The Ngati Maru ancestor, Te Ngako, was the son of Marutuahu and Hineurunga. He was about the same age as his half-brother, Whanaunga, and joined him and the other brothers in their struggle for supremacy against the early resident tribes of Hauraki. When Tamatera returned to Whakatiwai after the death of his second wife, he married his stepmother and lived in the pa of Pukorokoro. This union made Te Ngako and Taurukapakapa (his half-brothers) his stepsons. Te Ngako confounded the situation by marrying Paretera, Tama's daughter. Their son, Kahurautao, compounded the issue further by marrying Hinetera, a granddaughter of Tamatera and their issue was Rautao which is where the story of Ngati Maru really begins.
Both Te Ngako and Tauru resented the union of Tama and Hineurunga (as did the tribe in general), but could not intervene as Tama had adopted the mana of their father. However, with the return of Whanaunga from Kawhia they were encouraged to pursue Tama to Komata but were restrained by their tuakana (senior) nephew, Taharua, from harming him and the fugitive was allowed to proceed onwards to Katikati and eventually to Whakatane, never to return.
As already mentioned, Tama had taken the tribal god, Marutuahu with him. It might be as well at this point to follow its fortunes up to the present day. The stone effigy, about the size and shape of a large round kumara, was used by Maru to assert his mana and uruuruwhenua (territorial rights) over the lands won from the luckless Te Uri-O-Pou. The ceremony was carried out on the sacred rocks of Tikapa situated off the northern tip of Waiheke Island; the very same altar on which the Tainui and Te Arawa canoes performed similar rituals before settling in their chosen areas. The mauri was kept on the island of Repanga (Cuvier Island) on the eastern side of the peninsula. It was removed by Tamatera when his father died along with other tribal relics deposited there.
In the generations that followed the subject of the missing mauri became a matter of serious debate among the tribes of Maru but as the centuries passed, time allowed the discussions to lapse—but not to be entirely forgotten. It was accepted that the mauri lay somewhere in the regions of Mataatua where it had been taken but its tribal kanga background prevented it being pursued. The only occasion it was referred to in modern times occurred during a land claim hearing concerning the Waipatukahu investigations
