Tūhoe–Ngāti Tūwharetoa War

The Tūhoe–Ngāti Tūwharetoa War was a conflict that took place on the eastern shore of Lake Taupō in the central North Island of New Zealand in the mid- to late eighteenth century, between the Tūhoe iwi of Te Urewera and the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi of Lake Taupō.

The war was sparked by "the seen face of Taihakoa in Ruatahuna", an incident in which a Tūwharetoa rangatira intervened in a conflict between Tūhoe and Ngāti Whare.

Tūhoe responded with a large-scale invasion of the eastern shore of Lake Taupō, in which they captured a number of Tūwharetoa settlements at Pākā Bay.

After this, the elderly paramount chief of Tūwharetoa, Te Rangi-tua-mātotoru, who had remained aloof from the conflict, negotiated a peace which was confirmed at Ōpepe shortly thereafter.

The war played an important role in the rise of Herea Te Heuheu Tukino I to the paramount chieftainship of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, a position still held by his descendants today.

The Ngāti Rua hapū of Tūwharetoa answered this call, sending a contingent led by Taihakoa.

They considered Taihakoa guilty of te kanohi kitea (‘the seen face’), which was when a rangatira appeared armed in a region where they had no right to be, which was regarded as an insult to the mana of the local tribe.

Then they went to Motutere, home of Tūwharetoa's paramount chief, [[]], and warned him that Tūhoe was going to invade and that he should not participate in the conflict.

The survivors fled across the lake, spreading the news of the Tūhoe invasion and the hapū of Tūwharetoa all began to raise war parties.

There they met Herea who had been leading some reinforcements to join the fight against Tūhoe and he began preparing the Motutere for a siege.

[13] Two young women of Tūwharetoa were romantically involved with two Ngāti Warahoe men and regularly met them near Te Rapa.

One of the women noticed that one of the men had strange-smelling breath and when she described it to her relatives, they realised it was the smell of human flesh.

Spies followed the Ngāti Warahoe men and found the storehouse containing human remains, including the tattooed arm of Te Rangikaimokura.

[15] One Ngāti Warahoe woman committed suicide after composing a waiata that is still preserved, which mourns the defeat and the death of her daughter.