This whakapapa shows how the kūmara descends from Rongo-māui and Pani-tinaku. Its origin is referred to in this extract of the waiata 'Pō! Pō!', by Enoka Te Pakaru. In English it translates as:

Pō! Pō!
My son, Tama, is crying for food!
Wait until it is fetched from the Pillars-of-netted-food
And the whale is driven ashore,
To give milk for you, my son,
Verily, your ancestor Uenuku will give freely.
Now listen! The kūmara is from the Beetling-cliff-of-the-sun
Beyond the eager bounding strides of Tangaroa, god of the sea;
Lo, striding to and fro is Tangaroa,
Tangaroa! Listen to his resounding roar!