Ngāti Hotu was a Māori tribe that, according to tradition, lived in the central North Island of New Zealand in the area surrounding southern Lake Taupo, where the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe now resides. Ngāti Hotu were believed to have been part of the Tini o Toi Tribes of the Bay of Plenty and tradition describes Ngāti Hotu as 'a very fierce and warlike people' whom it took many generations of warfare to destroy, beginning from around the year 1450. Other traditions describe them as spirit people, which as is typical in Māori tradition, had reddish hair and skin, symbolising their tapu nature.