Kōrero: Waikato iwi

Whārangi 2. Ngā tohu whenua o Waikato

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te awa o Waikato

Ko Waikato te awa roa rawa atu ki Aotearoa. Ko te hikuwai o te awa kei ngā take o te maunga o Ruapehu i te taha tonga o te tāone o Tūrangi. Ka heke ngā wai mā te kōawa e kīia ai, ko Waikato, ā, kia rere ki ngā wai o Taupō. He wā anō kitea ai te ia o Waikato e tere ana i ngā wai o te moana o Taupō. Ko te awa tūturu, ka tīmata i kō atu i te tāone o Taupō, i tōna puarenga, kātahi ka rere whakateraki i te rohe o Waikato, mā te tāone o Kirikiriroa, kia puta i te pūaha o Waikato i te tai hauāuru.

Kāore he mutunga mai o ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi o Waikato mō tō rātou awa. Ko te whakataukī nei e kōrero ana mō ngā taniwha ka noho ki te awa, inā:

Waikato taniwha rau
He piko, he taniwha
He piko, he taniwha.

Ko ngā taniwha e kōrerohia nei, ko ngā rangatira, ngā tāngata whakahau o te iwi. He kōrero whakarite hoki tēnei mō te mana o ngā iwi o Waikato.

Te takenga mai o te ingoa o Waikato

I ahu mai te ingoa o Waikato nō te hekenga o Tainui i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Ka tae mai ki Aotearoa, ka tau te waka ki waho i te wahapū o te awa, ka tohu ngā tāngata o runga ki te kaha o te kato o ngā wai o te awa i te wai tai. Nō konei tapaina ai te ingoa o te awa, ko Waikato.

Kāwhia

Ko Kāwhia te one matua o ngā iwi o Waikato; kei ōna whenua, ōna takutai ngā tohu whenua maha e kōrero ana mō te roa o te wā e toitū ai ngā iwi ki te takiwā nei.

Ko Kāwhia te taunga whakamutunga o Tainui i tana hekenga roa i Hawaiki. Ka tau mai te waka ki Kāwhia, ka herea ki tētahi rākau pōhutukawa, ko Tangi-te-korowhiti te ingoa. Ka tōia te waka ki uta, ki Rangiāhua. Ko te takotoranga o Tainui, ko te wāhi e tū ana te marae o Waipapa i ēnei rā, e tata ana ki te tāone o Kāwhia. I te ūnga o te waka, ka whakatūria e Hoturoa tōna tuāhu, ko Te Ahurei.

Ka tīmata i Kāwhia ngā hītori o Tainui ki Aotearoa; koinei te wāhi i tipu ake ngā whānau tōmua. I roto i ngā whakatupuranga e whitu, kua kapi katoa a Kāwhia i ō rātou uri. Kei ngā marae maha o Tainui e kōrerohia ana te whakataukī nei mō Kāwhia:

Kāwhia moana
Kāwhia kai
Kāwhia tangata.
Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, 'Waikato iwi - Ngā tohu whenua o Waikato', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/waikato-iwi/page-2 (accessed 30 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, i tāngia i te 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017