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Hawaiki

by  Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal

Hawaiki – he wāhi tūturu? He wāhi muna rānei?

Ko Hawaiki te wāhi tūturu i ahu mai ai te Māori. E kī ana te kōrero, ko ngā tāngata tuatahi ki Aotearoa i rere mai i Hawaiki. Kei roto i ngā pūrākau a te Māori te kōrero e kī ana ko Hawaiki te wāhi hangaia ai e Io te Ira Maurangi ngā ao me ngā tāngata tuatahi. Koirā te takenga o ia tāngata ā, koirā te wāhi hoki ai te tangata ka mate ia.


The significance of Hawaiki

Te takenga me te otinga o te koiora

He nui ngā hītori, ngā pūrākau me ngā kōrero tuku iho a te Māori e pā ana ki Hawaiki. He rite te whakanoho o ngā kōrero nei ki roto i ngā mōteatea, ngā whakataukī me ngā kōrero whakapapa. Hei tauira, he whakamihi tēnei nā ngā mātua o te tamaiti kātahi nei ka whānau ki te ao mārama:

E taku pōtiki, kua puta mai rā koe i te toi i Hawaiki.

Waihoki, ka poroporoakitia pēneitia ngā mate e ngā waha kōrero:

E ngā mate, haere ki Hawaiki,
Ki Hawaiki nui, ki Hawaiki roa, ki Hawaiki pāmamao.

Nō konei kōrerohia ai a Hawaiki ko te huinga o ngā mate. Hei tā te kōrero o mua, ko Hawaiki te wāhi takea mai ai te tangata. Nā reira he wāhi nui kei Hawaiki i te koiora o te tangata.

Hawaiki ki roto i ngā whaikōrero a Kepa Ehau

He maha ngā whaikōrero a te pūkōrero nei a Kepa Ehau o Ngāti Tarāwhai rāua ko Ngāti Whakaue e whakahuatia tonutia ana i ēnei rā tonu. Ko tētahi o ēnei kōrero i whakapuakina i te tau 1937 i te tangihanga o tētahi hōia i hoki mai, e kōrero ana ia mō Hawaiki. Ko te whakamutunga ia:

‘Te otinga o tāua te tangata, ko Hawaiki-nui, ko Hawaiki-roa, ko Hawaiki-pāmamao. Haere rā i a koe ka kōpiko atu ki Te-Hono-i-wairua, ki te kāpunipunitanga o te wairua.’

Hawaiki – te taunga o te ihi

He wāhi iti noa ēnei kōrero mō te koiora o te tangata i roto i te kōrero whānui e pā ana ki tēnei ariā whīwhiwhi. Ka kī ētahi kōrero tuku iho he whenua kikokiko a Hawaiki, te whenua i ahu mai ai te Māori i mua i tana taenga ki Aotearoa. Kei ētahi e kōrero ana he pānga tō Hawaiki ki ngā tohu kāpehu, me kī o te rāwhiti; waihoki, ka kōrerohia e rātou he moutere a Hawaiki kei Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. E whakapono ana ētahi atu kei Aotearoa tonu a Hawaiki.

Ko ēnei kōrero tuku iho katoa e kī ana ko Hawaiki he pūnga o te ihi, o te mana whakahōu, o te orokohanga - te pūnga me te tīmatanga o te koiora. Ko Hawaiki te whenua matua o ngā toa o roto i ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi, pēnei i a Māui, a Tāwhaki, a Tiki, a Rātā hoki. Ka noho rātou ko te tokomaha ki Hawaiki, ko ā rātou mahi hei tauira mā ngā whakatipuranga ka whai.

He tauira mō te tangata

I roto i ngā whakatipuranga maha, kua tū a Hawaiki hei tauira pūrākau mō ngā mea pai katoa, kaha katoa, aroha katoa i te tirohanga a te Māori ki tōna ao. Ka kitea i roto i te rerenga kōrero e whai ake nei, te wāhi nui o ngā kōrero tuku iho mō Hawaiki ki ngā whakatipuranga i roto i ngā tau, hei pūtakenga o te ora, hei tauira mō te noho ki te ao nei:

Ehara i te mea poka hōu mai: nō Hawaiki mai anō.

He wāhi nui a Hawaiki i te mea hei reira wawatatia ai, rongohia tuatahitia ai te whānuitanga o te koiora me te oranga. Ko Hawaiki te whakaaturanga hokoi me te takenga mai o te koiora, te pūnga o te kaupapa. Ko Hawaiki te wāhi whakapūmautia ai te oranga tangata, kitea ai hoki tōna tino.


Home of the gods

Te orokohanga

He wāhi pōrehurehu a Hawaiki: ka huri te tangata hei manu, ka hui ngā ika hei taua, piki ake ana ngā wairua ki te pō, heke iho ana ki te ao o te rangi. Ko Hawaiki he tūrangahakoa, te okiokinga o ngā atua, te wāhi mahi ai ngā atua i ā rātou mahi mīharo. Koinei ngā kōrero a Minita Māori Marsden, e pā ana ki a Io te Ira Maurangi:

I te pō kākarauri ka hangaia e Io ngā Hawaiki: ko Hawaiki- nui, ko Hawaiki- roa, ko Hawaiki- pāmamao, ko Hawaiki-tapu, arā te wāhi whakaritea ai e Io hei kāinga mōna, mō te hunga āwhina hoki i a ia. Nōhia ai a Hawaiki e ngā atua me ngā tipua. Engari a Hawaiki-tapu, whakatapua rawa ki a Io anake. He tapu hoki ētahi atu o ngā Hawaiki, heoi, i ngā wā onamata kāore i kōrerohia e te tangata, huaina kētia ki roto ki ēnei kupu arā, Tawhiti-nui, Tawhiti-roa, Tawhiti-pāmamao. 1

Hineahuone

E ai ki tētahi atu kōrero ko Hawaiki te wāhi i oroko mai te tangata. Nā Hūkiki Te Ahukaramū ngā kōrero e whai ake nei:

Ka awatea te rā, ka mea a Tāne-nui-a-rangi, ki te wahine māna. Ka kī atu a Papa, ‘Haere ki a Hine-tua-oni, ahuwhenua e koe kia whakatangatatia.’ … Ka mahia, kātahi ka puta mai hei tangata. 2

Māui

Ko Māui tētahi o ngā tino tāngata o Hawaiki, he tipua rongonui puta noa i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. He nanakia a Māui, i puta te rongo mō ana mahi nui, pērā i tana hopu i te rā, tana hī ake i ngā moutere, tana huringa hei manu me tana whai i tōna matua ki rarohenga. I te mea rongonuihia tonuhia a Māui, ka noho tonu a ia hei pou mō ngā mahi toi, ngā mahi kapa haka, ngā tuhituhinga kōrero me ngā kōrero ā-waha.

Footnotes
  1. Māori Marsden, ‘God, man and universe: a Maori view.’ In Te AohurihurI: the world moves on, nā Michael King i ētita. Wellington: Hicks Smith, 1975, w. 211. › Back
  2. Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Native traditions by HukikiteAhu Karamu o Otaki, Jany 1st 1856. Ōtaki: Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa, 2003. › Back

Location and associations

Kei Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa a Hawaiki

He nui ngā whakatipuranga Māori kua whakaaro kei hea te whenua o Hawaiki. Nō te taenga mai o te Pākehā me te whakatūnga o ngā huarahi whakapā kōrero ki ērā o ngā iwi kei ngā moutere o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, ka whakaarahia anōtia tēnei wawata i te paunga o te rau tau 1800 me te tīmatanga o te rau tau 1900. I te tau 1929 i tuhia e Ōriwa Haddon, he kaumātua nō Taranaki, tētahi reta e kōrero ana mō tana haerenga ki Tahiti, ki reira akona ai ia ki te ōritetanga o ngā kōrero tuku iho o Aotea waka ki ērā o Tahiti.

Hawaiki me Rangiātea

He ingoa tawhito a Rangiātea, he pānga tata tōna ki Hawaiki. E ai ki tēnei kōrero nō mua:

Kia puta te ihu ki Rangiātea.

He whakahau tēnei kia eke te tangata ki ōna ake taumata, kia tutuki e ia ōna ake pūmanawa.

He rite a Rangiātea ki Hawaiki arā, ka tirohia anō he whenua kikokiko, he whenua wairua - he puna mātauranga mō te takenga mai o te oranga. I roto i ngā kōrero mō te kakenga a Tāne ki te rangi ngahuru mā rua, ka hoatu e Io ngā kete o te wānanga ki a ia. E iri ana ngā kete ki roto i a Rangiātea, te whare wānanga tuatahi ki te ao.

Ngā ingoa o Hawaiki kei Aotearoa

He maha ngā wāhi kei Aotearoa e kī ana te kōrero i takea mai ō rātou ingoa i Hawaiki. E whai iho nei:

Hawaiki – he māra kei Kāwhia

Te Motutapu-a-Tinirau – te ingoa o te moutere o Mokoia ki Rotorua me te moutere o Motutapu kei te whanga o Waitematā.

Waihīhī – he wāhi kei te taha uru o Tīkapa Moana

Waihīhī rāua ko Waihāhā – ētahi takiwā kei Tāmaki-makau-rau.

Kua tapaina te ingoa Rangiātea ki ngā wāhi maha. E kī ana ētahi kōrero ko te moutere o Ra‘iātea, takiwā ki Tahiti a Rangiātea. Tapaina ai e Tūrongo, te tipuna o Ngāti Raukawa tōna wharenui i kō atu o Ōtorohanga, ko Rangiātea. Ko te wāhi rongonui e mau ana te ingoa nei ko te whare karakia o Rangiātea ki Ōtaki. I whakatūria te whare karakia Karaitiana ki te wāhi i reira tētahi tūāhu e tū ana i mua. Inā te mana me te tapu o Rangiātea kua whakatōngia ki ēnei wāhi.


Theories about Hawaiki

Ngā whakamāramatanga a ngā pūkenga o mua

Nō te tīmatanga o te titiro hōhonu a ngā pūkenga Pākehā ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi, mīharo rawa ētahi o rātou ki ngā kōrero mō Hawaiki. Nā runga i te mea he kōrero kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi mō Hawaiki, i whakamātau ētahi o rātou kia rapu i te whānuitanga o te māramatanga mō tēnei kaupapa.

Ko tētahi o ēnei pūkenga ko S. Percy Smith, te tumuaki tuatahi o te Rōpū Poronihiana (Polynesian Society). He maha āna tuhinga mō ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā hītori a ngā iwi. I roto i tana pukapuka a Hawaiki, the original homeland of the Māori (1904), ka takoto e Smith āna ariā mō te wāhi ake o Hawaiki. Ka whakahuatia e ia ngā moutere o Sava’ii i Hāmoa, a Hawaii me Java i Initonīhia hei Hawaiki. Ki a Smith, mā te āta tātari i ngā kōrero tuku iho a te Māori ka taea te whakatau i ahu mai te Māori i Hawaiki. I tōna wā, he huarahi rangahau tēnei i kaha te whāia e te tokomaha o ngā pūkenga, Māori mai Pākehā mai, otirā, i hiamo rātou ki ana whakataunga.

Ētahi atu ariā mō te takenga mai o te Māori

Nō muri o te whakaputa i te pukapuka a Smith ka rahi ngā pukapuka i whakaputangia e whakapae ana ko ngā heke o ngā tangata o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa i ahu mai i te rāwhiti, i te whenua rahi o Āhia . Nā runga i ēnei tātaritanga i taketake mai i ngā kōrero tuku iho a te Māori, ka hua ngā ariā pēnei i tēnei e kī ana i ahu mai tētahi ‘kahupapa waka’ i tae ki Aotearoa mai i te pokapū o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Arā noa atu ngā kōrero a ētahi kaituhi e whakapae ana kei te whenua rahi o Īnia, kei te whenua o Mesopotamia rā anō – kei te takiwā e kīia nei i ēnei rā ko Īrāki – te kāinga tūturu o te Māori. Hei tauira te pukapuka a Alfred K. Newman, Who are the Māoris ? (1912) mō ngā tuhituhinga e tohe ana ko Īnia te pūtakenga o te Māori.

Ngā rangahautanga o ēnei rā

He maha ngā kōrero i ēnei rā e whakahē ana i ngā tikanga a Smith. E rua ngā wero a Orbell i roto i tana pukapuka a Hawaiki: A new approach to Māori tradition (1985). Tuatahi, e kī ana ia kāore i te tika kia tirohia ngā kōrero tuku iho anō hei hītori tūturu. E whakapae ana ia i te taenga mai o te Pākehā, kua pūrākau kē ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi. Ki tāna titiro ko ngā ‘maharatanga’ o te whenua matua i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ka huri i roto i te wā hei pūrākau. Nā reira he pai ake kia tirohia ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi hei tohu noa iho ki ngā nekenekehanga o mua, ehara ko te tūturutanga. Tuarua, hei tā Orbell he tere rawa a Smith mā ki te pītahitahi i ngā maioro ki te taha. Hei tā Orbell: ‘Ko te raru kē, nā te hē o tā rātou titiro ki ngā kōrero me te kimikimi noa, kua noho noa te kaupapa … kāore he kiko’ (w. 8).

Footnotes
    • Orbell, Margaret, Hawaiki: a new approach to Maori tradition. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 1991, p. 8. › Back

Hononga, rauemi nō waho

More suggestions and sources


How to cite this page: Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, 'Hawaiki', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/hawaiki/print (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, i tāngia i te 8 o Pēpuere 2005, updated 1 o Āpereira 2015