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Ka tae a Ruaeorangi ki Te Awhe o te Rangi, kai te tuturi e ketuketu ana i te oneone kai māunu iho te taonga a Tamatekapua.
Ka iti e ketu ana ka tū tana manawa, kai te rīnoi ngā whēkau o te puku. Kātahi ka uru mai te pōuriuri ki te kōhamo o tana mātenga kua mamingatia ia e Tamatekapua. Ka tae mai te kanohi o Whakaotirangi ki a ia ka whati tana whatumanawa.
Kai te huarahi e taki oma ana ona waewae ki tātahi ki tana mākau ki a Whakaotirangi. Ka roa ki muri ka iti ki mua kai te titiro ngā kanohi ki te tauripa o te pae, ara ngā māmari o te waka e torongi kau iho ki tūā, ā, ngaro atu i te tirohanga tangata. Kai tātahi tō tātau rangatira e hēmana ana kua ngenge ōna pūkahukahu, e hamama ana te waha, "E kui kai whea rā koe – Whakaotirangi whakakitea mai !", e āuē ana te iwi kai te tangi ngā whānau ko te hunga ēnei i māhue i muri.
I te wahi tuatahi o tēnei kōrero ka kite tātau i riro a Whakaotirangi te wahine makau i a Tamatekapua. Rokohanga atu e tangi ana te tini o te tangata, engari kāore e kitea tana wahine.
Kua kāwhakina e Tamate-kapua. Ka riria a Tamatekapua e Ruaeorangi ka takina ngā karakia o tūāuri whēioio ki a whakatatakuhia te tere o te waka, ka rua, kia whakahokia ki uta kātahi te pōhēhē nui hoki ko tērā.
He ahakoa he rangatira a Ruaeorangi, he ahakoa he tohunga a Ruaeorangi kāore e rite tahi nei te kaha o tona mana ki ngā tohunga o runga o te waka o Ngā rākau mātahipū a Atuamatua. Me pēwhea e tāea ai e ia te whakakore i te ihi o te waka hourua? E ai ki ngā pakeke he rangatira anake ngā tangata kai te waka, he tohunga anake ngā tangata kai te waka. Ko Tia, ko Hei kai te ihu o te waka whaihoki ko Ngātoroirangi kai te whare hukahuka.
He mana, he ihi, he whakamataku. Ka tū ngā pewa o Ngātoroirangi, he ia kai te takiwā e rerere ana. Ka hāpai i tana ringakaha ki te tūrou atu i ngā tao kī. Ka māmā noa tana haerenga.
Ka karangahia e Ruaeorangi āna tangata. Ka rere te pātai, "Me pewhea rā e taea ai a Hāwaiki Tahutahu ?'. Ka kī atu a Ruaeorangi me tārai ki te waka ka whiti ki taua whenua rā. Ka tāraia ki te waka ke tapangia ko Pukateawainui.
Ka ū a Te Arawa ki uta. Kua whakahoungia te ingoa o tō tatau waka, wheoi anō he kōrero kē atu tēnā.
Kua moea a Whakaotirangi e Tamatekapua. Kāti. Ka tere rāua ki te whakatōmene whenua. E haereere ana rātau e kūware kau ana ki te take ki a Ruaeorangi. Kua mana tona waka, kua puta hoki rātau ki te whenua hou e kīa nei ko Hāwaiki Tahutahu, kai te takahanga waewae o Tamatekapua a ia e aruaru ana.
Ka nui hoki ngā tātai kōrero kai a tātau e pupuritia ana mō tēnei take. Kai tēnā, kai tēnā hapū, kai tēnā iwi āna ake kōrero, koia ko tēnei e hika mā he maramara kau. Nā, e ai ki a tātau katoa te tini o Ngai Te Arawa, āe…i tūtakitaki tēnei tokorua ki Rangitoto hei ētehi ki Maketu.
Ko te mutunga iho, ka pakaru te kūmore o te ihu o Tamatekapua, huri ana ōna rekereke i a Ruaeorangi kai te tūara e takoto ana. Ka tapā ko tētehi o ngā moutere ko Te Rangi i totongia ai te ihu o Tamatekapua. Nā kai te takiwā o Tamakimakaurau tēnei wāhi. Kua ea iti nei tana whakamā.
Ko Ruaeorangi e tū ana ko Tamatekapua kai ōna rekereke. Ko te mea whakamīharo ki ahau.
Kāore i patua rawatia kia mate noa atu me he kurī poapoa. He ahakoa kua whakaparangangia ia e Tamatekapua he mōhio nōna e tika ana kia ora ia me tēnei momo utu kua ūhia ki runga ki ōna pakihiwi.
Mā te whakamā ia e patu. Ko te wahine hoki ki a ia. Hai aha māna.
Ka nōhia tēnei whenua e Ruaeorangi ko āna uri i whakapīraratia ngā koko huhua o ngā waiariki nei.
While Ruaeorangi was frantically digging up sections under the windowsill, stabbing pain in his stomach brought him to a complete halt.
At that very moment, a dark thought entered his mind that maybe he had been deceived by his friend Tamatekapua.
Suddenly his thoughts turned to his wife, Whakaotirangi. The chief was quick to his feet and dashed back to the bay where the tribe were preparing to embark on their new deep-sea journey.
As Ruaeorangi approached the beach, he could make out the sails of a large vessel swiftly heading towards the far-off horizon in the distance. His greatest fear was realised when, on reaching the site, those that had remained were crying their last farewells to their friends and family members.
Ruaeorangi immediately started searching for his wife. All was revealed when he had asked those members that remained if they had seen her. She was caught aboard the vessel.
There seemed to be no concern as it was presumed that Ruaeorangi was also boarding the waka hourua.
The chief could do nothing but harness his rage in a vain attempt to slow the vessel; he, therefore, summoned the gods of the winds, the gods of the ocean, to bring difficulties to the vessel to hinder its departure.
Although Ruaeorangi was a great chief he was outgunned on his attempt to slow the waka spiritually.
That was because on board the waka hourua stood the priests Hei, Tia and Ngātoroirangi.
How could one man compete with such awe? The priests on board the vessel were swift in quelling the disturbance, and without further disruption, the journey continued. Onshore, Ruaeorangi, overcome with grief and anger, promptly pulled together his crew.
However, he would not allow such betrayal to go unpunished, whether he acquired a waka or created an entirely new waka. Eventually, he had a sea-worthy vessel and named it Pukateawainui.
Whilst the Arawa waka had safely made landfall, Tamatekapua, by this time, had openly taken Whakaotirangi as his wife. While he relaxed on the new island, he was unaware that Ruaeorangi had not only successfully traversed the ocean and landed but was by now hot on the heels of the chief.
There are a handful of stories regarding what unfolded next. However, we can confidently say that the giant Ruaeorangi and his warriors confronted Tamatekapua. Following a highly violent confrontation, Tamatekapua was beaten severely to the point where he had his nose broken.
The main island of Rangitoto forever perpetuates this story, and its full name is Te Rangi-i-totongia-ai-te-ihu-o-Tamatekapua. In short, the day that Tamatekapuas nose bleed. Among other acts of retribution that Ruaeorangi administered upon the wounded chief, what is not often acknowledged is that though he was seething with anger, Ruaeorangi knew that he had avenged the insult.
Therefore, there was no need to kill Tamatekapua; feeling satisfied, he left the area behind the famed Whakaotirangi.
Ruaeorangi did not return to Hāwaiki.
The oil painting is set to be auctioned tomorrow.