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19a. RONGOUEROA/RAUMAHORA

Rongoueroa and Raumahora were two very famous Taranaki female ancestors. Rongoueroa is famous as the mother of Awanui-a-Rangi and Rauru, the ancestors after whom te Te Ati-awa and Ngaa Rauru tribes take their name, while Raumahora is remembered principally as the beautiful daughter of Rangimohuta of the Taranaki tribe who married Takarangi.

According to widespread Taranaki traditions, Rongoueroa was married to Ruarangi who was the son of Toi-te-huatahi, (the famous tupuna of the Toi and Whatonga traditions). Rongoueroa became pregnant to Ruarangi.

According to research carried out by Ruka Broughton, when it was time for her to have the child she encountered some difficulty; the umbilical cord became twisted, lea mau te rauru'. This was overcome and the child was born vigorous and healthy; he was called Rauru. After the birth of Rauru, Rongoueroa went down to the stream to wash herself and to clean the afterbirth of her son when she was visited by Tamarau who came down from the sky. Tamarau was a spirit. Tamarau became intimate with Rongoueroa and when he was about to leave he called: "When your child is born and if it should be a boy name him Awanui-a-rangi; after the stream by which 1 descended from the sky."

Many other tribes throughout the country do not recognise Rongoueroa as the mother of Rauru and Awanui-a-rangi claiming that Rauru and Awanui-a-rangi were the sons and not the grandsons of Toi.

Traditions relating to Raumahora are set some time later than the Rongoueroa traditions, possibly some time in the seventeenth century. Apparently at that time Raumahora's father Rangimohuta of the Taranaki tribe was quarrelling with Te Rangi-apiti-rua of Te Atiawa. His son Takarangi was a great warrior. When Te Atiawa, under Te Rangi-apiti-rua were laying siege to Rangimohuta's pa — Whakarewa, the people inside the pa were running short of water. Takarangi, who had previously heard of the beauty of Raumahora, got some water for her and the other people trapped in the pa. Because of the mana that Takarangi had, the others in the Te Atiawa war party could do nothing. When Takarangi and Raumahora saw each other it was noted by the war party that "much greater is Takarangi's desire for Raumahora than fighting". Thus they were married, cementing a lasting peace between the Taranaki and Te Atiawa tribes.

The descendants of that illustrious union are many and include the prophet Te Whiti (see 12a) and Te Puni (see 14b).