Pourangahua was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the leaders (often hereditary) of a (subtribe or clan). Ideally, were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land ( ...

'' (chieftain) of the

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

'' and Ngāti Hingānga ''

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

'', based at Papuni in the

Ruakituri Ruakituri is a rural area in the northern Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's eastern North Island, located north of Wairoa and west of Gisborne. The 2013 New Zealand census recorded 708 people living in the Ruakituri-Morere area. The community ...

valley north of

Hawke Bay Hawke Bay (), formerly named ''Hawke's Bay'', is a large bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, surrounded by the Hawke's Bay region. It stretches from Māhia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Mā ...

of New Zealand. He probably lived in the mid-eighteenth century. In legend, he was involved in the creation of Lake Papuni. The area remains in the possession of his descendants today.

Life

Pourangahua was the son of Ngoingoi and Te Arero. Through Ngoingoi, he was a descendant of Hingānga, ancestor of Ngāti Hingānga, and thus of

Ruapani Ruapani was a rangatira ( chief) of the Māori in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (the Poverty Bay-region on the East Coast of New Zealand) in the 15th and 16th century. He is said to have been the paramount chief of all the Tūranganui-a-Kiwa tribes around 15 ...

Kahukuranui Kahukuranui was a Māori ''ariki'' (chieftain) of the Ngāti Kahungunu ''iwi'' and ancestor of the Ngāti Kahukuranui hapū of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. He led an expedition to Te Pōrangahau in order to avenge Tūpouriao and marry his widow Tū-teih ...

, and

Kahungunu Kahungunu was a Māori people, Māori ''ariki'' (chieftain) of the Tākitimu tribal confederation and ancestor of the Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki ''iwi''. He probably lived in the late fifteenth century. Although born in Kaitaia, he ...

. give the line of descent as: Kahungunu - Kahukuranui - Hingānga - Tikitiki - Kauaetere - Ngoingoi - Pourangahua. Through Te Arero, he was descended from Marupapanui. He belonged to Ngāti Hingānga and Ngāti Te Wahanga or Ngāti Wawahanga. He had '' pa'' (fortified villages) at Puke-tapu and Te Arero. The area was located on one of the main routes from the

Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, located inland between the Bay of Plenty and Hawke Bay. Te Urewera is the ''rohe'' (historical home) of Tūhoe, a Māori iwi ...

ranges occupied by Tuhoe and the coastal Hawke Bay areas occupied by Ngāti Kahungunu. Although Tuhoe and Kahungunu were hostile to one another, Pourangahua maintained good relations with both as a ''taha rua'' ("friend to both sides").

Lake Papuni

According to legend, the hill Orakai-Whaia on the west side of the

Ruakituri River The Ruakituri River is a river of the Gisborne and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It initially flows northeast from its sources north of Lake Waikareiti. Within its course are the 72 m high Waitangi Falls. Afterwards it tur ...

fell in love with the hill Tauranga-a-Tara on the east side of the river and invited her to marry him; she agreed and moved over to join Orakai-Whaia. This blocked the river and caused the land behind the hills to flood, creating Lake Papuni. Pourangahua rowed over in his canoe and performed magic spells which forced the two hills apart, creating the lake's outlet. J. H. Mitchell suggested that this story preserves memory of an earthquake that caused a landslip to block the river. In another story, the lake was instead created by the

taniwha In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respecte ...

Ruamano. Lake Pupuni remained there until 1856, when the digging of a channel accidentally burst the weir at the end of the lake.

Family and commemoration

Pourangahua married Hine-whe and had two children, including Hikawai, who married Mihikitekapua from the Tamakaimoana of Tuhoe. They had five sons, including Mahia Te Koari, whose death in battle in 1819 sparked an invasion of Te Papuni by Tuhoe. Mahia was father of Wi Tipuna, father of Ihaka, father of Hawea Tipuna, who died in 1941. Te Papuni was awarded to Pourangahua's descendants by the Maori Land Court. Ngāti Hingānga is also known as Te Aitanga o Pourangahua ("the progeny of Pourangahua") in his honour. The

wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...

of Erepēti

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

, which is located in Ruakituri and belongs to Ngāti Hingānga, is named Pourangahua after this ancestor. At the Takatimu wharenui at Waihirere marae, Te-O-Tane is depicted on one of the poupou.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , author1=Waitangi Tribunal , title=Te Urewera I (WAI 894) , date=2017 , publisher=Legislation Direct , isbn=978-1-86956-325-7 , url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_134632524/Te%20Urewera%20Vol1WS.pdf Ngāti Kahungunu people 18th-century Māori tribal leaders People from Wairoa District Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown