Hongi

Hongi, Son of Tane, is the protagonist in New Zealand's 2014 film: The Dead Lands. Hongi is the new chief of his tribe. His father, Tane, had secured peace with an enemy tribe and allowed the new chief of this tribe, Wirepa, to access his ancestors remains as a show of peace. Hongi spied Wirepa and discovered that Wirepa sought to reignite the war between their tribes but was found by Wirepa in turn. This set off a chain of events that lead to the death of Hongi's father and all the males of his tribe. Swearing vengeance, Hongi pursued Wirepa's tribe into the Dead Lands where he would seek to enlist the aid of The Warrior, Monster of the Dead Lands, in his war against Wirepa.
He is portrayed by James Rolleston
== Plot ==
Tane, the chief of a Maori tribe, his 15-year-old son Hongi and their tribe allow a rival clan access to the remains of the second tribes fallen warriors. Hongi does not trust the rival clans leader, Wirepa, and follows him. As Hongi suspected, the visit is a ruse, and Wirepa desecrates the grave site as a pretext for war, blaming Hongi for disturbing the remains. Tane believes his son is innocent, but offers to kill Hongi if it will prevent war. Wirepa refuses, saying war is imminent. Wirepa's clan returns later in force, kills the men of the tribe and beheads Tane, taking his head as a trophy. Hongi is knocked away from the battle, and survives.
Hongi leaves and attempts to track down Wirepa. On the way, he discovers that Wirepa and his men have entered the Dead Lands, an area of land where any men who venture into are believed to be killed by a monster. Hongi, suspecting that the monster is in fact a man, tracks him down and, although reluctant, the monster agrees to help Hongi hunt down Wirepa. The monster is in fact a warrior (who is never named in the film) who was the sole survivor of a tribe that used to occupy the Dead Lands, and he kills anyone who ventures there to prevent his tribes historic lands from being occupied.
While tracking down Wirepa, Hongi has a series of visions of his long dead grandmother, who helps them on their way. Hongi and the warrior track down Wirepa, and several of his men are killed before Wirepa and his surviving warriors flee. Hongi and the warrior go after them, and the warrior kills a small band of hunters they come across to keep his identity a secret. Hongi is devastated by this, and screams at the warrior. The two separate, but the warrior has a vision from his ancestors that convinces him to continue helping Hongi.
Wirepa and his men are tracked to a mountaintop fort, where they barricade themselves inside. Wirepa taunts Hongi with his fathers head, angering him, but the warrior convinces him to regroup and return later. Wirepa's men leave Tane's head on a spike, and most of the men leave the fort. Again, this is a ruse by Wirepa to lure Hongi in. However, when the trap is sprung, the warrior and Hongi get the upper hand and kill most of Wirepa's men. While Hongi battles Wirepa, the warrior is severely wounded but manages to return and save Hongi. Wirepa, distracted from his battle with Hongi, beats the warrior to the ground before returning his attention to Hongi. This time Hongi gains the upper hand, and is about to kill Wirepa. This pleases Wirepa, because it will allow him to be remembered as a great warrior who died in battle about whom songs will be sung, and stories will be told. Hongi denies Wirepa this honor, and allows him to leave. Defeated and alone, Wirepa walks off in shame.
Hongi returns to the warrior, who is mortally wounded. Hongi adopts the warrior into his clan, so that his ancestors will guide him into the afterlife. The film ends with a final vision of Hongi's grandmother, who is very pleased, as Hongi begins his return home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Lands#Plot
== Personality ==
Hongi is brave, intelligent and kind-hearted. Though he is forced to learn to live through brutality and become a killer to avenge his tribe, he still maintains his positive qualities as they grow to incorporate his new militant ones that he learns in war, and under The Warrior's tutelage.
Hongi owes much of his early personality to his father, Tane the chief. Tane was known for his intelligence, reverence of ancestors, bravery in the face of death and appreciation of peace. At the same time, Tane was soft and willing to make too many concessions to enemies; making decisions that resulted in the near extinction of his tribe. Hongi was a reflection of these values at the beginning of the film and his tribesmen regarded him as weak. Indeed, Hongi's good nature made him a weak fighter early on, prone to running and "tickling" his foes rather than killing them, as The Warrior observed. Hongi was far more perceptive and psychologically savvy than Tane however, making him the most perceptive man in the film; on pair with his grandmother's spirit. He was able to see Wirepa for what he was immediately and this observation made his enmity with Wirepa very personal on both sides.
When Wirepa slandered Hongi before his tribe and declared war, Tane offered to kill Hongi to pursue peace. Tane and Hongi loved and respected each other, but this father's death threat would leave a scar on Hongi that helped him to relate to The Warrior's similar experiences. Comparing Hongi's own experience with The Warrior's would later help him develop into a stronger warrior himself.
After his tribe was killed and he had "dishonorably" survived, Hongi swore vengeance on Wirepa and his tribe. He was supported fully by his dead ancestors, specifically his grandmother, who helped guide him into making the best decisions in his war. There was a young woman in Hongi's tribe who greatly admired him and begged him not to pursue vengeance. Hongi made it clear to her that he must go to war but also made it clear that he would return to defend the women of his tribe should he succeed.
When Hongi allies with The Warrior, they form a bond over the events of the film that could best be described as brotherly. The Warrior sympathized with Hongi's similar experiences. He admired Hongi's bravery, connection with his own ancestors and, subconsciously, his honorable nature. Hongi, in turn, was grateful to the Warrior for his aid and learned to gain the strength that would have protected his tribe had he or Tane possessed it at the start of the war.
Their mutual respect was strained when The Warrior butchers a tribe of nomads that were friendly to Hongi and the Warrior, before realizing who the Warrior was. Hongi demands an explanation and calls the Warrior an animal for his crimes which causes the Warrior to finally admit his past, breaking down and revealing his tortured humanity. Hongi is moved by the senseless tragedy of both the Warriors past and his own and they once again team up to kill Wirepa's tribe.
Hongi had a reckless streak that had to be checked by his Grandmother and the Warrior. He was easily baited into encounters by Wirepa with insults to his dead father and desecration of Tane's head. This proved to be a major weakness that nearly got Hongi killed on two occasions.
Hongi is self-assured and very brave; a stark contrast to Wirepa, his mortal foe. Hongi and Wirepa are alike in that, at the end of the day, they never let other's misconceptions or lies break their will. When Wirepa lied to Hongi's tribe that Hongi had defiled Wirepa's ancestor's bones, Hongi held onto the truth even in the face of death. After Hongi's tribe was massacred and one of the women of his tribe damned him as being the one who brought doom to his tribe, Hongi was hurt but not crushed; he knew that the fault was not truly his because Wirepa was going to kill his tribe anyway. While he is self-assured, Hongi is better than Wirepa because he does take responsibility for his mistakes and listens to those who can teach him. Wirepa was hubristic to the point of narcissism and reacted to all criticism with disdain, even violently on occasion.
Hongi is also internally brave while Wirepa is internally cowardly. When Hongi had Wirepa at his mercy, Wirepa was excited to die in "glorious battle." Hongi realized that Wirepa not only would enjoy his death at the end of a great war but that his relatives would seek vengeance, restarting the whole cycle of bloodshed. Brilliantly, Hongi used all that he knew of Wirepa and surprised Wirepa by offering him life, with all of Wirepa's ancestors as witnesses, in exchange for an eternal debt to Hongi and his tribe. All Wirepa had to do to get the glorious death he sought was say the word but when offered life he accepted, having no choice but to admit his cowardliness to the all the dead and himself. And so Hongi spared his foe but crushed his spirit and ensured permanent peace.
At the end of the war, the Warrior was mortally wounded and terrified of death because he could feel his own ancestors damning him to oblivion for his crimes against them. Hongi was extremely grateful to the Warrior for all that he had done for him and so he told the Warrior that Hongi's ancestors would usher him into the afterlife. Hongi would also tell tales to his descendants of the Warrior and his honor. Doing so, Hongi healed the Warrior's tortured soul and they shared a brotherly hug before the Warrior passed onto death.
After the war, Hongi returned to his tribe with a refined intelligence, his kind heart intact, and as a strong warrior. Hongi was now suited to be a far greater chief than his father; kind yet strong enough to defend his tribe.
== Powers & Abilities ==
Shamanistic Power: Hongi was the most perceptive and spiritually attuned character in the film. He was able to speak to his dead ancestors without the use of narcotic mushrooms that others needed to do likewise. Hongi had great faith in the power of the dead. Through Hongi's guidance, The Warrior was able to mobilize his own ancestors to torment Wirepa's tribe; slowing them down and killing one through sickness. Hongi's talent at perception made him a great judge of character. He could sense something was off about Wirepa's visit to his tribal lands. Hongi was proven right when he discovered Wirepa's twisted personality and plans of war. Like his father, who effectively disturbed Wirepa's tribe with a verbal curse, Hongi could wield his words to psychologically heal or torment others. All of these qualities imply that Hongi has the makings of a shaman chief.
Highly Intelligent: Hongi was the most intelligent character in the film. His aforementioned perception allowed him to see things others couldn't and made him very aware of his present situation. His intelligence was however tempered by his recklessness and inexperience. More than a few characters called him stupid for these reasons, but even they had to concede that Hongi saw things they didn't. Thankfully, Hongi had the spirit of his Grandmother to consult with who checked his faults and guided his intelligence to find an ally, The Warrior, who could support him. Hongi's greatest demonstration of intelligence was his masterful ending of his war with Wirepa; both gaining vengeance by crushing Wirepa's ego and ensuring a permanent end to bloodshed between the two tribes.
Master Orator: Like his father, Hongi could wield words like a weapon. He could also use words as a shield and even to heal a tortured soul. Hongi was able to successfully draw The Warrior, a cannibal who butchered all interlopers in his land, to his side with bravery and words alone. Later Hongi, was able to permanently end his war with Wirepa and crush his ego; causing more damage to Wirepa than even Tane's curse. Finally, Hongi was able to heal the broken soul of the Warrior by verbally embracing the man into his own clan and telling stories of him as a man of honor henceforth.
Strong Physicality: Hongi was the youngest warrior in the film, standing shorter and being less physically developed than every other fighter. However, Hongi was strong for his age, exceedingly swift, and in possession of fantastic reflexes. Early in the film, this made him an expert at running and dodging blows that would kill other men. His speed became a tremendous asset in his war against Wirepa.
Expert Warrior: Hongi was initially a very weak warrior, and multiple members of his tribe told him as such. Hongi was, in fact, untapped potential. His aforementioned physical attributes made him very adept at dodging early in the film and made him exceedingly dangerous once he was taught how to fight by The Warrior. In the Warrior's own words, "All you needed was a little encouragement." Hongi's natural talent was refined in his early skirmishes with Wirepa's tribe. By the end of the film, Hongi was a deadly warrior and a match for any of Wirepa's tribesmen. He even survived fighting Wirepa and Rangi, the tribe's strongest warriors, by himself.
Expert User of a War Staff: The men of Hongi's tribe used war staffs which were sharpened at one end to create a blade-like edge. Hongi had been trained in the use of this weapon by his father, Tane. Though he was initially inexperienced with the weapon, Hongi swiftly became an expert in its use as he became a warrior. The fighting style involved blocks, slashes, and crushing blows.
Immensely Brave & Self Assured: Hongi takes many life or death risks throughout the film, most notably in recruiting The Warrior and being willing to die for his tribe if it will help his father, Tane, secure peace.
== References ==
Picture of Hongi, The Dead Lands Movie, November 24 2017, web<http://www.thedeadlandsmovie.com/cast/>
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Live Action Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Warriors
Category:Genius
Category:Magic
Category:Charismatic