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Story: Tapa whenua – naming places

Te Rerenga Wairua

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This is Te Rerenga Wairua, meaning the leaping place of spirits, at Cape Rēinga. It was from here that the spirits of the dead were believed to depart. They descended by way of the root of the pōhutukawa tree.

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How to cite this page

Rāwiri Taonui, Tapa whenua – naming places – Names from Polynesian mythology, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/18644/te-rerenga-wairua (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 1 March 2009.