Tapua

Tapua (c.1730-c.1800) was the "arikinui" (senior chief) of Ngati Hao, a "hapu" (sub-tribe nation) of what became the Ngapuhi confederation, whose base was the Kaikohe and nearby Hokianga area of northern Aotearoa (New Zealand). Tapua was also the "tohunga" (high priest) of Ngati Hao and famed as a great warrior in the tradition of the fighting "rangatira" (chiefs) of Ngapuhi. Although he traced descent directly from Rahiri and Rahiri's first-born son Uenuku, his "whakapapa" (genealogical connections) were also strongly with the Pewhairangi (Bay of Islands)area where he maintained a "pa" (fortified village) at Okura, a reach of the Kerikeri inlet.

Tapua's wife was Te Kawehau who traced descent directly from Rahiri through Kaharau, the second-born son of Rahiri. Tapua's father was Takare and his mother, Ripia, a "tohunga" in her own right and one of the powerful women of Ngapuhi. Their children were Tari, Te Anga, Te Ruanui, Patuone and Nene. Tari was to marry the Pewhairangi chief Te Wharerahi while Te Anga and Te Ruanui were killed in battle, fighting with Tapua against Ngati Pou. It was thus that Patuone inherited the male leadership of the family and "hapu".

External links

* [http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/teaohou/issue/Mao51TeA/c7.html "The First Pakehas to Visit The Bay of Islands"] Te Ao Hou, No 51, June 1965.
* [http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/The_Life_and_Times_of_Patuone_%5BC.O._Davis,_1876%5D/%5BPages_5-50%5D/p1 "The Life and Times of Patuone"] C.O. Davis, 1876