Dictionary of New Zealand Bography logo

Kōrero: Te Kani-a-Takirau

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te Kani-a-Takirau

?–1856

Nō Ngāti Porou, nō Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti; he ariki

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Steven Oliver, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1990. I whakahoutia i te o Noema, 2001. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

Ko Te Kani-a-Takirau he mokopuna nā Hinematioro, te ariki tapairu o Te Tai Rāwhiti huri noa. Ko te whakaaro nō ngā tau tōmuri o te rau tau 1700–1799 i whānau ai ia ki Te Tai Rāwhiti. Ko tōna wā kāenga ko Ūawa (Tolaga Bay), te pū o tērā wehenga o Ngāti Porou, o Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti.

Ko tōna matua ko Rongotūmamao he tama nā Te Whakatatare-o-te-rangi, te tangata i tūtaki ki a Kāpene Kuki (James Cook) i Ūawa.

Hau ana ngā rongo o Te Kani-a-Takirau mō te manaaki i te tangata, mai i Te Moana-a-Raukawa ki te rohe o Mātaatua whānui tonu. Nō te mea hē ariki nui a Te Kani-a-Takirau, tohungia ai he tangata hai whāngai i a ia; ahakoa haere ia ki whea, he kaitiaki ōna. E kīia ana he tangata maruwehi, he pēraka, tōna ritenga ki tō ngā kīngi-tohunga o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Mehemea ka pā he raruraru ka kitea e ana kaitiaki he huarahi e kore ai wēnei āhuatanga e heipū ki a ia. Ko te kōrero i tū ia i ngā pakanga ki a Ngā Puhi me Waikato i te awa o Waipaoa i te tau 1820, ka pahiko mā te waka. I muri mai ka tū tahi atu rāua ko Te Wera Hauraki ki tētahi wāhanga o Ngāti Porou. Heoi, ehara kē ia i te toa mō te ārahi rōpū taua. Tērā pea he āwangawanga nō tōna iwi kei mate a ia. Kāore i taea e ia te hiki te karapotitanga o te pā i Pukekaroro. Nō te pakanga i Toka-ā-Kuku i te tau 1836, ka whakatahi i a ia.

Hoahoa atu ia ki ngā Pākehā hokohoko taonga. Ka ākina e ia Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare kia nuku ki Ūawa ki te mahi harakeke hai hoko. I te tekau tau mai i 1830 ka whakanoho ngā Pākehā hokohoko tokorua ki Ūawa i raro i tōna maru. Ēngari, i whakanohoia e ia kotahi ki tētahi taha o te awa, ki rāwāhi tētahi kia kore ai rāua e tauwhāinga.

I te 16 o Mei 1840, ka puta atu a Te Wiremu (William Williams) o te Rōpū Hāhi Mihinare (Church Missionary Society), ki te torotoro i a Te Kani-a-Takirau. E mau mai ana i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Heoi, kāore tonu te rangatira nei i haina i te Tiriti. Ahakoa hoki ko ia te whakaruruhau o te mīhana i tū ai ki Ūawa i te tau 1843, kore rawa ia i huri hai Karaitiana. Nā te mea pea he tokomaha rawa nō wana wāhine. Ko tāna wahine matua ko Mariko; ko Amotawa anō tētahi, ko Hineitīeria-te-rangi te tuatoru. E ai ki ngā kōrero tekau noa atu pea wana wāhine. Tokorua wana tamariki. Ko Te Waikari te tama. Ēngari i matemate tahi rāua i mua i a Te Kani. He whare ngaro rā.

I tētahi wā ahakoa kāore ōna kaiāwhina, ka rautamia e ia te hunga mau pū e mea ana ki te tahu i te whare o te mihinare o te Rōpū Hāhi Mihinare rā, o Charles Baker. I ngā tau whakamutunga o 1848, ka haere ia ki ngā karakia Mihinare. Ehara nā te wairua Karaitiana, ēngari nā te whakahāwea a tōna iwi mō tāna noho kē mai i waho o te Hāhi. Na, i te tau 1852, ka whakatū pakanga ia ki ngā Māori o Tūranga (Gisborne), nā rātou i tango tētahi o ngā pou o te urupā o ōna tīpuna. Hei ngā taupatupatu pēraka, kātahi ia ka whakaae ki ngā āwhina a ngā Mihinare. Ā, tērā anō te wā roa tonu, ka rāhuitia e ia te huarahi mai i Tūranga ki Ūawa, kore rawa atu he putanga.

Ka tae ki te wā whakatū Kīngi Māori, ka tae te tono ki a Te Kani-a-Takirau. Inā tāna whakautu:

Ko taku maunga ko Hikurangi,
He maunga tū tonu
Ehara i te maunga haere.
Ko tōna Kīngitanga
Nō tua whakarere,
Nō aku tīpuna o te Pō!

 

Ko te tikanga o tērā kōrero, kāore he tūranga nui ake mōna i tua atu i tōna tū hei ārahi i tōna iwi, i a Ngāti Porou. Ka taka te wā, ka pāpāria a Te Kani e te māuiui, ka mate ki Whāngārā. Nō te tau 1856 pea. Ka tangihia e tōna iwi. Nā Te Wiremu i whakahaere ngā karakia o te pō. Ko te kōrero, i tāpuketia a Te Kani-a-Takirau ki te taha o tōna tipuna i a Hinematioro i Te Ana-o-Paikea, i te motu o Whāngārā.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Steven Oliver. 'Te Kani-a-Takirau - Te Kani a Takirau', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990, updated o Noema, 2001. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/1t41/te-kani-a-takirau (accessed 29 March 2024)