Te Whatuiāpiti

14km
8.7miles

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Places in the life of Te Whatuiāpiti

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Te Kauhanga

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Wainui

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Marotiri on the Te Aho-ā-Māui

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Kaikoura near Ōtāne

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Pakipaki

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Waimārama

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Pōhatunui-ā-Toru in the Ruahine Range (rough location)

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Tawhitinui, Lake Oingo

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Rotoatara

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Oueroa

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Te Iho o Te Rei island & Keketerau

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Mataruahou (Napier Hill)

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Parehemanihi, near Ōmahu

Te Whatuiāpiti was a Māori rangatira (chieftain) of Ngāti Kahungunu from the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand and the ancestor of the Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti hapū. He probably lived in the late 17th century.

As a member of Te Hika a Pāpāuma, Te Whatuiāpiti was locked in a multi-generational feud with his cousins in Te Hika a Ruarauhanga. As a result, in his youth he was driven out of the Hawke’s Bay region, finding sanctuary in the Wairarapa. Later, he returned and, after a conflict with a rival chief named Pokia, he established himself at Te Kauhanga (modern Haumoana) and on Lake Rotoatara (near Te Aute). After further conflict, he fell in love with Te Huhuti, daughter of Te Rangitaumaha of Te Hika a Ruarauhanga, who married him and ended the feud between the two families. Their courtship is considered to be one of the great romances of Māori tradition.