by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal
Raukawa is an aromatic plant which Māhinaarangi used as perfume for her nightly rendezvous with her Tainui lover, Tūrongo. They named their son, the ancestor of Ngāti Raukawa, after the plant. Their marriage bound together important Tainui and East Coast families and even today, some 20–25 generations later, their courtship is recounted on marae.
Raukawa is both a symbol of romantic love and the head of an influential dynasty.
Main image: The raukawa plant
 | |
 |
