Riwha Titokowaru

Titokowaru, of the Taranaki tribe Nga Ruahine, was born in about 1823. He grew up in the shadow of the "musket wars", and is said to have received formal training as a tohunga (Maori spiritual expert). Later he learned to write in Maori, and became a Christian in the early 1840s. Between 1850 and 1854, however, his opposition to land-selling led him to support the King Movement (Kingitanga). His first experience as a war leader came in Taranaki during 1860-61. He was also involved in the Waikato war of 1863-1864, during which he lost an eye.

In 1867 Titokowaru began to campaign for peace, and held a series of large "peace hui" (gatherings). He renounced his connection with the Kingitanga, called for peaceful resistance, and even accepted the loss of some, but not all, confiscated lands. As the historian James Belich notes, Titokowaru's peace was in many respects as remarkable as his later war. But his hopes for reconciliation were dashed by the government's "creeping confiscation". By 1868, Nga Ruahine faced a stark choice: war or starvation.

At first Titokowaru began a campaign of plunder without bloodshed. Government forces responded by seizing stolen goods and taking prisoners. When Titokowaru refused to return an escaped prisoner, war broke out in earnest.

Despite being heavily outnumbered Titokowaru won several stunning victories. He was an extremely talented military engineer, and a master of tactics. By early 1869 he had won back an 80-mile (129-kilometre) tract of southern Taranaki territory from the Waingongoro River to the Wanganui River. His force grew from 150 to around 1,000, and he gained the support of the King Movement. His victories almost brought the colony to its knees, and the government considered returning confiscated land. But at the height of his success Titokowaru’s army mysteriously fell apart. This may have been due to his adultery with the wife of one of his warriors. As Belich remarks, Titokowaru lost his war, but the government can hardly be said to have won it.

The government left Titokowaru alone, and he became a strong supporter of the pacifist prophets Te Whiti and Tohu at Parihaka. When creeping confiscation began again in 1878 he helped organise a campaign of non-violent resistance.

In 1881 Parihaka was invaded by a force of almost 1,600 armed constabulary and volunteers, led by Native Minister John Bryce. They destroyed the settlement and imprisoned Titokowaru for eight months. After his release he remained committed to peace, but continued to protest against the confiscations. He was imprisoned again in 1886, despite his age and severe illness. He died in August 1888. Belich describes him as arguably one of the best generals New Zealand has ever produced.

See also: biography of Riwha Titokowaru on DNZB website 

Riwha Titokowaru

I whānau mai a Tītokowaru i te takiwā o te tau 1823. Ko Ngā Ruahine o Taranaki tōna iwi. I pakeke ia i te ata o ngā pakanga mau pū. E ai ki te kōrero, i akongia a ia hei tohunga. Nō muri ka ako ia ki te tuhi ki te reo Māori. Ka iriiria ia hei Karaitiana i te tōmuatanga o te tekau tau atu i 1840. Heoi, i te wā 1850 ki 1854, nā tana whakahē ki te hokonga o ngā whenua, ka tautoko a Tītokowaru i te Kīngitanga. Nō ngā riri o 1860-61 ka whakaaturia e ia ngā tohu o te kaingārahu. Ka kuhu hoki ia ki ngā riri i Waikato; i reira ka pura tōna kanohi katau.

I te tau 1867 ka tīmata te whakahau a Tītokowaru i te rangimārie, ka tū ana “hui nui mō te rangimārie”. Ka wetekina e ia ōna hono ki te Kīngitanga, ka karanga ia kia mautohe mārire te iwi. Ka whakaae ia ki te raupatunga o ētahi o ngā whenua, engari kaua ko te katoa. E ai ki te kōrero a te tumu kōrero a James Belich, he rite te mīharo mō te rangimārie o Tītokowaru, ki te mīharo mō te riri o Tītokowaru ka whai iho. Heoi, nā te “āta raupatu” a te kāwanatanga i te whenua, ka pau tana hau ki te kimi huarahi mārire. Tatū ki te tau 1868, e rua ngā whiringa kei mua i a Ngā Ruahine: ko te ara o te riri rānei, ko te mate i te kore kai rānei.

I te tīmatanga, ka murua e Tītokowaru te mahi a te taonga, heoi kāore i maringi te toto. Ka whakautua ēnei mahi e ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga, ka murua ngā taonga i whānakohia, ka kawea ētahi o te iwi hei mauhere. I te kore whakaaetanga atu a Tītokowaru kia tukua e ia tētahi mauhere, kātahi ka mumura ngā ahi o te riri.

Ahakoa te nui o te hoariri, ka puta rā te ihu o Tītokowaru i ngā pakanga. Kātahi tētahi tohunga hanga maioro, tohunga rautaki pakanga, ko Tītokowaru. Kia tae ki te tōmuatanga o te tau 1869 kua riro mai anō i a Tītokowaru tētahi whenua e 80 maero te roa (e 129 kiromita) i te tonga o Taranaki, atu i te awa o Waingongoro ki te awa o Wanganui. Ka nui haere ana toa mai i te 150 ki te 1000; ka tautokona mai ia e te Kīngitanga. Tata tonu ka hinga te koroni i a ia, ka whakaaro te kāwanatanga kia whakahokia ētahi whenua i raupatutia. Heoi, i te wā e kaha rawa ana a ia, nā te aha rā, ka waimeha tana taua. Tērā pea nā tana mahi pūremu me te wahine a tētahi o ana toa. Hei tā Belich, nā tōna ringa tonu a Tītokowaru i hinga ai, kāpā nā te ringa o te kāwanatanga.

Ka waihotia a Tītokowaru e te kāwanatanga, ka kaha haere tana tautoko i ngā poropiti mautohe mārire o Parihaka, a Te Whiti rāua ko Tohu. I te tīmatanga anō o ngā raupatunga whenua i te tau 1878, ka āwhina ia i ngā mautohe mārire.

I te tau 1881 ka whakaekea a Parihaka e ngā pirihimana mau pū me ngā tūao 1600 te rahi hui katoa, i raro i ngā whakahaere a Te Paraihe (John Bryce), te Minita mō ngā Take Māori. Ka pāhuatia, ka wāwāhia a Parihaka, ka mauherea a Tītokowaru mō te waru marama. Ka tukua ia, ka mau tonu ia ki te kaupapa mautohe mārire mō ngā whenua raupatu. Ahakoa tōna kaumātua me tōna tino pāngia e te mate, i te tau 1886 ka whiua anōtia ia ki te herehere. Ka mate ia i te marama o Ākuhata o te tau 1888. Ko te kōrero a Belich mōna, tērā pea ko ia tētahi o ngā tino kaingārahu i te hītori o Aotearoa.