Te Tākinga: The Battle over Rotoiti

Ngāti Pikiao

Tamakari was the father of Pikiao (the second), who bore a son Te Tākinga. Te Tākinga had three wives Hinekiri, Hineui and Hineora. The wharenui (meeting house) at Te Tākinga marae, situated in Mourea by the Ōhau channel, bears the name of this ancestor, and the dining room is named after his third wife, Hineora. This union bore them six children: Te Rangikāheke, Tūtaki, Pārua, Ruamoko, Kiore and Hikaawarua. Te Tākinga also had sons to Hinekiri (Manene and Mango) and Hineui (Te Awanui). They were all to play a part in the full occupation of Rotoiti by Ngāti Pikiao.

Te Tākinga was a fighting chief of great renown who was instrumental in securing possession of the Lake Rotoiti district from Tūhourangi, who were occupying a number of pā sites in the Rotoiti area including sites around the Motutawa/Ōkawa Bay region.

At that time, Te Tākinga and his people resided on the shores of Rotoehu at a place called Te Puia, located at the eastern end of a track called Tāhuna, which is known today as Te Ara a Hinehopu (also known as Hongi’s track). It was at this time, that the famed warrior chief Tūtānekai journeyed from Rotorua to Rotoiti on a friendly visit to the Tūhourangi people, who were living at the Tūmoana pā site. There, some of his men engaged in a friendly contest of arms, but it developed into a heated fight whereupon Tūtānekai’s son, Tamakuri, was killed. Tūtānekai, being greatly outnumbered, retreated and planned his ultimate revenge.

He sought help from other tribes along the coastal regions, but they rejected his overtures because of past histories and existing relationships with Tūhourangi. He decided to approach Pikiao and his son Te Tākinga, reasoning that they would be pleased to get rid of the Tūhourangi people from Rotoiti. This was a high-risk option as Tūtanekai had been involved in past indiscretions with Ngāti Pikiao. However, this worked. A plan was forged and Ngāti Pikiao, under Te Takinga’s leadership, waged war upon Tūhourangi at the Tūmoana stronghold. They defeated Tūhourangi at this battle, and utu (revenge) was satisfied.

Tūtānekai, who apparently did not participate in the battle, gifted a large canoe to Ngāti Pikiao who then returned to their Te Puia stronghold. Prisoners were put to death with the exception of Te Aoniwaho, who was taken as a wife for Kotiora, another chief of Ngāti Pikiao who resided on the shores of Rotoehu.

It was due to the hard-headed nature of Te Tākinga, a great warrior, that today the Ngāti Rongomai people are happy to forge ties with Ngāti Pikiao to keep the peace, even though Pikiao was Rākeiao’s grandson. Rākeiao is the dominant line due to the fact he is the oldest son in the Rangitihi and Manawakotokoto line.

It is said that Te Tākinga once told Tūhourangi to return to Tarawera ‘’E koro, kua tae ki te wā me hoki koe ki te kāinga”. Te Tākinga knew that Tūhourangi was old, he didn’t have any battalions, and his fighting days were over.

Knowing he would have had a battle on his hands that he couldn’t win, Tūhourangi returned to Tarawera with his people. He took the name of Te Pākira and named the wharenui at Whakarewarewa after it, to remind them of their place in Rotoiti.

Ngāti Rongomai and Ngāti Pikiao still reside side by side today.

This story comes from the original Great Te Arawa Stories website created by Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru (NPeW) Education Trust in 2018. To ensure consistency, minimal updates were made to the text before it was transferred to this new site.