Te Rangi-ita (Ngāti Tūwharetoa)

Te Rangi-ita was a Māori ariki (chieftain) of Ngāti Tūwharetoa from the region around Lake Taupō, New Zealand.

[5] The two of them had joined their cousin Waikari in an attack on the Ngāti Apa fortress Rangi-te-taea, which was located at the foot of Mount Pihanga on the coast of Lake Rotoaira.

[6][7] Te Rangi-ita's great-uncle,[8] the Tūwharetoa ariki, Rua-wehea, who lived at Whaka-uenuku at Karangahape, established himself as the overlord of Ngāti Tama, but he exercised this position in an arrogant manner.

Then he led this force to attack the main Ngāti Tama village, Keri-tāne, located on the north bank of the Waihāhā River, where it flows into Lake Taupo.

[16] While the fighting was going on one of the Ngāti Tama rangatira, Rongo-hape, made a break for it, fleeing towards where the Tūwharetoa canoes were tied up.

Te Rangi-ita grabbed a paddle and whacked him over the head as he surfaced, killing him, and earning himself a reputation for prowess.

She said to him "The river at Nukuhau is still open," meaning that she was still able to bear children (Nukuhau was a village located at the source of the Waikato River), but Te Rangi-ita did not listen, so she left Marae-kōwhai, travelling home to her father, who performed special karakia ('incantations') and told her that if she returned to Marae-kōwhai and had sex with Te Rangi-ita, she would bear a son, which is what happened.

[25][23] In Hoeta Te Hata's account, however, the rituals were carried out by a nameless tohunga (priest), Waitapu came home already pregnant, and Te Ata-inutai planned to kill his grandchild if it proved to be male, but Waitapu covered the baby's front and tricked him into believing that she had given birth to another daughter.

[26] When Te Ata-inutai heard of the birth of Waitapu's first son, he set out for Marae-kōwhai in order to perform the tohi baptismal ritual for the newborn, who was called Tama-mutu.