Ngāti Rangitihi (New Zealand people)

Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, based in the Bay of Plenty. The tribe is part of the greater Te Arawa confederation of tribes. Nga pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa (the eight beating hearts of Te Arawa) derives from the eight children of the eponymous Rangitihi. From Rangitihi come the main tribal groups of Te Arawa, but Ngāti Rangitihi take their name through a multitude of intertribal marriages in which Ngati Rangitihi people connect to the eight beating hearts of Te Arawa. The recognised rohe (tribal area) of Ngāti Rangitihi was submitted to the Waitangi Tribunal in evidence during an urgent hearing in February 2002. It was not challenged by the legal Counsel for the Crown, Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau or Ngāti Awa who were all present at the time. It extends from the east side of the Tarawera River mouth to Otamarakau, inland to Lake Rotoehu, through Lake Rotomā and through Lake Ōkataina and Lake Tarawera. South into the Kaingaroa Forest. East including the western third of the Matahina Block. Pokohu and Putauaki and out to the coast following the line of the Tarawera River.