Rakaiwetenga was of Te Whanau-a-Rakairoa, a sub-tribe of Ngāti Porou, and she lived at Akuaku. She was of the same branch as Aperahama Pohoi, and came from a family of seers and poets.
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. 27.
Traditional
- "He Patere./An Action Song." 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. 26-29.