He maha ngā wāhi o Aotearoa i tapaa mō ngā mahi a te tipua tinihanga nei a Māui. Kei ngā pūrākau o ngā iwi a Te Moananui-a-Kiwa e mau ana ngā kōrero mō Māui. Kōrerotia ai a Māui me āna mahi i ngā moutere mai i Yap kei Micronesia i te uru, tae rawa atu ki Mangareva i te taha rāwhiti o Tahiti. E ai ki te kōrero, e 4,000 tau te tawhito o ēnei korero, ā, kawea haeretia ai ki tēnā moutere ki tēnā moutere i te wā o ngā heke.
Te Ika-a-Māui
Ko te kōrero nui rawa atu e pā ana ki a Māui, ko tana hī ake i te whenua mai i te takere o te moana, arā, ko tana ika, Te Ika-a-Māui. He rite te āhua o tana ika ki te whai. I te uinga a te kaihōpara a Kāpene Kuki i ngā Māori mō te ingoa o te moutere nui i te raki o Aotearoa (North Island), ka tuhia e ia tā rātou whakautu, ko ‘Eaheinomauwe’. Ākene pea i kī atu ngā Māori, ko He Mea-hī-nō-Māui, ko Te Ahi-a-Māui rānei – he kōrero mō Māui nāna te ahi i heri mai ki te ao, nāna hoki ngā puia o Te Ika-a-Māui. Ko te ingoa o te moutere nui i te tonga o Aotearoa (South Island), ko Te Waka-a-Māui, koia nei te waka i hīia ai e ia tana ika. Kīia ai a Rakiura (Stewart Island), ko Te Punga-a-Māui.
Hawaiki
Ko Hawaiki te ingoa nui rawa atu i kawea mai i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa ki Aotearoa. I roto i ngā kōrero me ngā pūrākau, ko Hawaiki te wāhi ahu mai ai ngā mea papai katoa, tae rawa atu ki te kai me ngā taonga. Ka kōrero ngā tūpuna mō Hawaiki, te wāhi i ahu mai ai te tangata, te wāhi ka hoki atu ai te wairua tangata i tōna matenga. Nā te nui whakaharahara o tēnei ariā, ka heria haeretia ai te ingoa o Hawaiki ki tēnā moutere, ki tēnā moutere.
Ko te Hawaiki tuatahi ake, ko Sawaiki, i tapaa ki ngā moutere o Lau kei te rāwhiti o Whītī. Koinei pea te wāhi i whakawhiti ai ngā iwi tuatahi ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, ki Tonga me Hāmoa. Whāia, tae ana ki tētahi moutere hou, ka tapaina mō te Hawaiki tuatahi. Ko ētahi o ēnei Hawaiki ko:
- Savai‘i kei Hāmoa
- Havaiki kei Niue
- Savaiki kei Tongareva
- Havai‘i, te ingoa tūturu o Ra‘iatea kei Tahiti
- Havaiki, te moutere o Fakarava, kei ngā moutere o Tuamotu
- Havaiki ki ngā moutere o Marquesas
- Hawai‘i
- ‘Avaiki kei Mangareva
- ‘Avaiki, te ingoa tapu mō ngā moutere o Rarotonga.
Kei Aotearoa ētahi wāhi tapaa ai ko Hawaiki, arā, kei Maketū, kei te whanga o Aotea, kei Rotongaio, kei Motutapu i Tīkapa Moana, kei te tapa tāone o Maungawhau (Mt Eden) ki Tāmaki-makau-rau, aha atu.
He whakahuatanga kē
He maha ngā ingoa wāhi a te Māori kua hōrapa i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Heoi, me pēhea e ōrite ai a Whangaroa, a Fagaloa, a Hanaloa? Hāunga te whanaungatanga i waenganui i te reo Māori me ētahi atu reo o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, he rerekē te whakahua a te Māori i ētahi oro. Inarā, ko te H a te Māori, ka S, ka R rānei te whakahua ki reo kē; ko te NG ka huri ko G; ko W ka V kē te whakahua, ko te WH ka huri hei F, hei H rānei. I tua atu i te W, ka taea ēnei oro a iwi kē te tango mai ka whakanoho ko te ngoto.
Te Rerenga Wairua
Tērā ngā maunga whakahī i te taha uru o Rarotonga: ko Maunga Piko, ko Maunga Tea, ko Maunga Ko‘ū, ko Te Rēinga-a-Pora. Kei waenganui i ēnei maunga teitei tētahi toka pango ko Te Rerenga Vairua te ingoa. Koinei te wahi wehe atu ai nga wairua ki ‘Avaiki. Waihoki ki Aotearoa, ka tū a Maunga Piko, a Whangakea, a Maunga Kohu-a-naki, a Te Rēinga hei tūtei ki ngā ara o te uru me te rāwhiti ka ahu atu ki Te Rerenga Wairua i Te Rēinga.
