Kids visit tuatara borne from legend

The legend of Ngati Ranginui and Ngai Tahu ancestress Taurikura will live on for generations with the naming of a female juvenile tuatara at Rainbow Springs.

The tuatara, which was born in 2011 at the park, was given the name at a special ceremony involving Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kokiri schoolchildren yesterday and facilitated by elders of both hapu.

The children from the Te Puke school seemed totally mesmerised as park worker Mark Paterson explained the history of the pre-historic cold-blooded lizards to them. There were "Ohs" and "aahs" from each child as they stroked the lizard he held.

Sisters, Te Hapairangi Ririnui, 7, and Hemorere Heke-Ririnui, 8, both said it was an amazing experience they wouldn't forget any time soon.

"They are so cool and smooth to touch. I think they are funny," said Te Hapairangi.

Ngati Ranginui Iwi chairman Huikakahu Kawe said it was fitting the children took part in the naming ceremony during Matariki - a time of learning - as they would never forget the legend.

Taurikura is an ancient story of a spoilt, cheeky girl from Kahakaharoa who refused to get water for her thirsty koro [grandfather] because she was tired.

When he fetched the water himself, she then wanted some and he became angry, telling her she was selfish and a disappointment. Embarrassed and shamed for her actions, Taurikura left the village with a kit of charms and went to the river where she turned herself into a lizard and swam to the island of Karewa where she became the ancestor of the tuatara who nested and bred on the island.

Ngati Ranginui Fisheries director Patrick Douglas said the tribe's ancestral legend of Taurikura will live on through the female tuatara bearing her name.

"[This is] about our waka Takitimu and the relationship between Ngai Tahu and Ngati Ranginui. Our ancestor Taurikura will live on through this gift," he said.