Riwha Titokowaru (c. 1823 - 1888) became a Māori leader in the Taranaki region and one of the most successful opponents of British colonisation anywhere. Riwha was a subtribal leader (having succeeded his father "Titokowaru") of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi in South Taranaki. A lot of what was accomplished by his father had been wrongly attributed to the son; being events of intertribal warring during his time of preadolescence. There is some mystery about his early life, but he is known to have become a Methodist in 1842 having been baptised and given the name of Hohepa Otene (named after the missionary). He joined the "King Movement" and fought in the First Taranaki War in 1860 and 1861 after much provocation from the European-based government.