Kiwi Tāmaki
Paramount chief of Waiohua / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kiwi Tāmaki (died c. 1741)[upper-alpha 1] was a Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolidated and extended Waiohua power over Tāmaki Makaurau, making it one of the most prosperous and populated areas of Aotearoa. Kiwi Tāmaki's seat of power was at Maungakiekie, which was the most elaborate pā complex in Aotearoa.
Kiwi Tāmaki | |
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Paramount chief of Waiohua | |
Reign | Early 18th century – c. 1741 |
Predecessor | Te Ika-maupoho |
Born | Maungakiekie, Tāmaki Makaurau |
Died | c. 1741 Paruroa, Waitākere Ranges, Tāmaki Makaurau |
Spouse | Paretutanganui |
Around the year 1740, Kiwi Tāmaki angered Ngāti Whātua tribes to the north-west, by murdering guests at a funeral feast held at South Kaipara. This led the Ngāti Whātua hapū Te Taoū to wage war on Kiwi Tāmaki and the Waiohua confederation, defeating him at a battle in the lower Waitākere Ranges. Kiwi Tāmaki's death signalled the end of the Waiohua mandate in Tāmaki Makaurau, and the beginning of a permanent Ngāti Whātua presence on the isthmus.
Kiwi Tāmaki's direct descendants through his son Rangimatoru became the chiefs of the Te Ākitai Waiohua iwi based in South Auckland and around the Manukau Harbour, while relatives of Kiwi Tāmaki were married to members of Te Taoū who stayed in the region, eventually becoming the modern hapū Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, based on the Auckland isthmus and Waitematā Harbour.
Much of what is known about Kiwi Tāmaki is through Ngāti Whātua leader and folklore recorder Paora Tūhaere, 19th century court cases in the Māori Land Court,[3] and oral traditions from Tāmaki Māori tribes including Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.[4]