Hirawanu Tapu ( 1824–1900) was a notable New Zealand
Moriori
The Moriori are the first settlers of the Chatham Islands ( in Moriori language, Moriori; in Māori language, Māori). Moriori are Polynesians who came from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 AD, which was close to the time of the ...
leader. He was born in
Te Awapatiki,
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...
, New Zealand.
He was a major source for
Alexander Shand's works on Moriori history, traditions, chants and
vocabulary
A vocabulary (also known as a lexicon) is a set of words, typically the set in a language or the set known to an individual. The word ''vocabulary'' originated from the Latin , meaning "a word, name". It forms an essential component of languag ...
, and about 90 percent of all extant knowledge of his people's culture and language passed through his hands.
References
1900 deaths
Moriori people
People from the Chatham Islands
Year of birth uncertain
19th-century births
{{NewZealand-bio-stub