Kei ngā iwi Māori ā rātou kōrero mō ngā iwi tawhito me ngā atua i noho ki Aotearoa mai i te orokohanga o te ao. He mea tuku iho ngā kōrero nei, ngā kōrero mō ngā tamariki a Rangi rāua ko Papa, ngā iwi huna o ngā maunga, ngā kōrero hoki mō Kupe, te kaihōpara o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Ko ngā kōrero tuku iho te tūāpapa o tētahi hononga hōhonu ki te whenua.
He nui tonu ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi Māori o Aotearoa mō ngā tāngata me ngā atua i ora i mua noa atu i te taenga mai o ngā waka i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. He mea nui ēnei kōrero ki te tuakiri o te tangata whenua.
Kī ngā kōrero, nā ngā waka ngā tāngata o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa i mau mai ki Aotearoa. He kōmaru, he ama ō ngā waka nei, ka mutu, e rua rā anō ngā takere. Whai muri i tā rātou ūnga mai ki Aotearoa, ka tū ngā kāinga o ngā tīpuna o ngā iwi e takatū nei i ēnei rā.
Ka tohu ngā mātauranga hōu a te Pākehā ki te hekenga mai o ngā tāngata i Poronihia mā runga i ō rātou waka e 700 tau ki mua.
I tua atu i ngā kōrero mō ngā waka, ko ngā kōrero tuku iho mō ngā iwi i noho ki Aotearoa i mua i te taenga mai o ngā waka. Ka noho enei kōrero ki roto i ngā tāhū kōrero a tēnā, ā tena iwi.
Ka taea pea te whakaraupapa i ngā kōrero hei whakaatu i te hōhonu o ngā hononga o ngā iwi ki te whenua. Kua whakaritea ngā kōrero o raro nei ki te whakapapa:
Ka tīmata ngā kōrero tuku iho mō te tangata i te whānautanga mai o Hineahuone i te whenua. Koinei te tūturutanga o te herenga o te tangata ki te whenua. Kei te pihinga ake o te tuakiri o te iwi, ko āna kōrero tuku iho.
There are numerous stories about the emergence of human beings from the natural environment. They begin with Ranginui (the sky) and Papatūānuku (the earth), who are the parents of Tāne, the progenitor of humankind. Some versions say that mankind descends from Tūmatauenga, another child of earth and sky.
Tāne is a celebrated figure. Among his many feats was the creation of a woman from the soil at Kurawaka. Her name was Hineahuone (the female element who comes from the soil). Hineahuone and Tāne had a daughter named Hinetītama, who also became known as Hinenui-i-te-pō. As Hinetītama, she became the custodian of the threshold between night and day, darkness and light. Hine is seen both in the morning with the birth of sunlight, and in the evening with the setting sun. It is said that these are the ancestors of human kind.
Here is an extract from a story about how Hineahuone was made:
Tāne called out, ‘We are seeking the path to woman. This is what we are doing.’ They replied, ‘Go to the soil at Kurawaka, there to go about your work. There the woman can be found, untouched, select and sacred, for she possesses the essence of humankind.’ So they went and arrived at the soil of Kurawaka. The bones took shape and then the head. The arms, the body, the limbs, the thighs, these all took shape and the skeleton was complete … 1
Ko Māui te hīanga puta noa i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. I mua i te taenga mai o te Pākehā, he nui ngā kōrero a ngā iwi o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa mōna. Ko te nuinga o ngā kōrero mōna he kōrero pūrākau – tana tāhae i te ahi, tana hopu i te rā, tana whai i te mauri o te mate, tana hekenga ki Rarohenga ki te rapu i tōna matua.
Ko tētahi kōrero nui mō Māui, mō tana hī ake i Te Ika-a-Māui. E kī ana te kōrero, ko Te Wai Pounamu tōna waka, ko Rakiura te punga o taua waka, ko Kaikōura te wāhi tū ai a Māui ki te kukume i tana ika.
He whakahirahira ngā kōrero hei whakaatu i te tirohanga a te Māori ki tōna ao. He take nui ngā kōrero tuku iho e pā ana ki a Māui i te mea, nā Māui te tangata i whai tūrangawaewae ki Aotearoa. Mā te whakapapa ki a Māui, ka whai mana te iwi ki te whenua.
Nā Mohi Ruatapu, tohunga o Ngāti Porou, te kōrero e whai ake nei. Ka tīmata ana kōrero nei i te tīkina o Māui i te kauae o tōna kuia a Murirangawhenua, me tana whakamahi hei matau. Kātahi a ia ka haere ki te hī ika i te taha o ōna tuākana. Ka haere tonu ngā kōrero a Mohi:
…ko tōna ihu tōna mounga; ka motokia e ia kia rere te toto, ā pania e ia te toto ki runga i te kauwae o tōna kuia a Murirangawhenua. i te tapokotanga o te matau kua mau te ika. kātahi ka rewa te waka, ka tau te ihu ki raro i te wai ... nā te mataku ka ūmere atu ōna tuakana ... Kātahi ka puea mai tana ika ... E takoto tonu nei te ika, ko te whenua e hora nei. E nōhia tonu nei te whenua e Māui e ōna tuākana ko ā rātou tamariki. Koinei te takenga mai o te noho o te tangata ki te whenua. 1
Ki tā te Māori titiro ko ngā mea o te taiao tonu ō rātou tīpuna. Ka tapaina ki ētahi āhuatanga o te whenua ngā whanonga me ngā ingoa o te tangata. Hei tauira, ko Tānerore te rā, tokorua āna wāhine – ko Hinetakurua i te takurua, ko Hineraumati i te wā o te raumati. Otirā ko Hineruhi te ata i ngā ata hāpara, ko Hinemoana te atua o ngā moana, o ngā ika hoki.
Ka whakatōngia te whenua, te moana, te rangi ki te mana, te mauri, ngā āhuatanga hei paihere i te tangata ki te whenua. Ka kī ngā whakamārama o muri mai, ko tā tēnei mahi a te Māori, he whakaū i ngā āhuatanga o te tangata ki runga te whenua. I te tau 1923 ka puta te kōrero a Ira Tahu o Ngāti Porou, ‘Ko te mahi a ngā tīpuna he wānanga he aha ngā mea nui o te ao, kātahi ka whakatangatatia e rātou. Arā, ka tapaina he mea ki tētahi ingoa, anō nei he tangata.’ 1
Nā tēnei mahi a te Māori, ka āhei ia te pohewa, koia taua mea o te taiao, pēnei i te rākau, te toka, te ika rānei. He nui ngā kōrero e whakarite ana i te tangata ki te manu – te mau korowai manu, te waiata pērā i te manu, te whakarite i te hui marae ki tētahi kāhui manu. He whiti tēnei nō tētahi pātere o Te Tai Tokerau hei pōwhiri i te manuhiri ki runga marae:
Nau mai e taku manu, he manu aha ka tau?
Kūaka mārangaranga ki te tāhuna
Korimako pae ki te kōtātara
Pīwaiwaka i kutia ai te mate
Kōtuku rerenga tahi.
He ahurei ngā kōrero a ētahi iwi mō tō rātou putanga mai ki te ao. Whakapapa mai ai a Ngāi Tūhoe i te kohu e kākahu ana i ngā pae maunga o Te Urewera. Ko Hinepūkohurangi te ingoa o tēnei tipuna. Nā Hinepūkohurangi rāua ko Te Maunga, ka puta ko Pōtiki, he tipuna nui o te iwi o Ngāi Tūhoe.
I tipu ake a Tumutumu-whenua (ko Tuputupu-whenua rānei) he tipuna nui nō Te Tai Tokerau i te whenua. Whāia, ka whānau mai te iwi o Whanganui i te maunga o Ruapehu, ka whakapapa hoki ngā iwi o Awanuiarangi (ko Te Āti Awa me Ngāti Awa) i tētahi wairua heke i te rangi.
Nā Hoani Nahe, kaumātua o Ngāti Maru tēnei kōrero i tuhi i te paunga o te rau tau 1800, te tīmatanga rānei o te rau tau 1900. Ka tuhi ia mō ētahi iwi e kīia ana ko te patupaiarehe me te tūrehu. Ka nōhia e rātou te whenua i mua i te taenga mai o ngā waka i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.
Tēnā whakarongo mai. I te taenga mai o ngā waka ka kitea ngā iwi e noho ana ki te whenua – ko Ngāti Kura, ko Ngāti Korakorako, ko Ngāti Tūrehu. He hapū katoa ēnei nō te iwi kīia ai ko te Patupaiarehe. Ko te ingoa o ngā rangatira o tēnei iwi ko Tahurangi rātou ko Whanawhana, ko Nukupori, ko Tuku, ko Ripiroaitu, ko Tapu-te-uru, ko Te Rangipouri. Ko ō rātou nohoanga i ngā tihi o ngā maunga tiketike – ki roto o Hauraki, ko ō rātou kainga i ngā maunga o Moehau, o Motutere, o Maumaupaki, o Whakairi, o Kaitarakihi, o Te Koronga, o Horehore, o Whakaperu, o Te Aroha-a-uta, o Te Aroha-a-tai; ko Pirongia ki roto o Waikato. Kāore e taea te kite i ngā pā, ngā kāinga me ngā whare o te iwi nei, kāore rānei e kitea e te kanohi o te tangata ora. Heoi, i ētahi wā ka kitea ētahi āhua i te ngahere, engari kīhai i te mōhiotia nō te patupaiarehe tērā hanga ... I ētahi wā ka tūtaki te Māori ki a rātou i roto i te ngahere, ā, rangona ai rātou e kōrerorero ana. Hāunga tērā, kāore rawa rāua e tūtaki ā-kanohi. Rongohia ai ō rātou reo, engari tē kitea.
Hei ētahi pō, ka rongo i a rātou e hoe ana i ō rātou waka ... i aua wā, ka rongohia ēnei pātai: ‘He aha tērā?’ ‘Ko wai tērā iwi e haere ana i ō rātou waka i te moana inapō? Ka rangona rānei te pātai nei, ‘Ko wai ērā i te waha papā, i te hoihoi i te ngahere?’ He rite hoki te whakautu: ‘ Ehara i te tangata Māori, he atua, he Patupaiarehe, he Tūrehu, he Korakorako.’ 1
E ai ki ētahi iwi, ko Kupe te tangata tuatahi ki Aotearoa. Nā ngā pōreareatanga i a ia e hī ika ana i tōna kāinga ki Hawaiki, ka rere a ia ki Aotearoa. Ko te raruraru, ko te wheke mōkai a tana hoa tauwhāinga a Muturangi. Kātahi ka whakatika a Kupe ki te patu i te wheke rā. Ka whāia e Kupe te wheke rā, ā, tatū rawa ki Aotearoa. Nā rāua ko Ngake (ko Ngahue rānei) te wheke i whai ki Raukawakawa (Te Moana o Raukawa rānei), i reira patua rawatia ai. I haramai a Ngake mā runga i tētahi atu waka, ko Tāwhirirangi te ingoa.
He mea nui whakaharahara te taenga mai o Kupe ki Aotearoa, nā whai anō whakanuia ai e ngā iwi maha ā rātou tātai heke mai i a ia. E kī ana te kōrero, nā Kuamārōtini, te wahine a Kupe, a Aotearoa i whakaingoa i tōna kitenga tuatahitanga i Te Ika-a-Māui. He rite a Kupe ki a Māui i mua i a ia, arā, ko tana taenga mai te puaretanga mō te Māori ki tēnei whenua. Ko te nuinga o ana haerenga ki te tonga o Te Wairarapa, ki Te Moana-o-Raukawa, tae rawa atu ki Te Tai Tokerau. Heoi anō, ko ētahi kōrero e kī ana i heke rā anō a ia ki Arahura i Te Tai Poutini, ā, ka tae a ia ki Moehau. Ko Taputapuātea me Te Whitianganui-a-Kupe ētahi o ngā wāhi e whakamaumahara ana i te wā i noho a Kupe ki te rohe o Hauraki.
Mō ngā pūrākau rongonui, ehara i te mea kotahi anake te whakaaturanga. Ka kōrero a Te Whetu o Te Āti Awa ki a Te Pēhi mō te haerenga whakatetonga a Kupe atu i Tāmaki-makau-rau ki Taranaki, tatū rawa ki Te Moana-o-Raukawa. Nō tana taenga ki reira, ka rere ana manu nō Hawaiki kia tirotiro i ngā rohe o Te Wai Pounamu. Ka mate tētahi o ana manu, a Te Kawau-a-Toru ki Te Aumiti, he roma wai kei waho ake o Rangitoto-ki-te-tonga (D’Urville Island):
Katahi ka whanake a Te Kawau-a-Toru … ka tukuna e ia tētahi o ōna parirau ki roto i te wai, ko tētahi kei runga ake i te wai, heoi kāore ia i tau … E hoa! Ka whati rā te parirau o taua manu … ka mate i konei te toa a Kupe. 1
Nā te whatinga o te parirau o taua manu ka huaki mai ko Te Aumiti (French Pass). He ara whakatere waka tēnei. Kei reira tonu te parirau kāore i whati, ka noho hei ārai mō ngā waka. Karangahia ai ēnei toka ko Te Kawau-a-Toru.
Kei te raki o Te Ika-a-Māui anō ngā kōrero mō Kupe. Ka kōrero a Himiona Kāmira, kaumātua o Ngāpuhi, mō te hokinga o Kupe ki Hawaiki:
Ka tae te wā kia hoki a Kupe ki Hawaiki ... (Ka mahue) ko Tuputupu-whenua hei puna mō Hokianga. I te ata o tōna wehenga atu, ka kawea e ia tana tama (a Tumutumu-whenua) ki te puna .. Kātahi ka poroaki a Kupe ki tana tama ... ‘E noho rā, Te Puna o te Ao Mārama. Ka hoki ahau, e kore ahau e hokianga mai anō.’ Ka oti tana poroaki, ka whiua e ia tana tama ki roto i Te Puna o te Ao Mārama. Ka huri te tamaiti rā hei taniwha. Nō konei takea mai ai te ingoa o Hokianga. 2
He maha ngā wāhi i tapaina e Kupe, ko Arapāoa tērā, ko Mana tērā, ko ngā moutere o Te Whanganui-a-tara, ko Matiu rāua ko Mākaro ērā, tae atu ki a Kohukohu, a Pouahi, a Maungataniwha me Hokianga ki Te Tai Tokerau. Ka puritia aua ingoa e ngā iwi Māori o aua rohe. Kua ngaro te maha noa atu o ngā taunahatanga o ētahi atu tipuna i haere mai ki Aotearoa, heoi, kei te mau tonu ngā taunahatanga a Kupe.
He tipuna tōmua, nui a Toitehuatahi nō te iwi Māori. E kī ana ētahi kōrero i ahu mai a ia i Hawaiki, kei ētahi e kī ana, he tangata whenua a ia o Aotearoa. Heoi, ko te kōrero nui pea mōna, mō tana rangatiratanga me tōna mana. E kī ana te kōrero, tērā tētahi iwi ko Te Tini-o-Toi, i noho ki te whenua i mua i te taenga mai o ngā waka pēnei i a Tainui, a Te Arawa, a Mataatua. Kīia ai ēnei tāngata, ko ngā tāngata whenua. Aronuitia tō rātou tūranga i roto i ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā Māori o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.
I te mea he tipuna nui a Toi, he maha ngā kōrero mōna, ko ētahi ka taupatupatu. Ko tētahi kōrero rongonui mōna, ko te kainga a Toi ( nō Hawaiki) i te kurī a Uenuku. Ko Toi-kai-rākau anō tētahi ingoa inā kē te whānui o tōna aronga. Ki ētahi iwi i noho a Toi ki Te Tai Rāwhiti o Te Ika-a-Māui, heoi e kī ana ngā iwi o Hauraki i noho a ia ki Whitianga, ki te rohe o Moehau.
Kei waenganui i ngā iwi o Mataatua te rahinga o ngā kōrero mō Toi, tae ake ki a Ngāti Awa o Whakatāne. Kei konei te mātotoru o ngā tohu whenua ka pā ki a Toi, arā, ko te pā rongonui o Toi, ko Kaputerangi. Kei runga ake te pā nei i a Whakatāne, ā, he tirohanga whānui ki Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi. Kei te uru o Whakatāne, ko Te Puku-o-te-wheke. E tohu ana ngā kāwai o te wheke i te awe o Toi, ā, kei te puku tōna kāinga.
Kei ngā kōrero mō Tūhoe-pōtiki he kōrero mō Toi. Ka whai mana ngā iwi o Mataatua i tā rātou whakapapa mai i a Toi rātou ko Pōtiki (he tipuna tōmua anō). Inā te whakataukī a Ngāi Tūhoe:
Nā Toi rāua ko Pōtiki te whenua, nā Tūhoe te mana me te rangatiratanga.
Adkin, G. Leslie. The great harbour of Tara: traditional Maori place-names and sites of Wellington harbour and environs. Christchurch: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1959.
Best, Elsdon. The land of Tara and they who settled it. New Plymouth: Polynesian Society, 1919.
Best, Elsdon. ‘Te whetu: te haerenga mai o Kupe i Hawaiki.’ Journal of the Polynesian Society 2 (1896).
Best, Elsdon. Tuhoe: the children of the mist. 4th ed. Auckland: Reed, 1996 (originally published 1925).
Buck, Peter. The coming of the Maori. Wellington: Maori Purposes Fund Board/Whitcombe & Tombs, 1949.
He korero purakau mo nga taunahanahatanga a nga tupuna: place names of the ancestors, a Maori oral history atlas. Wellington: New Zealand Geographic Board, 1990.
McKinnon, Malcolm, ed. Bateman New Zealand historical atlas. Auckland: David Bateman, 1997.
Ruatapu, Mohi. Nga korero a Mohi Ruatapu: the writings of Mohi Ruatapu, tohunga rongonui o Ngati Porou. Translated, edited and annotated by Anaru Reedy. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 1993.
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dennisk/voyagingchiefs/kupe.html
Kei tēnei pae tukutuku o te Polynesian Voyaging Society, ngā kōrero mō te tūhuratanga a Kupe i a Aotearoa. Nā Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury i whakatakoto, nā S. Percy Smith i whakapākehā.