Nā Tamatekapua ko Tūhoromatakākā nāna ko Ihenga te tangata pōkai whenua. He rangatira nunui ia i tupu mai i Hāwaiki nō kōnei tōna ihi, nō kōnei tōna māia, waihoki tōna toa.
Nāna i tapangia ko Te Motu Ihenga rāua ko Te Motu-tapu-a-Tinirau he tokorua moutere ēnei e pōtere rā i te whanga nui o Tamakimakaurau, whoi anō kōia nei te āhua o tōna wairua, he tōhunga hīkoi takiwā, he tangata hakoke whenua.
Nā wai rā ka puta mai a Ihenga ki te waiariki ka kitea e ia te moana kānapanapa ka tapangia ko Te Rotoruanui-a-Kahumatamomoe, he kōrero anō tērā, tāria te roanga....
He pākuha tonu te moana nui ki tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa ki a Kahumatamomoe, nā tēnei whakaaro rangatira ōna ka whakamoeā e Kahumatamomoe tana tamāhine hai wahine rangatira mō tana pōtiki ko Hinetekakara tōna ingoa.
Ki te whenua o Tukutahi ki Oruawhata rāua e noho ana, ka puta mai taua koroingo o te wairua ōna kia takahia te whenua, ka titiro atu ki te matatihi o te maunga, ka whakaaro ake kia whakamātaungia ōna waewae, ka haere me tōna kōtahi ki te piki ake i taua maunga nā.
Ka roa e piki ana, ka rongo ōna taringa ki te tangi whakatautau, he tangi kōrorohū, he tangi mapumapu, ka whāia e ia te tangi, ka tae mai ki tētehi pā e rere ana te auahi, me te tini o ngā tangata o roto.
Engari ehara i te iwi Māori – he iwi kē atu ! Me te ataahua tahi o a rātou taonga whakatangitangi, he mōhio nōna he iwi nō tūāwhakarere, he ngangana ngā makawe, he mā te tapeha, e tika ana he iwi tapu– ka maunu ōna waewae kia heke iho ki te pūtake o te maunga, ka takahia te peka rākau e takoto kau i raro,ka whati! tu ana ngā kanohi o te iwi ki te whatinga o te peka, engari kāre a Ihenga e oma atu – kua kohekohe tōna korokoro ki te mate wai, rokohanga atu rā taua toa e te iwi e tūturi ana.
Ka mihingia te tauhou, ā, e naumai ana e te iwi tūrehu a Ihenga kia noho hai mahuwhiri rangatira.
Ka manaakingia a Ihenga, ka atawhaitia a Ihenga, ka tonoa he wai mōna, ka whoatu ki a ia he tahā kī i te wai, ka ngongoā ka ngata ai te hiahia, ka ora.
Ngongotahā was named by Ihenga. Photo / Raimona Inia
E noho manuwhiri nei a Ihenga ka mate tāne atu tētehi o ngā wahine ki a ia, kai te whatumanawa e mau roa ana te aroha ki tona wahine rangatira, ka wehe a Ihenga i te pā, ka riria ia e te wahine tūrehu, ka oma atu a Ihenga me he manu motu i te koromāhanga ka rere, ka rere, ka whāia e te iwi tūrehu a Ihenga– e oma nei tō tātou toa ka pania tōna tapeha ki te kōkōwai, hīnā – hāunga tahi ! nā te kino o te hinu ka tū te iwi kua kore e rata ngā ihu ki te kakara ka hoki rātou ki te tihi o te māunga.
He ahakoa tēnei tūponotanga ka whakaratarata atu tētehi ki tētehi, a Ihenga ki te tūrehu, te tūrehu ki a Ihenga.
Ka whakatūria e Ihenga tōna pā ki te pūtake o te maunga, ko Whakaeketahuna te ingoa, ki tua o te wai tapu o te Waitetī he wāhi nui te mana ki a Ngāti Ihenga.
E ai ki a Ngāti Whakaue nā Te Rangipiere te maunga i tapangia ko Ngongotahā hei whakamaumāharatanga ki tēnei haerenga me te iwi hoki e noho mai nā ki te kohu,ki te ururuatanga o te nehenehe, ki runga ki te tuahu a te atua.
The great seafaring vessel that transported the Arawa people to the shores of Hawaiki Tautau was commanded by Tamatekapua and Ngātoroirangi.
Tamatekapua had a son named Tūhoromatakākā and Tūhoromatakākā had Ihenga. Ihenga in his time was a man of importance, he was considered brave, caring, he was a scholar and only once ever lifted his weapon, that was to avenge the murder of his wife.
It was Ihenga who named the islands of both Motu ihe and Motutapu found in the Auckland harbour these and many other landmarks throughout the north island.
Ihenga had a restless spirit, he had the power of levitation and was a known explorer – this spirit-led Ihenga to the discovery of the second great lake named in honour of Kahumatamomoe, Lake Rotorua, however that is another story.
In time Ihenga would marry the daughter of Kahumatamomoe, her name was Hinetekakara and together they settled near the base of the great mountain of Rotorua.
Ihengas spirit beckoned him to again set out and explore, to climb the summit to quench his inquisitiveness. Alone he set off on his new adventure, climbing and resting until his ears caught an unusual sound coming from the distant peak – almost a slow pant, a sound he had never heard before captivated he followed the sound until he saw smoke rising, realising that he may have chanced upon a village, he moved cautiously forward and before him, he saw a great gathering of people, unlike himself, these people were fair of skin with fire like hair, they were playing unusual instruments that we would later come to know as kōauau and pūtorino.
Ihenga feeling quite startled motioned backwards and in doing so stepped on a dry twig, it snapped and drew the attention of the hosts. Though at first startled, he was by this stage extremely thirsty and did not have the energy to flee.
He was however welcomed by these people and made a guest, he asked for water to quench his parched throat of which was presented in an eloborate calabash fashioned from the gourd.
Ihenga did not leave immediately he stayed for a day or so however in doing this, Ihenga attracted attention from one of the high ranking tūrehu.
The meeting house at Toi Ohomai is named after the great explorer Ihenga. Photo / Supplied
Ihengas heart was already given to his wife who was awaiting him and when approached by a potential new lover she felt insulted when he rejected her. Ihenga now felt that he was being made to stay to intermarry with these new people, he decided to leave.
His departure was interpreted as insulting and this caused anger throughout the people who gave chase to Ihenga intending to now keep him as an heirloom.
Down the slope of the mountain, he ran but soon found that the tūrehu were just as nimble and fast, in the last effort to save himself he smeared his face and body with kōkōwai a mixture of red-ochre and shark oil that he carried with him.
The smell was terrible and not appreciated by the pursuers who just as quickly as they had started their pursuit – abandoned it!
Ihenga travelled home to tell of his new adventure and encounter with the mountain people. Later the two people became accustomed to each other, Ihenga was invited to move closer to the sacred mountain with his family and they moved to occupy a sacred pā named Whakaeketahuna located not too far from the Waitetī stream.
Here he stayed with his children who in time would continue occupation until sadly the area was abandoned and the sacredness of the terrain and the mountain near forgotten.
The naming of the mountain was given by a later Ngāti Whakaue chief Te Rangipiere who also continued occupation upon those special sites – in remembrance of the early explorer and his adventures he named the mountain, Ngongotahā.
Ngongo means to drink and tahā from the calabash of water given to Ihenga by the guardians of the mountain the tūrehu.
