Kei roto i ngā kōrero tīpuna a te Māori e kōrerotia ai te hunga kaumātua me tā rātou whakatipu, whakatō hoki i te mātauranga ki ngā whakareanga.
Kaumātua o Māui
Kei ngā kōrero katoa mō Māui rāngona ai te mana tipua me te mana tuku iho o ōna kaumātua. Ka whiua e Taranga tāna tamaiti a Māui ki te moana, ā, nō muri ka kitea mai e tana koroua ko Tamanui-ki-te-rangi, i tōna paenga tātahi i roto i te tikitiki o tōna whaea. Ka whakapakeketia te mokopuna rā e Tamanui-ki-te-rangi me te whakaheke ki roto ki a ia ngā tauparapara me ngā karakia o te moana me te waonui.
Nāwai ka tūpono a Māui ki tana kuia ki a Muriranga-whenua, ā, ka tukuna ki a ia tōna kauae i whakamahia e ia ki te hī ake i te ikawhenua nei me te patu i a Tamanui-te-Rā. Nā Māui hangarau anō i tinihanga te kuia a Mahuika mō te taonga o te ahi. I te otinga, ka whakamātau a Māui te kimi i te mauri o te mate me te patu i tērā o ana kuia a Hine-nui-te-pō. Heoi ka kūkūtia iho a Māui ā ngaro noa.
He waiata mō ngā tamariki e kata ana ki te kaumātua kua hina
E whai atu nei ko te waiata a tētahi kaumātua, mō ētahi tamariki i kata ki a ia mō tōna hina. Mō tōna hinana, ka whakataukī ake ia, ‘Ngā taru o Tura’.
Waiho rā ia nei au, e koro mā,
Māku au e haere, ki mua o te ara, whanga mai ai,
Ka tata ki a koe, ngā taru o Tura,
Ko te hina, ko te mate, te whanga iho nei,
Ka poro rā hoki taku akutotanga,
Ka taiapo rawa mai, ngā karukaru, nō Kahutauranga,
Waiho noa e raro, kia takoto ana,
Hei mātakitaki mai ki a au, e-i-i.
Tāwhaki
Kei ngā kōrero mō Tāwhaki, ka kake rāua ko tana taina ko Karihi ki te toi o ngā rangi. I mua i te ekenga, ka tūpono ki tō rāua kuia matakerepō, ko Whaitiri. I te pū rangiaho mata i ngā mahi a ana mokopuna, ka tohua rāua e Whaitiri ki hea rāua piki ai ki te rangi tūhāhā.
Toi me Whātonga
E rongohia anō ai te aroha o te kaumātua ki te mokopuna i ngā kōrero mō Toi. Ka tū a Whātonga rāua ko tana hoa ko Tūrāhui ki te whakataetae waka ama i te awa i Pikopikoiwhiti, ki Hawaiki. I te whakaterenga atu ka pūhia rāua e te āwha ki waho ki te moana uriuri. Nā tōna māharahara ki tāna mokopuna, ka whakatika atu a Toi ki te rangahau kei hea ia, ā, ngaru hinga atu hinga mai ka tau rawa mai ki Aotearoa.
Tura
Tērā hoki te kōrero mō te tipuna mō Tura, i tāna haere ki tētahi motu i te nōhia e tētahi iwi tē koroheketia. Ka moe wāhine ia ā nāwai ka kitea kua hina tōna uru. Ka whiua te pātai ki tērā āhua, ā, ka whakahokia ko te hina, ko te mate tērā. Inā hoki tōna whakatauāki: ‘Ka tata ki a koe ngā taru o Tura, ko te hina, ko te mate.’
