Matakerepō, in a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

story of the Arawa tribe of

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 ...

, is a female ancestor of the

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

Tāwhaki In Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern fantastic tales relating to the origins of what was the obser ...

. She is an example of the 'female helper', a recurrent element in Polynesian

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

and legend, who assists Tāwhaki to attain his quest of finding his wife and daughter, from whom he is estranged. Matakerepō is a somewhat threatening figure who must be placated. Soon after Tāwhaki and his slave set off on their journey, they come upon Matakerepō guarding the vines (or ropes) that form the pathway up into the heavens, where Tāwhaki's daughter

Puanga ), signalling the Māori new year., litcolor=, observedby=New Zealanders, nickname=, official_name=, alt=, image=M45 Pleiades Pbkwee (cropped to core 9 stars).jpg, relatedto=, date2022=24 June, date2023=14 July In Māori culture, Matariki is the ...

and his wife Hāpai are living. Matakerepō is blind. As she counts out the ten

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afric ...

tubers that are heaped in front of her, Tāwhaki removes the tenth taro when Matakerepō has reached nine. She counts again, and this time Tāwhaki removes the ninth tuber. This continues until the old woman realises that someone is deceiving her. She begins to sniff the

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, and her stomach distends, ready to swallow the stranger. She sniffs towards the south, then towards the east, and towards all the winds. When she sniffs towards the west she catches Tāwhaki's scent. She calls out 'Are you come with the wind that blows on my skin?' Tāwhaki grunts, and Matakerepō says, 'Oh, it is my grandson Tāwhaki.' As she says this, her stomach begins to shrink again. If he had not been from the west wind, she would have swallowed him whole. Matakerepō then asks Tāwhaki where he is going. He tells her that he is searching for his daughter, who is with his wife; for his wife is a daughter of Whatitiri-matakamataka (or

Whaitiri Whaitiri is a female atua and personification of thunder in Māori mythology. She is the grandmother of Tāwhaki and Karihi. Whaitiri is the granddaughter of Te Kanapu, son of Te Uira, both of whom are personified forms of lightning (Reed 1 ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

of thunder) and has returned to her home in the

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...

s. Matakerepō then shows him the pathway to the heavens, and advises him to wait until morning before he sets off. Tāwhaki's slave prepares a meal. Tāwhaki takes some of the cooked food, mixes it with his saliva, and rubs it on the

eyes Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and c ...

of the old blind woman. This cures Matakerepō of her blindness. In the morning, the slave prepares a meal to make Tāwhaki strong for his journey. Tāwhaki presents his slave to Matakerepō, who gives him further advice on how to climb the vines, and makes an incantation to help him as climbs off into the sky. When he reaches the heavens, Tāwhaki disguises himself as an old slave and assists his brothers-in-law to build a canoe. Each night, the brothers-in-law return to their village, where Tāwhaki's wife and daughter are living. Tāwhaki pretends to be old and slow, and returns to finish the canoe, before going on to the village. This behaviour brings Tāwhaki to the attention of his wife, and before long, they are reconciled. Women similar to Matakerepō appear in many Māori stories. For instance, in a

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealan ...

legend of Tāwhaki, the guardian of Whaitiri's house is Te Ruahine-mata-morari, whose name means 'The old blind woman'. (Matakerepō has also been equated with

by Tregear and others; however in some stories they are definitely separate entities. Despite the fact that the source is plainly identified in the original manuscript as 'Hohepa Paraone, Te Ngae, Rotorua, March 7, 1850', White unaccountably attributes the story to the Ngāi Tahu tribe of the South Island; he also has 'Pihanga' instead of 'Puanga' for the name of Tāwhaki's daughter).

References

*R. D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 161 (where the name is misspelled "Mataerepo"). *H. Paraone, Legend of Tawhaki. (GNZMMSS 64, manuscript in Grey collection, Auckland City Library, Auckland, 1850), 345–352. *A. Reedy, ''Ngā Kōrero a Mohi Ruatapu, tohunga rongonui o Ngāti Porou: The Writings of Mohi Ruatapu'' (Canterbury University Press: Christchurch, 1993), 127. *

E. R. Tregear Edward Robert Tregear , Ordre des Palmes académiques (1846–1931) was a New Zealand public servant and scholar. He was an architect of New Zealand's advanced social reforms and progressive labour legislation during the 1890s. Biography He was ...

, ''Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary'' (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay, 1891), 223 * J. White, ''The Ancient History of the Maori'', Vol I (Government Printer: Wellington, 1887), 115-119 (English translation), 100-105 (Māori text). {{DEFAULTSORT:Matakerepo Legendary Māori people Women in mythology

See also

References