Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Te Rohu
fl. 1820–1850
Nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa; he wahine whai mana
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Angela Ballara, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1990. I whakahoutia i te o Hepetema, 2011. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
He tamāhine a Te Rohu nā Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II rāua ko tana wahine matua ko Nohopapa. I whānau ia i te tīmatanga o te rau tau 1800–1899. Ko te hapū tupu o tana pāpā ko Ngāti Pēhi (kua karangatia i nāianei ko Ngāti Tūrumakina), nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, ēngari e noho whanaunga ana anō ia ki a Ngāti Maniapoto rāua ko Ngāti Raukawa. He hiahia nōna ki te whakakotahi i ngā hapū huhua o te takiwā ki Taupō, e noho wehewehe ana, i moe ai a Mananui i ngā mokopuna e rua a Te Rangituamātotoru o Ngāti Te Rangiita; ko Nohopapa te mea pakeke. I kotahi ai ngā kāwai rangatira o taua takiwā nui tonu, nā Te Rohu rātau ko ana tungāne, a Te Waaka, a Te Peehi me Tamaiti; ka piki rā hoki o rātau mana. Nā te mea ko ia te mātāmua ka kaingākaunui tana iwi ki a ia. Tirohia ngā kōrero mō Herea Te Heuheu Tūkino I kei reira te whakapapa.
He itiiti noa iho ngā kōrero mōna i a ia e tamariki ana, ēngari nō te wā kua tai ia, he piri tonu ia ki tana pāpā i roto i ana haere ki ngā whawhai, ā, me ana mahi hohou i te rongo. Otirā, he wā kua whai ia i āna mahi ake, he kaupapa kē anō tāna. I te tekau tau mai i 1820, ka piri atu a Te Rohu ki a Mananui i roto i ngā whawhai auroa i ngā rohe i Heretaunga ki Te Wairoa. I tīmata ai, nā ngā mahi a Te Wanikau, he rangatira nō Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri me Ngāti Hinemanu, e huanga ana ki a Ngāti Tūwharetoa. He hiahia nōna ki ētahi kai, arā, he manu, he tuna, he ika mō tētahi tangihanga nui, ka rāhuitia e Te Wanikau te roto o Poukawa, kei te taha tonga o te tāone e mōhiotia nei ko Hastings i nāianei. Ka werohia ia e Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti o Heretaunga. Na, ka whakaarangia e Te Wanikau he ope taua i Taupō, ka mutu ka karapotia e ia tō rātau pā kei runga i te motu i Te Roto-a-Tara. Nō taua pakanga nei ka mate a Manuhiri, he pāpā nō Te Rohu, ki Maungawharau, e tata ana ki Waimārama. Ka ārahina atu e Mananui tana ope taua ki te ngaki i taua mate, ka whakapaetia te pā i Te Roto-a-Tara mō ngā marama e toru. I toa a Te Pareihe, te kaihautū o Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti, i tēnei whawhai; ēngari, nō te pō ka whakarērea te pā, ka haere.
Nā runga i ēnei raruraru e rua i puta ai te whakaaro ki te rapu utu, ka whakaarangia anō e Mananui he ope taua, ka haere rā a Te Rohu i tana taha. I waimarie a ia i ana whakariterite ki te hohou i te rongo. E rua pea ngā pakanga i riro nāna i hohou te rongo. Ahakoa rerekē ngā takiwā i porotiti ai ia, ko ngā kōrero mōna e hanga rite ana.
Kei tētahi kōrero mōna, e whakaekengia ana anō te pā i Te Roto-a-Tara ēngari, nō te whā o ngā rangi, kua kite a Mananui i te kaha uaua o te whakaeke, ka hua i a ia te whakaaro kia tau iho te rangimārie ki a rātau katoa. Nā runga i ōna kāwai rangatira, i taea e Te Rohu te hohou i te rongo e pai ai ki ngā taha e rua, kia kore e riro te mana o tētahi i tētahi. E ai ki ngā kōrero, i hāmama atu ia ki a Te Pareihe, ka whakamōhio atu i a ia; kātahi ka tukuna he waka ki te tiki i a ia kia whiti atu i te moana. Kātahi ka tū atu a Te Pareihe ki te whakatau i a Te Rohu, kua mau i ana kākahu hou, rauangi ana, he mea whatu i te momo whatu korohunga, paepaeroa me te kaitaka. Ka whakakākahuria a Te Rohu ki aua kākahu nei, ā, e ai ki ngā kōrero, i tukuna ki a ia he mere pounamu, ko Te Kiri-o-tauaroa. Ka whai kupu a Te Rohu ki a Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti me ō rātau hoa whawhai, ka whakamaharatia ō rātau tūpuna kotahi, me tana kī atu, āpōpō hoki atu ai te ope taua o tana pāpā ki Taupō. I rite pērā te oati.
I pērā anō tētahi kōrero i te whakaekenga i te pā o Ōkūrārenga (Ūkurārenga rānei), i karangatia i muri mai ko Kaiuku, i Nukutaurua, i Te Māhia. E whakapaetia ana a Te Pareihe rātau ko ngā iwi manene o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay) me Te Wairarapa, mō ētahi wiki roa tonu. Ko te ope taua o Waikato, o Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri me Ngāti Tūwharetoa te hoariri. Ko Mananui anō te hunga ārahi i a rātau. Nō taua wā nei, nā Te Rohu ngā whakariterite kia unuhia te whakapae; ko te hunga āwhina i a ia ko Pikihuia, te wahine a Pāpaka (he taina nō Mananui rāua ko Iwikau), me Te Toiroa, he kaihautū nō Ngāti Rongomaiwahine.
Nō muri noa mai, nō ngā tau mai i 1820, ka whakatika a Te Pareihe, a Nuku-pewapewa me Te Wera Hauraki o Ngāpuhi ki te kawe riri ki a Ngāti Tūwharetoa rāua ko Ngāti Raukawa. Kotahi mano e ono rau te tokomaha o te ope taua i haere atu mā Mōhaka ki Taupō. I horo i a rātau te pā o Ōmakukura kei te taha uru-mā-raki o te moana o Taupō, kātahi ka rere tika ki te pakanga ki a Mananui i Waitahanui, i te taha whakarua o Taupō. Nō te tīmatanga, kua kite a Mananui i te kaha wehi o te rārangi mai o te ope taua rā, e kore e taea te āki atu. Ka hanga whakaaro ia ki te whakarere i te pā i te pō. Ka whakakōrerohia e Te Rohu, ina whakarērea e ia te ruru o te pā, kua waiho te iwi hei kai mā te toki. Nō te kitenga o te ope e haere mai ana, ka katia ngā putanga. Ka puta a Te Rohu me ngā kaumātua tokorua ki waho o te pā ki te whakataki i te ope rā. Ka huna ngā tāngata tokorua i roto i te mānuka, kotahi ki tētahi taha, kotahi ki tētahi taha. Ka naomia atu e Te Rohu te patu i makere i tētahi o rāua, kātahi ka tū ki te whakatete ki te hoariri.
Nō te tīmatanga, i āhua mea anō ngā kaihautū o te ope o Te Pareihe ki te patu i a ia; kāti nō te kitenga he wahine kē, ka whakapahūngia ā rātau pū hei whakarata i ō rātau whakaaro, ka whakatairangatia ngā māhunga o te hunga i patua rā i te pā o Ōmakukura, kātahi ka tū ki te haka. I oti anō i konei i a Te Rohu te hohou i te rongo ki a Te Pareihe. Ka puta ake a Mananui i te pā ka whakatūturungia e ia. I whakatūpatongia e ia a Te Pareihe, kia kaua e haere ki te whawhai ki a Ngāti Raukawa rāua ko Waikato, nō te mea e noho mataara ana rātau. Ka whakarongo a Te Pareihe ki ngā whakatūpato, kātahi ka hoki ki Nukutaurua, ka mutu ka waiho te rongo rā hei here hoki i a Ngāti Raukawa rāua ko Waikato: ka tukuna tahitia e Ngāti Raukawa rāua ko Waikato he wāhine rangatira, ko Te Paea hoki tētahi, hei tamāhine mā Pōtatau Te Wherowhero o Waikato, ki te whakatūturu i te rongo. Kei tētahi kōrero, nō te tau o muri o taua maungārongo rā, ka takina atu e Mananui he ope nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Pāwhakairo i Heretaunga, ki te āta here i te maungārongo. Ākuanei pea a Te Rohu he mea tuku hei wahine mā Te Pareihe, mā Kurupō Te Moananui rānei, te ūpokoariki o Heretaunga. Heoi, ko te āhua i whai haere kē ia i tana pāpā, kāre i noho ki Heretaunga.
Nō ngā tau 1843–44, i kitea ōna mana i tētahi whakahaere whenua e tautohengia ana. Nō Tīhema o te tau 1843, e hoki mai ana a Rēnata Kawepō, o Ngāti Kahungunu, o Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri, i tana mau hereheretanga i Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands), ka tūpono ki tētahi o ngā hapū o Mananui, a Ngāti Pikiahu, e noho ana i runga i ana whenua i Pātea. Ka tū hāngai atu a Kawepō ki a Mananui me te kohukohu atu ki tana kanohi. Ka tāia ia e tētahi tangata nō Ngāti Raukawa, ka whara a Kawepō. I mau tonu te tū a ētahi o tana iwi, kāti, ko te nuinga i taki oma ki te ngāherehere. Kātahi ka whakauru atu a Te Rohu, ka kī atu ki a Kawepō, haere ake nei, ka whakamutua tā rātau tauapo i ana whenua. Nā te mea he wahine whai mana, ka noho here aua kupu āna ki runga i tana iwi, ka oati a Mananui e taki hoki ana tana iwi ki ō rātau whenua anō.
Kāore a Te Rohu i mate i te horo i Te Rapa i te tau 1846 i mate rā tana pāpā, tana tungāne a Te Waaka me te 50 tāngata i tua atu. Nō tana pakeketanga, ka pāngia ia e te mate ngerengere. Kātahi ka hangaia e ia he waiata hei kōrero i tōna āhua mate rā. Ko te whakapae, i pāngia ia ki tana mate nō te pānga mai o te ringaringa o tētahi tohunga, nō Ngāti Whātua, ko Te Whetū te īngoa. He riri nōna he kore nōna i paingia hei tāne mā Te Rohu. Kāore e mōhiotia ana te wā me te kāinga i mate ai a Te Rohu, ēngari pea, kua tohu noa atu ia ki tana wāhi tāpuketanga. Kei roto i tana waiata e haere ana ngā kōrero mō Te Ana-i-Ōremu, he ana tūpāpaku kei waenganui i Waihī me Tokaanu, kei te taha tonga o te moana o Taupō.