Irihapeti Rangiteapakura was a "high-born lady of Te Aitanga a Mate sub-tribe of Ngāti Porou, living at Whareponga, and a famous beauty of her time. She composed many songs and hakas, and was the subject of a very spirited composition. She was at her prime during the Hauhau wars, and died after that period. She composed [He Waiata Whakautu] from Akuaku, a village south of Wharepongs, when word came from Toihau asking for her hand for his son Te Keepa. Te Keepa was a handsome man of Te Whanau a Apanui ad Ngāti Awa, whose descent is given in the Māori text."
Biographical sources
- Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 18-19. Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: 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.
Music
- "He Waiata Whakautu./An Answer to a Marriage Proposal." Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 18-21 (including notes]. Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: 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.