Kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi āna kōrero, whakapapa mō te hangatanga, mō te auahatanga o te ao.
He rerekē, he kanorau te whenua o Aotearoa – he maunga, he raorao, he awa kōpikopiko, he ngāwhā, he puia, he kokoru. Whai anō ka tahuri te Māori ki te hanga kōrero mō te whenua.
E rua ngā whakamārama mō te pueanga o te whenua i te moana. Ko tētahi kōrero mō te ewe (placenta) o Papatūānuku, arā, ko te nuinga o tōna tinana kei raro i te wai, ko tōna ewe anake e pōtere ana i te kārewa o te wai – ko ngā moutere ēnei. Ko tētahi atu whakamārama e mea ana nā Māui te whenua i hī ake i te moana.
Arā ngā kōrero mō ngā tipua, ngā ngārara ka noho kei roto i te whenua, tae atu ki ngā tipua nā rātou te ao i whakairo. Noho ai rātou ki ngā tihi o ngā maunga, ki ngā takere rānei o ngā roto. Nā rātou ngā awa me ngā āpiti i keri. Nā ngā tīpuna autaia ngā roto i keri, ka mutu, i aua wā, ka nekeneke ngā maunga.
He nui ngā kōrero a te Māori mō te whenua, ā, ka noho ēnei kōrero hei mahere whenua. I whakarite ngā tīpuna i te moutere whakateraki (Te Ika-a-Māui) ki tētahi ika – he whai (stingray) pea – e ngāwari ai te maumahara i tōna āhua me ōna wāhi whakahirahira. He pērā anō mō te moutere whakatetonga (Te Wai Pounamu), ka whakaritea ki te waka a Māui.
Kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi āna whakamārama, āna kōrero mō te auahatanga o tēnā awa, o tēnā pae maunga. Ka tohu hoki ēnei mahere ki ngā wāhi waiariki.
Ko ētahi o ngā ingoa o ngā motu nui o Aotearoa, ko Te Ika-a-Māui rāua ko Te Waka-a-Māui.
Ko tētahi kōrero nui whakaharahara a te Māori, mō te hīanga ake a Māui i tana ika. Ka tae ki te wā, ka haere a Māui rātou ko ōna tuākana ki te hī ika. Ka whakatenetene ōna tuākana ki te heri i a ia; ka huna ia. Kia puta rawa rātou ki te moana nui, kātahi anō ka whakaatu a Māui i a ia. Ka mea ia ki ōna tuākana kia hoe rātou ki te moana uriuri. Ka tae rātou ki reira, ka whiua e Māui tana matau – ko te kauae o tōna kuia. Ka maroro tana matau ki te hōhonu o te wai, ka mau ki te whare o Tonganui, te mokopuna a Tangaroa. Ka hīia ake e Māui tana ika ki runga, e, ko Te Ika-a-Māui!
He kōrero tēnei nā Te Rangihaeata o Ngāti Toarangatira mō te auahatanga o Te Ika-a-Māui:
Tārewa ana i runga Te Ika-a-Māui, he ika whenua, ko Papatūānuku; ananā, takoto maroke ana tō rātou waka. …Mahuetia iho ōna hoa ki tō rātou waka, hoki ana ia ki tō rātou kāinga; i mea iho ia ki ōna tuākana, ‘I muri i a au nei, kia manawanui, kei kainga ake a muri ia a au; kaua hoki e kotikotia tā tātou ika’ … kua takahia ngā kupu i rongo rā rātou, kei te kai, kei te haehae i taua ika … tōna tahuritanga mai ki te riri mai … ananā, te tino okenga i oke ai te pane me te hiku, me ngā urutira, me ngā pakihawa … koia e takoto kino nei te whenua, tū ana he maunga, takoto ana he raorao, heke ana he awaawa, arā he pari hoki: me i kaua te tinihangatia e ōna hoa kua takoto pai taua ika, ā, kua waiho hei tohu mō te whenua i muri nei.1
Kei ētahi kōrero, he pātiki te ika rā, kei ētahi he whai kē. Ko te ūpoko o te ika kei Te Whanganui-a-Tara i te tonga, ko tōna hiku kei te pito ki te raki. Ko Moehau te hoto o te whai, ko Taranaki me Te Tai Rāwhiti ngā pākau, ko te tuaiwi atu i Taupō ki Rotorua. Ko Maungapōhatu te manawa o te ika.
Tērā te kōrero e mea ana, ko te motu whakateraki, koia tērā ko Te Ika-a-Māui, ko te motu whakatetonga, koia tērā ko Te Waka-a-Māui. Hāunga tērā, e ai ki a Ngāti Porou o Te Tai Rāwhiti, ko tō rātou maunga tapu a Hikurangi te whenua tuatahi kia puea ake i te wai, ā, kei tōna tihi e pae ana a Nukutaimemeha te waka a Māui.
Ko te pito tonga o Te Wai Pounamu te kei o te waka a Māui, ko tōna tauihu ko te pito raki. I a ia ka hī ake i tana ika, i te tū a Māui ki Te Taumanu-o-te-waka (te kūrae o Kaikōura). Ko Rakiura te punga o te waka.
Ko Kupe tētahi o ngā tīpuna tōmua kia heke i Hawaiki, te kāinga tūturu o te Māori. Ahakoa te rerekē o ngā kōrero mō Kupe ki ērā mō Māui, he wāhi nui tō Kupe i te auahatanga o Aotearoa.
I te ūnga o Kupe ki Aotearoa, i te kotahi te whenua. Nā Īhāia Hūtana o Ngāti Kahungunu ēnei kōrero i tuku ki Te Toa Takitini, he nūpepa reo Māori, mō te wehenga a Kupe i te whenua:
E kīia ana he moutere kotahi ēnei e rua, nā Kupe i tapahi ka tere te moana i waenganui, ka kīia ko ‘te moana a Kupe’.1
Ka whai iho tētahi mōteatea mō te wehenga o te whenua. He rangatira a Te Rauparaha o Ngāti Toa. I te tīmatanga o te rau tau 1800, e noho ana ia ki te tonga o ki Horowhenua. Hei whakamana i te noho o tōna iwi, ka whakaarahia e Te Rauparaha ngā kōrero mō Kupe.
Nā Mohi Tūrei o Ngāti Porou tēnei kōrero i tuhi; hei ko tāna, nā Te Whatu-i-apiti, tipuna o Ngāti Kahungunu i whakaputa:
Ka tito au, ka tito au.
Ka tito ki a Kupe!
Te tangata nāna i hoehoe te moana.
Tū kē a Kapiti!
Tū kē Mana!
Tau kē Arapawa!
Ko ngā tohu tēnei a taku tipuna a Kupe
I whakatoreke tii-ka-puaha.
Ka toreke i au te whenua e!2
I te wā tuauri whāioio, ka pakanga ngā maunga o te puku o Te Ika-a-Māui mō Pīhanga, e tū mai rā ki te tonga o Tūrangi. Kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi ā rātou ake kōrero; e whai ake nei ko te kōrero a Ngāti Tūwharetoa.
I ngā rā o nehe, i te wā e mata tonu ana te ao, tokowhā ngā maunga toa, a Tongariro, a Taranaki, a Tauhara, a Pūtauaki. He maunga purotu a Pīhanga. Ka pakanga ngā maunga toa mōna; ka toa ko Tongariro.
Ka whakaaro ērā o ngā maunga kia wehe atu i te rohe o Tongariro. Ka rere rātou, i te mea, ka whiti ana te rā, kua toka rātou. Ko Pūtauaki i rere ki te rāwhiti. I te whitinga o te rā kua tae ia kei Kawerau. Ka pōturi te haere a Tauhara, he murimuri-aroha nōna ki a Pīhanga; whai anō ka tae noa iho ia ki tērā taha o te moana o Taupō. Ko Taranaki i pakaru ki te uru. Kei te hiahia tonu ia ki te ngaki i tōna matenga i a Tongariro. Heoi, ka moe a Pīhanga i a Tongariro, kia puta ki waho ko tā rāua tamaiti a Pukerōnaki.
E whai ake nei ko ngā kōrero a Pei Te Hurinui Jones o Ngāti Maniapoto. He rerekē ā rātou kōrero i ā Ngāti Tūwharetoa mō ngā maunga:
Ko Tongariro maunga nā Rangi-e-tū iho-nei i whakamoe ki tana wahine ki a Pīhanga, he maunga anō nō te takiwā ki Taupō. He uri nō rāua te huka rere, te nganga me te ua. Ki tā Ngati Awa ki tana kōrero e rua ngā wāhine a Tongariro, ko Pīhanga me Ngāuruhoe, he maunga tahi rāua. I whai a Taranaki maunga kia riro i a ia ngā wāhine a Tongariro. I whai hoki ētahi atu o ngā maunga ki aua wāhine. Ka tupu he pakanga, ka wehewehe ka haere noa atu ngā maunga i te nuku o te whenua. Ko Taranaki i ahu ki te tai hauāuru ā e tū mai rā anō i reira. Ko Whakaari (White Island) i ahu ki waho i te moana, me Paepae-aotea (he motu toka e tata ana ki Whakaari), me Moutohorā (Whale Island) me Pūtauaki (Mount Edgecumbe).1
He whenua muna te rohe waiariki i te puku o Te Ika-a-Māui: kōrero ai ōna ngāwhā, waiariki, puia mō te mana huna kei te puku o te whenua. I mārama ngā tīpuna mō te ahi ka mura i raro whenua, atu i Whakaari ki Tongariro i te tonga o te tāone o Tūrangi.
Kei te mau tonu i a Ngāti Tūwharetoa ngā kōrero mō Ngātoroirangi rātou ko ana tuāhine. E kī ana te iwi, nā Ngātoroirangi rātou ko ana tuāhine a Te Hoata rāua ko Te Pupu, ka tae te ahi ki Aotearoa mai i Hawaiki. I te ūnga o Te Arawa, ka toro a Ngātoroirangi ki uta; ā, nāna i tūhura te moana o Taupōnui-a-Tia. Ka haere tonu ia, ka tae ki Onetapu, i te tonga o Tūrangi. Ka pā te mātao me te anuanu ki tōna tinana. Ka karanga ia ki ana tuāhine kia haere mai i Hawaiki ki te whakamahana i a ia. Ka kawea mai e rāua te ahi kā mā roto kē i te whenua. I tā rāua haerenga mai, ka tū rāua ki ētahi wāhi; whāia, ka puta he waiariki, he puia ki aua wāhi.
I whakanuia te kawenga mai o te ahi e Rihi Puhiwahine, he kaitito waiata rongonui o Ngāti Tūwharetoa. I titoa e ia tēnei waiata mō tōna ipo a Mahutu Te Toko o Ngāti Maniapoto:
Kāti au ka hoki ki taku whenua tupu
Ki te wai koropupū i heri mai nei
I Hawaiki rā anō e Ngātoro-i-rangi
E ōna tuāhine, Te Hoata, Te Pupu
E hū rā Tongariro, ka mahana i taku kiri.1
Ka haere mai a Te Hoata rāua ko Te Pupu mā Whakaari, kātahi ka ahu whakauta. Rokohanga atu ko Taupō, kātahi ka whai tō rāua ara i te taha uru o te moana kia tae ki tō rāua tungāne i runga i a Tongariro. I tō rāua hokinga ki te raki, ka ahu rāua mā te taha rāwhiti o te moana o Taupō. Anei ētahi wāhi i mahue te ahi:
Ko Ngā Puke Māeroero te tuahiwi o Te Wai Pounamu. He maha ngā kōrero a ngā iwi mō tēnei pae maunga.
Ko tētahi o ngā kōrero whakahirahira a ngā iwi o Te Wai Pounamu mō Rākaihautū, nāna nei ngā roto kei ngā maunga i whakairo me tana kō. I ū tōna waka a Uruao ki te takiwā o Whakatū. Kātahi ia ka hīkoi ki Motueka, ko te tīmatanga tērā o tana haerenga roa mā ngā maunga kia tae ki te tonga. He maha ngā roto i keria e ia i tana haerenga, arā ko:
Whāia, ka huri te ara o Rākaihautū ki te uru, me tana auaha roto, hōpua, arā, ko:
Ka nui te kai ki Waihora (Lake Ellesmere), koirā te take ka kīia taua wāhi ko Te Kete-ika-a-Rākaihautū.
He rite a Te Whanganui-a-Tara ki te maha o ngā rohenga wai, i nōhia e te taniwha. Nā ēnei taniwha i hanga ētahi o ngā wāhi kei reira. E rua ngā taniwha o tēnei whanga, ko Whātaitai (te tapa tāone o Hātaitai i ēnei rā) rāua ko Ngake. I tētahi rā e kauhoe ana te tokorua nei i te pūaha o te whanga, ka rū; ka ngarue te whenua, ka ngaoko te moana. Nā te rū ka puea ake he whenua i te wai, paea ana a Whātaitai ki te one; koia tērā ko te kūititanga e tūhono ana i a Motukairangi (Miramar) ki te tuawhenua.
Ka pōuri a Ngake, ka kauhoe ki te pito raki-mā-rāwhiti o te whanga (tata ki Seaview), ki reira piu ai i tana hiku, ko tana putanga tērā ki te moana. Waihoki, ka whakamanu a Ngake i a ia, ka rere ki te tihi o Tangi-te-keo (Mt Victoria), ki reira mōteatea ai ki tōna hoa a Whātaitai.
He rahi ngā kōrero mō ngā roto me ngā whanga nā te taniwha i auaha. Ko te kōrero a Ngāi Tūhoe, nā te okeoke a Haumapuhia ka hangaa a Waikaremoana, kei te tonga mā-rāwhiti o tō rātou rohe. Nā tōna matua tonu, nā Māhū a Haumapuhia i huri hei taniwha. Whāia, ka okeoke a Haumapuhia kia puta ki te moana, ko te auahatanga tērā o ngā whanga o Waikaremoana.
He huarahi haere a Te Āpiti (Manawatū Gorge) kei ngā pae maunga o Tararua, o Ruahine. Ko Te Aurere-a-te-tonga te awa, ko Te Aunui-a-tonga te wai rere. Kei waenganui pū i a Te Āpiti e tū ana tētahi toka tapu, ko Te Ahu-o-Tūranga.
Ko tēnei kōrero nā Rangitāne mō te hangatanga o te āpiti me te whakatakere o te awa o Manawatū:
I te wā tuauri whāioio, tērā tētahi tōtara nui
whakaharahara ka tipu ki te pae maunga o Puketoi i Te Matau-a-Māui. Nāwai ā, ka uru tētahi
tipua ki roto i taua rākau; ko Okatia te ingoa o taua tipua. Kātahi ka tīmata te rākau rā ki te
korikori. Ka tukia e Okatia he hawai ki te raki-mā-uru; ka tae ki ngā maunga o Tararua, o
Ruahine e aukati ana i tōna huarahi. Kia ahatia! Ka huri te taniwha rā ki te uru, ka tukituki
ara mōna i ngā pae maunga o Tararua me Ruahine, kia pakaru atu ki te tai hauāuru.
Andersen, Johannes C. Māori life in Ao-tea. Christchurch: Cadsonbury, 2000 (nō te tau 1907 whakaputaina tuatahitia ai).
Andersen, Johannes C. Myths & legends of the Polynesians. New York: Dover, 1995 (nō te tau 1928 whakaputaina tuatahitia ai).
Grace, John Te H. Tuwharetoa: the history of the Maori people of the Taupo District. Auckland: Reed, 1992 (originally published 1959).
McKinnon, Malcolm, ed. Bateman New Zealand historical atlas. Auckland: David Bateman, 1997.
Orbell, Margaret. The illustrated encyclopedia of Māori myth and legend. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 1995.