Story: Whāngai – customary fostering and adoption

Tūtānekai playing a kōauau

Tūtānekai playing a kōauau

A carved figure of Tūtānekai plays his kōauau (flute) in the centre of Rotorua. Though of high rank, Tūtānekai began life as a pōriro (illegitimate child), after his mother Rangiuru had an affair with a visiting chief, Tūwharetoa. Ultimately, Whakaue, Rangiuru's husband, accepted Tūtānekai and raised him as a whāngai.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Shirley Williams

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How to cite this page:

Basil Keane, 'Whāngai – customary fostering and adoption - Traditions and history', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/31032/tutanekai-playing-a-koauau (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Basil Keane, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 Jun 2017