Te Huhuti was a MÃÂori chieftainess of NgÃÂti Kahungunu from the HawkeâÂÂs Bay region of New Zealand and an ancestor of the NgÃÂti Te WhatuiÃÂpiti hapà «. She probably lived in the late 17th century.
Te HuhutiâÂÂs family, Te Hika a Ruarauhanga, was locked in a multi-generational feud with her cousins Te Hika a PÃÂpÃÂuma. However, Te Huhuti fell in love with Te WhatuiÃÂpiti the leading rangatira of Te Hika a PÃÂpÃÂuma, snuck away from her home, and swam across Lake Rotoatara in order to marry him. This brought the feud between the two lines to an end and is considered to be one of the great traditional MÃÂori love stories.
Te Huhuti was the daughter of Te Rangitaumaha and Hineiao. Through both her parents, she was a descendant of RÃÂkei-hikuroa by his wife Ruarauhanga; Kahungunu; Tamatea, the captain of the TÃÂkitimu canoe; and the early explorer Toi. She had three sisters â Ruatiti, Manuitiatoi, and Parengenge â and four brothers â Taraia, Hinehore, Hikateko, and Kaiaotea. After RÃÂkei-hikuroa's death, an enduring feud developed between the descendants of Ruarauhanga (Te Hika a Ruarauhanga) and the descendants of one of his other wives, PÃÂpÃÂuma (Te Hika a PÃÂpÃÂuma).
Te HuhutiâÂÂs father, Te Rangitaumaha split his time between Oueroa and Parehemanihi, near à Âmahu. He took a number of members of Te Hika a PÃÂpÃÂuma prisoner at Parehemanihi and planned to eat them. In revenge, Te WhatuiÃÂpiti, the leading rangatira of Te Hika a PÃÂpÃÂuma attacked Parehemanihi and fought with great prowess. Te Huhuti was watching the battle from the ramparts and was instantly taken with him. When Te WhatuiÃÂpiti caught sight of her, he was struck by her beauty in turn, so he immediately ended the battle and made peace, even though he had been on the verge of victory. He was invited into the village for dinner and there he secretly slept with Te Huhuti and told her to come to him at Rotoatara.
There are a number of accounts of Te HuhutiâÂÂs journey to Lake Rotoatara. All accounts agree that Te Huhuti arrived at the lake late in the evening and found that there was no way to get to the island where Te WhatuiÃÂpitiâÂÂs village was located, that Te Huhuti therefore swam naked across the lake, and managed to rendezvous with Te WhatuiÃÂpiti, but they differ on the details.
According to one account, Te Huhuti swam across to the island, where she hid in the rushes hoping for Te WhatuiÃÂpiti to come down to the shore. When one of Te WhatuiÃÂpitiâÂÂs slaves came down to get water, she smashed his calabash. He fetched another and she smashed that too, so the slave told Te WhatuiÃÂpiti, who realised that the mysterious woman was Te Huhuti. He brought her into his house and the two were married. In the morning, Te WhatuiÃÂpiti announced the marriage by climbing up on top of his house and shouting out âÂÂWho was able to overcome Rotoatara but Te Huhuti?âÂÂ
In another version, Huhuti swam across the lake in the dark, guided by a love song played by Te WhatuiÃÂpiti on his pà «tà Ârino flute, called Te Aometikirangi, and she then went straight to his house.
Most versions of the story say that Te WhatuiÃÂpitiâÂÂs mother, Hinetemoa, found out about the wedding the morning after and was furious, because her relatives had been killed by Te Rangitaumaha. In one version, she came running into the house after hearing the news, waving a pounamu axe, intending to murder Te Huhuti. In the oldest published version of the story, however, Te Huhuti meets Hinetemoa at the shore and persuades her to take her to Te WhatuiÃÂpiti.
All versions agree the Hinetemoa said, âÂÂSitting there like a statue (teko)! Sitting there naked/like an idiot/like an eel changing its skin (hore)! I have a mind to strike you down (taraitia) with my greenstone axe!â But then she said, âÂÂMy anger is over. I am very sad and in pain of heart over this marriage. But now we will make peace.â The marriage ended the feud between Te Hika a PÃÂpÃÂuma and Te Hika a Ruarauhanga.
The story is considered one of the great MÃÂori romances and has been compared to the more famous tale of Hinemoa and Tà «tÃÂnekai. It is commemorated by a traditional song of NgÃÂti Te WhatuiÃÂpiti, which is recorded by John Te Herekiekie Grace:
When Te Huhuti gave birth to her first child, her father Te Rangitaumaha came to Rotoatara in order to perform the tohi baptismal ritual and named the child Wawahanga. He brought a gift of shellfish and eels from Lake Oingo and Lake Runanga, but Te Huhuti was dismayed at the small size of the gift, so Te Rangitaumaha gifted Te Huhuti her âÂÂelders and brothersâ as servants of Wawahanga. Sources differ as to whether this meant her elder brothers, Hinehore, Hikateko, and Taraia (the NgÃÂti Hineiao hapà «) or the NgÃÂpuhi, NgÃÂti NgÃÂwera, NgÃÂti Te Ao hapà «. Different sources strongly disagree about whether Te Rangitaumaha also gifted large areas of land in the Heretaunga region to Wawahanga. These questions were material to a hearing of the MÃÂori Land Court on claims to the region around à Âmahu in 1889.
Te Huhuti had three sons and a daughter with Te WhatuiÃÂpiti:
The story of Te HuhutiâÂÂs journey was first recorded in George GreyâÂÂs Polynesian Mythology of 1854. H. J. Fletcher published another version in 1926, which he received from Hoeta Te Hata of NgÃÂti Tà «wharetoa, a descendant of Te WhatuiÃÂpiti and Te Huhuti. A similar version is given by John Te Herekiekie Grace. NgÃÂti Kahungunu traditions are briefly summarised by Patrick Parsons in a 1997 report to the Waitangi Tribunal on MÃÂori traditional claims to the Ahuriri area. Parsons also reports the story about WawahangaâÂÂs baptism, drawing on nineteenth century testimony delivered before the MÃÂori Land Court.