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Te Kani-a-Takirau (c. 1790–1856) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti of the Ngati Porou iwi. He was born in on the East Coast of New Zealand. He is well known for having refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. == Ancestry == NB: This section is derived from text in available (here ) at the The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. Te Kani-a-Takirau was born at the close of the eighteenth century. He was descended from Konohi, who lived at Whangara, and whose principal wife was Hinekino. Their eldest son, Marakauiti, (not to be confused with the Māori youth of the same name who was one of the guests on the ''HMS Endeavour'' in Poverty Bay) had two wives, and his brother, Te Rewai, was the husband of three women. With Puhinga, his principal wife, Marakauiti fathered Tane Tokorangi. When Tane reached manhood, Konohi had a quarrel with Rerekohu, another East Coast chief. As a peace offering Rerekohu handed over to Konohi two women of high rank, one being Ngunguru, who was given to Tane to be his wife. It was as a result of this union that Hinematioro, the great “Queen of the East Coast,” was born. She chose Te Hoa-a-Tiki as her husband, a grandson of Te Rewai, her great uncle. Their daughter, Ngarangi-Kahiwa, married Te Rongo Pumamao, who was a great grandson of the second wife of Marakauiti, one of her own great grandfathers. Te Kani was the offspring of this marriage, and he was, therefore, the child of a union between a great grandson and a great granddaughter of Marakauiti, but who were descended from different wives. Although Te Kani had at least three wives he had no children. The introduction of Ngunguru into Te Kani's family tree gave him the distinction of being descended from a famous couple—Tahito-kuru Maranga and Tao Putaputa—who, according to tradition, were united in wedlock after a love charm worked successfully. Tahito, it is stated, dwelt in Titirangi pa on Kaiti Hill (Gisborne) circa 1500. He visited Opotiki to court Tao, but was not received favourably by her. Upon his return home he made an atahuoi, or neck pendant. Elsdon Best considered that it might have been composed of part of a bird's skin saturated in oil expressed from the seeds of the fruit of the titoki and scented by the inclusion of fragrant leaves, moss or gum. Tahito placed the atahuoi in a ngaruru (large ''Trochus'') shell, repeated a love charm over it, and instructed it to go quickly to Opape (near Opotiki), where Tao was in the habit of gathering pāua. One day, whilst Tao was on the beach, the only thing that she found was the ngaruru shell, and she threw it away. No matter which part of the beach she examined, the shell turned up. When she returned to the camp fire her basket was empty, although her companions had had no difficulty in filling theirs. To her friends she remarked: “A ngaruru was the only thing I saw. Even although I moved from place to place I was followed by the shell.” Next day, when she returned to the beach, there was the faithful ngaruru, and Tao placed it in her basket. Whilst she was sitting in front of the fire that evening she noticed the strand of the pendant, and placed it on her necklet. Soon Tahito's love began to affect her overwhelmingly. Brought close to the embers, the ngaruru is said to have opened its lips and to have told her the old, old story in the form of a lament which Tahito had composed. Said the cockle: “When Tahito flung me on the waters, he cried: ‘Tell of my love to, Tao,’ and I, now dying, am fulfilling the trust that he reposed in me.” No time was lost by Tao in hitting the Kowhai trail leading to Poverty Bay, and, soon, she was in the arms of the waiting Tahito, of whom Ngunguru, a great grandmother of Te Kani, was a descendant. Te Kani must have owed much to Hinematioro, whose fame, on account of her kindly disposition, spread far and wide. She would never permit the slaying of anybody to provide food, no matter how meagre the supplies on hand. When Marsden was at Rangihoua in 1820 he met a young East Coast captive woman, who claimed to be a niece of “Hina, a great Queen,” of whom, he said, he had often heard. Upon Te Wera's return from his first lengthy expedition to the south in April, 1821, he told the (Rev. J. Butler ) that the chief place which he had visited was “Enamatteeora,” about from the Bay of Islands—clearly a reference to the district ruled over by Hinematioro. Like some other distinguished figures in Māoridom, Hinematioro met a violent death. Pakira, who resided in the Waiapu district, was insulted by a brother-in-law named Whakarara, whose abode was at Marahea. When Whakarara heard that Pakira was on the way to attack his pa, he went to Tolaga Bay to secure the protection of Hinematioro, leaving behind a message for Pakira that he should be well content with the sands of Anaura for utu (compensation). Pakira, however, continued to pursue Whakarara, who took refuge on Pourewa Island. When Pourewa pa was about to fall into Pakira's hands Hinematioro was assisted down a cliff and placed in a canoe, which made off towards Whangara Island. W. L. Williams was told that the canoe upset, and that Te Kani was the only survivor. Smith says that her remains were buried on Whangara Island. When the ownership of Pourewa Island was being investigated by Judges Heale and O'Brien in July, 1881, evidence was tendered to the effect that the canoe was overtaken, and that Hinematioro was taken back to the island, where she was slain and her heart was roasted and eaten. This event occurred circa 1823. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Te Kani-a-Takirau」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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