Iwi o te wiki: Rangitāne
Ngāi Tauira
Rangitāne tangata rau, Rangitāne nui a rangi. Tini whetū ki te rangi, ko Rangitāne ki te whenua.
Rangitāne of hundreds, Rangitāne of the heavens. Like the multitude of stars in the sky, so too is Rangitāne on the land.
Rangitāne was the grandson of Whātonga, who was the captain of Kurahaupō waka. Kurahaupō sailed from Hawaiki and landed at Nukutaurua alongside other principal rangatira such as Te Pōhurihanga, ancestor of Ngāti Kuri, Popoto, ancestor of Ngāti Rongomaiwahine, and Ruatea, ancestor of Ngāti Apa. Rangitāne was also the nephew of Tara, for whom Te Whanganui a Tara is named. Heretaunga was a settlement built by Whātonga that is now the name used to describe the Hawke’s Bay region. Rangitāne was born and raised in Heretaunga by his parents Tautoki and Waipuna, and it is said that he is buried in a cave on Kahuranaki maunga. It is also said that Rangitāne spent some time in Tamaki nui a Rua area as a child, due to his link to Te Aitanga a Kupe through his mother, and to Tamakuku through his paternal grandmother Reretua.
Ngāti Te Rangiwhakaewa is the paramount hapū for Rangitāne in Tamaki nui a Rua. Turake, a descendant of Te Rangiwhakaewa, appointed his irāmutu to four defensive fortresses to stake a claim and protect the Tamaki nui a Rua territory. This defensive alliance was known as Te Ringa Kaha—Te Koro-ō-ngā-whenua was sent to Te Ahu a Turanga, Rangitōtohu was sent to Rākautātahi, Parakiore was sent to Pāparataitoko, Matetapu and Whakawehi were sent to Te Tōanga. Their sole duty was to protect the Tamaki nui a Rua area and restrict the access of invading armed forces into the northern end of Te Tapere Nui o Whātonga. Nestled in the Ruahine ranges is Te Ahu a Turanga, a wāhi tapu where Turanga-i-mua and other Rangitāne rangatira were buried, and where a tapu rock lays.
Ngāti Hāmua is the paramount hapū of Rangitāne in Wairarapa, in particular Te Tapere Nui o Whātonga. This great forest once spanned 70 miles from Takapau to Whakaoriori. Rangitāne have been occupying its expanse for over 30 generations. Sadly, the only major remnant of this ngahere is a 942-acre wildlife reserve called Pūkaha. Raekaumoana was a Wairarapa-based Rangitāne rangatira in the 1600s, who called upon his guardian—the eagle Rongomai—who flew him to seek help from Ngāti Te Rangiwhakaewa. Rangitāne also had pā around coastal areas and near Wairarapa Moana.
Ngāti Hineaute is one of the main hapū of Rangitāne in Manawatū. Rangitāne tūpuna Tāwhakihiku and Māngere migrated to Manawatū from Tamaki nui a Rua. Tamakuku is the ancestor who dug out the bed of the Te Awa Pokere o Tamakuku which is on the eastern side of Ruahine Ranges—the water flowing through the gorge is called Te Au rere a Te Tonga which was created by Okatia, a spirit that possessed a tōtara tree that yearned to get to sea, thus creating Te Āpiti. The river flowing from Te Āpiti to the sea was named Manawatū, by the famous tohunga Haunui-a-Nanaia. Traditionally, Te Āpiti (Manawatū Gorge) was a common Rangitāne travel route, particularly because Te Tapere Nui o Whātonga was so dense. This area was full with wildlife, including the prized huia, the last sighting of which was in Te Āpiti.
Rangitāne associations in Te Whanganui a Tara stretch back to Rangitāne’s father Tautoki, who helped his brother Tara build three pā on Matiu: Haere-moana, Aotearoa, and Te Pū-o-te-tonga. Following instructions by Whātonga to settle on the landmass that was later named Motukairangi, Tara and Tautoki’s people established Whetukairangi, so named because they could not see any other iwi, only the stars in the night sky. Following this, Te Whanganui a Tara was named by Te Umu-Roimata, Tara’s wife. Te Waewae Kapiti o Tara rāua ko Rangitāne is the full name of Kapiti Island and represents the intersection of the Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne boundaries. Rangitāne based in Pito-one and Korokoro also met some sailors in the early 1820s. The mauri of Te Tumu Herenga Waka was gifted by Rangitāne; it was part of the revered rock called Te Ahu a Turanga in the Ruahine ranges.
Rangitāne in Te Waipounamu are made up of many hapū and many migrations which started around the 1600s: Huataki, Hāpairangi, and Tūkauāe came in the Te Rerewa migration from Wairarapa. This migration followed a tuku whenua between Huataki, Tūkauāe and Te Rerewa with Te Rangitāwhanga, Pouri, Matua Te Rangi and others of Ngati Ira. Te Heiwi and Wharepuka came from Rangitāne from the west coast of the lower North Island, and Te Kahawai and others from Manawatū, including some further Ngati Whakamana uri in the 1800s. In the mid 1700s, Rangitāne rangatira Te Whatakoiro and Patiti began digging out around 26km worth of canals and waterways in the Wairau lagoons—these canals were used to trap manu, ika and tuna. Descendants of Kurahaupō iwi in Te Waipounamu met and exchanged taonga with Captain Cook’s sailors in their three voyages between 1770 and 1773, and Russian explorers in 1820 who both came to Tōtaranui. Rangitāne o Wairau are the kaitiaki of Te Pokohiwi o Kupe, the Boulder Bank, one of the most archaeologically important sites in Aotearoa, where some of our tūpuna first landed and settled.
Rangitāne have faced immense challenges, from musket-armed northern iwi migrating downwards, to Pākehā usurping hapū and iwi mana through colonial Parliament and its continual degradation of Rangitāne and other iwi through legislation. In spite of all these challenges, we will continue to persevere and tell the stories of our tūpuna, to ensure that their legacy lives on for generations to come.
Mai i Heretaunga, ki Tamaki nui a Rua, ki Manawatū, ki Wairarapa, ki Te Whanganui a Tara, whakawhiti i a Raukawa moana ki Te Waiponamu - ko Rangitāne te tūpuna, ko Rangitāne te iwi.
This article was developed with the expertise and knowledge of Manahi Paewai, Wharemako Paewai, and Mark Moses.