Tama-i-hara-nui
Ngai Tahu leader
Intro | Ngai Tahu leader | |
Places | New Zealand | |
is | Tribal chief | |
Work field | Military | |
Gender |
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Death | 1831 |
Tama-i-hara-nui (17?? – c. 1830/1831), also known as Te Maiharanui and Tamaiharanui, was a New Zealand Māori chief of Ngāi Tahu. He was described as "strong and ruthless" and was a central figure in the 1820s "kai huanga" feud, meaning "eat relatives". Tama-i-hara-nui angered Ngāti Toa by letting a group of their chiefs into Kaiapoi pā and then killing them. Te Rauparaha, one of the Ngāti Toa chiefs who stayed outside of the pā, returned to Banks Peninsula in November 1830 and captured Tama-i-hara-nui. He was taken to Ōtaki, where he was tortured by the wives of the chiefs who had been killed at Kaiapoi pā, and then killed himself.