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See below for English translation
He whenua tēnei i haerea ai e ngā toa kaweka, me te kāhika tū wao.
E ai ki ngā tātai kōrero ā ngā pakeke ko Tamatekapua he iwa putu te teitei, ko tona uri ko Tūhourangi he iwa putu te teitei.
Ka heke iho, ka heke iho ki a Haupapa koi anō tētehi, he kākākura nō Ngāti Whakaue, he iwa putu te teitei o tēnei tupua.
Kāore e kore he rahi noa atu ēnei momo tūpua engari ko ngā ingoa me ā rātau kōrero kua ngaro ki te pō.
E rongo ana te taringa i ngā tātai kōrero mō Tamatekapua, ka hua iho e whia kē anō ngā ingoa rongonui. Ko Ruaeorangi tētehi.
Nā te mea he mangere tātau inaianei kua kore hiahia ki te whakahuahua i te ingoa katoa, kua whakarāpopotongia e tātau ki a Ruaeo.
Ko Parearau ki te rangi ko Ruaeorangi ki runga ki te mata o te whenua. He mōhio ki te tārai waka. Ka mā Pukateawainui a ia ki te whai i a Tamatekapua, tāria te roanga atu o tēnei kōrero. Nōna e whakatere waka e tātai arorangi hoki ia. Nā reira i mōhio ai tātau he tohunga kōkō rangi tēnei toa. Engari rā e hoa mā. Ko te mea whakaharahara nui rawa atu ko te teiteinga o tēnei rangatira. He kotahi mā tahi te teitei. Kai te karamata rākau kē ōna kanohi.
Ko ia pea te rangatira kaweka katoa o Hāwaiki, hai aha i a ia. Kai ētehi e kī ana nānā ko Ika rāua ko Tūwhenua. Nā Ika ko Marupunganui nānā i tapā iho ko te roto moana e hora nei ko Ngā wai karekare a Marupunganui, wheoi anō nā Tūwhenua ka heke iho ki a Hatupatu. Kāti.
Nō te wā ngā tūpuna i Hāwaiki ka tere ngā whatumanawa i te whakatau a ngā rangatira ka whakawhitia te moana nui ki te whenua i hīa e Māui. Nā reira ka whakatinanahia ētehi o ngā whakaaro māminga o te ngākau o Tamatekapua. Ko Tamatekapua he rangatira nui, engari he tangata whakatuapeka hoki.
Ko Whakaotirangi te hiahia o tona puku. Kai tēnei tātai kōrero ko Whakaotirangi te mākau rangatira a Ruaeorangi, kai ētehi koia kē te mākau rangatira a Hoturoa. Kāti. E tata tika ana te iwi te wehe i te whenua ka tuhurangia e Tamatekapua tana rautaki hīanga.
Ko te whāinga ki te kāwhaki i te mākau hirahira a Ruaeorangi.
He tawhiti te kāinga o te iwi i te moana, nā kua tū a Tamatekapua kai te kōrero ki tana rangatira ki a Ruaeorangi, 'E Rū, awhinatia ahau. He tono nāku ki a koe. Kua wareware i ahau taku toki ( kai ētehi he heru kē tana kame ehara i te toki) kai te mahau o taku whare kai raro i te pīhanga o te whare.
Kai reira e huna ana, whakahokia mai, kātahi nā ka tika tā tātau wehe i tēnei whenua".
Me he manu motu i te koromāhanga ka rere te toa ki te pā taunaha o Maketu ki Te Awhe o te rangi te kāinga o Tamatekapua.
Tahuri noa a Tamatekapua ki te iwi, he whakahau i ngā rangatira me ngā wāhine ki te whakaeke ki runga ki tō rātau waka hourua, me te kauawhiawhi hoki i a Whakaotirangi ki tana nohanga whakahirahira e āta whakaratarata hoki i te terenga o tana manawapātanga. Me te kōrero parau a Tamatekapua ki a Whakaotirangi e kī ai kai te tauihu o te waka a Ruaeorangi e whakatika ana i te parata o te waka rā ka hoki mai ki a ia inākuanei.
Nā tēnei kōrero titotito a Tamatekapua ka noho pōhēhē nei a Whakaotirangi ki te taumanu tatari atu ai ki tana tāne.
Ka whakarotangia a Tamatekapua ki āna tangata ki te whakaaraara ngā māmari o te waka hourua, e tika ana ki a pēneitia tana whakahau kai rangona tōna reo e Ngātoroirangi me tana ruahine e Kearoa.
Kai te kāwhakina hoki rāua e Tamatekapua.
Wheoi anō e pure ana ngā tohunga, e ketuketu oneone a Ruaeorangi kai te moana te waka hourua e haere ana, e ahu atu nā ki te tauriparipa o te rangi. Tāria te roanga atu.
Giants once abounded in Waiariki district.
Tamatekapua was said to be at least 9 feet and his descendant, Tūhourangi, also stood 9 feet tall. Haupapa, noted fighting leader of Ngāti Whakaue, was also of gigantic proportions, as I am sure they may have been many others that have unfortunately been absorbed by the great expanse of time.
When we share stories or are privy to listening to the pūrākau of Tamatekapua, another character finds its way to the surface.
One giant of the past who the shrewd Tamatekapua deceived was Ruaeorangi who was more commonly referred to as Ruaeo.
This man was a remarkable chief; he was also a capable engineer as we discover later on in the story of this leader that he also fashioned his ocean voyaging vessel, Pukateawainui to hunt down Tamatekapua; we also find that during the ocean voyage, Ruaeorangi revealed himself as a priest with the ability to communicate with the environment.
Lastly, we are told that he stood 11 feet in height.
It made him one of the most dominant figures of his time. Ruaeorangi, according to some whakapapa, was the father of the explorer Ika and Tuwhenua.
Ika had a son named Marupunganui, one of the earliest settlers to have bestowed his name upon the lake of Rotorua. During his lifetime, it was called Nga wai karekare o Marupunganui and Tuwhenua's descendant was the famous Hatupatu.
During the period in Hāwaiki, the island was pulsating with newfound energy as the leaders had decided to traverse the ocean to the land raised by Māui.
It also presented a prime opportunity to execute some deep seeded wishes. It would seem that Tamatekapua, who was known to be a past romantic, was struck by the beauty of Whakaotirangi; in this narrative, she is the wife of Ruaeorangi.
In other tribal stories, she is said to have been the wife of Hoturoa, the leader of the Tainui people. As the vessel and all the provisions were near ready, Tamatekapua had ample time to generate a plan to safely secure Whakaotirangi, separating her from her husband and abandoning Ruaeorangi.
Where the great ocean vessels lay must have been quite a distance from the actual village, for as the crew were gradually finalising themselves for departure, Tamatekapua implemented his plan.
"My friend – Ruaeo, I need your assistance. Can you quickly return to the village and retrieve my sacred adze (some say it was a comb)? I buried it on the porch of my house under the windowsill. Please do hurry so that we may depart!"
Without hesitation, the loyal friend made haste and, like a bird free from capture, sped off to retrieve Tūtāuru. As this was unfolding, Tamatekapua immediately prompted the crew to board. He ordered the final provisions to be stowed and, in the commotion, had also successfully decoyed Whakaotirangi to a safe area aboard the vessel, reassuring her that Ruaeorangi was busy tending to other essential matters aboard the waka hourua.
Feeling reassured that everything was in order, Whakaotirangi made herself comfortable and awaited the return of her husband to her side.
"Raise the sails," Tamatekapua signalled to his men; he couldn't raise his voice as Ngātoroirangi and Kearoa might hear, they too had no idea that they were being deceived.
So, whilst the priests conducted the appropriate incantations, whilst Ruaeorangi was searching for the adze or comb – Tamatekapua and the giant double-hulled waka calmly slipped off towards the horizon.
To be continued.
'Representing the history of this area. This ridgeline was a kauri forest.' - Barry Potter