Maniapoto was a MÃÂori rangatira (chieftain) of NgÃÂti Raukawa in the Tainui tribal confederation from the Waikato region, New Zealand, and the founding ancestor of the NgÃÂti Maniapoto iwi.
Initially, he based himself at Waiponga in the Mohoao-nui swamp, near modern à Âtorohanga. After the death of his father, Rereahu, he defeated his older half-brother, Te Ihinga-a-rangi, in a battle for pre-eminence. He based himself in the region of modern Te Kà «iti for a time, repulsing attacks on this area by Hou-taketake and the NgÃÂti Taki hapà « of NgÃÂti Tama. Then he returned to Mohoao-nui, settling at Hikurangi, from which he repulsed a large invasion by Wairangi of NgÃÂti Raukawa. In his old age, he lived in the Waitomo Caves and died peacefully at a meeting of the whole iwi at Pukeroa. He probably lived in the seventeenth century.
Maniapoto was the second-born son of Rereahu, who was a direct descendant of Hoturoa (the commander of the Tainui canoe), and his first wife, Rangi-ÃÂnewa, daughter of TamÃÂio. His mother was Hine-au-pounamu, RereahuâÂÂs second wife, whose parents were Tà «-a-tangiroa of Tainui and a daughter of the NgÃÂti-Hàchief HÃÂ-kà «hÃÂ-nui. Maniapoto had an older half-brother, Te Ihinga-a-rangi, and five younger brothers (Matakore, Tà «-whakahekeao, Tà «rongo-tapu-ÃÂrau, Te Io-wÃÂnanga or Te ÃÂio-wÃÂnanga, Kahu-ariari), and two sisters (Kinohaku and Te Rongorito), many of whom are the ancestors of hapà « (sub-tribes) of NgÃÂti Maniapoto. Maniapoto and his younger brothers grew up at KÃÂwhia.
Maniapoto and Matakore both decided to settle at Waiponga on the north bank of the WaipàRiver a little to the east of à Âtorohanga, in the Mohoao-nui swamp. When Matakore went looking for a tree to use as the tÃÂhuhu (ridge beam) of his house, he found a tall kahikatea at Mangawhero which he chopped down and brought to Waiponga, but Maniapoto advised him that its length meant that it was in danger of splitting and advised him to cut it shorter. Then Maniapoto went into the forest and chopped down a taller kahikatea for himself, so that he would have the larger house. Matakore's house was called Mata-keretà « and Maniapoto's was called Mata-whaiora. As of 1898, the foundations of these houses were still visible.
When Rereahu was on his death-bed he decided to give his mana to Maniapoto, rather than Te Ihinga-a-rangi, because he thought the younger brother had proven himself a better leader. Therefore, he told Te Ihinga-a-rangi to go to the tuahu (altar) and perform rituals, promising to pass his mana to him when he returned. While he was away, he called Maniapoto to him, covered his head in red ochre and instructed him to bite the crown of his head, passing the chiefly mana to him. Maniapoto objected, but Rereahu declared that Te Ihinga-a-rangi was illegitimate in some way. Pei Te Hurinui Jones suggests that this was because Rereahu already planned to marry Hine-pounamu when Te Ihinga-a-rangi was conceived and/or because Hine-moana was genealogically senior to Te Ihinga-a-rangiâÂÂs mother Rangi-ÃÂnewa. Maniapoto accepted the mana and by the time Te Ihinga-a-rangi returned, Rereahu was dead.
One of the guests who came from KÃÂwhia for Rereahu's tangihanga (funeral) was Tà «-tarawa, who was the brother of Maniapoto's mother and whose son was married to Te Ihinga-a-rangi's great-granddaughter, Hine-Whatihua. He visited Te Ihinga-a-rangiâÂÂs settlement at à ÂngÃÂrahu, and Te Ihinga-a-rangi served him a meal of bird-meat, giving Tà «-tarawa the worse portion (the heads), while keeping the rest for himself. Te Inhinga-a-rangi indicated that he intended to murder Maniapoto. After this, Tà «-tarawa visited Maniapoto's house, Hikurangi, at Mohoao-nui, a little to the northwest. Maniapoto also served his uncle bird-meat, but gave him the better portion, so he told Maniapoto about Te Ihinga-a-rangi's intentions.
Maniapoto told Tà «-tarawa to return to Te Ihinga-a-rangi and tell him that Maniapoto had decided to abandon Mohoao-nui and settle somewhere in the east. Then Maniapoto and his people left the village, travelled east for a way before circling around and hiding on the river bank to the west of the village. Thinking that the village had been abandoned, Te Ihinga-a-rangi brought a group up to settle there and was ambushed. Most of Te Ihinga-a-rangi's people were killed, but he was captured alive and brought to Maniapoto, who spat on his head, shaming Te Ihinga-a-rangi and securing his own pre-eminence, after which Te Ihinga-a-rangi went into exile.
Subsequently, Maniapoto resettled at Taupiri-o-te-rangi on the Mangaokewa Stream (a tributary of the Mangapu River on the southern edge of modern Te Kà «iti). Another chieftain, Hou-taketake (or Hou-takitaki) came to the region from Mà Âkau Falls and settled at Pata-oneone, about 1500 metres to the west. He then established another fortress to the southeast at PÃÂtohe (or Mau-uka). Maniapoto did not perceive Hou-taketake as a threat, so he let him do this, but Hou-taketake concluded that Maniapoto was afraid of him and started to antagonise him and his people.
At the time of the kumara harvest, some of ManiapotoâÂÂs people encountered some of Hou-taketakeâÂÂs people carrying a log, which they said was going to be the tÃÂhuhu (âÂÂridge beamâÂÂ) for a kumara pit. But then one of the men added that the log was a rib of ManiapotoâÂÂs father Rereahu. When Maniapoto heard this he sent his men to steal the log and Hou-taketake was so angry that he led a raiding party over to Taupiri-o-te-rangi in order to attack Maniapoto.
Maniapoto happened to be having sex with his new wife Papa-rauwhare when Hou-taketake attacked and by the time he emerged, Hou-taketake was already in front of his house. Maniapoto knelt down with his taiaha spear on the ground in front of him, but Hou-taketake came forward and challenged him to single combat. Maniapoto did not respond, so Hou-taketake came up and started insulting him. Then Maniapoto threw gravel and sand in Hou-taketakeâÂÂs eyes, blinding him, grabbed him and threw him on the ground. He bit him on his head, lowering his mana. Maniapoto granted the honour of killing Hou-taketake to his nephew, Tangaroa-kino. Hou-taketakeâÂÂs men fled, but Maniapoto chased them down and killed them all. After this, Maniapoto returned to Mohoao-nui.
ManiapotoâÂÂs son, Rà ÂrÃÂ, married Kura-mà Ânehu of NgÃÂti Hia and settled at Mà Âtaki-ora, to the north of Te Kà «iti. She fell out with Rà ÂrÃÂ, went off to visit her family in Mà Âkau, and returned with a group of NgÃÂti Taki (a hapà « of NgÃÂti Tama). The fact that she served the best food to a member of this group, Tuakina, led Rà Âràto suspect that Kura-mà Ânehu had had sex with him and during an argument, she revealed that she had, so he murdered Tuakina. Te Matapihi says that the Rà Âràmurdered Kura-mà ÂnehuâÂÂs brothers, rather than her lover. The rest of NgÃÂti Taki fled the village and set themselves up in a fort at Tihi-mÃÂnuka, near Hou-taketakeâÂÂs old settlement of Pata-oneone. One of the men Te Heru was sent back to Mà Âtaki-ora and spoke to Kura-mà Ânehu, who told him that she was living in fear of Rà ÂrÃÂ. He told her to keep Rà Âràawake until dawn, then have sex with him and send him to sleep. When she had done this, she was to throw some gravel over the fence so that the NgÃÂti Taki would know that Rà Âràwas asleep. She carried out this plan and the NgÃÂti Taki managed to break into the village and killed Rà Âràin his sleep.
As soon as he heard about this, Maniapoto gathered a war party, which arrived the following night and secretly surrounded Mà Âtaki-ora, where the NgÃÂti Taki were now staying. At dawn, Maniapoto's younger brother, Tà «-whakahekeao climbed up a rÃÂtàtree which was covered in red flowers. Because he was wearing a red cloak, he was perfectly camouflaged and was able to see that the NgÃÂti Taki were going about their affairs and preparing food, completely unaware of the force that had gathered. This rÃÂtàtree was still visible as of 1870.
As soon as Tà «-whakahekeao reported that the NgÃÂti Taki had sat down to eat, Maniapoto attacked, taking the NgÃÂti Taki completely by surprise. They were rapidly overpowered and captured. However, Maniapoto chose to let their chieftains, Te Heru and Pà Âwhero, go, because the murder of Rà Âràhad just and because they had not killed Rà ÂrÃÂâÂÂs son Tà «tai-mÃÂrà Â. After this, Maniapoto again returned to the Mohoao-nui swamp, settling on a hill called Hikurangi.
Rangipare, the daughter of Maniapoto's sister, Kinohaku, was engaged to one of Takihiku's sons, Wairangi. On her journey to marry him, she stopped at the NgÃÂti Takihiku village at Mount Whare-puhunga, where she met Maniapoto's second son, Tà «-taka-moana. The two instantly fell in love and began a sexual relationship, even though, as first cousins, this was considered incestuous. The pair eloped, settling secretly in a hënau tree at Mangawhero (near Otewa). For three months, no one knew where the couple had gone. Wairangi set out to search for his bride, but when he visited Maniapoto at Hikurangi, he was told that she had not been seen there.
Eventually, however, an old man called Te Wana, who was out cutting kiekie in order to make an eel trap, happened upon the couple. He told them that Maniapoto supported them and that Wairangi had come looking for them. They gave him the pounamu earring, à Ârua-hinewai, which had been a gift from Maniapoto to Rangipare. When Te Wana returned to Hikurangi wearing the earring, Maniapoto recognised it and nearly killed him, but Te Wana was able to tell him the news and was then sent to bring Tà «-taka-moana and Rangipare back to Hikurangi, where Maniapoto allowed them couple to marry. He said to his son, "marry your wife as utu ('repayment') for your neck", which has become proverbial.
When Wairangi heard about this he gathered a war party of nine hundred men from NgÃÂti Takihiku and NgÃÂti Whakatere, and came to attack. At KÃÂrea-nui on the south bank of the WaipàRiver he burnt NgÃÂti Maniapoto's kumara storage pits. When Maniapoto's brother, Tà «-whakahekeao, saw the smoke rising and despaired, Maniapoto said "Never mind, the five remain to produce food," but he responded, "Wrong! It is food that lets children be called children," so Maniapoto agreed to lead out a force of three hundred and seventy to confront Wairangi, making base near KÃÂrea-nui at Waiponga. Wairangi's forces attacked Waiponga, but Maniapoto stayed still, leaping into action only when the enemy had breached the walls. Then he leapt up and made the first kill. The men of NgÃÂti Takihiku fled.
Tama-te-hura, the brother of Wairangi, and his wife Te Rongorito, Maniapoto's favourite sister, who lived at nearby Te Waka, were watching the battle from a distance. Tama-te-hura thought that his brother's side was winning and said "ÃÂhahÃÂ! The days of the children of Maikuku-tara!" (Maikuku-tara was the mother of Tama-te-hura and Wairangi) but his wife replied "If the dust of battle moves northwards, these are the days of the sons of Maikuku-tara; if it moves south of WaipÃÂ they are the days of your in-laws." When this proved true, Tama-te-hura was so angry that he killed their child (his daughter Pare-whakaroro-uri according to Bruce Biggs or his son Huitao according to HÃ Âri Wirihana) and ran off to Te Horanga, but Te Rongorito decided to follow him, so that her surviving child would not be considered a bastard.
As Maniapoto's forces pushed Wairangi's forces back, Maniapoto shouted out one of his most famous sayings, "Kei hewa ki Te Marae-o-hine" ("Do not desecrate Te Marae-o-hine"), meaning that his men should not kill the enemy while they remained on the north bank of the WaipÃÂ, where Te Marae-o-hine was located, but could kill any who were on the south bank. As NgÃÂti Maniapoto made kills they shouted out they shouted out the names of famous eel weirs, saying "KÃÂkati-kà «tehe is mine!", "Kete-onehea is mine!" and so on. Eventually, Maniapoto shouted out another famous saying, "Coward! Behold, mine! Your elder brother's is the fish of the morning!" (meaning that he had made the first kill).
This war provides the traditional foundation for the long-term animosity between NgÃÂti Maniapoto and NgÃÂti Takihiku.
Maniapoto lived for many years without warfare, basing himself at Te Ana-uriuri (subsequently known as Te Ana-o-Maniapoto), one of the Waitomo Caves. When he was nearing death, he went to Pukeroa and had his brother-in-law, Tà «-irirangi, gather the people for a hui. When the people had gathered, Maniapoto told them to perform the tà « waewae haka (a war dance with weapons). He was not impressed with any of the groupsâ performances except for that of his own family, led by his son Te Kawa-irirangi. When they performed he said, âÂÂkia mau tonu ki tÃÂnÃÂ; kia mau ki te kawau-mÃÂrà Ââ (âÂÂstick to that, the straight-flying cormorantâÂÂ), which has become a proverb â it refers to the way that a war party charges forward with determination. He died during the hui.
Maniapoto married several times. His first wife was Hine-mania, daughter of Te Rà «eke, niece of Tà «-pÃÂhau and grand-daughter of Kaihamu, from the KÃÂwhia region. She was an extremely respected figure and the people of the tribe regularly reserved part of their catch for her when they went hunting, although Maniapoto himself resented this. They had one son:
Subsequently, Maniapoto married Hine-whatihua, the great-grand-daughter of his older brother Te Ihinga-a-rangi, who had previously been married to Ue-tarangore, son of Tà «-tarawa and nephew of ManiapotoâÂÂs mother Hine-au-pounamu. They had one son:
He also married Papa-rauwhare, daughter of Hine-whatihua and Ue-tarangore. They had one son:
The story of ManiapotoâÂÂs conflict with Te Ihinga-a-rangi is recorded by Pei Te Hurinui Jones, based on oral accounts that he heard from unspecified Tainui elders. It was also cited by NgÃÂti Maniapoto elders during a conflict about the status of the Rereahu tribe within NgÃÂti Maniapoto in 2016.
The story of ManiapotoâÂÂs conflict with Hou-taketake was reported by Percy Smith in 1909, who attributes it to âÂÂold Rëhari of Mà Âkau and repeated by Pei Te Hurinui Jones, who also heard a version of it from Wehi-te-ringitanga of NgÃÂti Maniapoto, from MangapÃÂhi. It was also recounted by Te Naunau Hëkaka as evidence in a case before the Maori Land Court at à Âtorohanga on 15 December 1892.
The conflict with NgÃÂti Taki is reported by Pei Te Hurinui Jones, based on the oral account which he heard from Wehi-te-ringitana. It was also recounted by Te Naunau Hëkaka at the same court case in 1892 and by Te Matapihi at another court case on 14 December 1892.
The conflict with NgÃÂti Takihiku is reported by Bruce Biggs, based on an 1898 manuscript by Hari Wahanui of à Âtorohanga.