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Tāwhirimātea – the weather

by  Basil Keane

He maha ngā āhuarangi rerekē o Aotearoa. I ētahi wā kua ua, i ētahi wā kua puta ngā momo ao, hau hoki. He pānga nui tō te āhua o te rangi ki te Māori. I whakatipuria e tēnā iwi e tēnā iwi ōna ake pātaka kupu e pā ana ki te ātea o Tāwhirimātea – atua o ngā hau.


Origins of the weather

Tāwhirimātea

Ahakoa ko Ranginui e tū iho nei, ko Tāwhirimātea kē te atua whakahaere i te āhuarangi.

I roto i ngā kōrero mō te orokohanga, ka toko ake te hiahia a ngā tamariki a Ranginui me Papatūānuku kia whakawehe i o rātou mātua, e tiaho ai te mārama ki te ao. Ko Tāwhirimātea anake te mea kāore i whakaāe kia whakawehea ngā mātua. Nō te wehenga a Rangi me Papa, ka kake ake a ia ki te rangi kia noho me tōna pāpā, ki reira wānanga ai rāua i te riri ki ōna tuākana. Nō konei anō ka tīmata a ia te whakawhānau uri.

Ngā hau e whā

Ka tukuna e Tāwhirimātea ōna tamariki ki raro: ko tētahi ki te tūāraki, ko tētahi ki te tonga, ko tētahi ki te marangai, ko tētahi ki te hauāuru. Koinei anō hoki ngā ingoa o āna tamariki.

Kapua

Kātahi ka tono a Tāwhirimātea i ōna kapua, i a Aonui (he kapua mātotoru) rātou ko Aopōuri (he kapua pōuri), ko Aowhētuma (he kapua tarakakā), ko Aowhēkere (he kapua ka pā i mua i te hau āwhiowhio), ko Aokānapanapa (he kapua mākurakura), ko Aopakakina (he kapua pohū ka ahu mai i ngā wāhi katoa), ko Aopakarea (ngā kapua o ngā marangai) me Aotakawe (ngā kapua ka rere wawe i te rangi).

Te whakahekenga a Tāwhirimātea i ōna tungāne

Koia ko te whai utu tēnei a Tāwhirimātea mō te whakawehenga o ngā mātua. Ka whakaeke tuatahi a ia i te atua o te ngahere i a Tāne Mahuta – nāna nei a Rangi me Papa i whakawehe. Ka tuatua a ia ki raro ngā tinana o ngā kōhure o te wao tapu a Tāne. Kātahi ka whakapuke a ia i ngā ngaru teitei hei patu i te atua o te moana i a Tangaroa. Whai muri ka tahuri a ia ki te haukerekere i a Rongomātāne, te atua o te hauhake me te kūmara, me Haumia-tiketike, atua o ngā aruhe. Ka puta o rāua ihu i tā rāua huna ki raro i a Papa. Koinei e tipu whakaroto ana te kūmara.

Te ua, te uawhatu me te tōmairangi

Ka tukuna anō e Tāwhirimātea ōna toa a Uanui, a Uaroa me Uawhatu. Ko o rātou uri ko Haumaringi, ko Haumārotoroto me Tōmairangi.

Tāwhirimātea rāua ko Tūmatauenga

Otirā ka whakaeke a Tāwhirimātea i a Tūmatauenga, te atua o te riri me te ira tangata. Ka tū mārō a Tūmatauenga i ngā āki mai a tōna tungāne. Ka pūkengatia e ia ngā tūmomo karakia kia pā kē mai ko ngā hau mirimiri. Ka matau i a ia ngā karakia tūā hei whakamahea i te rangi. Kore rawa tētahi i hinga i tētahi. E āki tonu ana a Tāwhirimātea i ngā marangai me ngā hau āwhiowhio hei patu i te tangata, i runga i te moana me te whenua.


The seasons

Kōanga

Ko Kōanga te kupu Māori mō te wā o te tau atu i Mahuru ki Whiringa-ā-rangi. E whakahuahia ana i roto i tēnei kupu te kupu kō: inā rā koinei te marama e kaha kōia ai te māra. Inā te kōrero, ‘Takē Kōanga, whakapiri Ngahuru’. E pā ana tēnei kōrero ki te tangata tē kitea i ngā mahi whakatō o te Kōanga, heoi ka puta mai i te wā o te hauhake i te Ngahuru.

Nō te kōanga ka heke ngā ua kōwhai i te puanga mai o te kōwhai i te marama o Mahuru.

Raumati

Atu i Hakihea ki Huitanguru ko te wā raumati. Ka whakamoea a Te Rā ki a Hine Raumati kia puta ko Tānerore. E pā ana te kōrero a ‘Te haka a Tānerore’ ki te hau ārohirohi o te raumati.

Arā anō ngā kōrero e kī ana ko te wāhine o Rehua i a Pareārohi te whakatinanatanga o te ārohirohi.

Ko Rehua (Antares)

Ko Rehua tētahi o ngā whetū nui e kānapanapa ana i te rangi. He pānga nui tō Rehua ki te wā raumati. E kī ana te kōrero, ‘Te tātarakihi, te pihareinga; ko ngā manu ēnā o Rehua. Ka tangi ana ēnei ngāngara kua tīmata te raumati.

Whakataua te kēkerewai ko ‘te manu a Rehua’. I te wā o te raumati ka hauhaketia te tini kēkerewai mai ngā paru kei ngā tahataha o ngā kōawa me ngā roto. Whāia, ka whakatauritetia te rerenga o ngā ika i te raumati, pērā i te maomao me te moki, ki ‘Ngā pōtiki a Rēhua’.

Ngā whakamātautau o te raumati

He maha ngā kōrero kino a te Māori mō te raumati. Inā te kupu kōrero, ko ‘Rehua whakaruhi tangata’, e kōrero ana mō te ruhi o te tangata i te wā raumati. Kua pau hoki ngā kai i tēnei wā. Ā ‘Te Rā o Te Waru’ (ngā rā o te waru patote) kua tino whiti te wera o te raumati. Whāia ka hua te kōrero a ‘Rehua pona nui’, i te pupuhi mai o te āhua o ngā pona o te tangata i te kaha wera.

Ngā matapae huarere

Ka whakaritea te āhua o te huarere ki ngā rā i whānau mai ai tētahi tīpuna. Me he rangi paki, kua kī te tangata, ‘Mehemea ko te rangi i whānau ai a Te Rangitauarire’. Ka marangai ana, kua kīia, ‘Mehemea ko te rangi i whānau ai a Te Tuarariri’.

Ngahuru

E whai pānga ana te ingoa ngahuru, ki te kupu tawhito a te Māori mō te tekau. Inā hoki, ka hī ake te ngahuru i te marama tua ngahuru o te maramataka. Ko ngahuru anō te kupu i whakamahia e te Māori mō te hauhake kai. E ki ana te whakataukī mō te mahi o te kai i te wā ngahuru, arā, ko ‘Ngahuru, kura kai, kura tangata’.

Takurua

Ko Hōtoke me Makariri ētahi kupu e pā ana ki te mātao me te wā Takurua. He whetū a Takurua. Ka kī ana te kōrero, ‘Takurua hūpē nui’.


Clouds

Te ao tea roa

He huhua ngā ingoa mō te kapua. Ko ao anō tētahi kupu e whakahuatia ana i roto i te ingoa a Aotearoa. Nā te wāhine a Kupe i taunaha te ingoa nei i tōna kitenga i te kapua roa e uwhi ana i tēnei whenua.

Te pānui i ngā kapua

Ka pānui te kaumātua o te Tai Rāwhiti i ngā kokonga o ngā kapua, e karangatia nā he ‘pīpipi o te rangi’. E tohu ana ngā kokonga ki te wāhi e haramai ana te hau. Mēnā he whero te tae o te kapua, ka ua. Mēnā he mā, ka pupuhi te hau. Mēnā he kōwhai, ka pā mai te hauangi, me te rangi paki. Mēnā e anga whakarunga ana te kapua, he marangai kei te haere. Mēnā e pōuri ana kāore e roa ka heke te marangai.

Ngā ingoa me ngā tūāhua kapua

Ahakoa te huhua o ngā ingoa mō ngā kapua me ō rātou momo āhua, kāore ētahi kupu i te whakamahia. Anei ētahi e whai ake nei:

  • Ko te pīpipi – ngā kapua cirro stratus. He tioata ēnei kapua kei runga ake i te rangi. He pūataata ēnei tūmomo kapua, ā, ka tīaho tonu mai te mārama o te rā me te marama i ngā kapua nei. E karapoti ana te rā me te marama, e te ‘Kura hau awatea’, me te ‘Kura hau pō’.
  • Ko ngā Pūtahi – he ‘long stratus clouds’, ā, ko ngā Pūrehurehu – ngā kapua cirrus. Ko te kupu taipua e pā ana ki ngā cumulus clouds e huihui ana.
  • Ko ngā Okewa – he kapua nimbus ēnei.

Ngā kupu whakarite

He maha ngā kīanga mō te hanga mai o te kapua. Ko ngā rārangi kapua ka kīia ko ‘te kupenga a Tara-mainuku’. He kīanga Pākehā te ‘mackerel sky’, e whakarite ana i ngā kapua ki te āhua o te ika. Heoi ki tā te Māori titiro, he ōrite kē ngā kapua nei ki te māra kūmara, nā reira ka kīia ērā momo kapua ko ‘te māra kūmara a Ngātoroirangi’. Ko ngā ‘mares tail’ a te Pākehā ka kīia ērā he iorangi.

Ko ngā kapua papatahi ka whakaritea ki te tātua:

  • ngā kapua mākurakura i te tōnga o te rā – ko Te tātua o te Kaha tērā
  • ngā kapua e tū mai ki te hauāuru i te tōnga o te rā – ko Te tātua o te Kahu tērā
  • ētahi kapua mārama e tū tata ana ki te paerangi – ko Te tātua o Kahu tērā.

Te pānui i te āhuarangi

Ka pānui anō ngā tīpuna i ngā kapua hei kite i te āhua o te rangi:

  • Ko ngā rārangi kapua kei runga ake i te pae, ko te ‘rangi mātāhauariki’ tērā. Whai muri i tēnei tūāhua ka pā mai ko te hau makariri o te tonga a Tutakangahau.
  • Ki te puta mai te atiru ka tūpono mai te marangai me te hau.
  • He tohu āwhā ngā kapua titi taranaki.
  • He tohu hau te whare hau.
  • He kapua pōuri ngā kaiwaka kei runga i te paerangi. He tohu aituā tēnei.
  • Ko ngā kapua (he kohu i ētahi wā) e rārangi mai ana i te rangi he papanui. E kī ana te kōrero, ‘He papanui tōna tohu he āio āpōpō’.

Rain

Ua

Ko Te Ihorangi te atua nāna te ua, ā, ko Hinewai te atua nāna te ua kōnehunehu.

Te whakatauira ake i te ua

Ko te ingoa mō rain he ua, heoi mō te turu kotahi, he kōpata tērā. Ko whakataritari ua, koirā te wā i mua paku i te uatanga. Ko te taru whakaru he rangi mākū, kāpuapua hoki. Ka maomao ana kua mutu te ua. Ko te māwake rangitahi he rōpu poto, ā, ko te māwake pā roa he marangai roa. Mēnā ka ua mō te katoa o te rā, ka kīia tērā he kōripo marama.

He maha ngā tūmomo kupu mō ngā tūmomo ua.

Ko te ua kōnehunehu he:

  • uapūkohukohu – he ua, he kohu
  • ua koehuehu – he ua kōnehunehu
  • uwhiuwhi taua – he momo ua
  • tarariki – he ua ka noho mō te wā roa.
  • pūroro – he ua ā
  • pōua – he rorohū
  • ua kōpiro – he ua whakamākū.

Ko te ua kōpatapata:

Te ua me te mate

Me ka uaina tētahi tangihanga, he tohu roimata tērā. I tū tēnei āhuatanga ki te tanumanga o Te Pūea Hērangi ( te tūmū o Waikato, mokopuna a Tāwhiao):

As the cortege approached Taupiri mountain, fierce rain began to fall. All the Maori kings were, it is said, buried in heavy rain, but no rain could have been more violent and powerful than it was on this occasion. It was the heavens weeping. 1

Kei roto i ngā apakura ā-iwi ka whakaritea te ua ki te roimata. He tangi apakura tēnei nā Te Wano o Ngāti Apakura.

E ua e te ua e taheke
Koe i runga rā
Ko au ki raro nei riringi ai
Te ua i aku kamo.

He karakia tūā

He karakia tēnei hei maomao i te ua, ā, e kīia ana ‘he tūā i te rangi’. Nā Tuta Nihoniho o Ngāti Porou tēnei karakia i tuhi i te rau tau 1800.

E ua, e te uaua; e mao, e te maomao!
Tihore ma i runga, tīhore mai i raro,
Koi mate nga tamariki a te ika nui
E kiko! E kiko e.
Rain, O rain, cease raining, fair sky!
Clear away from above, clear away from below,
Lest the offspring of te ika nui be distressed
Bring about a blue, unclouded sky. 2
Footnotes
  1. ‘Sacred funeral: Tangi for Te Puea.’ Te Ao Hou 3 (Summer 1953): 5. http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/teaohou/issue/Mao03TeA/c3.html. Last accessed 4 May 2006 › Back
  2. A. T. Ngata, Ngā mōteatea. Part I. Wellington: Polynesian Society, 1970, pp. 236–237. › Back
  3. Elsdon Best, Maori religion and mythology. Vol 1. Wellington: Te Papa Press, 1995, p. 389. › Back

Wind and storms

Ngā hau e whā

He maha ngā tuakana teina o te whānau puhi. Ko te hau te kupu ka whakamahia nuitia mō te wind. Ko hauraro te ingoa o te hau ka pupuhi mai i te raki, ko tonga te hau tonga, ko hauāuru te hau ka haramai i te uru. Arā noa atu ngā ingoa ā-iwi mō ngā hau puta noa i ngā rohe o Aotearoa.

Kei ētahi rohe ko te kupu marangai te hau rāwhiti, ki ētahi ko te hau tokerau kē tēnei. Koinei anō te kupu ka whakamahia mō te rangi whākere. Ko te āhua nei i rerekē ai tōna tikanga ki tēnā rohe ki tēnā takiwā. Waihoki ko ori te kupu mō te hau ka ahu mai i tētahi takiwā pākia ana e te āwhā. He kupu ā-rohe tēnei mō ngā hau raki mā-uru, raki mā-rāwhiti me te hau tonga mā-rāwhiti.

Ngā ingoa hau ā-rohe

Kei ia rohe ōna ingoa whai tikanga tonu:

  • Ka pupuhi mai a Te Ōkiwa i te riu o Whakatāne.
  • Ko Pāwhare te ingoa o te hau rangaranga te muri kei Te Matau-a-Māui.
  • Ki roto o Taranaki, ko pieke te hau kawe ua o te rāwhiti.
  • Ki tā Ngāi Tahu ko Rakamaomao te ingoa o te kāhui hau o te tonga me te raki. Ko Te Pūnui o Te Toka te hau tonga, ko te tamaiti a Rakamaomao ko Tiu te au raki.
  • E ai ki a Ngāti Porou ko tonga huruhuru te hau ka pupuhi mai i te tonga-tonga mā-rāwhiti.

Te whakaara i te hau

I taea e ngā tohunga ō mua te whakaara i ngā hau hei āwhina i te iwi, hei patu rānei i te hoariri. I karangatia ēnei tūmomo karakia he whakaara hau. Ko ngā karakia o te pururangi o te tūāumuiterangi rānei he patu i te taikaha o te hau – hei tauira, i ngā wā o te hī ka whakamahia ko ēnei karakia.

Ūawa

I tana haramaitanga tuatahi ki Aotearoa i te tau 1769, ka ū mai a Kāpene Hēmi Kuki ki tētahi wāhi kei te Tai Rāwhiti o Te Ika-a-Māui e karangatia ana ko Tolaga Bay. He whakapono nōna koinei te ingoa Māori ake o te wāhi rā. Heoi nā Rēweti Kōhere o Ngāti Porou i kōrero ko Ūawa kē te ingoa. I te tūtakihanga o ngā Māori i a Kuki, i pōhēhē rātou tērā i te uia e ia ko wai te ingoa o te hau, nā reira ka whakautu rātou ko tāraki (te hau raki o tērā rohe). Ka hua mai a Tolaga i te kupu tāraki.

Āwhā

Ko te āwhā me te tūpuhi ētahi ingoa anō mō te marangai. Ko te rōpu he (squall), ā, ko te taupoki he (hurricane). E kī ana te whakataukī, ‘Ngā uaua o te whitu rāua ko te ono’. He kōrero tēnei mō te takiwā marangai o te tau atu i Whiringa-ā-nuku ki Hakihea.

Whatitiri

Ko Whaitiri te atua o te whaitiri. Ko tētahi anō ingoa mōna ko Hinewhaitiri. Ka papaki ana te whatitiri, he papaki whaititiri tērā. Mēnā ka pāorooro te tētere, he paoro tērā. Ko Aputahi a pawa tētahi anō atua mō te whaitiri. Ko te ngaruru mai rangi he whatitiri roa. Ka pohū te whatitiri a tangi pōhutu. He karakia te oho rangi hei whakaoho i te whatitiri.

Uira

Ko Tamateuira he atua nō te uira. Ko Tāwhaki ka noho mokopuna mā Whaitiri. Ki te iwi Moriori o Wharekauri he atua a Tāwhaki nō te uira me te whatitiri.

I ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1900, ka tuhi te kaumātua o Ngāi Tahu i a Teone (Hōne) Taare Tīkao, e toru ngā momo kē atu i te uira. Ko te kohara he hanga pākati tōna kānapanapa i te rangi. Ko ngā kapo ka kānapa i runga i te paerangi. He tohu hau tēnei.

Te kanapu i ngā maunga

He tihi maunga te rua kōhā, te rua kanapu rānei ka kitea te uira e kānapanapa ana. Mēnā ka hikohiko i runga ake i ngā maunga nei, he tohu tērā kua mate tētahi rangatira nui. Kei roto i ngā mōteatea ā-iwi ngā kōrero mō te uira ka kanapu ki runga ake i ngā maunga nei.

Te uira me te mate

Nā Tuta Nihoniho o Ngāti Porou i whakamārama i te tūhonotanga o te uira ki te mate:

Kia ata titiro ki te hiko, haunga ia te uira me te kanapu, ko te hiko hiko he toto rangatira e hinga i te parekura, i te waka tahuri, i te whare wera rānei, i te mate tūpāpaku rānei.

He mea whakarite anō te uira i te waiata tangi mō Te Huhu, rangatira o Te Rarawa:

Tērā te uira e hiko i te rangi
E wahi rua ana rā runga o Tauwhare
Kāore ia nei ko te tohu o te mate. 1
Footnotes
    • Tuta Nihoniho, ‘Uenuku or kahukura, the rainbow god of war.’ Te Ao Hou 26 (March 1959): 50–53. http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/teaohou/issue/Mao03TeA/c3.html. Last accessed 4 May 2006. › Back

Cold weather, mist and rainbows

Hukarere, huka-ā-whatu me te hukapapa

E mōhiotia ai te snow ko te huka, te huka rere rānei. Ko te hail he ua whatu, he huka-ā-whatu rānei. Ko te kupu hukapapa i huaina mō te ice, me te frost, ā, ko te hukapiri he hard frost. He ōrite anō te ūpokomārō, tae atu ki te whenua kua tio.

Ngā pūrākau mō te huka

Ko Ngāi Tahu e whakapono ana i hua mai te puaheiri i te atua a Whēkoi. Ka rere ana te huka, ka kīia e rātou, ‘Kai te rere te tama a Whēkoi’. Ki ētahi atu tāngata he uri te tio me te huka i a Whaitiri (atua o te whatitiri), ā, ka kīia ērā ko ‘ngā ika a Whaitiri’. Kei roto i ētahi atu kōrero hei tamariki te takawai me te puaheiri nā Tongariro me Pīhanga. Kāore e kore i toko ake te ariā nei i te reiatanga o ēnei maunga i te huka.

Kohu

Ko Pūkohu te kupu mō te kohu. Ko te kohu e uwhi ana i te rangi he papanui tērā. He tohu tēnei mō te rangi marino āpōpō. Tērā te kōrero ko te kohu e ara mai ana i ngā maunga me ngā riu, koirā te hā mahana o Papatūānuku i tōna mapu kau ake mō Ranginui.

Ki a Ngāi Tūhoe o ngā pae o Te Urewera, ko Hine-pūkohu-rangi tonu te kohu. E ai ki ngā kōrero ko Tūhoe tonu ngā uri o te kohu i moe i a Te Maunga. E karangatia ana tēnei iwi ko ‘Ngā tamariki o te Kohu’.

Tōmairangi

Ko tētahi kupu mō te tōmairangi he haukū. I roto i ngā kōrero mō te orokohanga ko te haukū ngā roimata o Ranginui e hakū ana ki tōna heunga i a Papatūānuku. Ka rukea e ia ngā roimata ki runga ki ōna ū, ka tau hei tōmairangi ki te whenua. E kī ana te kōrero mō te whenua mōmona o Te Matau-a-Māui, ko ‘Heretaunga haukū nui’.

Uenuku

E hia kē nei ngā ingoa rerekē mō te kahukura. Ko ngā kupu kaha whakamahia ana ko te āniwaniwa me te āheahea. Ko atua piko anō tētahi o ōna ingoa.

Ko ngā atua o te tāwhana ko Kahukura, ko Uenuku me Haere. Arā atu ētahi ingoa ririki. E rua ngā tāwhana o te Kahukura. Kei raro ko te wāhine, ko Pū-te-aniwaniwa, ā, kei runga ko te mea tāne, ko Kahukurapango.


Hononga, rauemi nō waho

More suggestions and sources


How to cite this page: Basil Keane, 'Tāwhirimātea – the weather', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/tawhirimatea/print (accessed 30 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Basil Keane, i tāngia i te 12 o Hune 2006, updated 1 o Māehe 2022