Haungaroa was legendary Māori woman, who travelled from Hawaiki to New Zealand to warn Ngātoro-i-rangi that Manaia was planning to attack him. She was responsible for naming Kaingaroa Forest and various other places in central North Island, according to Te Arawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa traditions.
Life
editHaungaroa was born on Hawaiki. She had a brother, Ngātoro-i-rangi, who was a powerful priest and founding ancestor of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and a sister called Kuiwai, who was married to an important chief in Hawaiki, called Manaia.[1] Some time after the departure of the Arawa canoe from Hawaiki, Manaia held a feast, at which the food cooked by his wife, Kuiwai, was found to be under-cooked. Manaia angrily cursed his wife and threatened to cook her brother Ngātoro-i-rangi as poorly as Kuiwai had cooked the meal. Kuiwai invoked the gods Kahukura, Itupawa, and Rongomai and received approval to send warning to Ngātoro-i-rangi, who was in New Zealand at this time.[2][1]
Journey to Taupō
editAll traditions agree that Haungaroa undertook this voyage, but they disagree about who she travelled with and how she travelled. Gudgeon says that Haungaroa and Kuiwai travelled to New Zealand in the canoe Utupawa.[3] John Te Herekiekie Grace reports the Tūwharetoa tradition according to which Haungaroa and Kuiwai travelled with a man called Tanewhakaraka and two maids in the canoe Rewarewa and made landfall at Tawhiuwhiu in Hawkes' Bay. They took two gods with them, Maru and Kahukura.[1] Stafford reports the Arawa tradition, according to which Haungaroa travelled with Kuiwai's daughter and three maids.[2] Stafford says that they were carried over the sea by the gods, until they reached Whakaari / White Island and came ashore at Tawhiuwhiu.
They travelled inland towards Lake Taupō, where Ngātoro-i-rangi had settled.[2][1] When the party reached Waiwhakaari in the Taupō area, they found that Ngātoro-i-rangi had departed.[4][5]
According to Grace, the god Horomatangi, who had been brought to New Zealand by Ngātoro-i-rangi, came from Whakaari / White Island to guide the travellers. He travelled underground to Lake Taupō and then burst up, spraying pumice all around, so that they travellers saw him. Diving back down he created a whirlpool. This act is said to have created the deep current in the lake east of Motutaiko Island, as well as a periodic whirlpool. He squirted out a jet of water pointing north to show them the direction that they needed to travel. This spray became the Karapiti blowhole. Horomatangi remained in the lake where he is identified with a particular black rock, although he is also said to come ashore as a lizard called Ihumataotao.[5]
Naming of Kaingaroa
edit
After travelling inland they stopped to eat and Haungaroa took so long with her meal that the other women commented on it. As a result the area was named Kaingaroa ("Long meal"). According to Grace, this happened before reaching Taupō; according to Stafford it happened afterwards.[5][6] In Grace's account, the women laft Haungaroa behind. When she tried to rejoin them, the ladies kept speeding up so that she could not catch up and Haungaroa responded by using a karakia to turn them into ti trees.[5] In Stafford's account, Haungaroa hit two of the maids when they complained about her slow eating and they fled into the forest. She chased after them and turned them into tī trees. These trees were pointed out by travellers and it was said that, when travellers approached them, they would moved away and could never actually be reached.[6] Later in the journey, Haungaroa screamed out on top of a hill because she missed the people of Hawaiki. The hill was named Te Tangihanga ("the mourning") as a result.[4]
The travellers caught sight of Lake Rotorua at Piopio and stopped to enjoy the view at the east end of Te Tihi-o-tonga. They also caused the beginning of geothermal activity at Whakarewarewa.[4]
Arrival at Maketu
editFinally, they found Ngātoro-i-rangi's house at Maketu. Instead of entering by the gate, they climbed over the fence and sat in the most sacred part of the compound. This was a violation of tapu and news of it was taken to Ngātoro-i-rangi, but he realised who they must be and welcomed them without complaint. They told Ngātoro-i-rangi the story and he launched an expedition back to Hawaiki to get revenge on Manaia.[4][7]
Gudgeon reports that a hinau tree called Hunahuna-o-po on the Horomanga-o-po stream near Galatea, which was still visible in 1906, was said to have been brought from Hawaiki by Haungaroa and Kuiwai, but he concluded that the tradition was unreliable because the story did not record the reason why they had brought this tree.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Grace 1959, p. 75.
- ^ a b c Stafford 1967, p. 51.
- ^ a b Gudgeon 1906, p. 32.
- ^ a b c d Stafford 1967, p. 52.
- ^ a b c d Grace 1959, p. 76.
- ^ a b Stafford 1967, p. 51-52.
- ^ Grace 1959, p. 77.
Bibliography
edit- Gudgeon, W. E. (1906). "The Tipua-kura and other manifestations of the spirit world". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 15: 27–57.
- Grace, John Te Herekiekie (1959). Tuwharetoa: The history of the Maori people of the Taupo District. Auckland [N.Z.]: A.H. & A.W. Reed. ISBN 9780589003739.
- Stafford, D.M. (1967). Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People. Rotorua, New Zealand: A.H. & A.W. Reed.