Te Huki was a Māori rangatira (chieftain) of the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi and Ngāti Rakaipaaka hapū from around the Mohaka in northern Hawke Bay, New Zealand. Through a set of marriages, he created a network of connections along the east coast of the North Island, known as Te Kupenga a Te Huki ("the net of Te Huki"). He probably lived in the early eighteenth century.[1]

Life

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Te Huki was the son of Tureia and Hinekimihanga. Through his father, he was a direct male-line descendant of Rakaipaaka, and through both parents of Kahungunu and Tamatea Arikinui, who captained the Takitimu waka from Hawaiki to New Zealand.[2] He had two younger sisters, Te Rauhina, who married her cousin Tapuwae, and Te Rangimokai, who married Te Hikawera.[3]

Te Huki was originally based in the area along the coast of Hawke Bay between Waihua and Mohaka, which is known after him as Ngā Ngaru a Te Huki ("the waves of Te Huki").[4] Through a succession of marriages, Te Huki established a network of connections that extended along the east coast of the North Island from Tūranganui-a-Kiwa to Wairarapa, which was known as Te Kupenga a Te Huki ("the net of Te Huki").[5] The southern "post" of the net was his grandson Ngarangi-whakaupoko, whom he installed at Te Poroporo, near Pōrangahau; the eastern "post" was his grandson Ngā-whaka-tātare, at Whāngārā; and the centre "float" was his son Puruaute.[4] J.H. Mitchell reports that Te Huki's three wives all remained in their areas of origin, while he travelled between them. This made him popular with his in-laws' peoples and ensured that they supported his children as leaders.[6] Other reports say that his first wife, Te Rangitohumare, settled with him at Wairoa.[7]

Te Huki was attacked, killed, and eaten by Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, while crossing the Te Arai River on his way to visit his third wife at Tītīrangi in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa. This murder was avenged by his cousin Te-O-Tane and his grandson Te Kahu-o-te-Rangi at the Battle of Whāwhāpō.[6]

Family

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Te Huki's first marriage was to Te Rangitohumare, daughter of Te Hikawera and had three sons and a daughter:[6][8]

  • Puruaute (son), the centre "post" of Te Huki's net, who was settled in the Wairoa region and married Te Matakainga-i-te-tihi, the senior child of Tapuwae. They had three sons:[9]
  • Mātaitai (son).[6]
  • Hineraru (daughter), who married Hōpara of Pōrangahau:
  • Ngārangi-whaka-ūpoko, the southern "post" of Te Huki's net.
  • Te Hauwaitanoa (son)

Te Huki's second wife was Te Rōpūhina, a chieftainess of Nūhaka:[6]

  • Te Rākatō (son), who settled on the Māhia Peninsula and was ancestor of Ngāi Te Rākatō
  • Tūreia (son), who settled at Nūhaka
  • Te Rehu (son), who settled at Nūhaka and was ancestor of Ngāi Te Rehu

Te Huki's third wife was Rewanga, daughter of Te Aringa-i-waho, chief of Tītīrangi:[11]

  • Te Kainui
  • Te Umupapa (daughter), who married Marukawiti, son of Kanohi:
  • Ngā-whaka-tātare-o-te-rangi, the eastern "post" of Te Huki's net and ancestor of Te Kani-a-Takirau.

According to J. H. Mitchell, only descendants of Te Huki and his brother-in-law Tapuwae are traditionally considered to be aristocrats among the Ngāti Kahungunu of the Wairoa area.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Walker 2014.
  2. ^ Mitchell 2014, p. 143 gives the line of descent from Kahungunu as: Te Huki - Tūreia - Tutekanao - Kaukohea - Rakaipaaka - Kahukuranui - Kahungunu.
  3. ^ Parsons 1997, p. 60.
  4. ^ a b Mitchell 2014, p. 144.
  5. ^ Mitchell 2014, p. 143.
  6. ^ a b c d e Mitchell 2014, p. 145.
  7. ^ Parsons 1997, p. 130.
  8. ^ a b Parsons 1997, pp. 127–132.
  9. ^ Mitchell 2014, p. 146.
  10. ^ Parsons 1997, p. 138.
  11. ^ Mitchell 2014, pp. 144–145.
  12. ^ Mitchell 2014, p. 118.

Bibliography

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  • Mitchell, J. H. (2014). Takitimu: A History of Ngati Kahungunu. Libro International. ISBN 978-1-877514-72-2.
  • Parsons, Patrick (1997). WAI 400: The Ahuriri Block: Maori Cusomary Interests (PDF). Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  • Taonui, Rāwiri. "Whakapapa – genealogy - What is whakapapa?". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  • Walker, Wananga Te Ariki (27 January 2014). "Te Kupenga-a-Te Huki – Te Huki's Net". Nga Maunga Korero. Retrieved 21 February 2024.