Kāhu ki Rotorua: The story of Ihenga's discovery of Rotorua

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

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Nga tupuna hakoke whenua

He tuakana, he taina a Tuhoromatakaka rāua ko Kahumatamomoe nā Tamatekapua rangatira o Te Arawa ēnei tāne.

He ahakoa tēnei hononga he pēnei te noho o tātou ngā tāne i ēnei rā. I tētehi rā ka whawhai rāua he koretake noaiho te putake i whati ai te hamuti i a rāua.

E takaoreore ana ka whiua e Kahumatamomoe tona tuakana kai raro ki te whenua ko ōna rekereke ki te rangi, ka whakamā a ia.

Nā tēnei āhuatanga me ētehi anō take ka wehe atu ai rāua ko tōna matua tāne i Maketu. Ka haere ki Moehau ki reira noho ai. Ka riro i a Kahumatamomoe te pā o Whitingakongako i Maketu. Ka roa rātou ko tōna hūnuku e noho mai nā i Moehau ka manawa kiore a Tuhoromatakaka, ka karangangia tana whakapakanga, ka whakatata mai a Ihenga ki a ia.

He whakamarama kau tana uhunga, whaihoki ki a pēwhea te horoi me te whakarite i tōna tupapaku ka hemo ai. Ka mate a Tuhoromatakaka ka tapu a Ihenga.
E tapu ana ka wehe i Moehau ka ahu ki tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa ki a Kahumatamomoe kai Maketu e noho ana.

Te kitehanga noa i tana pōtiki he mōhio nōna kua mate tōna tuakana, ka tapu te marae.

Ka roa e tapu ana ka kitea e Ihenga te tamāhine a Kahumatamomoe ko Hinetekakara tōna ingoa whaihoki ka takapouwharangia a Hinetekakara e Ihenga. Ka puta i te whare me tana whakakai ko Kaukaumatua ki te hoi taringa ka tangi a Kahumatamomoe, ko tētehi tēnei o ngā take i whakatetetete ai rāua ko tōna tuakana.

Ka kī atu a Kahumatamomoe ki a Ihenga kia haere ki te kimi whenua mō rāua me tōna wahine rangatira. Ka wehe rātou me tana tira haere, e whakatetonga ana, ka hipa te pae hiwi tuatahi, nā wai te pae hiwi tuarua, tuatoru mai tuawha mai ka noho i Te Hiapo, he kāinga tēnei i tapangia ai ki te ingoa o tō Kuiwai rāua ko Haungaroa taina i mate noa atu i ngā tau ki muri i tā rātou haerenga ki tō rātou Ariki ki a Ngātoroirangi.

Kāti, ka rere ngā hīhī o te rākura ki runga ki ngā hiwi e tāhere manu ana ngā toa he mahi kai.

Ka roa e mahi kai ana, ka puta te mōkai kurī a Potakatawhitinui nā Ihenga, ka whakaruakina e ia he īnanga, nā reira a Ihenga i mōhio ai he roto, he awa he hopua wai e pātata nei ki a rātou. Ka arumia tana kurī ka roa e oma ana ka puta ki te pari, ko Pariparitetai te ingoa o tēnei wāhi, me tāna e kite ai he wai whāiti e takoto kau ana me te whakaaro hai koha mā tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa, nā reira i tapangia ai e Ihenga ko Te Rotowhāiti i kite ai e Ihenga ariki ai Kahumatamomoe.

To the rear of Te Hiapo.

Nā tēnei kitehanga āna ka kaha ngā waewae ka mahue mai a Pariparitetai ka ahu tō rātou tira haere ki te hauāuru o te moana, ka kitea te nui o te moana me tōna pōhēhē he whāiti, ehara! E hao īnanga ana e hoe tahi ana, ka ū ki uta e mā raro ana ka kitea e ia te moana tuarua e hora rā, ka tapangia ko Te Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe. Nā reira te kī ko Kahumatamomoe te ariki nui o te takere waka o Te Arawa i mana ai tēnei tupuna o tātou i a Ihenga

Ka whia kē ngā marama te hunuku ki ngā waiariki ka hoki atu ki Maketu me te rahi o te kai, he manu, he īnanga, he kākāhi he aha noa atu mātua ko ngā kōrerotanga o te whenua hou, he whenua mahana, he whenua momona, kāore hoki he rahi o te tangata, ka whāki hoki e Ihenga e rua ngā moana i kitea, pūhakehake ana ki te īnanga me te kākāhi kāore i kōrerongia te mana o tana mōkai – he aha hoki ! Ka ingoangia e ia ēnei moana e rua nei ki te ingoa o Kahumatamomoe.

Nā tēnei ka whakahīhī te kauwae o tōna mātua tāne kaokaroroa. Maranga ake te korokē nei me tana kauwhau ki te iwi, kua kitea e Ihenga he whenua ururua he whenua hou. Ka tae te whakaaro ki a Kahumatamomoe taro ake nei rātou katoa e hoki atu ai ki te takahi i te nuku roa o te whenua.

Ae, nā Ihenga te whenua hou i tūhura, nāna hoki ngā ingoa nui, nāna hoki te mana whenua ki tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa ki a Kahumatamomoe. Hai whakaparanga māu tō tātou tupuna hakoke whenua.

Tuhoromatakaka and Kahumatamomoe were the sons of the great chief Tamatekapua.

Unfortunately, these two men had a falling out while living in Maketu. In the heat of a scuffle, Tuhoromatakaka was overcome by his younger brother, which caused him much embarrassment.

There is much more to the story; however, Tuhoromatakaka eventually left the area with his father. They both made off towards the Coromandel region, whilst Kahumatamomoe remained at Maketu, occupying Whitingakongako.

Before Tuhoromatakaka died, he instructed Ihenga on preparing his body correctly; he then told his son that following such a ceremony, he needed to find his Uncle to purify him.

Following the passing of Tuhoromatakaka, Ihenga followed the words of his father. Though a terrible situation, it strengthened the heart of Kahumatamomoe that his brother had sent his son to him to be cleansed.

This unusual situation would eventuate with Ihenga marrying the daughter of Kahumatamomoe. She made her way out onto the courtyard wearing the prized ear pendant, Kaukaumatua, that was buried under the window sill of the house these two brothers once occupied.

Paripari te tai.

On seeing Kaukaumatua, Kahumatamomoe was overcome with great sadness and happiness. He then encouraged his nephew to explore the lands to find areas befitting his status.

Moving south from Maketu with his entourage, they undertook an extraordinary journey travelling for many days pushing over the first set of ranges, then the second, the third and fourth, where they decided to settle at Te Hiapo, an area named after the brother of Kuiwai and Haungaroa.

Te Hiapo had died whilst searching for their elder brother Ngatoroirangi. From this site, Te Hiapo, Ihenga and his men set out daily, snaring birds and collecting the fruits of the forest.

One day, his pet dog Potakatawhitinui took off, exhausted after a significant period of hunting for his master, and returned dripping wet. Noticing this, Ihenga knew that Potakatawhitinui had come across a body of water.

Encouraged by what his pet had discovered, he pressed his dog to return to where it had made its discovery. He came upon a cliff face after a long toil weaving and meandering throughout the bush.

Below him lay what seemed a relatively narrow body of water from his point of view. He named the lake, the slim body of water discovered by Ihenga, in honour of Kahumatamomoe.

A significant amount of fish was caught, and the haul from the forest truly made for a masterful return to his Uncle and his future wife.

Ihenga continued his exploration, naming many places as he moved down the corridor of the lake; only then did he realise the actual size of the first lake. Eventually, they would cross over to another area where he chanced upon a more significant body of water still – again, and he called this after his uncle; the second lake was named in honour of Kahumatamomoe.

With these two powerful statements, Ihenga publicised that the area's overlord was his Uncle, Kahumatamomoe. When they had completed their exploration, they returned to Maketu.

They presented Kahumatamomoe with the new stories of land discovery, revealing the remarkable natural wonders they had discovered, more so the magnificent bounty of food that they had secured - amongst all food served was a particular fish found only in the freshwater.

Ihenga mentioned that he, not his dog, had found a body of water teeming with freshwater fish – in honour of his uncle, he relayed how he had named the lake after him, to which Kahumatamomoe felt most humbled.

Kahumatamomoe again encouraged a migration this time; they would all return to this great place that had been discovered by Ihenga and share the wonders of what we today know as Rotorua.