Kāhu ki Rotorua: Taniwha guardians hold special place within Maoridom

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Kataore, he taniwha kai kikokiko, he taniwha kai tangata

He iwi noho tahi me āna mōkai huhua o te whenua o te rangi ōtīā te taiao whānui tonu o tātou tupuna.

Ko ētehi o ēnei mōkai he manu, tirohia tō tātou tupuna kuia a Tauruao he tamāhine nā Rangitihi kai reira tētehi kōrero pai me te māngaro hoki o te pūrākau, ko ētehi he kurī, pēnei i a Ihenga he tamaiti nā Tuhoromatakaka, he tohorā hoki tētehi tirohia te kōrero mō Tinirau rāua ko Tutunui, ā, tae noa ki te whakatupuranga i a Tangaroa-a-Mihi he ngarara ngā mōkai. He mokopuna a Tangaroa-a-Mihi nā Marupunganui.

Koia tētehi o ngā tupuna i ū mai ki te ahi nō Māui i runga i te waka o Te Arawa. Nāna ko Tu-a-Rotorua ka puta ki waho ko Marupunganui te tuarua ka rere i muri ko Tangaroa-a-Mihi.

Hai ngā uri o Ngai Te Arawa he taniwha a Kataore. Ko ōna hoa haere ko Pekehaua, ko Hotupuku. Kua matemate noa atu ēnei taniwha ināianei, he mea āta patu mārie e ngā uri o Ngai Te Arawa, ara, e ngā uri o Tamatekapua engari kai te mau tonu i ngā uri o te kāinga te wehi o ēnei taniwha ki ngā koko o ngā whatumanawa.

He ahakoa huri ai te tangata me āna pātai pakiki e kore e tau te reka o te wai kōrari e ea ai tēnā koroingo. Ko tāku e whakapae nei ka tini kē ngā mōkai i ingoatia ko Kataore. Inā tōna mana whakahirahira. Kai runga Matawhaura tetehi toene kua tapangia ko Kataore hai whakamaumaharatanga ki tēnei taniwha.

Kai nga pari tu o ngā wai kanakana o Tikitapu kai Te Uaha he toene e ai ki ngā kaumatua ko te wāhi i kaha nōhia āi e Kataore, he mokai nā Tanagroa-a-Mihi, waihoki ki tēnei takiwā tonu ka kitea e tātou kua ara ake anō te ingoa o tēnei ngarara engari ko Hinemihi, he tamahine nā Te Rangitakaroro kē te Tapairu manaaki i a ia.
Kāti.

E kī ana ngā kaumātua, he ngarara a Kataore, he roroa, he waha komekome tona, he hiku hoki tona, he unaunahi hoki te tapeha kāore e rite tahi nei ki a tātou te tangata tapeha, ehara! Ko tana kai he manu, ko ngā kai o te nehenehe.

E wāuna hoki he pōhēhē nō ngā tupuna, he wehi pea nō rātou hoki ki a ia, he ngarara kai kikokiko tangata. Ko te take i whakanōhia ai a Kataore ki Te Uaha he tata tonu ki te moana, ki te wai māori hai aha, ā, hai inu wai māna. Whoi anō e whakangau manu nei ngā toa o Tamaihutoroa ko ngā uri o Tamatekapua hoki wēnei engari ka heke iho mai rātou i a Tuhoromatakaka ehara i a Kahumatamomoe.

Te taniwha, Kataore.

Ka rongo i te haruru o te ngarara, ka kī ake tētehi, me patu ki a mate. Ko Kataore, he taniwha kai kikokiko, he taniwha kai tangata. Ka whakaaea tēnei mataku e ngā toa. Ko Pītaka rātou ko Reretoi, ko Pūrahokura me wētehi anō hoki, ka werohia te ngarara ki ngā tao pakari, ki ngā tao mātātoru ka mate a Kataore.

Ka hoki te ope nei ki o rātou kāinga ki ngā wai ariki o te roto moana. Taro ake nei ka tae mai he pahi pakupaku ki te titiro ki tā rātou mōkai, rokohanga mai ki te waha o te toene tā rātou mōkai e takoto ana, kua pirau te tupapaku, kua hemo.

Ka hoki atu te pahi me te kī ake ki a Tangaroa-a-Mihi, kua mate a Kataore, nā wai rā tēnei pepeha āna, "E ko wai rā tōku hai tua i te rangi mātaratara !". He tono nana ki te iwi ki te ngaki i te patunga o tana mōkai. Taria te roanga atu

There was once a great union between the people of the land and the natural world, according to the elders of Māoridom.

For example, the partnership between Tauruao and her pet tūī, Ihenga and his inquisitive dog Pōtakatawhitinui, the great chief Tinirau and his charming whale Tutunui are examples that lead us to the time of Tangaroa-a-Mihi and his people, the descendants of Marupunganui.

During this period, we hear of the great taniwha, Kataore and his companions, Pekehaua and Hotupuku. Guardians who held a special place amongst their caregivers.

Tangaroa-a-Mihi descended from Marupunganui, an early explorer and traveller who came upon the Te Arawa waka.

This chief had a son named Tu-a-Rotorua, who had two sons; the elder was Marupunganui the second, and his younger brother was called Tangaroa-a-Mihi.

Though these ancestors and their guardians have long passed on, their memory still warms the recesses of the Arawa storytellers. To the writer's knowledge, due to the awe of the name Kataore, it was adopted by successive generations ensuring the continuation of Kataore's life māuri.

Within the Ngāti Makino-Ngāti Tamateatutahi region, where Matawhāura mountain stands today, is a site that carries the name in remembrance of the great lizard, Kataore, the guardian that travelled aboard the Arawa waka.

Where the Blue Lake lies today is a similar area referred to as Te Uaha; here resided the people of Tangaroa-a-Mihi, where he set aside a special place for his pet lizard Kataore.

Kataore once lived in Lake Tikitapu/Blue Lake.

Lastly, we hear the name used again within the traditions of the Ngāti Tarawhai people, where Kataore is the pet lizard of the high ranking female chieftainess, Hinemihi, the daughter of the high priest Te Rangitakaroro.

For this story, it is the pet of Tangaroa-a-Mihi that we write about.

Kataore was a lizard; he was long with an ever-moving jaw; he also had a great long tail and was covered in scales. What he came across in the forest was sustenance for him; he partook of birds, berries and the like.

But, sadly, Kataore was labelled a man-eater, desirous of flesh so much so that when the people of Tamaihutoroa travelled by way of the Blue Lake, they heard the rumbling of Kataore, fearing for their lives, they collectively agreed to slay the pet lizard of Tangaroa-a-Mihi, least they be eaten.

So by the use of magical charm and great weapons, they attacked and successfully killed the lizard and very smartly departed for their homes.

Eventually, a small party loyal to Tangaroa-a-Mihi visited Kataore only to find a decomposing corpse; the death of Kataore reached the ears of the chief Tangaroa-a-Mihi, with much grief, he muttered these words,

"Who shall take this grief from me!", for their dear pet had been slaughtered without any justification. Though the pet was in the care of the chief, his death was felt by the entire tribe and all felt obliged to avenge this attack.

It was not long before the culprits were identified. Tangaroa-a-Mihi now needed to set his trap.

• To be continued