Kōrero: Te Whakatōhea

Whārangi 1. Ngā wāhi o Te Whakatōhea

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

E ono ngā hapū o Te Whakatōhea i tēnei wā: Ko Ngāti Ruatakena, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Te Ūpokorehe. E 35 kiromita te whāroa o te rohe ki-tai o Te Whakatōhea kei te taha rāwhiti o Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi, atu i Te Moana-a-Tairongo (Ōhiwa) ki Ōpape. Ko Maraetōtara i Ōhope te paenga whenua ki te uru; ko Tarakeha te paenga whenua ki te rāwhiti, kei waenganui i Ōpape me Awaawakino. Huri atu ana te rohe ki te tuawhenua, ka anga ki te tonga mā-rawhiti, whakahipa atu ai i nga maunga whakahī tae noa atu ki tua tata o Matawai.

He huhua o ngā kai o te rohe o Te Whakatōhea. Ki Ōhiwa kei te uru, e karangahia ai ko ‘Te tamāhine a Te Whakatōhea’ (he kōrero whakarite mō te rahi o te tuangi, te kuku, te pūpū e kitea ana ki reira. He nui te ika ki konei.

E rua kiromita ki te taha rāwhiti o Ōhiwa ko te awa o Waiotahe, ka hau te rongo mō ana pipi mimiti kore. Kei waenganui pū i te rohe whenua o Te Whakatōhea, ko Pākōwhai me te tāone o Ōpōtiki, koinei te tūtakitanga o ngā awa o Wai-o-weka rāua ko Ōtara. I ngā wā e tika ana ka rere whakarunga te kahawai, te kanae, te haku i ngā awa nei mō ētahi kiromita. Ko Pakihi kei te tāhuna o te awa, he mōmona ngā kaimoana o tēnei wāhi.

Atu i Ōpape ki Awaawakino i te pito rawhiti ngā toka moana, kikī ana i te kuku, te pāua, te kina, te koura. E whā kiromita atu i konei ki te uru ko te awa o Waiaua, te wāhi i whakatauhia e Tāpuikākahu inā:

Te kai hoki rā i Waiaua!
He whare moenga mōu mō te tangata
Hei kume kupenga i te ākau. 1

Ko te nuinga o nga pā tūwatawata kei tātahi e tū ana, hei tiaki i ngā mahinga kaimoana o te iwi. Kāore he pā maioro i ngā pae maunga, he puni noa iho mō te kaupeka mahi kai i te wao. Kei ngā takiwā o Toa Toa, o Whitikau, o Wai-o-weka ngā wāhi e tipu ana te aruhe, ngā wāhi mahi tuna, mahi manu pēnei i te kererū, te kākā, te kōkako, te weka, te kiwi. I ngā wā o te pakanga, koinei te wāhi tāwharau o te iwi.

Kupu tāpiri
  1. Ngata, A. T. Ngā mōteatea, Part III. Wellington: Polynesian Society, 1970, p. 93. › Back
Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Ranginui Walker, 'Te Whakatōhea - Ngā wāhi o Te Whakatōhea', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/te-whakatohea/page-1 (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Ranginui Walker, i tāngia i te 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017