Lovers Tatai and Toahaere secluded themselves at Waikuta.
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See below for English translation
Ko Tatai Whetu he puhi nō Ngāti Te Peehi
He puhi rangatira a Tatai. Ko Tatai Whetu te roanga atu o tōna ingoa.
Ko Waiatua anō hoki hai ingoa karanga mōna. I pepehangia a Tatai engā pakeke onamata. Ko Autahi ki te rangi, ko Tatai Whetu ki te whenua. Nā te kaha hiahia o ngā kanohi ki te titiro atu ki a ia, nā te pārekareka ōna ki te waiata ki te poi me te haka ka hinga katoa ngā manawa i a ia. He kaha hoki nō te marea ki te tito waiata māna.
Nā te mea he puhi a Tatai ka whakataumaungia a ia ki a Hukiki i runga i te tikanga o te tomo. Ko Te Hukiki he rangatira nui nō Ngāti Rangiwewehi, ko Hikairo te pou o te maunga rongo i whakatūngia ki Mokoia e noho rarata ai te tini tauā a NgaPuhi me Ngāti Whatua. Kāti.
He rangatira a Hikairo he puhi a Tatai, e tika ana kia moe tahi ai ēnei rangatira tokorua.
Ka nanakia te roa ki ngā rangatira tokorua, nā wai rā ka tahuri ngā o Hikairo ki wahine kē atu hai wahine rangatira māna. Ko te whakatau hoki ka moea tonungia e ia a Tatai engari hai punarua.
He puhi a Tatai, he manawa pakeke kīhai i pai ki a noho hai punarua ka rere tona manawa ki tua o paehauariki. Nōnā e whakamomori ana ka puta mai a Te Toahaere ki Ohinemutu.
He rangatira nō Ngai Te Rangi. Ka whakamanuwhiringia tēnei rangatira e Ngāti Te Peehi ka noho i te pā taunaha o Ohinemutu. Ka hinga ngā rangi, nā wai rā ka whakararata ai ngā manawa o ēnei tokorua ki a kotahi ai. Ka ngaro rāua tokorua i te pā ka oma atu ki Waikuta. He kāinga ririki kai te taha hauāuru o te roto moana.
Lovers Tatai and Toahaere secluded themselves at Waikuta.
Kīhai rāua i whāki atu te āhuatanga o tā rāua omanga ka manawa pā katoa te kāinga i te korenga o ēnei tangata, ka rokohanga e te iwi, ā, kīhai i kitea. Ka rere ngā rangi nā wai rā ka puta mai te tokorua ki te wahatieke o te pā. Ka riria rāua e te hapū, ka kangangia rāua e te kāinga.Ko mamingatia te hapū i a rāua. E tika ana kia whakatikangia rāua e ngā rangatira.
Ka hoki a Te Toahaere ki Tauranga. Ka piki ake a Tatai ki te tihi o Te Pukeroa noho puku ai.
He kore hiahia nōna ki te noho punarua ki a Hikairo, he ahakoa he rangatira. Ka nohpuku tō tātau ruruhi, ki te tihi o Te Pukeroa whakangakau atu ai ki tōna kākākura ki a Te Toahaere. E noho puku ana mō ngā rangi e whia kē.
Ka mahara te hapū kai mate tō rātau puhi. Ka ngarea he karere ki Tauranga ki te tiki mai a Te Toahaere. Tana hokinga mai ki te pā o Ohinemutu. He ahakoa e pirorehe ana a Tatai, tana kitenga atu i tana mākau, ka kī katoa ngā wahanga o tōna manawa i te hauora.Ka nōhia e rāua te pā o Ohinemutu, kātahi ka hoki ki te kāinga o Te Toahaere.
Ka iti ki mua, ka mate a Te Toahaere, ā, ka whāia tōna rangatira e Tatai. Kīhai i tanumia a Tatai ki Tauranga, ka whakahokia tōna tupapaku ki Te Motutapu e pōtere mai nā i ngā wai karekare o Kahumatamomoe. Koia e whai iho nei ko tana waiata aroha.
E muri ahiahi takoto ki te moenga ka rau aku mahara e
Tikina mai e Papa i,i mataia iho tenei ao au
Te kohi atu nei i aku tini mahara pu ake ki te whare e
He kai au e Peehi ki a tohutohungia mai au e Hukiki
There was once a puhi from Mokoia Island known as Tatai although her full name was Tatai Whetu. She was also known as Te Waiatua. True to her pedigree, her beauty was the inspiration for many love songs. Her beauty also drew many suitors.
Her people, however, and the strong people of Puhirua pā had arranged for her to wed the famous warrior chief Hukiki who was more commonly known as Hikairo.
The famed warrior chief of Ngati Rangiwewehi won the hearts of the NgaPuhi warriors during the war of 1823, which resulted in a peace agreement between the Arawa tribes and the combined warrior force of NgaPuhi and Ngāti Whatua.
Hikairo was a man of standing, and Tatai a puhi, the sacred pillar of her people. Hikairo took another wife before advising the people of Tatai that soon they would marry.
Tatai was young at heart and a strong independent woman. It so happened that around this period, a young warrior named Te Toahaere from Ngai Te Rangi had called into Ohinemutu.
This young chief caught the heart of Tatai, and like so many famed romances of the past, the two eloped to Waikuta. When the days had passed, the people of Ohinemutu became concerned for their daughter’s safety and, secondly, knowing that Hikairo and the people of Puhirua would soon call upon them to fulfil the arranged marriage.
When the young couple arrived at Ohinemutu, they were both severely scorned. Te Toahaere was promptly ejected from the village and forced to return to Tauranga to his people. Tatai immediately withdrew from the courtyard and ascended Te Pukeroa.
She made it clear that her heart belonged to Te Toahaere, and in her state of protest, she sat upon the hill facing Tauranga. In her grief, she not only refused to eat, but she composed the following love song.
To end this story, Tatai never married the chief Hikairo, and her people, desperate to save her life, sent a messenger to Te Toahaere. Quickly the young chief returned to Tatai. And, together, they both left the area returning to Tauranga to live.
Sadly the couple did not have a long life together. Te Toahaere died quite early, and Tatai soon followed him.
After learning of her passing, the Ngāti Te Peehi people collected their puhi and returned her to Mokoia Island, where she is buried with her ancestors.
E muri ahiahi takoto ki te moenga ka rau aku mahara e
