Kāhu ki Rotorua: Small Rotoiti island once hotly sought-after site

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See below for English translation

Ko Tumoana te moutere e tu matahao ana

Kai te whakatieke o Okawa tētehi motu e tū matahao ana. Ko te mātārae tēnei i nōhia e ngā uri o Taketakehikuroa.

Ko Tūmoana tēnei moutere. E tika ana te ingoa ki tēnei pā onamata, he moutere tū māia, he ahakoa te ngarungaru nui o te moana, koia ko tēnei ko Tūmoana ākinā ngaru, ko Tūmoana ākinā tai, ākinā hau pūkerikeri.

He rau noa ngā tātai kōrero mō tēnei moutere engari kia aro noa tātou ki tētehi anake. Ko te take i mate ai ngā rangatira, ko te take hoki tēnei i ngaro ai ngā tangata, otīā i māhue ai tēnei whenua e ngā uri o Tūhourangi, e ara ake ai he iwi kē atu nō rātou te mana o te whenua me te roto moana moroki noa nei.

Kai te wā o Tūtānekai tēnei tātai kōrero.

Ko Tūtānekai, te mūrau o te wehi, te taniwha oreore o te whenua. Ka moe i a Hinemoa te
puhi rangatira ka puta ki waho ko ngā uri o te roto moana.

He ahakoa ōna pā huhua, kai tēnei wā o te kōrero, kai Te Whetungū rāua e noho ana. Ka tū he hui ki Tūmoana ka pōwhiringia e ngā tangata o taua takiwā tēnei rangatira. Ka haere rātou ko tana hūnuku. Ka iti ki mua ka roa ki muri ka tae ki Tūmoana.

He tokoiti noa iho i haere. Ka paru ngā tōu, ka haere ngā rangi, kātahi ka whakatūngia he rangi tātāwhainga. He riri pūhohe. Ko te hunga nō rātou te whenua ko ngā uri o Taketakehikura.

Ko te pahi o Tūtānekai he uri heke iho katoa rātou nō Uenukukopako. He tuakana, taina rāua, a Taketakehikuroa me Uenukukopako.

Ka tūmatataki atu tētehi ki tētehi he ahakoa ko Tūtānekai te toa nui kāore ia i hau atu ki te riri pūhohe, ka mātika ake ko Tamakurī, tana tamaiti toa. He aha rawa ia i hau atu ai, kāore tōna matua tāne i hau atu ai?

Ko Tumoana akina ngaru, akina tai, akina hau purkerikeri. Whakaahua/Raimona Inia

He aha rā. Kia whakahīhī ai hoki tōna matua tāne ki tana toa, he riariaki rānei te mana whakaharahara o te iwi. A kāti. Ka rere te pūehu, e tūtūngārahu ana ngā ika-ā-whiro, e rere ana ngā mere, kai te takiwā ngā ate taiaha e kapokapo tipuaki kau ana, ka hinga a Tamakurī, ka taka iho ki te whenua, mate noa atu.

Ka tere ngā manawa o tō Tūtānekai pahi, e kore e tāea te pēwhea kua matemate noa atu tō rātou tangata. Nā te tokoiti o ōna tangata, e kore e tāea hoki e rātou ki te ngaki i tēnei patunga kai patua rātou.

Ko ia hoki pea tērā ka riro i te au kume ki tāwhiti nui ki Muriwainoho. Ka whati rātou hoki atu ki tō rātou kāinga. Ka māhue ake ana tō rātou toa. Ka kawea tona tupapaku e ngā uri o Taketakehikuroa ki Ngāmawhiti, ka mauria ki te ahi, ka maonga, ka pau i ngā puku o ngā rangatira.

Ka hinga ngā rā, ka hinga ngā marama, e takitaki haere ana a Tūtānekai i ngā hapū me ngā iwi o te roto moana ki te rānaki i te matenga o tana tamaiti. He take nui anō pea kāore ngā tangata i whakaae ki tana takitaki.

Ko Tūtānekai tētehi o ngā toa nui onamata. Hai ētehi he tangata whakahīhī ia, hai ētehi he wene te take kāore te rahi o te tangata i tāhuri ki tana takitaki. E whakamomori ana te rangatira ki tōna pā whakairo, ka mahara ia ki tona hoa ngangare ki a Pikiao te tuatahi me āna uri.

Tāna ko Tamakari ka rere i muri ko Morewhati, nā Tamakari ko Pikiaorangi nā Pikiaorangi ko Te Takinga me ōna taina. Hā - kua tae ia ki te pae hamuti. Ka ora rānei ka mate rānei i a rātou.

Ko te āwangawanga nui kai te mahana tonu ngā tupapaku o Pikiaorangi. Ko tōna matua tāne a Tamakari me tōna mātua tāne kaokaoroa a Morewhati i patua e Tūtānekai, nā reira te māharahara nui ōna.

He ika maroro a Morewhati nā Tūtānekai, ko Tamakari te ika nui o tana kupenga. Ka poua ngā ūpoko mokomōkai ki te pā o Poututerangi hai wāhi hao kōāeaea. He pā whakairo nō Tūtānekai ki Mokoia.

Ka takahia e Tūtānekai te nukuroa o te whenua ki te waha oreore pea o Hinenuitepō, ki te whare huata pea o Te Takinga māna tēnei kōhuru e takitaki ai ?

Tāria te roanga ake.

Near the western end of Lake Rotoiti, just before passing into Okawa Bay, lies a small island that juts off the shoreline, connecting with the opposite northern side of the lake.

It was once the most sought-after site to occupy within Te Rotoiti by the descendants of Tūhourangi.

Aptly named Tūmoana, for it stands as a lone beacon defying the sheer rage of the chopping waters of Te Rotoiti, Tūmoana today is still a sacred site.

And though there are many stories regarding the once heavily fortified island, one stands alone because it changed the landscape of the region. The story takes us back to the time of Tūtānekai, the warrior chief who was the husband of Hinemoa.

Tūtānekai at this time had taken up residence upon the pā site Te Whetengū and, befitting his status, was often welcomed to attend matters of importance that affected the landscape of Te Waiariki.

On one such occasion, Tūtānekai participated in a meeting at Tūmoana pā. The rōpū did not warrant a sizeable intimidating force; therefore, only a handful of people joined him.

Before long, they had arrived and settled in and over the following days; an opportunity for friendly competition arose as business was being conducted.

Fierce battles raged on Tumoana a far cry from its modern-day peaceful appearance. Photo /Raimona Inia

It was not long before a mock battle was established between the two sections. The hosts were descendants of the chief Taketakehikuroa and of his younger brother Uenukukopako, that being the tribe of Tūtānekai.

Mock combat was the spectacle, and though Tūtānekai had a reputation for his skills as a warrior, his son Tamakurī took part in an attempt maybe to further enhance the prestige of his father's name and their clan or purely as an enthusiast.

Only those who were present know what truly happened.

But by day's end, we know that Tamakurī was killed.

Tūtānekai, a famed warrior, had to withdraw with his small party as there was no chance they could avenge the death. Numerically they would have been quickly overrun, and the great Tūtānekai may have found himself on the other side of the veil with his son. It also seems that the atmosphere reached a great height, for not only did they promptly depart the site, but they also left behind the body of Tamakurī.

Over the following days, Tūtānekai immediately set about enlisting the aid of neighbouring tribes to avenge the loss of his son.
Maybe there is another side of Tūtānekai that we will never know nor understand, for it seems that not one lake tribe would help him, and not one of them would respond to his plea.

Maybe due to past indifferences, jealousies or shared arrogance, this chief found himself isolated.

His absolute last resort was to turn to an old foe. The descendants of Kawatapuarangi. The children of Pikiaorangi.The people who lived beyond Lake Rotorua, east further still of Te Rotoiti.

Out towards the lakes of Rotoehu and Rotomā. This approach was empathetic, for Tūtānekai had killed not only the father of Pikiaorangi, Tamakari, but also his brother Morewhati.

The heads of these two chiefs were taken and used as fishing markers that once stood out beyond the pā known as Poututerangi, located on the north-easterly side of Mokoia Island.

These deaths also had not yet been avenged by their grandchildren Te Takinga and his siblings.

With great audacity exhibited only by the most fearless and arrogant of Māori chiefs, Tūtānekai travelled from Te Whetūngū pā towards what seemed to be an early death.

■To be continued.