Te Rauparaha

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira, warlord and leader of the iwi Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa. He was probably born in the 1760s, near Kāwhia or in the Waikato valley, and died in 1849. He was one of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars. When Ngāti Toa was driven out of the area around Kāwhia in 1822, he led a fighting migration to the south. It ended with dominion over the south of the North Island and over Kapiti Island. In 1824 he defeated, at Waiorua, a large coalition that wanted to take the island. Annual expeditions to the South Island followed. Because of his conquests he was called the Napoleon of the South.

Music and breakthrough

Te Rauparaha encouraged whaling stations and traded with the Europeans to obtain guns. He signed the Treaty of Waitangi early on and played a central part in the Wairau Affray, which many see as the first fight of the New Zealand Wars. Shortly before his death he oversaw the building of the Rangiātea church in Ōtaki. He made Ngāti Toa one of the richest and most powerful tribes of New Zealand and permanently changed Māori tribal structures.

Influence

He was also a gifted composer of haka. Ka Mate is the best known, above all because sports teams perform it before matches. In this way his musical legacy lives on in the worldwide recognition of the haka.

Listening

Mentioned in other articles

• Māori waiata and haka GenreThe best known, Ka Mate, was composed by the chief Te Rauparaha around 1820.

See also

• Māori waiata and haka