Te Huhuti
Te Huhuti was a MÄori chieftainess of NgÄti Kahungunu from the Hawkeās Bay region of New Zealand and an ancestor of the NgÄti Te WhatuiÄpiti hapÅ«. She probably lived in the late 17th century.[1][2]
Te Huhutiās family, Te Hika a Ruarauhanga, was locked in a multi-generational feud with her cousins Te Hika a PÄpÄuma. However, Te Huhuti fell in love with Te WhatuiÄpiti the leading rangatira of Te Hika a PÄpÄuma, snuck away from her home, and swam across Lake Rotoatara in order to marry him. This brought the feud between the two lines to an end and is considered to be one of the great traditional MÄori love stories.
Life
Te Huhuti was the daughter of Te Rangitaumaha and Hineiao.[1][3] Through both her parents, she was a descendant of RÄkei-hikuroa by his wife Ruarauhanga; Kahungunu; Tamatea, the captain of the TÄkitimu canoe; and the early explorer Toi.[4] She had three sisters ā Ruatiti, Manuitiatoi, and Parengenge ā and four brothers ā Taraia, Hinehore, Hikateko, and Kaiaotea.[5] After RÄkei-hikuroa's death, an enduring feud developed between the descendants of Ruarauhanga (Te Hika a Ruarauhanga) and the descendants of one of his other wives, PÄpÄuma (Te Hika a PÄpÄuma).[6]
Te WhatuiÄpitiās attack
Te Huhutiās father, Te Rangitaumaha split his time between Oueroa and Parehemanihi, near Åmahu. He took a number of members of Te Hika a PÄpÄuma prisoner at Parehemanihi and planned to eat them. In revenge, Te WhatuiÄpiti, the leading rangatira of Te Hika a PÄpÄuma attacked Parehemanihi and fought with great prowess. Te Huhuti was watching the battle from the ramparts and was instantly taken with him. When Te WhatuiÄpiti caught sight of her, he was struck by her beauty in turn, so he immediately ended the battle and made peace, even though he had been on the verge of victory. He was invited into the village for dinner and there he secretly slept with Te Huhuti and told her to come to him at Rotoatara.[1][7]
Te Huhutiās journey
There are a number of accounts of Te Huhutiās journey to Lake Rotoatara. All accounts agree that Te Huhuti arrived at the lake late in the evening and found that there was no way to get to the island where Te WhatuiÄpitiās village was located, that Te Huhuti therefore swam naked across the lake, and managed to rendezvous with Te WhatuiÄpiti, but they differ on the details.
According to one account, Te Huhuti swam across to the island, where she hid in the rushes hoping for Te WhatuiÄpiti to come down to the shore. When one of Te WhatuiÄpitiās slaves came down to get water, she smashed his calabash. He fetched another and she smashed that too, so the slave told Te WhatuiÄpiti, who realised that the mysterious woman was Te Huhuti. He brought her into his house and the two were married.[8][9] In the morning, Te WhatuiÄpiti announced the marriage by climbing up on top of his house and shouting out āWho was able to overcome Rotoatara but Te Huhuti?ā[10]
In another version, Huhuti swam across the lake in the dark, guided by a love song played by Te WhatuiÄpiti on his pÅ«tÅrino flute, called Te Aometikirangi, and she then went straight to his house.[11]
Most versions of the story say that Te WhatuiÄpitiās mother, Hinetemoa, found out about the wedding the morning after and was furious, because her relatives had been killed by Te Rangitaumaha.[5] In one version, she came running into the house after hearing the news, waving a pounamu axe, intending to murder Te Huhuti.[10] In the oldest published version of the story, however, Te Huhuti meets Hinetemoa at the shore and persuades her to take her to Te WhatuiÄpiti.[12]
All versions agree the Hinetemoa said, āSitting there like a statue (teko)! Sitting there naked/like an idiot/like an eel changing its skin (hore)! I have a mind to strike you down (taraitia) with my greenstone axe!ā[11][13][5][14] But then she said, āMy anger is over. I am very sad and in pain of heart over this marriage. But now we will make peace.ā[13] The marriage ended the feud between Te Hika a PÄpÄuma and Te Hika a Ruarauhanga.[15]
The story is considered one of the great MÄori romances and has been compared to the more famous tale of Hinemoa and TÅ«tÄnekai.[1][2] It is commemorated by a traditional song of NgÄti Te WhatuiÄpiti, which is recorded by John Te Herekiekie Grace:
E noho e tama i roto i to pa i Te Rotoatara, |
Remain, sir, in your fort at Te Rotoatara |
| āGrace 1959, p. 285 |
Te Rangitaumahaās gift
When Te Huhuti gave birth to her first child, her father Te Rangitaumaha came to Rotoatara in order to perform the tohi baptismal ritual and named the child Wawahanga. He brought a gift of shellfish and eels from Lake Oingo and Lake Runanga, but Te Huhuti was dismayed at the small size of the gift, so Te Rangitaumaha gifted Te Huhuti her āelders and brothersā as servants of Wawahanga. Sources differ as to whether this meant her elder brothers, Hinehore, Hikateko, and Taraia (the NgÄti Hineiao hapÅ«) or the NgÄpuhi, NgÄti NgÄwera, NgÄti Te Ao hapÅ«. Different sources strongly disagree about whether Te Rangitaumaha also gifted large areas of land in the Heretaunga region to Wawahanga.[16] These questions were material to a hearing of the MÄori Land Court on claims to the region around Åmahu in 1889.[16]
Family
Te Huhuti had three sons and a daughter with Te WhatuiÄpiti:
- Te Wawahanga, who married Te Aopatuwhare, but became sick and died while she was pregnant:[17]
- Te Rangikawhiua
- Te Hikawera
- Mihikitekapua (daughter)
- Keke
Sources
The story of Te Huhutiās journey was first recorded in George Greyās Polynesian Mythology of 1854. H. J. Fletcher published another version in 1926, which he received from Hoeta Te Hata of NgÄti TÅ«wharetoa, a descendant of Te WhatuiÄpiti and Te Huhuti.[18] A similar version is given by John Te Herekiekie Grace.[19] NgÄti Kahungunu traditions are briefly summarised by Patrick Parsons in a 1997 report to the Waitangi Tribunal on MÄori traditional claims to the Ahuriri area.[15] Parsons also reports the story about Wawahangaās baptism, drawing on nineteenth century testimony delivered before the MÄori Land Court.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d Te Hata & Fletcher 1926, p. 31.
- ^ a b Grace 1959, p. 282.
- ^ Grace 1959, p. 283.
- ^ Parsons 1997, pp. 18, 26, 29 & 37 gives two lines of descent:
- Kahungunu ā Kahukura-nui ā RÄkei-hikuroa and Ruarauhanga ā Taraia ā Te Rangitaumaha ā Te Huhuti.
- Kahungunu ā Kahukura-nui ā RÄkei-hikuroa and Ruarauhanga ā TÅ«-purupuru ā Rangituehu ā Hineiao ā Te Huhuti.
- ^ a b c Parsons 1997, p. 37.
- ^ Parsons 1997, p. 28.
- ^ Grace 1959, pp. 282ā283.
- ^ Te Hata & Fletcher 1926, pp. 31ā32.
- ^ Grace 1959, pp. 283ā284.
- ^ a b Te Hata & Fletcher 1926, p. 32.
- ^ a b Grace 1959, p. 284.
- ^ Grey 1854, p. 226.
- ^ a b Te Hata & Fletcher 1926, p. 33.
- ^ As a result of Hinetemoaās outburst, Te Huhutiās brothers came to be known as Hineteko and Hinehore, and Taraia.Grace 1959, p. 284
- ^ a b c Parsons 1997, pp. 37ā38.
- ^ a b Parsons 1997, p. 38-39.
- ^ Parsons 1997, pp. 38ā40.
- ^ Te Hata & Fletcher 1926, pp. 31 and 35 gives the line of descent as: Te WhatuiÄpiti and Te Huhuti ā Hikawera and Te Uira-i-waho ā Wakapakani and Rurua-rau ā Taura and Mounga ā Hikiora and Taha ā Te Awhina and Tama-i-whakarukerukea ā Kiritai and Haimona Pita ā Hoeta Te Hata (born ca. 1840).
- ^ Grace 1959, pp. 282ā285.
Bibliography
- Grey, George (1854). Polynesia Mythology & Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealanders.
- Te Hata, Hoeta; Fletcher, H. J. (1926). "The Story of Te Huhuti of Te Roto-a-tara". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 35: 31ā35.
- Grace, John Te Herekiekie (1959). Tuwharetoa: The history of the Maori people of the Taupo District. Auckland [N.Z.]: A.H. & A.W. Reed. ISBN 9780589003739.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Parsons, Patrick (1997). WAI 400: The Ahuriri Block: Maori Cusomary Interests (PDF). Retrieved 10 July 2022.