Kāhu ki Rotorua: Kai whakapaepae heals hurt from careless words

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See below for English translation

E ai ki te whakataukī, he tao rākau e taea te karo engari he tao kī, e kore e taea te karo.

Hemo tonu atu. Ko roa a Te Arawa e noho mōwai rokiroki ana. Kua wehe a Hongi Hika e ora iti nei a Te Arawa i te mana o Te Aokapurangi me Te Wera.

Ka huri ngā kaupeka o te tau ka tae ki te wā e rūnanga nei ngā ki Kawaka ki tahaki o Te Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe. Rokohanga atu ka kitea he tokorua. Ko Te Pukekino me Te Rangikahiwa. Ka moe rāua. E ai ki te Pākehā kua mārena rāua. Ka iti te noho i Kawaha ka wehe rāua, ka ahu ki Matawhaura ki te hapū o Te Pukekino. Kai te taha whiti o Te Rotoiti a Matawhaura. He maunga.

Ka nui te harikoa o te ngākau o Te Rangikahiwa ki te manaakitanga o Ngāti Tamakari ka pōwhiringia e ia tona hapū ki Matawhaura kia noho tata mai rātau ki a rāua. Ka wehe a Ngāti Raukawa me Ngāti Mahana i Patetere ka heke iho ki Ngā Waiariki. Ka haria he purapura Wairuru. Ka tae ki Kawaha e taria ana rātau e Te Rangikahiwa me Te Pukekino, ka whakaatungia ngā purapura, ka nui te hākoakoa o te puku o Te Rangikahiwa.

Omatatahuna below Matawhaura.

Nā tēnei harikoa me tana mōhiohio he iwi kaha a Ngāti Tamakari ki te mahi, ka hamama te waha, “ka tupu matomato te kai i te pūtake o Matawhaura, ka rangatira tātau ina te wene o te mahi”. Ka wehe a Ngāti Mahana ka mahue i a rātau a Ngāti Raukawa i Kawaha. Wheoi anō, e rūnanga ana ngā tangata, ehara ko Ngāti Tamakari anake engari ko ngā hapū o Ngai Te Arawa. Ka hoi taringa etehi o ngā rangatira ki te kupu kōrero a Te Rangikahiwa, ka kī atu tētehi, “Ko te tewe o te mahi, ko te kore tewe rānei!”.

Ka tūnahatia te tāunu ki te ngākau kīhai a Te Rangikahiwa e whāki ki tōna hoa rangatira kai maringa te toto. Ka hoea te moana, ka ū te pahi ki Korokitewao, ka ūtaina ngā waka ki tātahi, ka tōia ki te tahuna, ka noho i raro.

Kātahi ka whakapuakina e Te Rangikahiwa te tāunu. Ka pōuri ngā ngakau o Ngāti Mahana me Ngāti Tamakari.

Ka rere te whakaaro me kai whakapaepae tātau e tāpae atu tēnei tāunu. Whakaae mai te iwi. Ka pau i a rātau e rima tau e mahi ana. He tukituki whenua, he hauhake kai, he tāhere manu, he hopu kīore, he hao kōāeaea, he aha noa atu, he aha noa atu, he aha noa atu. Pūhakehake ana te kai. Ka tau tuarima mai. Ka kī te rangatira. Kua rahi. Tonoa ngā karere ki ngā hapū o Ngai Te Arawa kawea te pōwhiri ki a eke mai rātau ki Omatatahuna.

Kai te whenua papatahi kei raro i ngā pari teitei o Matawhaura a Omatatahuna. He whenua ururua, tupu ana te rākau Māori engari te mātotoru hoki o te Kiekie, ara ko tana hua rangatira he tawhara. Nā reira ka tapā tēnei hākari ko Kaikiekie. Rūpuke katoa te tini me te mano o Ngai Te Arawa. Ka pōwhiringia rātau e ngā hapū o Tamakari otīā o Ngāti Pikiao whānui tonu. Ko Ngāti Whakaue, ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi, ko Ngāti Raukawa, ko Tarawhai, ko Tūhourangi, ko Ngāti Tuara, ko Ngāti Whaoa, wheoi anō ko Te Arawa whānui tonu. Inā te kai e ngangahū kau ana, anā he pūkei kai, anā he pūkei – ka tū te rangatira,’ Rangiwewehi ki a kotou tēnei pūkei.

Tūhourangi ki a kotou tēnei pūkei!’. Ka pau katoa i ngā hapū ngā pūkei kai.Kātahi ka ea te kupu tāunu i whakapuakina e ētehi o ngā hapū o Te Arawa. Ka ora te ngākau o Te Rangikahiwa me Te Pukekino.

— Raimona Inia

English Translation

Ko te tewe o te mahi, ko te kore tewe rānei

There is an old Māori proverb that says, he tao rākau e taea te karo, engari he tao kī e kore e taea te karo. The warrior’s spear can be evaded, but not the thrust of words.

Long after the fall of Mokoia of 1823 at Kawaha on the western shores of Te Rotoruanui-a-Kahumatamomoe, Te Pukekino married a woman of exalted standing named Te Rangikahiwa. Long after the union, the couple moved to join Te Pukekino’s people who lived on the mountain Matawhaura, located at the far eastern end of Te Rotoiti.

Te Rangikahiwa was so smitten by the hospitality of the Te Arawa people she encouraged her people to travel from Patetere to live in Rotorua. They agreed to this suggestion. Departing from Patetere, they carried their ‘purapura’, a particular type of seed called Wairuru.

When they arrived, they were warmly welcomed to the summits of Matawhaura. While her people departed from Kawaha and travelled with her, the section of Ngāti Mahana, a hapū of Ngāti Raukawa, remained. There was a development where Te Rangikahiwa stated that she would take the seed to be planted by the Ngāti Tamakari. These people were renowned for their diligent work ethic.

Unfortunately, this remark was heard by certain hapū, who misinterpreted it as an insult. This remark drew an immediate sarcastic reply, “Show me the greatness of Ngāti Tamakari”.

Te Rangikahiwa did not physically acknowledge hearing the slant but kept it brewing in her belly. When they arrived at Matawhaura, Te Rangikahiwa informed her husband of the taunu, the insult. Te Pukekino did not hear the comment. However, they gathered the Ngāti Tamakari to share what had transpired. The words struck deep into the people’s hearts, who decided to prepare food for a “kai-whakapaepae”.

They worked tirelessly for nearly five years to wipe clean this insult. They planted the Wairuru seed, snared birds, trapped kiore, gathered berries and kai from the lakes and gradually built up their significant reserves. Finally, in the fifth year, it was decided that the kai-whakapaepae should take place at Omatatahuna, an area located below Matawhaura separating Te Rotoiti from Rotoehu.

The decision to have the feast here was based on the fact that Omatatahuna had an abundance of Kiekie that grew prolifically during summer, which produced the highly prized tawhara. The event was named Kaikiekie.

The messengers of Ngāti Tamakari were then sent to invite the many hapū of Te Arawa. In the meantime, the preparation for the feast began. When the many hapū had arrived, the Ngāti Tamakari took great pride in directing the visiting hapū to their allocated pile of food reserves.

The Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Raukawa, Tarawhai, Whaoa, Tūhourangi, Tuara and the many hapū of Te Arawa were overwhelmed by such generosity. This one feast which lasted for a significant length of time, wiped out the kupu taunu that had for a long time simmered in the hearts of the Ngāti Tamakari.