Rakawahakura (Unknown) Kāi Tahu (bef. 1610)

Born before 1610 in Tūranganui-a-Rua, Aotearoa [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Ori, Aotearoa

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Susan Zohs [send private message]

Biography

Rakawahakura was a member of Kāi Tahu.^[1] He is a tipuna shared between Ngāi Tāmanuhiri^[2] and (modern) Kāi Tahu who is remembered for his involvement in the conflicts at Tūranganui-a-Rua (Poverty Bay) which forced his people to leave the area.^[3] He was responsible for stealing Tūtekohi's kurī, Kauerehuanui, in retaliation for a previous insult.^[4][5]

He was later captured and killed near the Waikato,^[4] at a place called Ori. A proclamation was said of him by Paea-o-te-rangi before his death:

Ko taku hika, ko Rakawahakura. Ko toku kainga, ki Nga-rua-o-Hine-te-kawa – My man is Rakawahakura, my lands are the pits of Hine-te-kawa^[2]

Alternatively:

Ko taku tangata, ko Rakawahakura, Ko toku Kainga ki Nga Rua o Hine Te Kawa^[2]

He is also briefly alluded to in a 'Kāti Kurī song' regarding the battles at the time:

A Rakawahakura i te wawa a Kaha^[4]

Research Notes

The birth year used on this profile (and his relations born before about 1800) is extremely conservative based off of 15 year generations counting backwards from his modern descendants. This date is otherwise for practical reasons.

• Rakawakakura – Shortland 1851 (informant Tūhawaiki)
• Rakaiwakakura – Smith 1894 (informant T.R. Te Mamaru)^[6]
• Rakawahakura – J.M. McEwen 1946 (informant Rahera Tainui)^[7][1]

Several old men referred to him as a leader of Kāti Kurī, according to Beattie.^[4] This does not appear reflected in whakapapa, and perhaps as a translation error reflects that he stole Tūtekohi's kurī.

Rakawahakura is primarily remembered for his participation in the battles of the time. In the traditions of Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, his parents were Ruaihunui and Rangiakawa, and he had no issue.^[2] In Kāi Tahu tradition, his parents were Tahumuri and Marutai, and his sons were Rakaiwhakaata, Tahumutu, and Maruhou.^[1] His placement as a descendant of Tahupōtiki also differs; the one consistency in his ancestry is that Rangateurumanu^[3] / Rakahurumanu is in his lineage. A possible nod to consistency is that Kāi Tahu ancestor Tahumuri^[3] (Tahumurihape) is placed as a cousin of Tahupitopito by Ngāi Tāmanuhiri.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Te Maire Tau, 'Ngāi Tahu - The move south', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/whakapapa/1631/tahupotiki-and-his-descendants (accessed 17 Sep 2023)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Wirihana te Waitohioterangi, Tanith (7 Jun 2020). 'Korimuroa! An account of an obscure battle forgotten by everybody, that nobody cares about.'. tanithwirihana.wordpress.com. Accessed 17 Sep 2023.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Tūhawaiki (1843) Shortland, Edward (ed., Jun 1851); The Southern Districts of New Zealand; A Journal, with Passing Notices of the Customs of the Aborigines. Paternoster Row: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans. Chapter V. Table A, unpaginated (between pp. 94 and 95).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Traditions and legends. Collected from the natives of Murihiku. (Southland, New Zealand) Part XIV Beattie, Herries James (1922). The Journal of the Polynesian Society. XXXI: pages 134–144.
5. ↑ Manawa Kāi Tahu: Te Kurī o Tūtekohi. Te Karaka. No. 54. Tumataroa, Phil; Revington, Mark; Tafuna’i, Faumuinā F.M.; Leufkins, Diana; Leslie, Simon, eds. (2012). Christchurch 8141: Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (published June 2012)
6. ↑ Genealogy of Te Mamaru Family of Moeraki, Northern Otago, NZ Te Mamaru, Teone Rena Rawiri. (March 1894). The Journal of the Polynesian Society. Vol. III No. 1: page 9–15. Page 12.
7. ↑ Ngai-Tahu, Notes Relating to Tainui, Rahera (1946) McEwen, J.M. (ed.). The Journal of the Polynesian Society. Vol. LV: 221–235. Table 1.