 He is referred to as Te Kanawa II, and is the grandson of the first Te Kanawa (Te Kanawa Pango) of Ngāti Maniapoto.Another was a chief of the Ngāti Maniapoto, another Tainui iwi.Te Kanawa was a warlord of Maniapoto; he settled disputes with a taiaha within Tainui or outside Tainui.