Kawiti Kirihi Te Riri Maihi 1877

edmondsallan - Hello - This IS another " kawiti " from that very strong , northern family who were chief's of their peoples .
Ngati Hine leader, farmer, genealogist , Kirihi Te Riri Maihi Kawiti was born, according to family information, on 17 April 1877 at Waiomio, Kawakawa, in the Bay of Islands. He was the second son of Maihi Paraone Kawiti and his third wife, Heningarino, and the grandson of Te Ruki Kawiti, the Nga Puhi warrior chief. Kirihi was a baptismal name; his full birth name was Te Riri-whakamutunga-a-Kawiti-ki-te-Ruapekapeka, which commemorated the declaration made by Te Ruki Kawiti that his role as warlord of the north had ceased after the battle of Ruapekapeka. Te Riri had two brothers, Ranga and Huru, and three sisters, Hui, Te Warati and Te Here. He also had an elder half-brother, Hirini, and a younger half-sister, Mate. Educated at Karetu Native School and then Poroti Native School in the Whangarei district, he returned home to Waiomio in 1889 when his father, Maihi, died. Some years after the death of Maihi's nephew and appointed successor, Hoterene Kawiti, Te Riri assumed the leadership of Ngati Hine.
As a young man Te Riri became a farmer and resided on land by the Waiomio Caves. At that time no other Ngati Hine people wanted to live on the property, because the land was tapu and the surrounding hills were riddled with burial caves, about which frightening stories were told. Te Riri felt obliged to live there as a guardian because it was ancestral land and the Ngati Hine ancestor Hineamaru lay in a secret cave, surrounded by her warriors, somewhere on the property.
Te Riri married Marara Mahanga, of Ngati Hine and Ngati Korora descent, in 1896; they had a daughter, Ngaone, and a son, Te Tawai (Tawai Riri Maihi Kawiti). After her death he married Hana Te Ahuahu (Moe Tana) of Ngati Kopaki hapu of Ngati Hine at Waiomio on 19 May 1915. There was one daughter of the marriage, Te Ringi Taimana (diamond ring). Moe Tana died in 1918, and on 5 June 1933 at Waiomio, Te Riri married Totorewa Hoterene of Te Orewai hapu of Ngati Hine; a son of this union died soon after birth. Te Riri's chiefly status was reflected in official appointments. In 1904 he was elected chairman of the block committee to investigate Maori land titles in the Kaikohe district. He became a member of the Pewhairangi Maori Council in 1924, and the same year was elected chairman of the Waiomio Village Committee. He took responsibility for the welfare and health of his people in the Bay of Islands district, speaking out against the consumption of liquor and supporting education. In 1909 he asked the Department of Education to build new schools at Orauta and Waiomio; these schools opened within a few years. Both Anglican and Methodist churches received his support and he was an honorary Methodist home missionary from 1927 until 1942, when he was succeeded by his son, Te Tawai. Once again we can see they had the " Mana " the born ability to lead many people . Till we meet again - Regards -edmondsallan