Kāhu ki Rotorua: Ōkareka a rich source of food in bush and water

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See below for English translation

Okareka, he mihi ki te rarahi o te kai

PURAKAU

Click here for English translation

Ko Okareka tetehi o nga roto moana e nohia ana e nga uri o Ngati Wahiao me Ngati Hinemihi me etehi atu.

Ko te tikanga o tenei ingoa ko Okareka, he mihi ki te rarahi o te kai Maori e tupu ana i nga paripari me te moana.

I kaha nohia tenei pa e nga tini rangatira no te wa i a Ika. He rangatira hoki tenei i ma Te Arawa mai ki te whenua i hia ake e Maui. Na Ika ko Marupunganui nana i tapangia te moana nui o te waiariki ko Nga wai karekare o Marupunganui.

Na Marupunganui ko Tuarotorua kua tutakitaki ke tatou ki tenei rangatira i tetehi o nga tuhinga moata, wheoi ano.

Na tana tohe nui ki a Ihenga i wehe ai ia i tenei whaitua, a, ka huri atu tona rae ki nga whenua matomato o Tikitapu o Rotokakahi, a, me Okareka.

Na Tuarotorua ka puta ki waho ko Tangaroa ko te tupuna orokohanga tenei mo te iwi e ai ki etehi kaha ki te poipoi taniwha ko Ngati Tangaroaamihi.

Kai tenei whenua pamamao ko ona pa huhua. Kua ngaro te nuinga inaianei engari tera tetehi wa e kapi kau ana nga kumore nga mokoroa me nga hiwi kopikopiko i nga pa whawhai. Ko Pa-tarata he pa maioro i tu iti nei ki Rauporoa me Te Pou koropu.

Ko Te Pou koropu he wahi rangatira mo te tahere manu matua ko te tahere kaka, Koia nei ko te kaka tetehi kai rangatira onamata. Kai tenei whenua hoki te wahi i patua ai te mokai ngarara a Tangaroa a mihi.

Ko Kataore. E ai ki etehi he ngarara kai kikokiko tangata. Na reira i patua ai e nga uri o Ngati Tamaihutoroa.

Ka ngakia tenei kohuru ka huaki ko Moanawaipu ka hinga te nui o Tamaihutoroa ka takoto nga ika whitiwhiti i Puarenga. Ka hoki te nui o Tangaroamihi ki o ratou pa. Ko Patarata tetehi e noho tata nei ki Tokorangi na ki tua e titiro iho ai nga kanohi ka kite i te pa nui o te whenua ko Taumaihi.

He ingoa nui ki nga uri o Ngai Te Arawa, kai Tarawera tenei ingoa, kai Ikataina a kai Motiti ano.

Ko Taumai te ihi o Rongo te roanga atu o te ingoa. He mangere no tatou inaianei ki te whakahuahua i te katoa o te ingoa na reira i Taumaihi ai.

He ahakoa he pa whakairo a Taumai te ihi o Rongo ko nga tatai korero e kawea tonutia ana e nga uri he korero pakanga anake.

Ka hinga nga toa o Ngati Tamaihutoroa i Moanawaipu ka hoki te iti o Tangaroaamihi ki te pa noho ai.

Ka arumia ratou e nga morehu ka rokohanga mai he pa e moe ana nga tutei, ka noho a Reretoi, te upoko kaka no roto i te pokaitara o Ngati Tamaihutoroa me ona rau. Ka hi te atatu ka huaki te riri, kai te moana nga waka kai uta nga toa. Ko Marua te rangatira o te pa.

Ka ngoikore nga tangata no ratou te pa, na wai iti ka horo te pa i te tini o Ngati Tamaihutoroa.

Ka patua etehi engari kaore i patua kia mate mate noa atu te katoa. Ehara!
Ka rere nga morehu ka ora. Ka oti ana te riri ka haere te taua ki Rotorua na ka ata hoki mai nga tini o Tangaroaamihi.

Ka tanu nga tupapaku, katahi ka tonoa nga karere ki nga uri o Rangitihi ki a Ratorua ki a Kawatapuarangi me Apumoana. Ka topu nga tia ki runga o Okareka.

Ka whakatakoto te riri. Ka pakari te taua hikutoto ka takahia te huarahi ka roa e haere ana ka rokohanga na ko te tini o Tamaihutoroa ki nga waikarekare o Te Rotorua e whakatumatuma ana.

Ka rere poupou atu nga pioke ki te harapaki kutu, anana! Ko Te Waiwhitiwhitiinanga te utu. Ka puta te toa o Tangaroaamihi.

He kainga mo te katoa inaianei. Whakaahua / Raimona Inia

To the southeast of Rotorua lies a small lake known as Okareka.

The name acknowledges the abundance of food gathered from the bush and the lake.
Okareka was a sanctuary for many people from the time of the first arrivals to the geothermal region.

Ika was a great explorer who arrived on Hawaiki Tautau upon the Te Arawa waka that Tamatekapua and Ngatoroirangi captained.

Ika's son was Marupunganui, who is credited with naming the lake we now know as Te Rotoruanui-a-Kahumatamomoe.

An earlier name was Nga wai karekare a Marupunganui. This ancestor Marupunganui had a son named Tuarotorua, whom we met in previous writings. His encounter with another famous explorer, Ihenga, would explain his departure from the Waiariki area.

It seems they headed out to the lands of Tikitapu, Rotokakahi and Okareka because it is here, we find Tangaroa, the son of Tuarotorua. Tangaroa's people became known as Ngati Tangaroaamihi.

Within this fertile bush area were many pa sites. Pa-tarata was located near an area known as Rauporoa and Te Pou Koropu. Te Pou Koropu was a famous ground for hunting the native parrot, the kaka.

It was also within this area the feared lizard Kataore resided, which was presumably such a nuisance to travellers that it was finally decided by another group of people known as Ngati Tamaihutoroa that they would dispatch the creature.

The killing of Kataore caused great pain to the people of Tangaroa-a-mihi, and because of this killing, a war party was raised to avenge Kataore. Tumoanawaipu was the first battle, and the victory went to Tangaroa-a-mihi.

The bodies of the defeated Ngati Tama were left at Puarenga, and the victorious warriors returned to their fighting pa.

Pa Tarata was one, located high above the redwood forest where adventure cyclists now race through the undergrowth of the giant trees; here stood another stronghold called Tokorangi, and far across Okareka stood the wooded fort named Taumaihi.

That name can be traced through to lake Ikataina, back along the Tarawera River and right back to the island of Motiti to the village of the ancient priest Ngatoroirangi. Its full name is Taumai-te-ihi-o-Rongo.

Though highly fortified and strategically placed on a peninsula, the storie regarding this fort are those recalled by the victorious invading parties.

With the vicious warfare between Tangaroaamihi and Ngati Tamaihutoroa, the leaders Reretoi and his brothers lay siege to Taumaihi. When the signs were favourable, the party was attacked by water and land.

Though Marua led his people in a valiant defence, the attackers were too fierce and Taumaihi fell to the warriors of Ngati Tamaihutoroa.

Though successful, the invaders did not exterminate the Tangaroamihi inhabitants – just as quickly as they had overrun the site, they withdrew, allowing those who had fled the scene to return to bury their relations.

The Tangaroa a mihi would eventually reach out to the descendants of Ratorua, Kawatapuarangi and Apumoana.

Finally, with combined strength, they fought the Ngati Tamaihutoroa in the battle of Te Waiwhitiwhitiinanga.

In the writings of Makereti Papakura, she recalls that along with Rotokakahi, Tarawera, Rotomahana and Te Wairoa, Okareka was a site that was once rich with kumara cultivations that provided vast amounts of produce to feed the many sub-tribes.

However, this all ended with the eruption of Tarawera in 1886.

The old people left their fields, the bush, the small lake, and the area, in general, was abandoned.