Kāhu ki Rotorua: A connection to the valley

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

See below for English translation

He whakapapa, he hītoria, he tātai kōrero

Nō te waengarahi o te takiwā kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e iwa tekau mā tahi me te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau e iwa tekau mā rua titoa ai tēnei Pātere e Mauriora ingi mō ngā tauira o te wānanga whakairo rākau o NZMACI. Haitā Mauriraka te tamaiti mātāmua a Mauriora Kingi, ‘Tūturu he whakamana ite tāngaengae o te hapū me te iwi ki ngā wāhirangatira ki ngā waiariki o Te Wahakarewarewa.’ He whakapapa, he hītoria, he tātai kōrero, he karakia katoa kaite Pātere nei, kauaka kite takiwā o Te Whakarewarewa anake engari puta atu ki ngā pou huriropa o Te Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe.

Me Tīmata i a Ngātoroirangi, i pikitia ake ai ite Tihiō Tongariro “Pātere” Nā Mauriora Kingi

Me timata e ahau i a Ngātoroirangi I pikitia ake ai kite tihi o Tongariro. Ka kinongia tana kiri e te mātao Ka aue atu rā ki ōna tuāhine, Kia haria maite ahi Itewā kāinga, Kia ngata rā te hiahia. Ka haruru maitewhenua ao, Tewhenua pō! Ka tatū mai kitana taha.

Mahue atu I a rāua te wera me ahi Ite tahatā. Ka mātatoru, ka māraratia. Noho iho rā te mamaoa ki Te Whakarewarewa Te tūnga o ngā ope taua ā Wāhiao e!

Ka tū waewae ahau kirunga I a Te Pākira. Kia Mārama te titiro kiwhakatūtū I mate ai aKurangaituku I a Hātūpatu. Kia kite au a Roto-ā-Tamaheke, Te rerengawai kaukau O ngā tupuna mātua. Me huriwhakarunga ki Papawharanui Kia toro taku ringa ki Parekōhuru Te Ō haakitanga o te iwi!

Kia hikoi au ki korotiotio kaitua mai Ko tewaro-o-Ngāwai. Kai kō atu ko Te Wai-o-Nihotahi. Kia peke atu kiroto o Puarenga Kia rere Ite tai Me mihi atu rāki Ngā-Mōkai-ā-Koko.

E kō huahua rā ko te Mitimiti. Kowai kōrua ko Parengātata Ko Tutaepoko Me hoki au kite awa. Kai kō mai ko Waihuka, ko Tikorangi Iwera maite moana I a TeKorokoro, Ko te hoa koKererū Ko te wai-oranga ō rātou, Kowaikorohīhī Ko te Māhanga, koKō mutumutu. Ka heke aite roke, ko Waiparu Kiawhiti atu ki Puapua. E tū whakahirahira mairā, ko Pōhutu, Te Whakamī harotanga o te ao!

E pōhiri mai ko Papakura. Kaiwaenganui ko Te-Puke-a-Ruahine. Noho tonu rā ko Purapurawhetū Ko Ngārara-tuatara. Kia tī karokaro atu rā e tū ana au Ite take o Pōhaturoa. Ka rongo I a te Kūmete. Ko te nohanga tē rā o Tūohonoa. Kia tipi atu au kite Tūranga-o-TeTukutuku. Me whakatata kite ana o Tūkiterangi. Ka titirowhakararo ki TeAnarata, Te pātaka o tewhakangehe. Kia tū pato kai pahū a Waikite!

Auē ra, ko Te Rangiā niwaniwa Te Mahuetanga o ngā puna tawhito Iwaihanga iho rā e Tarawera. Ka Tūmeke tonu au Ki TeKiri, kite mimi, Kite wai o Parewhārangi. Kiawhakataā mai au ki Rotoka¯napanapa. Kia puhia te kanohi e te hau. Me hoki au kite pa¯ o Te Puia Kawhakarongo aku taringa kite tangi O Rotowhio Te okiokinga o te tini me te mano! Tū ana mai ko TeAronui-ā-Rua! Takoto iho rā ko Te Arawai haitohu, Mō te rau tau o Rotorua! Te moana tē rā I kauhia iho rā e Hinemoa!

Te uri o te ara kāwai o Tūhourangi. E kokoia, e ara e.

Ko Mauriora

Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e ono tekau mā toru iwhā nau a Mauriora Kingi i Maniaiti. I pakeketia a Mauriora i Otaki. Nō na i itiiti ai ka poipoia a Mauriora e ōna kaumātua.

Kawhāngaingia e Mauriora kite kai mārō ā ngā tuatahi nā reira i pakeke a ia kite tū marae. He pū-kō rero, he rangatira kite whakapapa, he mōhio ki ngā ritenga me ngā tikanga o nehe. Kāti ,tokotoru ā na tamariki. Ko Mauriraka te mātāmua, ko Te Waiwhakaata te pū waenga ko Tawharau tewhakapakanga.

Ko Mauriora mātahi pū a Te Arawa me Tainui. Te kākā tarahae o te nehenehenui,te kākaho o Tuteihoanga,te mākao taniwha a Wāhiao. E te matua tā ne tēnā koe.

English Translation

The following Pātere was composed between 1991 and 1992 for the carvers of NZ Māori Arts and Crafts Institute.

As stated by Mauriraka (eldest son of Mauriora) ”Simply a recognition of our connection to the geothermal valley of Whakarewarewa.”

This patere teaches the reader whakapapa of geothermal activity and landmarks that have significant meaning in the Waiariki region.

Me tīmata i a Ngātoroirangi, i pikitia ake ai ite Tihi ō Tongariro “Pātere” Nā Mauriora Kingi

My journey begins back in time when Ngātoroirangi conquered Mount Tongariro.

The high priest almost Ceded his life for his conquest, So he prayed to his sisters in Hawaiki to bring him warmth. The sisters’ journey took them overland and underwater! Wherever they rested they left some Of theirwarmth there.

That heat got thicker and spread Throughout the Bay of Plenty, Heat remained at Whakarewarewa Standing place of the great Wāhiao and his warriors! Now i stand on Te Pākira, To the left i can see Whakatūtū The ngāwhā that claimed Kurangaituku as she was pursuing Hātūpatu. Down to the right i can see Rotoa-Tamaheke, The lake that has provided soothing Bathing waters Since time immemorial.

I leave Te Pākira for the site of the Wharekai Papawharanui, From which i point out Parekōhuru, The main resource of my people. As i approach Korotiotio, I see she is flanked by Te Waro-a-Ngāwai And Te Wai-o-Nihotahi. I then wade through Puarenga The flowing tide In order to greet Ngāmōkai-a-Koko. Beside which are Te Mitimiti, Parengatata And Tutaepoko, which boil heartily.

Back towards the stream are Waihuka and Tikorangi, But only Korokoro and Kererū Are instilling warmth into the Puarenga. I pause to sample the healing qualities Of Waikorohīhī, Māhanga And Kōmutumutu And witness the wastage flowing into Waiparu Which stretches almost to Puapua. Performing majestically is Pōhutu Geyser, The most famous of the country’s Tourist attractions.

Papakura geyser now poses silently And in between is Te Puke-a-Ruahine Flanked by Purapurawhetuū and Ngārara-tuatara.

I grind to a halt before Pōhaturoa and learn that Tūohonoa had settled at TeKūmete, Where Tūohonoa lived. I then steal over to the site of Tukutuku’s home and Drawnearto Tūkiterangi’s Cave. As i look down i see TeAnarata, Te Whakangehe’s storehouse Careful that Waikite may yet erupt!

Of the old springs, only Rangiāniwaniwa remains Untouched by the Tarawera devastation. I am dazzled by TeKiri and Te Mimi And Te Wai-o-Parewhārangi, I now rest at Rotokānapanapa So i can cool my face in the breeze. I return to the Te Puia Pā Where i can hear whistling coming From Rotowhio The resting place of the Multitudes.

Moving on, i reach TeAronui-a-Rua! Resting in a man-made pond is Te Arawai, memorial to Rotorua’s Centenary. The waters swum by Hinemoa!

Descendant of the chiefly line of Tūhourangi. And so i arise!

Brief Bio of Composer

Born (1963) in Bennydale, Mauriora grew up in Otaki. Mauriora was nurtured from a very early age by his grandparents in Marae protocol and grew to become one of the greatest orators and depository of matauranga Māori. Father to three children, Mauriraka, Waiwhakaata and Tawharau. A son of Te Arawa & Tainui iwi, a master of knowledge, a tohunga of ritual and a gentle father.