aboriginal Marangaranga. And Tangiharuru settled at Puke-hinau where he died.

Whare-pakau attacked the aborigines at Te Whaiti-nui-a Toi. Their chief was Te Rae-kahu and the remains of his fortress. Te Pa-o-Raekahu, may still ba seen at that place. The Marangaranga under Rae kahu succeeded in repulsing the force of Wharepakau and they fled, but their chief stood his ground and called on his men to turn and reform, which they did, and then Wharepakau again astacked the men of the land and assisted by his two otua, Reko and Kaka (he ruru tetehi he ngarara tetehi^*) he defeated them and killed the chief Raekahu whose body was prepared and eaten at a stream since known as Te Awa-kai-kinaki-tangata-a-Wharepakau, even as a spring at To Whaitiis known as Te Paopae kinaki-taugataa-Wharepakau. and a tree standing at that, place is called Te Puku-o-Whare-pakau.

Whare-pakau then lived at Koitane, where his son Te Mauako and his grandson, Taketake were born. While he lived there the chief Ihura kau came from the east with a warparty to attack him at Te Whaiti. The strength of the war-party was 340 men. At the time that this party came toTc Whaiti, Wharepakau was away bird-catching in the forest, catching the tihe, the tieke and other birds. The pa was attacked by Ihurakau, and Te Manuko, son of Wharepakau, was slain, but the pa was not taken. Wharepakau was discovered in the forest by a party of Ngati-Kahungunu whotookhim prisoner among his bird-snaring apparatus, and they said to themselves—"This is Wharepakau. Let us kill him." But the

^* The one was an owl the other a lizard.

page 16 captive said," I am not Wharepakau." But the sons of Kahunguru persisted that they would kill him. Then he said : " Do not kill me until I have guided you to the hill which stands before us and from whence I will point out to you the pa of Wharepakau " The reason that he made this remark was that his man-destroving hoeroa was concealed in that hill in a bunch of tumingi. His captors consented and were taken by Wharepakau to the hill where his weapon was hidden. On arriving there he called them to come together, which they did, enqniring:—"Where is the pa of Whare-pakau ?" Upon this he thrust his hand into the clump of tumingi and grasped his hoeroa. Turning upon his enemies he attacked them with such desperate valour that they fled in dismay from a single man; (at least so say the Ngati whare, the descendant of Wharopa-kau, and as he raised his weapon to attack the foe be cried : "Kaore pea koutou e mohio—ka tini. Ka mano ki roto i a Whare nei," which remains as a pepeha even unto this day. So he returned to his pa and found the faua still camped there and his son dead, and be asked : " Where is Thnrakau?" His tr'ibe replied: "He is at Raro-ti," Te Whaiti). And Whare-pakau uttered this saying: Mine was the evening tide. For you shall be the morning tide; I shall be with you in the morning." The old warrior de termined to attack his enemy, and he asked his people: "What is the token of Ihu-rakau ?" And they said : "Ihurakau can not be mistaken; he bears three plumes upon his bead, his garment is a mahiti his weapon is a taialia." And Wharepakau went forth in search of his enemy whom be attacked and defeated. Thu rakau fled and was pursued by Wharepakau who lost sight of him, but Ihu-rakau turned and made a sudden attack on Wharepakau who caught him and destroyed his people. So the [unclear: wa] Wharepakau returned to his [unclear: p] triumph, having defeated his [unclear: ene] And in after years it [unclear: happened] as he lav asleep one day on [unclear: f] the cliff, a hawk flying [unclear: over] caused him to wake suddenly. [unclear: J] mistaking the cry of the kahu [unclear: for] voices of men he fled, and [unclear: f] over the cliff he was most [unclear: grie] hurt And even unto this day [unclear: is] cliff known as Te Rerenga o-[unclear: Wh] pakau.

(The oves of the fishermen are [unclear: el]but the eyes of the fighter [unclear: are] And in the morning Taketake [unclear: ad] himself, and as ho did so he [unclear: he] people calling : "O Take! The [unclear: e] are advancing; they are on the [unclear: f] tahi of the pa." taketake [unclear: rsp] "Let them come closer" [unclear: w] enemy arrived at the [unclear: kiri-tangats] Taketake came forth and [unclear: stood] maioro of his pa. Behold! [unclear: Se] had he ornamented himself, [unclear: se] man did he look, that the [unclear: adv] enemy baited to admire him gave the men of the pa [unclear: time] outside and surround the [unclear: enemy] ha! Tlen was heard the [unclear: s] clashing weapons, and blows. [unclear: a] death cries of brave men. [unclear: Th] of Tan garoa were defeate [unclear: a] page 17 remnants of the taua fled to the great forest of Tane which extends far away to the Land of the Rising Sun.

I will now give you the genealogy of Wharepakau and his descendants the have held the lauds of To Whaiti for so many years :

Wharepakau, Te Manako, Take-[unclear: take,] Te Rangi tuahiwi, Hika-paratai, Te Ringaringa, Te Au, Turero-au, Rangiamio, Rewi Rangiamio, Haare, Te Haupa (about 14 years old in 1895.)

Tangiharnru married Kura-nui and [unclear: had] descendants—Mahanga, Te Aroa-[unclear: kapa.] To Ukuhanga, Te Kiri-kaiaga-[unclear: hau]. Te Rangihi-rawa, Whata, Te [unclear: Uru], Rangiamio (an old man in 1895. Also see preceding genealogy.)

Enough! This is all the [unclear: inuorm] I have for my pakeha friends.

In reference to the above legend of the destruction of tin Marangaranga, I may say that local authorities do not agree as to the annihilation of that [unclear: ld] time people. The Ngati-Apa say that their great ancestor Apa-koki and this son, Apa-tamaiti, were the do-[unclear: sroyers] of Te Marangaranga, that the latter were defeated in a heavy fight at Pekepeke and uharaunui, about light miles above Galatea, and also that a battle was fought at Wai-iro-[unclear: la,] just below the junction of the Rangitaiki and the Whirinaki rivers.

However that may be, it is certain that this district was populated by a numerous people at the time when the Maori arrived, when Mataatua and Te Arawa ended their long voyage on the shores of the Bay of Plenty. Most of the natives at present living in the district have a heavy strain of aboriginal blood in them, and although [unclear: any] of the younger men deny the [unclear: ristence] of the tangata whenua, yet the old men are well versed in the traditions of the remote past and speak [unclear: kith] pride of Toi and Awa, of Haeana [unclear: Kid] Tama-ki-hikurangi.

It would be interesting to know [unclear: that] peculiarities are derived from the ancient people of the land, peculiarities of speech, custom and appearance seen among the Tuhoe people. Whence comes the want of the pronounced nasal that obtains among these people and the many ancient words still preserved by them and not known in other parts of the land. From whence come the numerous urukehu, the fine-fea-tured red haired people seen among the hapus of the interior, the Tama-kai-moana of Maungapohatu and the Nga-Tawhaki of Ruatahuna. From whence is derived that old-world custom which obtained in the Land of the Urewera since the days of Taneatua, and for possible centuries before that time; the worship of which is as old as the oldest race and as far spreading as the great sun myths—the custom which was probably one of the earliest forms of religion—the cult of the phallic symbol.

Many such thoughts come to one when looking upon this singular tribe, and I hold it as a fact that no more interesting people exist south of the Line than the Tuhoe of the Urewera Country.

The state of isolation in which these people have lived for many centuries has preserved the peculiarities which They probably derive from the multitudo tudo of Toi, and it is certain that a close study of their dialect, customs and legends would amply reward the [unclear: ethnologist]—if he does not come too late.

The descendants of Tuhoe potoki are the most conservative of Maoris and never tire of telling the wondrous tales of old, of the old warriors who made history on the battle-grounds of Ruatahuna and Te Wairoa, of Te Papuni and Te Whaiti-nui-a-Toi. They tell in serious tones of the formation of the Waikaremoana Lake, of Mahu and Haumapuhi; and of the huge Taniwha Ruamano at Te Papuni, of the enchanted dogs of Tane-atua, and the woman-demon, Hine-ruarangi, page 18 who appears to men in the form of a bird and whose appearance is a sign of death. Of the strange lakes Otara and Kongo-te-mauriuri far away on Maungapohatu where is found that singular bird, the weweii. And of Nga Whatu-a-Maru, the sacred cave, where the ancient dead are lying, and the huge bones of the moa are seen. And of many other strange things of olden times, such as are ever believed in by an uncultured people, and at which we can scarcely afford to laugh, for of a truth we are not yet emerged from the wood of gloomy superstition in which we have been wandering for so many ages.