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He rangatira nui a Uenukukopako nō Te Arawa. E ai ki ngā pakeke, he tangata pai ki ngā kanohi, he toa ki te whawhai, he kaha ki te manaaki tangata, ā, he rangatira hakoke whenua.
Ki Mokoia a ia e noho atu ana koia nei tētehi o ōna kāinga noho. Kia mau ai te rongo ki tōna takiwā ka moe ia i ngā tamāhine tokorua a Tamakauwhata, he rangatira nui nō Te Pukeroa.
Ko tana wahine tuatoru nō Hauraki ko Taoitekura. Katoa rātou noho tōpū ai ki runga o Mokoia. He ahakoa e noho tahi nei, ka tū te pūehu, ko te take kia mōhiotia ko wai o rātou te wahine matua o Uenukukopako.
He ahakoa ngā tini whakatikatika ka pakaru haere, ka pakaru haere, ka pirorehe kau te whatumanawa o te rangatira. Ka taka tētehi rangi ka toko ake te whakaaro ki te ruku koura kai te roto moana.
Nā tēnei whakaaro pea e ea ai ngā pōraruraru. Ka hoake rātou ki te hoe, ka iti ki mua ka roa ki muri ka tau ana ki te wāhi tika o te moana. Ka tukuna te punga. Kai runga te rangatira e tu ana. Ka tana whakahau tēnei.
Ko te wahine tuatahi ki te ruku i te moana, e tae ki raro, ka hoki mai ki te waka me he kamunga oneone koia te wahine matua.
Ka whakaae katoa ngā wahine. Kai runga ko Rangiwhakapiri, te ataahua hoki, ka herea ōna makawe, ka unuhia ōna kaka, ka tūpou ki te wai, ko te wai mā, ka heke ki te wai uriuri, ki te wai mātotoru te pouri o te pō, ko te wā ki a ia e ruku ana, e aua hoki – engari rā ka kite ake i ngā mirumiru e pōteretere rā ki te wai, ka whati ana te karetai, kai runga ko te ūpoko o Rangiwhakapiri, ringaringa kapo hau anake.
Ka noho ki te ihu o te waka.
Tu ana ko Hinepito he tuakana taina rāua ko Rangiwhakapiri, ka tūpou ki te wai.
Ka iti nei ki te karetai, e hauhau ana kia ora ai ngā pūkahukahu, nā, ka ruku ki te papa o te moana.
Ka roa rātou e tatari ana, ka āmaimai te whatumanawa o te hunga e noho mai nā i te takere waka, he pōhēhē nō rātou kua rumakingia tō rātou wahine, ehara! Ka pakaru te wai kua pirorehe ngā pūkahukahu o Hinepito i te kōmaunga o te hau ora. He kore oneone hoki nā Hinepito.
Tu ana ko Taoitekura te whakamutunga o ngā wāhine.
Rere tūpou ki ngā wai kanakana o Te Rotorua nui o Kahumatamomoe, ka iti nei e pōteretere ana,e kau kiore ana, ka pūtikingia ōna makawe, ka whakahauhau i ōna pūkahukahu, ka ruku i te wai tea.
Nō te takahuritanga o Taoitekura ki te ruku wai ka kitea e ōna hoa ōna waewae kua tāia ki te kirituhi he pūhoro e kitakita mai nā, kātahi ka ngaro i ngā ngaru o te wai. Ko Uenukukopako anake i mātau ai ki ōna waewae tuhituhi. Ka uru mai te whakamīharo ki te whatumana o te tokorua wāhine.
Ka heke, ka heke tō tātou wahine, ka uaua e haere ana, ka roa hoki ia e ngaro atu ana, wheoi anō kai te ruku, e kaukau ana ngā ringaringa, nānā e kaukau ana ka rewa āna tia toroa, ki tētehi wāhanga o tana hekenga ka rewa atu tētehi, kai tētehi anō taumata ka rewa anō tētehi nā wai rā ko te tuatoru o ngā huruhuru toroa i whakamau hai pare māna ki tana ūpoko.
Nā, ka puta ki runga tētehi, ka whāia rawatia ko te tuarua, ā, me te tuatoru. Ko te tuawha, ko Taoitekura, me te aha, kai ōna ringaringa he oneone nō raro. Nā tēnei āhuatanga ka tapangia tēnei wāhanga o te moana ko Te Hiwi o Te Toroa. Nō te terenga o ngā tia Toroa.
Kai te mau tonu tēnei ingoa i tēnei wāhanga oneone o te moana moroki noa nei. E mea ana hoki ngā pakeke, he matatāhuna kai raro moana a Te Hiwi o Te Toroa, i ngā rā onamata, he pātaka kai, ko te wāhi huihuia ai ngā kākahi me ngā kēwai o te roto moana.
Mēnā ka tū te tangata ki te Rae o Te Rangikawhata ka titiro whakatewaho ki Mokoia, ka whāia haerengia e ia taua rārangi titiro ki waenganui pū o taua rārangi titiro ko te takiwā nei.
Uenukukopako, a leading chief of the Waiariki region, lived on Mokoia Island.
To keep the peace around the area, he married two daughters of Tamakauwhata, a leader who lived on Pukeroa; his third wife was from Hauraki, her name was Taoitekura.
Together they lived on the island discovered by Ihenga. However, it wasn't long before the company became a little overwhelming to the point where the wives of Uenukukopako started feuding amongst themselves as to who was the senior wife.
No matter the solution, every attempt to try and soothe his wives would eventually fail.
Again, the small family was embroiled in a heated discussion that led to full arguments.
Then, one day as the chief and his wives were out collecting the freshwater crayfish from the lakebed, Uenukukopako had an idea. A very sure solution to cull the continued arguments between his wives.
The idea was bound to work.
At a particular spot on the lake, the chief had decided that whoever could dive to the bottom of the lake and return with a handful of soil would be declared the most senior wife.
This solution the ladies agreed to. Rangiwhakapiri was the first to accept the challenge.
Upon the canoe, she stood. She tied her hair and slipped into the water before filling her lungs with air.
Then she dived down into the dark waters before disappearing from sight.
It is unknown how long she was gone, but she resurfaced very quickly, gasping for air with no soil in her hands.
Hinepito, the sister of Rangiwhakapiri, then decided that she would go next. So, like her sister before her, she too slipped into the water, filled her lungs with air then quickly dived down into the dark waters.
Again, time passed, and as all aboard the canoe waited anxiously, Hinepito resurfaced; however, she too had failed to collect any soil from the bottom of the lakebed.
Taoitekura was the last of the three wives. Like the two sisters who had attempted to collect soil from the lakebed, she too plunged into the lake.
As she floated above the lake water, she tied her hair in a bun, filled her lungs with air then dived down to the lakebed.
As she dived, the two sisters were treated to a great sight. They were taken aback by the sight of the beautiful tattoo that adorned her thighs, which they had not seen before.
However, they were known to her husband, Uenukukopako.
Down she continued, deep into the depths of the lake. As Taoitekura continued her dive, the plumes of the albatross with which she had adorned her hair slowly removed themselves from her and floated to the surface.
The first one popped to the surface, eventually followed by a second before a third was seen floating on the lake.
This action was immediately followed by a series of air bubbles and, finally, Taoitekura.
As she collected her breath, she raised her hand into the air revealing for all to see the soil she had successfully gathered from the lakebed.
The site where this event took place is today still known as Te Hiwi o Te Toroa.
A bank that is located between Te Rae o Te Rangikawhata and Te Kotuku paratea located just off the eastern shoreline of Mokoia.
OPINION: Once proud and hard-working, most Māori have no meaningful mahi.