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Friday, October 5, 2007 Ngā Maunga 22 • TE AO MAORI MAI I TE TAIRAWHITI • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2007 NGĀ MAUNGA He Mihi Pukehāpopo and Whāngārā Ko Pukehāpopo te maunga Ko te mihi whānui ki a koutou i tēnei Pukehāpopo is the mountain putanga, ko te tuawaru hoki o ngā tuhituhi e kōrerotia nei ko, Ngā Maunga Kōrero Ko Waiōmoko te awa o Te Tairāwhiti. Kua peka atu anō mātau Waiomoko is the river i ngā tini maunga me te taunga atu ki runga o Pukehāpopo i Whāngārā-mai- Ko Ngāti Konohi te iwi tawhiti. Ko te kāinga hoki tērā o Paikea, o Ngāti Konohi is the tribe Porourangi me tōna teina a Tahu-pōtiki. Ko te kāinga anō hoki o Waho-te-rangi Tīhe mauri ora! tae atu ki te rangatira toa, a Konohi, ki Alas the breath of life! Hinematioro me ngā uri whakaheke e hora nei. Anō nei rā, tangatanga mai, pānui mai, whakaarohia mai. UKEHĀPOPO rises majestically over the sleepy settlement of Whāngārā. A warm greeting to you all and to this the PNestled at its foot are the whare tipuna eighth issue of the series, Ngā Maunga (meeting houses) of Whitireia and Waho-te- Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti. We’ve jumped rangi, while the adjacent island of Toka-a-rangi a few maunga (mountains) from the evokes stories of the incredible feats and deeds of last issue, to Pukehāpopo in Whāngārā its people. From time immemorial, Pukehāpopo — the home of Paikea the whalerider, of has stood as sentinel to the illustrious works of its Porourangi and his younger brother Tahu- ancestors, which to this day have remained firmly pōtiki, the eponymous ancestors of Ngāti carved in the minds and souls of its people. Porou and Kai Tahu (South Island) tribes Pukehāpopo was named by Paikea himself respectively. The home also of Waho-te- because of its stark similarity to the hill of the Rangi and the champion warrior leader same name in his homeland of Hawaiki, the Konohi and the illustrious Hinematioro. summit where he took refuge from the wrath links between Hawaiki and Aotearoa.” And impressive, taking out the national Matatini Once again, relax, read and let your of his teina (younger brother) Ruatapu in the as the following stories in this issue will show, trophy for best kapahaka group in Aotearoa this thoughts wander. aftermath of the sea battle at Te Huripureiata. such a description is not made light-heartedly. year. Locally, sports teams, Whāngārā Old Girls Paikea also gave the name to this spectacular Whāngārā has much to be proud of — its past (netball) and the appropriately named rugby Kahutia – Department of Māori Studies seascape — Whāngārā-mai-tawhiti (Whāngārā- and its present. For such a small place, its voice league team, The Paikea Whalers, both continue & Social Sciences, Tairāwhiti Polytechnic from-afar) — because of its striking resemblance has resonated well beyond its tranquil shores on to do well in their respective competitions. to the place where he once lived. to the hallowed stages and theatres of the world. What more can we add, Whāngārā is certainly (A special thanks to Derek Lardelli, Hemi Leach Whāngārā was described by Apirana Ngata While the blockbuster movie Whale Rider was riding the crest of a wave at the moment, but that and to Whāngārā Mārae) in his Rauru-nui-a-Toi Lectures as, “One of a worldwide success and brought great kudos shouldn’t come as any surprise — their tipuna the great pūtahi (heart or converging point) to Whāngārā, its kapahaka (performing arts) Paikea had done so many centuries before. That of the Māori people . and one of the main group, Whāngārā-mai-tawhiti, has been equally wave just continues to roll! Paikea Ariki Moana The Original Whalerider Ko wai te tekoteko kei runga? Who is the figure upon the house? Ko Paikea! Ko Paikea! It is Paikea! It is Paikea! E talked a little about Paikea, the one and only whalerider, in Issue 5 of Maunga WKōrero — Ngā Puke-tūrua and Te Kautuku, back in July. We promised then to tell you the whole story in a future issue, so here it is. Paikea’s story takes us back to a time in antiquity, to far off Hawaiki, to the time of his father, the mighty Uenuku. LEFT: Toka-a-rangi or Te Ana-o-Paikea, the whale shaped island in Whāngārā. RIGHT: Paikea (aka Kahutia-te-rangi) on his whale. Uenuku reigned supreme over his domain and dared anyone to challenge his authority without serious While Ruatapu was preoccupied with the slaughter consequence. He had many wives, the most senior of his brothers, Paikea performed karakia (incantations) being Te Rangatoro, from whom was born Kahutia-te- that he might be spared. Soon the waka was surrounded rangi (who later became known as Paikea) and others. by tohorā (whales). Ruatapu realised then that Paikea From his second wife, Takarita, he had another son, was indeed the chosen son of Uenuku and that his Waho-te-rangi – Ira-kai-pūtahi, and from a third wife, the captive slave power was much greater than his. Accepting his fate, Paimahutanga, another son named Ruatapu. Ruatapu bid his brother Paikea farewell as he sat astride AHOTERANGI (circa by Te Rangihouhiri as their goal was clear One day Paikea (or Kahutia-te-rangi) and Ruatapu the back of one of the whales that carried him safely 1650AD) is one of the — to regroup, build up their numbers were flying their manu-tukutuku (kites), as young boys ashore. Some say Ruatapu drowned in the angry fury of Wprincipal ancestors of the and eventually return to their homeland do, near the house of Uenuku when Ruatapu’s kite the sea. The battle was known as Te Huripureiata. Whāngārā people. His name is enshrined to reclaim their rightful inheritance. landed on the roof of their father’s house. No problem, in the name of one of the meeting houses Furthermore, their leaders instructed them Ruatapu climbed on to the roof to retrieve his kite. Whakakau Paikea hi! Whakakau he tipua hi! at Whāngārā marae. Waho-te-rangi not to cohabit with the locals. But from inside Uenuku bellowed out, “Ko wai tēnā Paikea emerged, not unlike a goblin belonged to the Ngāi Tamahēnga and Many years had passed and Te e takahi nei i te uru tapu o Uenuku — Who is it that Ngāi Tūtekohe clans that occupied lands Rangihouhiri began to increase in numbers. walks on the sacred head of Uenuku?” “Ko au, ko tō Whakakau he taniwhā hi! from Whāngārā and Pākarae, inland to the Their interaction with their hosts became tama, ko Ruatapu — It is I, your son, Ruatapu.” Not unlike a demon Waimatā River. He was an accomplished more and more strained, eventually leading Uenuku responded angrily, “Ko koe! Ko taku carver and also a benevolent chief, and to more overt conflicts with Waho-te- tiraumoko nei, moenga hau nei, he rau kawakawa Ka ū Paikea ki Ahuahu had several groups of people take refuge rangi and his people. Waho-te-rangi nō ngā whakarau. Apa anō ko Kahutia-te-rangi, ko And landed ashore at Ahuahu on his lands. One of these groups was Te could see that real problems lay ahead. te tangata i āitia ki runga ki te takapau wharanui i Rangihouhiri, a tribe from Tauranga. But he was surprised when, during a visit titia hoki ki titireia — You, Ruatapu, my son of little Paikea meanwhile had made landfall at Ahuahu (in The story of the disappearance of Te to collect food, they were attacked by Te consequence. If it were Kahutia-te-rangi, yes for he is the Mercury Island group). He settled for a time in Rangihouhiri from the Tauranga area Rangihouhiri. Waho-te-rangi and his my most senior son conceived on the sacred mat and the Bay of Plenty before moving on to Te Kautuku, in remains a mystery to many. However, their party retreated into the cover of the forest whose hair has been adorned with the comb titireia. Rangitukia, where he married Huturangi, the daughter presence in the Whāngārā and Waimatā but in the scramble he was lashed in the But you, you are but vermin.” of Te Whironui and Hine-ara-i-ara. With his wife and area, under the protection of Waho-te- face by a supplejack branch, which injured Needless to say, Ruatapu was really shamed by the in-laws, Paikea then moved to Whāngārā — a name rangi, is acknowledged. Te Rangihouhiri his eye. He would eventually lose the eye, barrage from his father and in his embarrassment he gave to the area — where he settled and raised his (originally Ngā Mārama of Ngāti Awa, but not before Te Rangihouhiri were sent and anger he immediately plotted to kill his brothers, family, and also established a whare wānanga (house under the leadership of Rongomai-noho- on their way out of the district and back that he may inherit the mana (prestige) of his father of learning) he named Whitireia. Paikea died at rangi) was a defeated and depleted tribe. to Tauranga to reclaim and settle on the Uenuku. Ruatapu organised a fishing expedition with Whāngārā and was buried on the island, Toka-a-rangi, Displaced from their lands in the Bay lands they previously occupied. all his brothers (some stories say that Uenuku had in a cave that was called Te Ana-o-Paikea. of Plenty, they migrated to the east and From this incident, Tāmahuranga and 70 sons) and put himself at the bow of the waka, The people of Whāngārā, indeed many people of Te eventually found refuge on the eastern her husband Pōnui would name their child Tūtepewa-a-rangi, concealing a hole with the heel of Tairāwhiti, claim descent from Paikea, a legacy which banks of the Waimatā River, at the Konohi, literally “the eye”.
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