Skip to main content

Kōrero: East Coast region

Whakairo on Hikurangi

Image
Whakairo on Hikurangi

These whakairo (sculptures) represent the demigod Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga and his family. Māui is regarded as an ancestor by Ngāti Porou and tradition holds that his waka, Nukutaimemeha, rests petrified on the mountain. These carvings are four of nine on the summit of Hikurangi, the sacred mountain of Ngāti Porou.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou

by Shaun Barnett

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Monty Soutar, East Coast region – Māori settlement, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/33352/whakairo-on-hikurangi (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Monty Soutar, i tāngia i te 23 August 2011, updated 1 March 2015.