Apihaka Mack of Ngātiawa ki Kapiti comments: “This is our Witi, not the picture you have posted. From we can gather the top picture is one of 7 Witti Rangitaake in the country. One was in Marlborough Sounds. He may have up from Picton. Known by Ngai Tahu as a rapist, according to Ngai Tahu Professor of History Jean Jackson, a mentor of mine who wrote 24 books. In her late 90’s now, she gave all her books to me some years ago. She was in Greys Library when I had the originals of Pirikawau pre-1844 writings in my hands. She introduced herself to me, an awesome friend and mentor to have. Whetu Tirikatene 1st cousin.”
Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake, also known as Whiti, was a Te Atiawa chief and a signatory of the Treaty of Waitangi. He is shown wrapped in a cloak or blanket and with full moko in 1844.
Wiremu Kingi had moved away with most of the iwi from Taranaki in the late 1830s. They settled in the Waikanae area, but later returned to Taranaki in 1848 to reclaim their land. There were different views within the tribe about selling land, and back in Taranaki this resulted in feuding and fighting during the 1850s. Many Māori were killed and there was also much property damage to settler farms.
Kingi later objected to another Te Atiawa chief, Te Teira, selling land at Waitara. Kingi’s stubborness and resistance led to the First Taranaki War in 1860.
More in the wikipedia entry.
Te Pehi Kupe (c. 1795–1828 — [the name is also spelt Tupai Cupa, Te Pai Kupa, and Tippahée Cupa]), uncle of Te Rauparaha, led the force that captured Kapiti Island for Ngāti Toa and was the rangatira who pretty much led local Tangata Whenua in the prior period.
Amazing how war, killing, conquest, slavery and cannibalism can be sanitised as ‘captured Kapiti Island’.
This is not Witi Rangitaake at all
It wasn’t Kingi’s stubbornness and resistance that led to war, it was the evil force he up against. Seriously, these colonising beliefs should not be written into words and whoever wrote that should retract it and tell the truth.