Home of the haka: a place to celebrate

The land being developed as the 'home of the haka' overlooks Lake Rotoaira. Photo / Jim Eagles

We were strolling through a beautiful parklike area on the shores of Lake Rotoaira when Ngahuia Tahau rather unexpectedly asked, "What do you know about Te Rauparaha?"

I hadn't done very well when it came to the medicinal and nutritive properties of the native plants we'd seen on our earlier walk around the smaller Lake Rotopounamu, so I was delighted to have this chance to redeem myself.

"Te Rauparaha. Ngati Toa chief who lived around, oh, 200 years ago. Great warrior. They called him the Maori Napoleon. Originally lived at Kawhia but had a lot of enemies so eventually had to move south and find a new home around Cook Strait."

Ngahuia looked approving so, with the enthusiasm of a lifelong know-all, I carried on.

"Probably the most significant thing he did, however, was to compose the Ka mate haka, the one piece of Maori culture just about every Pakeha knows.

"And, contrary to what most people think, it's not a war dance but a celebration of life. Te Rauparaha composed it to celebrate escaping his enemies after hiding in a kumara pit."

Ngahuia smiled. "Yes," she said, pointing to a hole in the ground just in front of us,"and this is the kumara pit."

I was amazed. How many times had I watched the All Blacks performing Ka mate? How many times, when visiting foreign lands and asked to show them something from New Zealand - places like Mongolia and Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Canada - had I done Te Rauparaha's haka? How many times had I told the doubtless uncomprehending onlookers that, notwithstanding the ferocious stamping, chestbeating and tongue-poking, it was not a war dance but a celebration of life.

Now here was the actual kumara pit which had inspired New Zealand's most famous haka.

There was, in fact, a row of kumara pits but the one Ngahuia was indicating had a small protective fence and corrugated iron roof. The local Ngati Hikairo people had kept alive the memory that this was the kumara pit associated with Te Rauparaha, she explained, and were now in the process of developing some of their historic sites as cultural tourist attractions. The plan was for the pit to form a centrepiece of a site to be known as "The home of the haka".

As I continued to goggle at this extraordinary piece of history, Ngahuia explained that some time around 1810 Te Rauparaha arrived here with his enemies in hot pursuit and asked the local chief Te Whareangi - "to whom I am related on my grandmother's side" - to hide him from his enemies.

Initially the chief refused but at the second time of asking he agreed and told Te Rauparaha to climb down into the kumara pit. Te Whareangi's wife, Te Rangikoaea, then sat over the kumara pit. The pursuing warriors, convinced that a noble chief would never sit underneath a woman, passed by. After they had gone Te Rauparaha bounded out and performed his haka.

Because of my obvious enthusiasm Ngahuia allowed me to go inside the enclosure and stand at the top of the kumara pit where I entertained myself by doing the last section of the haka on the spot where the great warrior composed it: "Up the first step, up the second step, into the sunshine, whiti te ra!" The sun was shining for us, too, as we explored this delightful corner of the Tongariro National Park with its amazing combination of stunning scenery and fascinating history.

Ngahuia's company, Pureora Walks, offers guided forest walks with a mix of nature and culture, humour and meditation.

So, as we wander down the track around Lake Rotopounamu, one minute she is providing an animated version of the legend of Rangi and Papa, the sky father and the earth mother, using a giant rimu tree as a prop to illustrate how Tane forced the two apart. The next she's chuckling at the memory of a German client who was so taken at her description of how to make matai beer - drill a hole in the trunk, plug it up and leave the sap to ferment - that he pretended to drink from every tree he passed and was soon rolling about as though drunk.

Along the way we learn about the uses of an array of other plants, including rangiora (toilet paper, yes, but also for writing notes), bracken (grind the roots to make bread), pikopiko (asparagus), horopito (pepper), hounds tongue fern (pain relief) and wineberry (wine). But best of all she has some strips of flax and shows us how to weave our own bracelets (mine is rather good, even if I do say so myself).

When we reach the lake shore Ngahuia serves a morning tea of kawakawa tea, rewana bread - "I buy it from Hawkes Bay because they make the best" - and manuka honey. This tasty repast is enjoyed to the accompaniment of the story of Pihanga, the perfectly shaped 1325m volcanic cone we can see across the lake, who was so loved by all the male volcanoes that when Tongariro won her heart the others left him to enjoy his triumph and wandered sadly off to other parts of the North Island.

For the return journey our guide imposes what she calls the korowai of silence - each person must walk alone and in silence - which is quite a pleasant meditative experience. But at the end of the trail there are more jokes, a song - which we are forced to join in - and a hongi.

We were having so much fun that when Ngahuia asks if we'd like to see a couple of interesting sites nearby we are only too pleased to carry on.

One was the Te Porere Redoubt famous as the site of Te Kooti's last stand. I've always been intrigued by the story of Te Kooti, a successful trader and Government supporter, who was imprisoned as a spy, almost certainly unjustly, and escaped to lead a bloody guerilla campaign and found the Ringatu faith, which still has a significant following.

The section of redoubt which can be visited, having been cleared of scrub, is an impressive fortress, a small hill into which, in late 1869, Te Kooti's men dug a network of trenches in the hope of inflicting another defeat on the colonial Government. It looks impregnable but this time the Pakeha forces and their kupapa supporters prevailed and Te Kooti was forced to flee.

It wasn't quite his last stand - he did fight a few rearguard actions - but it effectively marked the end of his successful guerilla operations and three years later he was forced to enter the King Country and seek sanctuary from King Tawhiao.

For anyone with an interest in New Zealand history it is a significant and interesting site. The other site she took us to was, of course, the home of the haka, less important historically I suppose, but surely a true cultural icon.

When he climbed out of that kumara pit Te Rauparaha can never have imagined that 200 years later his dance of celebration would be a national symbol performed all round the world.

CHECKLIST:

Where to stay: A great place to stay if you're visiting Turangi is Oreti Village and it also has an excellent restaurant.

What to do: To find out about Pureora Walks visit the website.

Further information: To get information on visiting Turangi and the wider Taupo region see laketauponz.com

Jim Eagles visited Turangi as a guest of Destination Taupo.