Tū-pāhau

His father, Te Urutira, was a son of Kaihamu and Tū-parahaki, both of whom were descendants of Hoturoa, the captain of the Tainui canoe.

[2] Tū-pāhau established a base at Rakau-nui on the Kāwhia Harbour and developed a reputation as a great tohunga or priest.

Another tohunga, Tamure, came from Rangiahua in Kāwhia to visit him, but they argued about the correct wording of a karakia (song, incantation) called Tū-hangaia.

[4] As he pursued the enemy forces, Tū-pāhau caught up with Tamure, tackled him to the ground, and bit his head to show that he had won, but then let him go.

[2] Māui Pōmare says that he did this because he had heard that the area was rich in kahawai due to a sacred stone that his ancestors had left there, called Rangipaetaha.

[5] Pei Te Hurinui Jones says that Tū-pāhau did this because he had ancestral ties to the region through his maternal ancestor, Manu-Tongātea (son of Tongātea), and wanted to recapture it from two rangatira, Rakapare and Tama-oho, who had taken the place from Tū-pāhau's maternal relatives, Ngāti Awa, and established two fortresses, one above the other, on a ridge inland from Marokopa, called Heipipi.

[2] Tū-pāhau led his men to Te Aho-roa (located on the Marokopa River, upstream of Heipipi) and they built three waka (canoes).

[5] However, Tū-pāhau stationed men at the front of his waka with poles, to raise the ropes, so that they could pass underneath, and Tū-pāhau's fleet successfully passed through all the barriers and out to sea, where they went fishing for themselves near the rock Toka-māpuna, catching large hauls of kahawai, huhu-moea, tarakihi, tāmure (snapper), and mango (shark).

[10] When he realised what had happened, Rakapare led a war-party down the beach to attack Tū-pāhau, crossing Kōpia bay with the tide almost full.

[11][12] However, Tama-oho had noticed that Rakapare and his men had been holding back part of the bird catch from their hunting expeditions and eating it by themselves at night.