Kāhu ki Rotorua: Great net built to pay homage to ancestor

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See below for English translation

Te kupenga nui o Te Pokiha

Nā Tamatekapua, ko Tuhoromatakaka, nā Tuhoromatakaka ka puta ki waho ko Taramainuku.

E ai ki ngā kaumātua o nehe rā, kāhore he tangata hai rite mō Taramainuku te mōhio ki te hao ika. Ki Kaipara tēnei tupuna o tātau noho ai. Ko te take e rongonui ai tēnei tupuna ko tana kaha ki te mahi kupenga, nā reira te pepeha, ‘Kai tua o Manuka tē kite ki muri ki Te Kupenga a Taramainuku’.

He korero whakatūpato tēnei ki te hunga haere moana ki te hao ika, ki te ruku kai.

Kāti, ka taka te wā, ka tae ki Te Pokiha Taranui he rangatira nui nō Ngāti Pikiao. Ka toko ake te whakaaro ki tona whatumanawa ki te mahi kupenga māna.

Nō te hotoke o te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau, e waru tekau mā rima ka huihuia te nui o Ngāti Pikiao ki te pā o Maketu he mahi kupenga te take. Ka timatangia ā rātau kia ea katoa ai ngā wāhanga o tō rātau hiahia.Ka tahuri ki te mahi kupenga.

Ko te whakahīhī, ko te upokowhakaroto, ko te kōnae me te aha noa atu, me te aha noa atu.

Kāore i ārikarika te tangata i puta ki te mahi,iroiro ana te whenua, ko ngā tāne e mahi poitō ana, ko ngā wahine kai te patu whanake kia ngāwari ake te tuitui i enei rau hai taura, kai te ākau hoki he pahi tāne e orooro punga ana. Ko ēnei wāhanga katoa he mahi nui. Nā reira i hinga ai ngā marama huhua, ā, tae ki te raumati ki te puawaitanga o te pohutukawa, e ai ki te maramataka o te Ingarihi ko te kirihimete, kua oti katoa i te iwi ngā mahi nui. Nā - ko te mahi naianei he meiha i tā ratau kupenga.

Ka herea tētehi paihau o te kupenga ki ngā rākau i poua ki te whenua, ka tōia te puku ki tawhiti, ka kumea rawatia te kupenga ka pau ngā takahanga rau noa atu me he rite ia ki te whāriki e uhi ana te ātea nui o te marae.

Te Kurei o Tamatekapua.

Te mutunga iho kua puta te kōrero a Te Tawa me tana hoa Pakeha, e iwa tekau mā rima mekameka te roa e ngaro atu ana ki tawhito. Ki a tatau o naianei he rite ki te kotahi mano, e iwa rau, kotahi tekau mā tahi mita. Ko te mahi naianei, he kimi waka hai kawe i tā tātau kupenga whakahirahira ki wē moana.

Ko ngā waka rangatira, ko ngā waka taua i rokohanga mai e ngā manu tākaha i Matata.

Ao ake te rā ka pae ngā waka taua ki Otumakoro he oneone kai te pūtake o te pā o Maketu.

Ka unuhia ngā rauawa o ngā waka, ka whakapiritahatahi ai nga waka,ko ngā ihu e ahu whaka-te-moana ana, ko ngā kei o te waka e ahu nā ki tua whenua.

Ka āta wehewehea ngā waka, kia noho takitahi ai, ka naerangia he paepae ki te takere o ia waka e whakahono ai nga waka e rua ki a kotahi, kia rite ki tō tātau waka whakahirahira onamata, nā wai ka takoto ko te waka hourua o Te Pokiha. Tāria te roanga atu o ngā kōrero.

English Translation

Elders have frequently told the story about a long-ago ancestor, Taramainuku, the grandson of Tamatekapua who they extol as the outstanding fisherman of the Arawa. He is reported to have had a net that was set at Kaipara.

This is remembered in the old proverb, “Kei tua o Manuka, tē kite ki muri ki Te Kupenga a Taramainuku – When you pass out beyond Manuka waters, do not look back until you reach -pass the great fishing net of Taramainuku”.

So, it was decided by the great Arawa chief Te Pokiha Taranui to recreate such a net to remember the greatness of this long-ago chief.

During the winter months of 1885, Te Pokiha called together his people, and within a matter of time, a great gathering was set to work to complete this audacious task. To replicate the great net that Taramainuku once used.

Looking out towards Te Mōtītī a Kahu.

The seaside village of Maketu was a bustle with significant motion as many people gathered the vital work required to complete this extravagant net.

Men set about shaping the hundreds of stone anchors that would be needed to be fastened to the kahararo or the base of the net, while carvers also set to work creating the many poito that would be tied to the kaharunga, the top line of the fishing net.

Many months passed, and it was recorded that by Christmas of 1885, the net was completed. On measuring the great kupenga, it was found to be 95 chains long, at least 1911 meters in length. The next problem the people needed to resolve was finding a vessel that could carry such a heavy net into the ocean.

Runners were sent to Matata, and the following day, two waka were returned; a plank acting as a platform was constructed to join the two waka together and enable the crew to manage such a net.