There are at least four different people called Te Kanawa.
Contents
Te Kanawa, ancestor of Ngāti Te Kanawa
One is the ancestor of the Ngāti Te Kanawa iwi of the Tainui confederation of iwi. He was born before 1700 and lived in Hangatiki.
Te Kanawa of Ngāti Maniapoto
Another was a chief of the Ngāti Maniapoto, another Tainui iwi. He was alive in the early 19th century. Te Kanawa was a warlord of Maniapoto; he settled disputes with a taiaha within Tainui or outside Tainui. Some of these disputes were boundary disputes, hence the Ngāti Hari connection. The boundary line between Tūwharetoa and Maniapoto and the marae Hia Kaitupeka by Taumarunui. He is represented by an amo on their carved meeting house.
Te Kanawa of Ngati Katoa
Another was a chief of the Ngāti Katoa. He was killed in the campaign known as Putu-karekare (or Patu-karekare, or Te Karekaernga), which was fought at Kawhia in the time when Ngāti Katoa were the tangata whenua. This was before Te Rauparaha had left Kawhia around 1820.
Sources
Angela Ballara: "Taua".
Pei Te Hurunui: "King Potatau"
Te Kanawa of Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Naho
Another was a chief of the Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Naho iwi, and was one of the principal chiefs of the Waikato Māori. He was a close confederate of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori King, and lived from c. 1770 to c. 1860. He was signatory to the treaty signing at Kawhia. His mother was Te Rahuruake (according to Pei Te Hurunui in his book King Potatau, p. 120) and his sister was Parekohu. He also had a daughter or niece, Te Rangiata. His son was Wiremu Te Wheoro.