Kāhu ki Rotorua: How Ihenga named places as he travelled

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Ko Ihenga waewae taunaha whenua

Ka heke iho a Ihenga i Ngongotahā ka tahuna e ia te otaota ki te ahi ka wera te whenua, ko te take kia whakatāpūngia te whai haere āna e ngā patupaiarehe.

Ka pau te kaha o te wera, ka kitea e ia he kauae moa e takoto kau ki te whenua, ka tapangia te whenua ko kauae. Koinei tō tātou urupā matua o Rotorua.

Ka noho mai a Ihenga he hakoke whenua tāna i te takiwā e mōhiongia ai e tātou ko Te Rotorua. Ka nui hoki āna tūhuratanga, e haere ana ka nui hoki ngā taupā me ngā aukatinga engari anō te pepehā, he ngaru tuatea ka ekengia. Nā ēnei tūāhuatanga katoa ka whiwhi ingoa ai ngā tahataha o te moana otīā te takiwā o Te Rotorua.

Nā kai te kaha pupuringia ēnei ingoa e ngā uri o Ngāi Te Arawa. Kia whakatauirangia e ahau. Ki tua o te hāpori pakupaku o Ngongotahā ko Puhirua. He pā whakairo onamata. Ko Hikario te rangatira, ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi te iwi. I tapangia ai ko Puhirua nā te makeretanga o te puhipuhi o tana paiaka. Ko te paiaka he ingoa hoki mō te rākau whawhai mō te Tewhatewha.

He rākau rangatira kāua mā te kūare. Ka haere tonu a Ihenga, mā runga waka e hoe ana ka rere mai ngā īnānga ki te puku o te waka, ka tapangia te wāhi moana ko Tāne-whiti.
Ki te tokerau o te roto moana ki ngā kūmore maunga ki te taha whiti rawa atu o Kaikaitahuna tētehi kāinga.

Nōna i kōnei ka whakahīhī ōna whakaaro ka ingoatia ko Tūpakaria-a-Ihenga. Ka heke iho ka hoea te moana e Ihenga ki te kōngutu awa o Ohau ka hua anō he ingoa, ko te wāhi tēnei i toromī ai tana mōkai kurī ko Pōtakatawhitinui. Ka ingoangia te awa ko Te Ohautanga-o-Pōtakatawhitinui.

Ka hoea haeretia e ia ka hipa i tētehi horonga pari. He kōrero nui hoki tēnei i māmingatia ai a Tuorotorua e Ihenga. Kai tēnei takiwā ka whakangā te tupuna me tana hūnuku. Ka hoea te wai engari ka ū tana pou ki te whenua moana. He ahakoa tana kaha ki te huhuti i te rekereke o tana rākau kīhai i puta mai.

Ka waihongia atu, ka tapangia taua wāhi ko Te Tawa nā te mea i waihangatia ai tana pou ki te rākau Tawa. Kai te āhua takiwā o Te Pā-a-Te Kata, kai te taha whiti o te roto moana tēnei wāhi. Ka hipa Tuarahiwiroa ka noho anō a Ihenga me tana mākau ko Hinetekakara me tana hapū.

Ka pātai atu e Ihenga ki tana mākau, "He aha ā tātou kai?" rokohanga atu he tāhua kīore e takoto kau ki te whenua, tana kitehanga i ngā niho o ngā kīore ka wehi a Hinetekakara, nāna ēnei kupu, "E, ko te niho o te kīore". Ka tapangia tēnei whenua ko Te Niho-o-te-kīore. Ka whakamiharo hoki a ia ki te nui me te rahi o ngā kāwau ka ingoangia te whenua ko kāhui kāwau.

Ki tētehi anō taha o te roto moana ki te hauāuru o te moana kāore i tawhiti atu i te ana o Tunohopu, kai te takiwā e tū ana te whare pākehā manaaki tauhou ki runga ki te tihi o Taumatarangi, ko Te Waiowhiro nāna tēnei awa i tapangia ai. Ko te wāhi hoki tēnei i māmingatia ai a Tuorotorua e Ihenga, whoi anō i mua i te wehenga atu o Ihenga i kōnei ka whakaaraara ake e ia tētehi o āna tūahu tapu, ko Te Pera o Tangaroa.

Ka hoki anō e ia ki tōna waka ka poua ngā wai karekare ka tū ki tētehi wāhi e pūhake ana te kuta, koia ko Waikuta i ēnei rā, me te roa a Ihenga e hoe ana, ka tapangia te whenua ko Rāroa.

Whoi anō mō tēnei wā kia whakamoea te pene tāria te roanga ake e hoa mā.

When Ihenga descended from Ngongotahā mountain, he lit the scrub to scare off the patupaiarehe chasing him.

When the fire had settled, he returned to the area set ablaze and discovered in a clearing the jawbone of a great Moa and named the place Kauae.

As Ihenga remained in the area, he continued his exploration throughout the site of what we today call Rotorua. He made discoveries, and as he travelled, he was constantly challenged by great difficulties.

These events gave rise to the names that we know today. For example, Puhirua, which lies past Ngongotahā, was once a fortified stronghold of the Ngāti Rangiwewehi tribe; this place Ihenga named due to the feathers on his paiaka falling off.

As Ihenga continued his journey, now by waka, the inanga in the lake lept into his vessel, therefore, he named the area Tane-whiti.

At the lake's northern end above the hill ranges, east of the Kaikaitahuna stream, lies a dwelling place occupied by Ihenga. The site was named due to a boastful thought he had, and he called the area, Tūpakaria-a-Ihenga.

Having descended from the fantastic range, he re-entered his waka, passing the river of Ohau that he had named after the drowning of his pet, Potakatawhitinui. Its full name is Te Ohautanga o Potakatawhitinui.

Next, he came to the landslide on the mountain he had made Tuarotorua believe to be a net, Ihenga named the area Te Tawa because he left a pole used for pushing his waka, which was fashioned from Tawa. Unfortunately, the rod was stuck and he could not remove it.

After passing Tuarahiwiroa, Ihenga was reunited with Hinetekakara, his wife. Asking what their meal would be, she pointed to a bundle of rats on the ground, on seeing their teeth, Hinetekakara exclaimed, "e he niho kiore" (behold rats' teeth) and the area was named Te Niho-o-te-kiore.

Again, she remarked on the abundance of birdlife, and a part of the shoreline was named Kāhui Kawau or Flock of Shags.

On the northern side of Lake Rotorua, not far from Te Ana o Tunohopu, where today stands Peppers on the point upon the old pā site of Taumatarangi, lies the stream Te Wai-o-Whiro.

It was here that Ihenga deceived the earlier explorer Tu-o-Rotorua by tricking his relations into believing that Ihenga had settled these lands long before him. Here sat Ihengas altar, Te Pera o Tangaroa.

After deceiving Tu-o-Rotorua, Ihenga continued his journey; Waikuta was named due to the numerous Kuta growing in the water, the land he called Ra-roa due to the length of time in his waka. It is here that we will rest and continue with the journey of Ihenga next week.