He "was chief of Ngāti Apa, who lived on the West Coast in the district to the north of the Manawatu river." "He was a contemporary of te Rauparaha.... He married Kaewa of the Muaupoko".
Biographical sources
- Nga Moteatea: He Maramara Rere No Nga Waka Maha: The Songs: Scattered Pieces From Many Canoe Areas. Comp. Apirana Ngata and trans. Pei Te Hurinui. Pt. 2. Wellington, N.Z.: Published for the Polynesian Society by A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1961. 260-261.
- Māori Poetry: An Introductory Anthology. Ed. Margaret Orbell. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1978. 95-97.
Other
- "He Oriori Mo Te Rara-O-Te-Rangi/A Lullaby Song for Te Rara-O-Te-Rangi." Nga Moteatea: He Maramara Rere No Nga Waka Maha: The Songs: Scattered Pieces From Many Canoe Areas. Comp. Apirana Ngata and trans. Pei Te Hurinui. Pt. 2. Wellington, N.Z.: Published for the Polynesian Society by A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1961. 65.