Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Ka ū mai a Te Arawa ki uta. Ko te wāhi i ū ai tō tātou waka ko Te Tauranga o Te Arawa ehara kau i te wāhi matua i ū ai te waka, engari he wāhi noa iho ka whia kē ngā wāhi i ū ai te waka.
Kāti, ka hikina ngā hoe ka hoea te Moananui o Toi te Huatahi. Me te nui hoki o ngā rangatira ki runga ki tēnei waka o tātou.
He mahanga hoki ko Tia, ko Hei. He rangatira rāua, whaihoki he tokorua mātauranga nui hoki rāua. He tohunga ki te whakatere waka, he tohunga tātai arorangi, ā, hetohunga karakia. Ki te ihu o te waka ēnei tohunga tū ai, ā, ko te roanga o te ingoa o tō tātou waka , ko Ngā rākau mtahi pū a Atuamatua, ko Atuamatua tētehi o ngā ariki ihorei nui o Hawaiki Tawhitiareare.
Kāore ia i whiti mai ki rāwāhi nei, ka matemate noa atu, ā, kai te kāinga tūturu tēnei tangata e takoto ana. Wheoi anō ara kē atu e whia kē hoki ngā ingoa o te waka engari ko te mea kai te kaha kōrerongia tonutia e tātou he waka mātahi pū, ehara i te waka noa, e rua kē ngā katua rākau pakari i herea kia kotahi ai.
Nā, e whakatere ana tō tātou waka kua oti noa te titiro me te nohonoho i tokerau, ka roa e heke ana , ka wehi katoa ngā tangata ki te ataahuatanga o te whenua i hīa ake e Māui i kitea tuatahingia e Kuperaurukoata, nā , ka tae ki te ākau o Tauranga tu ake ana a Hei me tana tohutohu ki tua whenua, nānā te kōrero, ' Na tua mai i te maunga rā ahu atu rā ki tērā pae whenua e rehurehu mai rā i raro ko te takapu o Waitaha'.
Nā ko Otawa e mōhiongia nei e tātou te whenua i taunahatia nei e tō tātou tupuna. Ko ētehi hoki ka kī ake, "Ko te papa e takoto nei ko te takapou o taku tamaiti a Waitaha', nā koia Te Papa e takoto nei i Tauranga. Kāore tētehi atu o ngā rangatira i hamama te waha, nā ka tere tonu tō tātou waka, kāore e tino roa ana, kua tū hoki ko Tia ' Te toropuku i runga rā ahu mai ki ngā maunga ko te takapu o Tapuika'. Nā ko te takiwā o Rangiuru te whenua e taunahatia nei e tō tātou tupuna.
Ka tū a Tamatekapua kātahi nei tēnei tupuna o tātou, mō te raweke, mō te tinihanga, wheoi anō he kaupapa kōrero anō āna mahi heahea a muri ake. Kāore e roa e tere ana te waka i te ākau o te moana ka kitea e Tamatekapua tētehi whenua e toro atu ki te puku o te moana, he kūmore nui, ka tū a Tamatekapua ka tohu atu nā ōna ringaringa ki te kūmore ra ra, ka tau anō ai tona mati ki te ihu ka kī ake, 'Ko te whenua rā ko te kūmore o tōku ihu'.
Ka kata iti nei ētehi o tātou, he mōhio nō tātou ko te take pea e raru tonu tōna ihu nā te karawhiunga āna e Ruaeo, whati kau ana tōna ihu – pakaru ana! Wheoi anō mau tonu, mau tonu i a tātou ngā ingoa moroki noa nei.
Ko tēnei tūmomo āhuatanga e ai ki a tātou te Māori he taunaha whenua rānei he tapatapa whenua. Ko te rangatira anake tēnei mahi kāore e whakaaengia ki a tū te ware ki te taunaha whenua.
Kāore e tino nui ana tōna mana pēnā i ngā ariki, i te rangatira me ngā tohunga. Ka kāwea tonutia te taunaha whenua e ngā uri o ēnei rangatira, ko Rangitihi tētehi, ā, tae noa ki a Ihenga tētehi tupuna hakoke whenua, taunaha whenua hoki, ko Kahumatamomoe hoki tētehi.
Ko tetehi anō take mā te rangataira anake te tapatapa, he tino mana nui te taunaha whenua, kai te whakatapua te whenua e te rangatira ki a rite ki tētehi wāhanga o tōna ake tinana. Ka kite kau tātou i te whenua ka kite kau hoki tātou i te tangata. Tāria te roanga ake e hoa mā. E huri ana.
So it was that the Te Arawa waka departed from Te Tauranga o Te Arawa and continued its journey along the shoreline now known as Te Moana o Toi Tehuatahi, named after the great ancestor Toi.
Numerous stories about what unfolded upon the waka coasting along the shoreline.
Aboard the waka were the twins Tia and Hei. Rangatira, healers, engineers and also acknowledged tohunga/ or priests. On the voyage, these two priests were stationed at the nose of the waka. Te Arawa was unlike any other vessel of the time.
Its true full name was Ngā rakau matahi pū a Atuamatua. A tribute to the high priest who remained in Hawaiki, Atuamatua; however, the name also explains that this was a double-hulled vessel.
There are variations of the term; however, the fact remains that the waka was double-hulled. At the nose of each hull stood one of the twins. Tia is at the head of one hull, and his twin is manning the head of the other hull.
As this sea ocean vessel coasted along the shoreline travelling south easterly, the new sites overwhelmed the chiefs, who began to claim land areas for their descendants, naming sites of significance after a sacred part of their anatomy.
Finally, Tia rose, pointing to the land and announcing in front of the tribe he was laying a claim for his son Tapuika, 'From the hills standing before me to that flowing river I claim these lands as the belly of my child Tapuika'.
Hei then declared on behalf of his son Waitaha "From behind the mountain there, extending to that other range of mountains indistinctly seen in the north, is the belly of my son Waitaha'.
This entire action had taken place due to the chief Tamatekapua, who had by this time had an arduous journey, something to talk about in future episodes.
However, sometime after they departed from Tauranga, far in the distance, the prominent head of what we now know to be the bridge of Tamatekapua caught the eye of Tamatekapua.
As he stood in front of his people, he motioned to this visible natural site, then pointing to the bridge of his nose, he declared, 'Yonder headland reaching out into the ocean, I name it after the bridge of my nose.
There was a bit of humour attached to this action. It would seem that the bridge of Tamatekapua was still slightly bruised after his altercation with the commander of the waka, Pukateawainui, the giant Ruaeo. Who reputedly took to Tamatekapua with an incredible ferocity that it resulted in Tamatekapuas nose being either broken or heavily bruised.
Such was the nature of the ancestors, who, when discovering new land, would ensure that they secured the best sites for themselves and future generations. An act that was continued throughout the exploration by all chiefs, down to the time of Rangitihi, and the greatest explorer of the Arawa. Ihenga.
This action was referred to as taunaha. The title to those areas was fixed and acknowledged to claim land or annex by identifying the various landmarks with parts of the chief's body for that of his offspring.
We're celebrating the best of New Zealand as we head into the 2024-25 summer.