Origin stories – field trip video transcripts

 

Taihakoa

Tuia i runga, tuia i raro 

Ka rongo te pō, ka rongo te ao

I te kōrero, i te wānanga 

Pūātakataka, pūāwhiowhio 

Te marama ahunuku, te marama ahurangi

Te marama ka takoto ki te hau o Tū 

Te taueke, te marere kura, te marere pae 

Tērā te whaitua nui 

Ka pū te taha wānanga 

He āpiti nuku, he āpiti rangi 

He whakaotinga aroha ki a koutou

Kei aku rangatira, nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai.   

Andrew

Kia ora, Taihakoa. Ko Taihakoa tēnei. Thank you for welcoming us. 

Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome to the field trip – Origin stories: exploring some history and mātauranga with the iwi of Raukawa. And from the iwi of Raukawa, we have Taihakoa, who will be taking us to the first two of four key destinations, which are very significant in the history of Ngāti Raukawa. Tell us a little bit about the places we're going to and why they are so important.

Taihakoa

So the first of the two significant sites is Te Rere i Ōturu, and the second is Whenua-a-kura. 

Te Rere i Ōturu is very, very special in our old traditions because it talks about an emotional time for our tupuna, Māhina-a-rangi. And her departing her homelands on the East Coast, carrying our tupuna Raukawa in her womb. 

And we understand that for someone in that situation, in that state, being hapū, it could be a really emotional time for one. So, for us that's a real significant place, Te Rere i Ōturu. 

The second site is Whenua-a-kura. Another significant site and another special site to us because in our kōrero this is where our tupuna Raukawa was born. 

So, so many generations later we now get to carry the kōrero on. Not just share the kōrero and carry it on, but try and relive it as well, as much as we can as uri. So, yeah.

Andrew

What does it mean to you to recount those narratives and share that mātauranga with others?

Taihakoa

You know, everytime we get the opportunity to share or to reshare the narrative, it gets more and more special.

I was fortunate enough to be taught a lot of the narrative by my old people, and my teachers before me. So to be in a position where I get to now reshare all of that knowledge to my uri – to my descendants, to my own kids and my own nieces and nephews – it’s a blessing.

What we try to do is extract lessons or teachings from those narratives to help guide us in today's world. So when I think about Māhina-a-rangi and everything she endured on her trip over from the East Coast.

Principles, values, core values that we can extract from Māhina-a-rangi – persistence, perseverance.

Andrew

And knowing that people like Māhina-a-rangi and then the birth of Raukawa, knowing and understanding that history, must form a deeper connection with the whenua?

Taihakoa

It does. It does. When you can stand on the whenua itself and be able to give the same kōrero that three, four, five, six generations before you had been giving. There's no other… I mean, the sense of belonging, it doesn't get any greater than that. 

And also the sense of connection. And that's the biggest. No matter where we go in our rohe. And it doesn't matter if I'm coming from the most southern boundary of the iwi to the most northern boundary of the iwi, because we are so conscious about one another it doesn't matter where we are in the area or in the region, we can give kōrero on all the corners of the region.

And so it's that sense of connection too.

In that, I can comfortably say that between all the maunga of Raukawa, you know, I can walk between all the maunga and give kōrero about those maunga. But that all comes down to that sense of connection and belonging to the whenua. Knowing the whenua. It's an upside, or it's a perk, if you have the kōrero to go with it.

Andrew

Āe. Well, kia ora. I'm looking forward to learning more about that kōrero. So, hey, well, let's take off and go to our first destination. 

Taihakoa

Ka pai.

Andrew

Ka pai.

   

Andrew

Well, I feel like we've been going for ages, Taihakoa. Weʻve four-wheeled drived it – steep hills, through gorges – and tramped through the ngahere. Beautiful! And we've come to this really serene spot. This awa is the Ōpuiaki. And just over there is Te Rere i Ōturu – a pretty impressive waterfall. 

But this place has some real significance in relation to Māhina-a-rangiʻs hīkoi. Tell us about that Taihakoa.

Taihakoa

So the vicinity we're in at the moment. If we go east, back towards Tauranga Moana, to the iwi of that side – Ngāti Pūkenga – who descend… they trace their lineage back to the Mātaatua canoe. Ngāti Ranginui – back to the Tākitimu canoe. 

Māhina-a-rangiʻs people back in the east were the Ngāti Kahungunu, who were also from the Tākitimu canoe. So we know that it was no coincidence that through her travels she met up with all her kin along the way, from as far east as the Hawke's Bay Heretaunga, up the Wairoa River, to Ruatāhuna in the Tūhoe area. Come over the ridges in Ruatāhuna to the Whakatāne river. From Whakatāne she followed the river out to the Bay of Plenty; and then come the coastline towards Mauao, Tauranga. 

Now at the time, her kin that were living in Tauranga. Yep, were Ngāti Ranginui.

And a few of her close relatives too were living along the Tauranga peninsula. Whāene was a big tupuna that lived at Mauao. Ranginui as well. Of course, one of the big awa that runs through Tauranga is Te Wairoa. And that has also historic significance to her lineage of Te Tai Rāwhiti of the Kahungunu people. 

We do have kōrero about her… one of her earlier tupuna from that canoe, from the Tākitimu canoe. And his name was Tamatea Pōkai Whenua.

Some of the place names that were… well, they were settled by Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, they remain today. They're still with us today. And we acknowledge that kōrero. So we do know that before Māhina-a-rangi, one of her earlier tupuna – Tamatea Pōkai Whenua – he also come through this way.

So, she followed a track, nē, that was already laid out before her. The significance of this place here, the Ōpuiaki awa, especially Te Rere i Ōturu. Te rere, which means the flowing of something. And when we talk about tears flowing, we call them turuturu. Roimata māturuturu. And those are tears that are flowing down from our eyes, nē?

And we know that when she got here with her entourage. This was the most western awa that flows back to the east. Now, the direction that that awa was flowing, or was through that direction, or the flow of the river back to the east, that she could also channel her poroporoaki, or her last farewell.

One of the places that she was looking towards, in the name, in the original name, it speaks about the first ray of the sun. And that's where I believe she was directing her poroporoaki to, was to the rising of the sun, which was to her people.

She was still quite heavily pregnant when she got to this point. She had her farewell to her people and then carried on her journey down towards the wairere. And then got to the top of the wairere, and that's where Raukawa was born.

Andrew

And we're going to get to that. But you could imagine right now, couldn't you, being here… not really myself imagine, but I could, you know, think: a woman heavily pregnant, coming to a place and farewelling the direction to a place that she wasn't really going to necessarily see again. So, an emotional spot. 

So thank you so much for sharing that. And I'm really excited to see more of these locations on that massive hīkoi that she undertook. Kia ora.

    

Andrew

Well, we're halfway over the Kaimai Range, and we've come in off the road into the ngahere. And this area is known as Whenua-a-kura. 

Now, Taihakoa, in relation to Māhina-a-rangiʻs hīkoi from east to west, this area is very significant. Tell us more.

Taihakoa

So, coming from Te Rere i Ōturu, where she gave her final farewells, via east. Her track back west was through here, Whenua-a-kura.

The actual site where she gave birth to Raukawa is just a few hundred metres behind us. So we're standing at the top of Whenua-a-kura at the moment.

Andrew

So within this general vicinity, that this is where she gave birth to Raukawa. And that's the significance of this place? 

Taihakoa

Yeah. Yeah.

There are significant things that happened between her giving birth to Raukawa up here at Whenua-a-kura, and then reaching a puna that's halfway down the ridge; the Kaimai Range here.

The puna itself was a natural, hot water spring. So to have a hot spring of that sort in the area, well it meant that it was for significant things, nē? Such as rongoā. And so she used that puna to relieve herself of her after-birth pains.

But before she made it up the Kaimai, she visited one of her whanaunga that was residing in the Katikati vicinity, which is back in Tauranga Moana area. 

And there was a tupuna there who was also pregnant with a daughter. And her name was Turongoihi. And according to our oral histories, Raukawa and Turongoihi were betrothed to each other while they were still in their mother's wombs. And that happened at Katikati.

The parents of Turongoihi were already conscious of where Māhina-a-rangi was coming from and where she was going, along with all of her whakapapa ties.

Raukawa was born. I can't speak on where Turongoihi was born, but it was around about the same time. And so from here, the story carries on with Māhina-a-rangi reaching her final destination at Rangiātea. 

And we can't see anything through here. But if we just imagine right out here, it’s just a big opening, and you will see a maunga, which is Maungatautari. And at the top of Maungatautari you can see the next valley over, across the Waikato River, and you're coming into the Wharepūhunga valley. And that's where Tūrongo was waiting for Māhina-a-rangi.

Andrew

You know, it's fascinating to hear you recount this knowledge and, you know, so grateful that you can share it with us. And, but I am looking forward to going to… we're going to Rangiātea. And we will see that place where Raukawa grew up.

Taihakoa

I just want to make reference to some of the local hapū who affiliate to the Kaimai, which are Ngāti Kirihika, at the bottom of the hill, and they reside at Ūkaipō. 

Ngāti Hinerangi Tāwhaki, that way at Tangata.

And we also have Ngāti Tūkorehe, who cover Tāpapa, Ruapeka. And then heading back over towards Te Arawa, to Rotorua, Ngāti Te Ngākau. 

And these are just some of the hapū, including Ngāti Hangarau, who affiliate to Tauranga Moana and Raukawa. And Ngāti Hauā, who also have affiliations in this rohe as well.

Really privileged that we get to share this kōrero and bring yous on, you know, to this part of our little slice of heaven.

Andrew

No, we appreciate it. It's amazing. And it's amazing to think about that massive journey that she undertook. You know, we're driving half of it, so. Most of it actually! But I really, really appreciate it. Kia ora.

  

Te Awa-a-Taikehu: Māhina-a-rangi crosses the Waikato River

  

Andrew

Quinton, you’ve brought us to the top of the Rangiātea Pā site. And, boy, it's a great day! 

Quinton

Beautiful eh. 

Andrew

You can see for miles. Look, you can see in the background there the Kaimai; Whenua-a-kura, which is.. was the birthplace of Raukawa.

Of course, I guess this place was the end point in Māhina-a-rangiʻs hīkoi?

Quinton

Yeah. I mean, we've crossed over the river on this side. And of course, we mentioned his mōkai, Waitete, the dog – has boosted over these ways to look for Tūrongo. And obviously Tūrongo has picked up on him as well. And so, with that, he's asked his kurī to guide him back to where Māhina-a-rangi is, which would have been in that direction. 

And, you know, as excited as the man would’ve been; it's been so long since. So, you know, he can't wait to get her back here; bring her back to his land, which we now know as Rangiātea, yeah.

Andrew

And so just paint a bit of a picture about, you know, what this place would have potentially looked like up here.

Quinton

Stories have it that where we're standing at this part anywhere, was an observatory for reading the stars.

And so if we look, probably to my right, right behind you here, we could obviously imagine what a community could have looked like, up top here. And so that's how we… we've got to envision our process around what she would have came back to. There would have been a welcoming party for her at the same time.

And, yeah, just your typical buzz in the air around meeting somebody new for some of the locals that were here. But also, how excited Tūrongo would have been too.

Andrew

And that's the end of our hīkoi as well on this field trip. But, the fact that we're standing here talking about the events of the past like this and these names that live on, not only in memory, but within you, is quite something special.

Quinton

Absolutely. I mean, we've got to feel fortunate in these days that we're able to come back here – stand on the lands that our tūpuna once stood on; feel the winds that once blew through them as well. But also understanding the journey that our maiden tupuna made from her homelands in Kahungunu, back over these ways. To start, potentially, the reason why we're here today.

Andrew

So there’s those connections that Taihakoa talked about yesterday, but also there's, like, a lot can be learned from that.

Quinton

Absolutely. And I think that's the beauty of capturing these stories, being able to share it. And hopefully these stories can live on forever in a day to come. So the purpose of this, and bringing us here today, was to paint that full picture, that full overall picture, around the journey that she took to get to the lands where we are today.

I hope you've enjoyed it. I hope you've enjoyed coming along with us as well. And, yeah, a lot more to come.

Andrew

Kia ora. 

Quinton

Kia ora.

 

Māhina-a-rangi and Tūrongo: A love story