Maniapoto
[1] Maniapoto was the second-born son of Rereahu, who was a direct descendant of Hoturoa (the commander of the Tainui canoe), and his first wife, Rangi-ānewa, daughter of Tamāio.
[2] His mother was Hine-au-pounamu, Rereahu’s second wife, whose parents were Tū-a-tangiroa of Tainui and a daughter of the Ngāti-Hā chief Hā-kūhā-nui.
[5] Maniapoto and Matakore both decided to settle at Waiponga on the north bank of the Waipā River a little to the east of Ōtorohanga, in the Mohoao-nui swamp.
[6] When Rereahu was on his death-bed he decided to give his mana to Maniapoto, rather than Te Ihinga-a-rangi, because he thought the younger brother had proven himself a better leader.
One of the guests who came from Kāwhia for Rereahu's tangihanga (funeral) was Tū-tarawa, who was the brother of Maniapoto's mother and whose son was married to Te Ihinga-a-rangi's great-granddaughter, Hine-Whatihua.
[10] Subsequently, Maniapoto resettled at Taupiri-o-te-rangi on the Mangaokewa Stream (a tributary of the Mangapu River on the southern edge of modern Te Kūiti).
Maniapoto knelt down with his taiaha spear on the ground in front of him, but Hou-taketake came forward and challenged him to single combat.
[15] Maniapoto’s son, Rōrā, married Kura-mōnehu of Ngāti Hia and settled at Mōtaki-ora, to the north of Te Kūiti.
[18] The rest of Ngāti Taki fled the village and set themselves up in a fort at Tihi-mānuka, near Hou-taketake’s old settlement of Pata-oneone.
One of the men Te Heru was sent back to Mōtaki-ora and spoke to Kura-mōnehu, who told him that she was living in fear of Rōrā.
[17] As soon as he heard about this, Maniapoto gathered a war party, which arrived the following night and secretly surrounded Mōtaki-ora, where the Ngāti Taki were now staying.
[17] At dawn, Maniapoto's younger brother, Tū-whakahekeao climbed up a rātā tree which was covered in red flowers.
Because he was wearing a red cloak, he was perfectly camouflaged and was able to see that the Ngāti Taki were going about their affairs and preparing food, completely unaware of the force that had gathered.
On her journey to marry him, she stopped at the Ngāti Takihiku village at Mount Whare-puhunga, where she met Maniapoto's second son, Tū-taka-moana.
[22] Eventually, however, an old man called Te Wana, who was out cutting kiekie in order to make an eel trap, happened upon the couple.
[22] At Kārea-nui on the south bank of the Waipā River he burnt Ngāti Maniapoto's kumara storage pits.
[22] Wairangi's forces attacked Waiponga, but Maniapoto stayed still, leaping into action only when the enemy had breached the walls.
When the people had gathered, Maniapoto told them to perform the tū waewae haka (a war dance with weapons).
His first wife was Hine-mania, daughter of Te Rūeke, niece of Tū-pāhau and grand-daughter of Kaihamu, from the Kāwhia region.
She was an extremely respected figure and the people of the tribe regularly reserved part of their catch for her when they went hunting, although Maniapoto himself resented this.
[31] The conflict with Ngāti Taki is reported by Pei Te Hurinui Jones, based on the oral account which he heard from Wehi-te-ringitana.
[33] The conflict with Ngāti Takihiku is reported by Bruce Biggs, based on an 1898 manuscript by Hari Wahanui of Ōtorohanga.
