Uenuku Tamakana Tamahaki
Uenuku Tamakana Tamahaki
Nga Uri o Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
Te Korowai o Wainuiārua brings together the descendants of Uenuku, Tamakana and Tamahaki. Each iwi has its own identity, while our people are closely connected through whakapapa and shared history.
The ancestral lands of these iwi encompass Ruapehu and the middle and upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the central North Island. This page offers a brief introduction to each iwi, drawing on the agreed historical account for Te Tihi o te Rae.
Uenuku, Tamakana & Tamahaki
Uenuku
Tamakana
The historical account records that, in 1840, Uenuku lived in the Manganui-a-te-Ao and Mākōtuku valleys and across the Waimarino plains. It names kāinga including Waikurekure and Papatupu. In the decades before 1840, Uenuku also moved into settlements along the Whanganui River, including Pīpīriki and Autumutu.
The account describes Uenuku as connected to neighbouring iwi and hapū through whakapapa. It also records close whakapapa and intermarriage connections with Tamahaki, while recognising Uenuku and Tamahaki as distinct iwi.
Tamahaki
The historical account connects Tamakana to Ruatipua through his mother, Ruakaupō. It also records a line through his father, Totokia, to Rākeipoho, son of Tūwharetoa.
Tamakana’s rohe extended from Taurewa, near Tongariro maunga, to the Waimarino plains and the Manganui-a-te-Ao valley. The account also refers to connections with Murimotu and Lake Rotoaira. It names nineteenth-century leaders including Tūkaiora II, Te Whetū Kākahi and Te Rangihuatau.
The agreed historical account identifies Tamahaki as a descendant of Ruatipua. Tamahaki’s rohe was primarily on the western side of the middle Whanganui River. The account names settlements along the river including Pīpīriki, Tīeke, Mangapāpapa and Kirikiriroa.
It also names Uenuku Tūwharetoa, Taiwiri Toho and Te Rangihuatau among the nineteenth-century rangatira who trace descent from Tamahaki.
Connected through whakapapa and place
The histories of Uenuku, Tamakana and Tamahaki are connected, but they are not interchangeable. Their relationships with the maunga, awa, valleys and kāinga of the rohe are central to their distinct identities and shared history.
This is a short public introduction, not a complete whakapapa record. For information about uri registration, please visit Uri Registration. For the wider rohe and settlement history, explore Our Rohe & History.
“Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.”
