New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
.
The
Te Arawa
Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Māori
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...
and
hapū
In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or " clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally ope ...
based in the
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompa ...
and
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...
areas trace their ancestry from the people of this canoe.
Background
Te Arawa's ancestors on board the ''Arawa'' were of the Ngāti Ohomairangi of Ra'iātea Island. Following a battle that broke out between them and
Uenuku
Uenuku (or Uenuku-Kōpako, also given to some who are named after him) is an atua of rainbows and a prominent ancestor in Māori tradition. Māori believed that the rainbow's appearance represented an omen, and one kind of yearly offering made ...
, in which their own Whakatūria fell in battle, Tama-te-kapua promised to captain the voyage to the islands of New Zealand, which had been discovered by
Ngāhue
According to Māori mythology Ngahue (sometimes known as Ngake) was a contemporary of Kupe and one of the first Polynesian explorers to reach New Zealand. He was a native of the Hawaiki and voyaged to New Zealand in “Tāwhirirangi”, his waka ( ...
of the ''
Tāwhirirangi
In Māori tradition, ''Tāwhirirangi'' was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. ''Tāwhirirangi'' was captained by Ngāhue, and originally landed in the Bay of Plenty before he ...
'' canoe.
Construction of the canoe
A large tree was cut down by four men called Rata, Wahieroa, Ngāhue and Parata, to make the waka which came to be known as ''Arawa''. "Hauhau-te-rangi" and "Tuutauru" (made from New Zealand greenstone brought back by Ngāhue) were the adzes used for the time-consuming and intensive work. Upon completion, the waka was given the name ''Ngā rākau kotahi puu a Atua Matua'' (also known as ''Ngā rākau maatahi puu a Atua Matua'', or more simply ''Ngā rākau rua a Atuamatua'' - the two trunks of Atuamatua) in memory of Tama-te-kapua's grandfather Atua-matua.
The waka was completed and berthed in Whenuakura Bay while Tama-te-kapua, chief of the canoe, attempted to find a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
for the journey. Ngātoro-i-rangi and his wife Kearoa were tricked by Tama-te-kapua into boarding the canoe to perform the necessary appeasement incantations to the gods before the canoe departed. However, while they were on board, Tama-te-kapua signalled to his men to quickly set sail, and before Ngātoro-i-rangi and his wife could react they were far out to sea.
Voyage to Aotearoa
During the voyage to New Zealand, Tama-te-kapua became desirous of Kearoa. Ngātoro-i-rangi noticed this and took guarded his wife during the night while he was on deck navigating, by tying one end of a cord to her hair and holding the other end in his hand. However, Tama-te-kapua untied the cord from Kearoa's hair and attached it to the bed in order to have sex with her, repeating this over a number of nights. One night he was nearly caught in the act by Ngātoro-i-rangi, but managed to escape, though forgetting the cord in his haste. Ngātoro-i-rangi found the cord and deduced that Tama-te-kapua had been with Kearoa. In revenge, he raised a huge whirlpool in the sea named ''Te korokoro-o-te-Parata'' ('The throat of Te Parata'). The waka was about to be lost with all on board, before Ngātoro-i-rangi took mercy and calmed the seas.
During these events, all the kūmara on board the canoe were lost overboard, except a few in a small
kete
KETE (99.7 FM; "Three Angels Broadcasting Network") is a terrestrial radio station, licensed to Sulphur Bluff, Texas, United States, and owned by Brazos TV, Inc.
KETE broadcasts a Christian preaching format, featuring programming from the Thre ...
being held by Whakaotirangi. After the calming of the seas, a shark (known as an ''arawa'') was seen in the water. Ngātoro-i-rangi renamed the'' waka'' ''Te Arawa'', after this shark, which then accompanied the ''waka'' to Aotearoa, acting as a ''kai-tiaki'' (guardian).
The ''Arawa'' canoe then continued to New Zealand without incident, finally sighting land at Whangaparaoa, where feather headdresses were cast away due to greed and the beauty of the pohutukawa bloom. On landfall, an argument took place with members of the ''Tainui'' canoe over the ownership of a beached whale. Tama-te-kapua again used deceit to take possession of the whale despite the rightful claim of the Tainui. The canoe then travelled north up the coast to the
Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the ...
, where Tama-te-kapua first sighted the mountain Moehau, where he later made his home. Heading south again, the canoe finally came to rest at
Maketu
Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand.
Maketu is located in the Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow. It is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on t ...
, where it was beached and stood until being burnt by Raumati of
Taranaki
Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dis ...
some years later.
Items brought to New Zealand on the ''Arawa'', other than the kūmara saved by Whakaotirangi, included a ''tapu kōhatu'' (stone) left by Ngātoro-i-rangi on the island Te Poito o te Kupenga a Taramainuku just off the coast of Cape Colville. This stone held the
mauri
Mauri (from which derives the English term "Moors") was the Latin designation for the Berber population of Mauretania, located in the part of North Africa west of Numidia, in present-day northern Morocco and northwestern Algeria.
Name
''Mauri' ...
to protect the Arawa peoples and their descendants from evil. In addition, the canoe brought over two gods, one called Itupaoa, which was represented by a roll of tapa, and another stone carving now possibly buried at
Mokoia Island __NOTOC__
Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island is a rhyolite lava dome, rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera c ...
on
Lake Rotorua
, image = Lake Rotorua.jpg
, caption = Lake Rotorua
, alt = Lake Rotorua
, image_bathymetry =
, pushpin_map=New Zealand#North Island
, pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Rotorua
, pushpin_relief=yes
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = ...
*Best, E. (1982). Maori Religion and Mythology Part 2. Museum of Australia Te Papa Tongarewa.
*Craig, R.D. ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 24.
*Grey, G. ''Polynesian Mythology'', Illustrated edition, reprinted 1976. (Whitcombe and Tombs: Christchurch), 1956.
*Jones, P.T.H. (1995). Nga Iwi o Tainui. Auckland University Press. Auckland.
*Stafford, D.M. (1967). Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People. A.H. & A.W. Reed. Rotorua, New Zealand.
*Steedman, J.A.W. He Toto: Te Ahu Matua a Nga Tupuna. (Date of publication and publisher unknown)
*Taiapa, J. (2002). 150.114 He Tirohanga o Mua: Maori Culture - Study Guide. School of Maori Studies, Massey University, Albany.
*Wilson, J. (Ed). (1990). He Korero Purakau mo Nga Taunahanahatanga a Nga Tupuna: Place Names of the Ancestors: A Maori Oral History Atlas. N.Z. Geographic Board, Wellington.
{{Iwi
Māori wakaMāori mythology