Peace in the lakes region did not last. Competition and jealousy among Te Arawa’s three kin groups there (Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue) sparked internal wars lasting generations. Only during times of crisis did these main inland tribes put aside differences to fight common enemies such as Te Rangihouhiri (from the East Coast), Hongi Hika (of Ngā Puhi in Northland) and Te Waharoa (from Waikato).
Internal battles were based on revenge or wresting control over lands or women. However, many conflicts were settled through political marriages. For instance, the marriage of Hinemoa (of the Tūhourangi people) to Tūtānekai of Ngāti Whakaue maintained peace in the Rotorua district. This union is still celebrated through oratory and songs, recounting the heroic night swim of Hinemoa to her lover on Mokoia Island, guided by the sound of his flute.
Two generations later the marriage of Taiwere (Ngāti Whakaue) and Tamiuru (Ngāti Pikiao) celebrated the expulsion of their kin group Tūhourangi from Lake Rotoiti and the eastern shores of Lake Rotorua. Wāhiao, Hinemoa’s brother, was killed and the Tūhourangi people retreated to Tarawera, Ōhinemutu and areas south of Rotorua. The Whakaue–Pikiao union produced the famous Te Arawa leader Pūkākī. He reinstated peaceful relations with the Tūhourangi group by marrying Wāhiao’s granddaughter Ngāpuia.
Ōhinemutu – the home of the Tūhourangi people – with its geothermal soils, cooking, heating, bathing and strategic lake access, had the best location in all Te Arawa. In time, tensions over its control re-erupted and there were further battles. These ended only when Ngāti Whakaue finally expelled Tūhourangi, banishing them to the Tarawera–Rotokākahi
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