‘Te ringa mahi kai’

‘Te ringa mahi kai’

From 1819 Ngāpuhi swept through the Whanganui region. In one incident Tūwhare of Ngāpuhi led a raiding party against Te Hā Mārama and his people. Tūwhare was wounded but not killed, and he taunted Te Hā by saying that his hand was ‘he ringa mahi kai’ – the hand of a food provider. However Te Hā replied that he had spared Tūwhare so that he could tell others of Te Hā’s fierceness. This taiaha (long club) then took on the name ‘Te ringa mahi kai’.