She was married to Tikitikiorangi. When he was killed by seven Nga Puhi, she returned to Tokomaru with her son Wikiriwhi Matauru. Kohere writes: "Wikiriwhi Matauru was one of Ngāti-Porou’s great chiefs, and with Mokena Kohere was penned up in Hatepe…. His mother’s song is well-known amongst the Ngāti-Porou and beyond the East Coast."
Biographical sources
- Te Ao Hou 6 (1953): 43-44.
Traditional
- "Tipare O Niu: He Tangi mo Te Wikiriwhi Matauru/Tipare O Niu: A Lament for Te Matauru." Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. Rpt. Polynesian Soc. 1959. Facsim. ed. 1972 (with the addition of Sir Apirana Ngata’s draft introduction of 1949 and a page of errata to 1959 edition, supplied by Mr Pei Te Hurinui Jones). Rpt. 1974. Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc., 1988. 8-11. [Including notes]. Rpt. as "Nga Titotito a te Māori: Waiata a Hinewahirangi/ Māori Poetry: Hinewahirangi’s Song." Te Ao Hou 6 (1953): 43-44. In Māori and English translation by R. T. Kohere.
- Hinewahirangi, the widow of Tikitikiorangi, wrote this song when her son, Wikiriwhi Matauru, was taken away from her to the East Cape. Kohere writes: "She could not see her son at East Cape, for she was not wanted there, so she implored a southerly breeze to carry her to East Cape... on East Island, where she could gaze across to where her little boy lived."