He iwi a Ngāti Hauā nō roto o Tainui waka, ā, ko tōna rohenga kei te rāwhiti o te rohe o Waikato. Mai anō ka mau tonu a Ngāti Hauā ki tōna arikitanga, nō runga i te whakapapa kia kawea te iwi kia puritia e Ngāti Hauā tōna arikitanga me tōna mana motuhake. Ko tā tēnei tuhikura, ko te whakatōmene i te kukuwhatanga o te rangatiratanga o Ngāti Hauā mā ngā pūrākau o ngā ariki tekau, nāna anō i pīkau i te arikitanga o Ngāti Hauā. Ka puritia e rātou te moemoeā o tō rātou tupuna a Tarapīpipi, te Pou whakawahi Kīngi tuatahi. Nā te moemoeā o ngā ariki, o ngā iwi o taua wā ka tū mai a Tarapīpipi ki te whakapou i te Kīngi tuatahi i te tau 1858. Hei whakapūaho i te whakatairitenga o te ao kōhatu o te Māori me te nohonga o te Pākehā ki Aotearoa nei, ka tīmata tēnei rangahau ki te pāpā o Tarapīpipi, ki a Te Waharoa. Ka whakatakina ai i ngā ariki o Ngāti Hauā, ngā uri tākerekere o Te Waharoa. Ko ia pūrākau o tēnā Tumuaki, o tēnā Tumuaki he tirohanga ki ngā piki me ngā heke o ia reanga mai i te tāmitanga o te Māori, ā, he manatu ki te mana o te tino rangatiratanga me kotahitanga. Ko te pakirehua matua o te rangahau e whakautua ai e tēnei tuhikura, koia tēnei: He aha te Tumuakitanga? Ko tāna urupounamu hāpai, he aha ngā pūrākau o tēnā ariki, o tēnā Tumuaki o Ngāti Hauā? Ngāti Hauā is an iwi (tribe) of the Waikato-Tainui confederation based in the eastern Waikato area. For over 200 years, Ngāti Hauā has maintained the role of ariki, based on whakapapa, to lead the iwi into prosperity. This thesis seeks to explore the evolution of the leadership of Ngāti Hauā through the pūrākau of eleven of its ariki who have carried the chieftainship of Ngāti Hauā since the 19th century. They have all maintained the vision of their ancestor Tarapīpipi, the inaugural Kingmaker. A collective vision of unity, prosperity, and peace by ariki and iwi of that time, culminated in Tarapīpipi crowning the first Māori monarch in 1858. To elucidate the juxtaposition of an ancient Māori world and the settlement of Pākehā in Aotearoa, this research starts with the father of Tarapīpipi, Te Waharoa. It then traces each consecutive ariki of Ngāti Hauā who all are direct descendants of Te Waharoa, through the medium of pūrākau (story). Each story is an insight into the struggles and triumphs of each generation since the colonisation of Aotearoa and is a powerful reminder of self-determination and unity. The principal question this thesis aims to answer is: What is the Tumuakitanga? It’s subsidiary question is, what are the stories of each paramount chief of Ngāti Hauā?