Tamarahi Pariri
Tītoko o te Rangi
Whakawhiti o te rā
Whakaāio whenua

He kupu whakataki ki te āhua o te rangatira pēnei i a Whakaue Kaipapa, he uri mokopuna o ngā kāwai rangatira i kawea te waka o Te Arawa mai i te kāinga o ō rātou nā mātua o Houmaitawhiti mā, nāna te aki ki ana nei uri “me kite atu he mate tarāwhare”.


He whai a Tamatekapua mā i te kupu aki a Houmaitawhiti i te wehenga atu i Hawaiki pāmamao ahakoa he takahanga i te Korokoro o te Parata, ahakoa te riri a Ngātoroirangi i tau pai mai a Te Arawa ki Maketū. He toronga atu a te tamaiti me te pōtiki a Tamatekapua ki te kimi nōhanga mō rātou nā reira i te tae a Kahumatamomoe rāua ko Īhenga ki te tuawhenua o te puku o Te Ika a Māui. He tapaina a rāua i ngā maunga, ngā awa, ngā roto mai i
Maketū ki Tongariro.



I te taenga atu i te wā o Whakaue kua riro i a Uenukukōpako, tana matua, te Motutapu a Tinirau (Mokoia). He hiahia nōna me whakatūhia he pā i runga i a Mokoia me ētahi atu wāhi o te ākau o Rotoruanui a Kahumatamomoe. Tae noa ki tana tamaiti a Tūtānekai, kua tū he pā ki Weriweri mōna. Nā Tūtānekai i whakaara mai te iwi kua tapaina ko Ngāti Whakaue.


Nō mua mai i te horonga o Mokoia kātahi ka mutu te riro i a Ngāti Whakaue a Pukeroa a Ōhinemutu tae noa ki te wā o ngā tautohetohe i waenganui i ngā iwi i mua i te kooti whenua o taua wā.

Ōrite ana ki ngā taha tini o ngā uri o Whakaue Kaipapa, kāore e herea ana ngā pūtakenga kōrero mōna ki te ao kikokiko o te ao tūroa, kāore hoki e whakawhāitihia ana ki Aotearoa anake.

Whakamārō atu ana ki te hōkaitanga, ki te whānuitanga o Te Moana nui a Kiwa, ki runga i ngā marae o Tangaroa rāua ko Hinemoana; o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku.

Ko te pātere e whai atu nei he mea tirotiro i ngā āhuatanga akiaki o te oranga, o te waihanga hoki i te tuakiri o ngā uri, mai i te wā o Houmaitawhiti, te tupuna o Whakaue, i noho atu rā i Hawaiki pāmamao. Kei konei tonu ēnei āhuatanga akiaki, kei ngā whakatipuranga o ēnei rā, ā, kei tā te whiti whakamutunga, kei te titiro whakamua anō ki ngā whakatipuranga o muri. Kua tuhia ki te pātere nei ngā tauira me ngā akoranga kua tāia, kua whakaūngia hoki ki te mauri o ngā whakatipuranga maha, heke iho i a Houmaitawhiti. Mārama ana ēnei tauira i roto i ngā uri o Whakaue, i te Whakaue o nāianei me te Whakaue o ngā rā kei te heke mai.

Hei te tīmatanga o te waiata e kī ana nā te noho apiapi i Rangiātea i whakatau ai rātou kia nuku ki tētahi atu pito o Te Moana nui a Kiwa noho ai. Nā runga i tēnei, me te mātauranga tuku iho i ngā wharaunga a Kupe mā mō te tini o ngā moutere i tawhiti, i tītoko i a Tamatekapua ki te whakarite i tētahi heke e huri ai te ao mō ngā uri whakatipu, e kore e hokia.


Nō te tāraitanga o te waka o Te Arawa me tōna whakarewatanga e te tohunga e Ngātoroirangi rāua ko te kaihautū ko Tamatekapua i mārō ai te heke o Te Arawa tāngata ki ngā takutai o Aotearoa. Nā rātou, nā te hunga i haere mai ai mā runga i te waka o Te Arawa i te taha o ēnei rangatira nui i whakanohonoho haere i ngā whenua o te taha moana me te tuawhenua o Te Ika a Māui.


He haere hira tonu taua haere. Ahakoa te karakia kikiwhara a Ngātoroirangi kia whakahekea a Te Arawa ki Te Korokoro o te Parata, hei ngaki i tōna mate ki ngā māmingatanga a Tamatekapua, nā tōna aroha pūmau ki tōna hoa wahine ki a Kearoa i puta ai rātou i te āwhā o tā Kearoa whakapiringa ki a Tamatekapua, ā i tau pai ai a Te Arawa me ōna tāngata ki Aotearoa.

Proud son of a proud nation
Pillar that upholds the heavens
You that allows the sun to shine
You that causes peace to reign on earth

These are phrases used to describe chiefs such as Whakaue Kaipapa, a descendant of the noble lines of chiefs who brought the canoe Te Arawa from the homeland of their forebears, of Houmaitawhiti and others, who encouraged his relations to “find a place where they may die a peaceful death”.

Tamatekapua and his compatriots heeded the words of Houmaitawhiti when they left far distant Hawaiki, and although they descended for a time into the throat of the Parata, and were subjected to the anger of Ngatoroirangi, Te Arawa landed safely at Maketu. The children of Tamatekapua were sent to scout the land and seek an appropriate place for them to live, and so Kahumatamomoe and Ihenga arrived in the interior of the stomach of the great fish of Maui. They named the mountains, the rivers, and the lakes from
Maketu to Tongariro.

By the time of Whakaue, his father Uenukukopako had taken control of Te Motutapu a Tinirau (Mokoia). He wanted to erect a pa (fortified village) on Mokoia, and also others around the shores of Lake Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe. When his son Tutanekai arrived, he had already built a pa at Weriweri. It was Tutanekai who raised his people to become the tribal force known as Ngati Whakaue.

Before the sacking of Mokoia, Ngati Whakaue had gained control over Pukeroa and Ohinemutu, and still held those areas when these issues were contested by different tribal groups before the land court of the day.

The beginnings of Whakaue Kaipapa, like the multi dimensions of his offspring, are not bound to the mere physicality of the natural world, nor are they
limited to Aotearoa.

They extend across the expanses of Te Moana nui a Kiwa within and without the spiritual and metaphysical domains of Tangaroa and Hinemoana; Ranginui and Papatuanuku.

The patere that follows explores the dynamics of existence and identity which have evolved from the time of Houmaitawhiti, the forebear of Whakaue and resident of distant Hawaiki. This dynamism lingers in the present day generations with a pointer to futures untold signified in the concluding melody. The patere records the patterns and lessons that have been outlined and embedded within the psyche of the many generations that have followed Houmaitawhiti. These patterns are evident and prevalent in the descendants of Whakaue, in the Whakaue of today and the Whakaue of the future.


The waiata commences with a reminder that out of a concern to avoid overcrowding in Rangiatea a monumentous decision to settle elsewhere in the Pacific was made. This concern, coupled with the cumulative knowledge of the abundance of far off places gleaned from the voyages of Kupe and others, catapulted Tamatekapua to fashion an expedition which was to shape the destiny of those who would follow irrevocably.

The fashioning of the canoe Te Arawa with its eventual launch accompanied by both tohunga and kaihautu Ngatoroirangi, and Tamatekapua respectively, led to the migration of the peoples of the Arawa canoe to the shores of Aotearoa. Those who accompanied these great leaders on the canoe Te Arawa also played a leading role in the settlement of the coastal areas and hinterland of Te Ika a Maui (The North Island).

The journey was eventful. However it was the enduring love of Ngatoroirangi for Kearoa his wife, that withstood the storm of her liaison with Tamatekapua, and which ultimately secured the safe arrival of the Te Arawa canoe and its occupants to Aotearoa, notwithstanding the summonsing of the wrath of the gods brought about by the powers of Ngatoroirangi in seeking retribution against Tamatekapua’s deceptions by despatching the Te Arawa canoe to Te Korokoro o te Parata.

Tākina mai i te kawa tuatahi
mai i te toiora
he aha he aha
ko wai ko wai koe
he Atua he Atua
he tipua he tipua
Pūhourangi Pūhourangi
nāu nei ko Ohomairangi
he tangata he tangata
au au au e hā!

Tēnei ko Ngāti Ohomairangi,
e noho ana i Hawaiki ki Rangiātea
ka tū te whakaaro
me whakatere i te tiritiri o te moana
ka whai i te ara whiti i te ara nuku
i tāwaehia e Kupe
ki Aotearoa

Kua kaha rā te maru
o te whenua i te tangata
kua auau ngā pakanga
a Tūmatauenga
tākina atu i raro
tākina atu i runga
ia Uenuku ia Uenukurangi
kia hōmai te oranga e

Ka tomo atu rā ki te
Punga nohenohe
me ngā toki,
kua hahau te rangi,
kua tūtauru ko taramainuku,
kua whatitiri he toka papawai
ko pūpūterangi, ko pūpū te whenua
he ōnewa
ka hāpai ake i ngā toki nei
Nā wai ngā toki nei
Nā Urutengangana
Nā Whakataupōtiki

Ka tuatua ea ki raro
he aro tawhito
he aro nōu e Tāne te wai
ko ēnei tauira nāu e
he tauira nui he tauira roa
kia puta ki te ao mārama
ka kī ake e Tia whakatūhia
he ahu mō ngā parapara
o ngā rākau
mō ngā konga hoki
kia rahirahi te tātā
ka tāreihia te waka nei



Nō te whaiouru
aokapuarangi te waka nei
he waka aha te waka nei
he waka tawhito
he waka tipua
he waka atua
he waka rangi
he waka tairanga
he tauira i ara mā Tamatekapua
he waka toiuru
he waka toirangi
he waka hei takapi i a Kiwa
i a Tangaroa i te rūpapa

Ka poua te tira waka e Ngātoroirangi
Ko te waka ka kīa ko Te Arawa
Rukuhia ko Tangaroa i te ao a io
Whakamaua kia tina
Whakamaua kia Atutahi
mā Rehua ko Atutahi
Whakataha nei i te Mangaroa
Whakamaua te waka
ki tai ki uta



Haere koutou i te ara moana o Kupe
Apuhia ngā tohutohu o te wānanga
o ngā ahurewa.
Whakaūhia ko Papatūānuku
hai kākahu mahana mō koutou
Whakareia Ranginui
kia tū tārewa ana
haere rā kaua e ware ki a mātau
ko te iwi ko Ngāti Ohomairangi tēnei
te tangi ake kia koutou


Ka whakaratahia e te Ariki
e Ngātoroirangi a Tangaroa
a Tāwhirimātea
otirā ngā mana atua o te mataora
hei arataki i te waka
kia whiti ki uta
ka tohuhia te ihu kia mau kia
Atutahi e
whakataha nei ki te Mangaroa
mārama ana te tere o te waka
nei o Te Arawa i te tiritiri o te moana

Ka hipa te wā e whakawhiti ana i te
moana
ka takakinohia e Tamatekapua
te wahine a te Ariki arā a Kearoa
ka tū te riri ki a Ngātotoirangi
Ka karanga ia ki a Tāwhirimātea
kia tukuna mai ana riri
Pūoi te hau matakōkeri
Pūoi te hau ngunguru
kia tō kia tō
kia riri kia riri



Ka heke te waka nei a Te Arawa
ki te Korokoro o te hamuti o te
waha pungapunga o te Parata
ka puta ngā riri katoa o te rangi
kātahi ngā hau
ka tātā i te waka
ka karanga a Ngātoroirangi
Ki a Tangaroa
kia pukepuke te moana maunga,
ā, ki te Maungaarongo
kia heke ki te Korokoro o te Parata


Ka huri āwhiowhio te waka
ki roto i te Korokoro o te Parata
tata tonu te ngahoro ki raro
ki a Tangaroa
ka whiua ētahi o ngā kai
o ngā taonga ki te wai
maikore ake te kete
a Rokiroki a Whakaotirangi
ka heke iho a Ngātoroirangi
i te hukahuka o te whare
ka kite i a Kearoa
ka tau te aroha kia ia e



I konei nā runga i tana aroha
kia Kearoa
ka whakatau te Ariki
ki ngā mana atua
kia marino te rangi
me te moana
ā, puta mai ana te waka
i te Korokoro o te Parata
ka rere tika i runga i te
aranuku ki uta
ka koa te iwi

Mai i Rangiātea ki Tahiti
areare ki Rarotonga
ki Whangaparāoa
ahu tonu ki Rangitoto
ki te whanga o te Waitematā
ka huri i Moehau
ka ū ki te Awa a te Atua
ka huri mai anō te waka
ka ū ki Maketū
ki te Kūrae o te Ihu o
Tamatekapua tērā
ka tau te waka ki te Awa i Akeake
Ka mihi ka tangi te iwi
ki te whenua ki a Aotearoa

Ko Ngāti Ohomairangi
i haere mai nei i runga.
i te waka nei i a Te Arawa
ka tau ki te taha moana
ki Maketū
ka tipu ka hua
ka tini ka marara
i te whenua
mai i Maketū ki Taupōnuiatia
e tau nei i konei
i Rotoruanuiakahu i tēnei rā

Lead from the beginning
Prom the fountain of existence
What, what
Who, who
Divine, divine,
Demigod, demigod
Puhourangi from
you Ohomairangi
Man man
It is, it is, so be it

This the tribe Ohomairangi
residing at that Paradise Rangiatea
The thought became
to float on the crest
of the ocean, to follow the wake
that moved and landed
Kupe at Aotearoa

Very crowded the land
became with people
Battles of Tumatauenga
became constant
Lead to the below
Lead to the above
To the earth to the sky,
to give life

Enter the virgin forest with axes
strike to the sky! stand to the grove!
edged from the earth!
thunder stone from the water
tied to the sky
tied to the earth
from the earth.
Take up the axes,
Whose are these axes
They belong to the Great Divinity
They belong to Whakataupotiki


Fall that which is permitted to the
ground
An ancient concern your concern
Tane
The life giving water
These you have set
Both big and tall
reaching out to the world of light
Thus the statement of
Tia make ready a
place for the chips and
the ashes of these timbers
Chip thinly thus the canoe
was hewed out

From the world of the
forest to the clouds
of the sky this the canoe
a canoe of ancient
a canoe of demigod
a canoe of divine
a canoe of sky
a canoe of moving tide
a set raised for Tamatekapua
a canoe drawn from the forest
a canoe drawn from the sky
a canoe to traverse the ocean
and Tangaroa to the calm below

Ngatoroirangi set the
course for the canoe
now named Te Arawa (shark)
submerge to Tangaroa Supreme
Force
to steadfastly hang on to
Venus of Rehua Venus
when it sides with the Milky Way
Launch the canoe to the tide
and be sure it wins land
at its destination

Go all of you follow
the ocean trail of Kupe
Consume the teaching
of the high priest of
the school of learning
Use the earth as a
cloak of warmth
Let the sky hover eternal
Farewell and do not
forget us the saddened people
Ngati Ohomairangi

The High Priest
Ngatoroirangi came quickly to
terms with the Divine Guardians
of the universe
to guide the canoe to its destination
He set the bow to Venus
by the Milky Way
No clearer course of
Te Arawa as it rode
the crest of the ocean


Time passed as they
crossed the ocean
Tamatekapua forced
an affair with Kearoa
the wife of the
High Priest Ngatoroirangi
in his fury he called upon
the Divine Guardian of
the winds Tawhirimatea
Raise your howling winds
to gather to this point
to swirl to swirl
with fury with fury

By way of the jaws
of the whirlpool Parata
to the throat descended Te Arawa
The sky Let forth all its fury
Ngatoroirangi now
called the Divine
Guardian of the deep
Tangaroa to create
mountainous waves
Heed what you see, heed what you
hear Down to the throat of the
Whirlpool Parata

The canoe swirled
into the throat of
the whirlpool Parata
almost to fall into
the deep of Tangaroa
over the side into
the water went some
of the food, goods
except the food basket of
Whakaotirangi
then the High Priest
sighted his wife Kearoa
in her plight and
became concerned

The High Priest because
of his concern for
his wife Kearoa
turned to the Divine
Guardians to calm
the sky and the ocean
Thus Te Arawa came
out of the whirlpool Parata
and set its course
to its destination
Whence the people were happy

From Rangiatea to Tahiti
Thence to Rarotonga and thence
to Whangaparaoa from there
to Rangitoto and to the harbour of
Waitemata
round the point at
Moehau to Te Awa a te Atua at
Matata and back to Maketu known
as the bridge of the nose of
Tamatekapua
and so settled
the people wept
in joy for this land Aotearoa


It is the tribe Ohomairangi
(awaken from the sky)
who came on the canoe
Te Arawa
they landed
and settled at Maketu
by the sea
they multiplied and scattered
over the land from Maketu to Taupo
The descendants of those early
forebears
settled in Rotorua and are there to
this day

 

Pāorooro ana te maunga mai o Te Arawa e Tamatekapua i Hawaiki ki Aotearoa kia tau ki Maketū noho ai 3, puta i ngā wāhi katoa kua rongo i te hā o ngā iwi o Te Arawa. Ki tā ngā kōrero tuku iho o Te Arawa, kāore he aukatinga o ō rāua ko tōna teina ko Whakatūria aukaha, parapara hoki. Hei tauira āna mahi mō te māia o te tangata kāore e mauheretia ana ki ngā tikanga o te wā – ko te rironga e rāua ko tōna teina o te kuru whakamarumaru o Uenuku; ko te whakamahinga o ngā poutoti hei whakaora i a Whakatūria i te riri o Uenuku; ko te tono ki tōna tuakana ki a Tia kia tāraia te waka o Te Arawa; ko te māminga i a Ngātoroirangi kia haere mai ai mā runga i a Te Arawa, kaua mā runga i a Tainui, kia riro i a ia te tohunga ahurewa ki tōna waka; ko te moetāhae i te wahine a te tohunga ahurewa; ko te maunga mai o Whakaotirangi i runga i a Te Arawa; ko te wharaunga mā runga i a Te Arawa ki ētahi atu wāhi o Te Ika a Māui me te taunahanaha haere; me te whakanōhanga e ōna uri o ngā whenua mai i Maketū ki Taupō.


Mā te titiro noa ki ngā kōrero mō Tamatekapua ka kitea ōna parapara i ngā tāne o Te Arawa o ēnei rā. Ko te whakatoi, ko te koi hoki o te hinengaro, kia haere ake mā runga poutoti ki te whānako i te kuru whakamarumaru o Uenuku, kia whakapā atu anō ki te
whaiāipo o Ngātoroirangi; ko te aurere me te māia, kia rere ki te whakaora i a Whakatūria, kia whakarite hoki i te heke o Ngāti Ohomairangi ki Aotearoa; ko te hīanga, ko te warawara hoki, arā te mate wahine, kia moetāhae i ētahi atu wāhine, kia tutū ai hoki te puehu i aua mahi pūremu.


I te utanga mai o Ngātoroirangi rāua ko Tia ki runga i te waka i uru mai ai te tohi whakatapu hei tauira mō ngā uri whakaheke o Te Arawa, arā te kawe tika i ngā kawa, me te kawe tika anō i a koe i te tangata – kia āhua rite anō ki tā te tuakana tū, hāunga tā te teina.

The fact that Tamatekapua commanded the canoe Te Arawa from Hawaiki to Aotearoa landing at and occupying Maketu34 reverberates throughout the many realms that the peoples of Te Arawa have touched. His temerity and ingenuity and that of his younger brother Whakaturia knew no boundaries as the history of Te Arawa recalls. Their roles in acquiring the breadfruit of Uenuku, in the use of stilts by Tamatekapua to rescue his younger from Uenuku’s revenge, in engaging his elder Tia to build the canoe to be called Te Arawa, in pre-empting Ngatoroirangi’s original intention to voyage on the canoe Tainui so that he would have the most powerful of High Priests as part of his contingent on the canoe Te Arawa, in engaging in an inappropriate affair with the wife of the High Priest, in ensuring Whakaotirangi came on the canoe Te Arawa, in voyaging to other parts of Te Ika a Maui on the canoe Te Arawa thereby naming places visited by him and finally by his descendants occupying all of the land from Maketu through to Taupo all examples of the audacity of one unbounded by convention.

One only has to look at the stories about Tamatekapua to realise that many of the attributes he had are still prevalent among Te Arawa (men) today. There is the cheek and ingenuity of using stilts to steal the breadfruit of the Tohunga Uenuku and the lover of the Tohunga Ngatoroirangi; there is the passion and valour of rushing to Whakaturia’s rescue and engineering Ngati Ohomairangi’s subsequent migration to Aotearoa; there is the mischief and amorous nature of the numerous illicit affairs he had and the rippling effects of those affairs that he left in his wake.

With Ngatoroirangi and Tia secure within the realms of the waka you have the more serious tohunga aspects cemented within the evolving peoples of Arawa, conducting protocols properly; appropriate behaviour – somewhat similar to a tuakana role as opposed to
that of a teina.