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Nā Tawa tēnei tātai kōrero. Ko Mea tōna ingoa anō hoki ko Kapene Gilbert Mair wheoi anō ki a tātau ki a Ngai Te Arawa ko Tawa:
Ko te whakaingoatanga o Katikati tēnei tātai kōrero.
Kai te tokerau o Tauranga a Katikati. He tāone iti, he pai hoki te wāhi nei.
Nō te ūnga mai o Te Arawa waka ki Oparaoa ka kitea pōhēhētia e rātau he waerenga kumara e tupu ururua ana.
Kai Rungateranga tēnei pōhēhētanga nui. Nō te mea kua nanakia te wā kia rātau e hakoke moana ana kua ngaua katoatia ngā puku ki te matekai.
Kātahi ka whakahaua e rātau a Tamatekapua kia tu rātau ki te kai e mākona ai te matekai.
Ka ū tō rātau ki uta ka taka te kai. Kāhore he whakaaro i tua atu o te kai me te patu i te matekai, ka tahuri rātau ki te kai i ngā tinaku me ngā kumara, ngā toenga kai kāore i oti noa i a rātau te kai. Māna tētehi, māna tētehi, māna tētehi, ko te tohatohaina tēnei o ngā kumara ki te iwi.
E noho puku ana te iwi e kai ana kātahi ka kitea tō rātau rangatira a Tamatekapua e noho kē atu i a rātau me te katikati hoki i tana kai.
Nā reira te ingoatanga o tēnei whenua ko Te Katikati a Tamatekapua.Ki tua atu i a Tamatekapua ko tana hoa rangatira ko Whakaotirangi. Tūturu ko te hoa rangatira o Ruaeorangi, ā, nā Tamatekapua ia i kawhaki.
Ko Whakaotirangi anahe kāore i kai i āna tinaku. Ka whakakaohia āna tinaku ka whakauru atu ki tētehi kōnae iti. Herea rawatia tana pēke ka mau. Ka tata oti i a rātau te kai i ngā kumara, ka karangahia te iwi e tētehi ki te titiro atu ki te waerenga kai e whanga mai na i a rātau.
Nō te tahuritanga o te iwi ki te waerenga kai ka pari te moana, e tata oti ana i a rātau te kai, kātahi ka mahara nui te ngākau o te iwi. Kua mamingatia rātau e uta, nā reira i mōhio ai rātau kua hē ngā kanohi, ehara i te waerenga kumara engari he tupu kē atu. He mānawa te tupu. Ehara i te kai tika mā te tangata.
Ko Whakaotirangi, te wahine i kawhakina e Tamatekapua, koia anahe te tangata i whakarongo ki tana puku, kīhai ia i kai i āna kumara. Nā tēnei tūāhuatanga ka puta e rua pepeha. Ko te tuatahi ko te roanga ake o te ingoa o Katikati. Ko Te Katikati-a-Tamatekapua.
Ko te tuarua ko tā Whakaotirangi mahi nā reira i ora ai te iwi.
Nā reira te pepehā a ngā kaumātua o Ngai Te Arawa, ko te putea iti a Whakaotirangi. E tika ana tēnei kōrero ki te wahine pukumahi, ki te wahine kakama, ki te wahine pakeke ngā whakaaro, otīā ki tētehi kohinga taonga he ahakoa nui, he ahakoa iti.
The following story, as told by Gilbert Mair, tells of the naming of Katikati, a small town north of present-day Tauranga city:
When the chiefs of Te Arawa had landed at Oparaoa, the southeast spit, the explorers caught a glimpse of what they presumed was a great abundance of kumara growing upon the area known as Rungateranga.
With this false sense of appeasement, the crew encouraged captain Tamatekapua to allow them to eat the remaining rations of tubers they had managed to preserve.
Reluctantly Tamatekapua agreed.
Overcome with near starvation, the crew quickly sought the remaining tubers of kumara in their stores, promptly dividing them out amongst the travellers.
As the band settled down to partake of their meal, they noticed that their leader, Tamatekapua, had separated himself from the leading group nibbling lingeringly at his portions.
Not too far from Tamatekapua was Whakaotirangi, the wife of Ruaeorangi, whom he had kidnapped. She decided that she would hold fast to her supply and, therefore, not touch any of her tubers.
She collected her tinaku and placed them into a small kit fastening it tight; she then secured the bag safely to her body. As the crew neared the end of their long-awaited feast, one of the explorers called the crew’s attention to the great harvest of kumara that lay beyond them.
And as the crew turned to watch, the incoming sea tide moved ever so gently over the false patch of kumara. The crew who had cleaned out their rations were shocked to see that what lay before them was indeed a façade.
A phantom patch of kumara that had deceived the crew deceived all except Whakaotirangi.
The ocean traveller Tamatekapua abducted had the foresight to wait just a little bit longer for valid confirmation that what the eyes saw was indeed an abundance of kumara and not something else.
From this event, two proverbs were created to warn future generations against such mishaps hopefully.
The name of the area in full is Te Katikati-a-Tamatekapua.
The nibbling of kumara by Tamatekapua and the second reminds us of the action taken by Whakaotirangi to ensure the preservation of the kumara tubers.
She kept them close to her body to ensure that when the waka was finally landed and a site of occupation was decided upon, she would at least have an opportunity to ensure that she could assist in feeding her people. The container in which she stored her tubers was preserved in the stories and characteristics of her descendants.
An industrious Māori woman will be referred to as a descendant of Whakaotirangi.
Any treasure collection, regardless of size or stature, is called Te putea iti a Whakaotirangi – The little basket of Whakaotirangi.
'He has disregarded our voice and continued with this divisive kaupapa.'