THE ORIGINS OF WAITAHA

Extract from Nga Pikituroa O Ngai Tahu by Rawiri Te Maire Tau

 Waitaha is considered in Ngai Tahu tradition to be the first tribal group to occupy the South Island.  Waruwarutu’s slight reference to the Waitaha in ‘He Korero mo Te Motu Pounamu’ (line 5) is due to the fact that he was not tutored in Waitaha traditions.  The writer will therefore take the opportunity to explain the origins of the Waitaha.The first ancestor for Waitaha was Rakaihautu.  The canoe that brought Rakaihautu to New Zealand was the Uruao.  There are several versions of the arrival of Waitaha.  However, the versions differ only on specific points.  In the overall framework of the Waitaha tradition there is a general agreement.The Waitaha tradition is important because it was through Rakaihautu and his descendants that the land was named and therefore claimed.  All major landmarks in the South Island are derived from Waitaha tradition. The following account was recorded by Wi Pokuku and Herewini Eli, Ngai Tahu tohunga who also attended the Te Maiharoa whare wananga.  This text was given to the writer by David Higgins, the Upoko Rünanga for Moeraki. The Pokuku – Eli text follows, with the writer’s interpretation:

      The Pokuku – Eli Text

      He Putake tenei 

Ko Waitaha ko te wahi i haere mai ai ka waka me ka takata ko Patunui o aio ko Taepataka o Te Raki.  Ko te waka Huruhuru manu te tuatahi muri atu ko te waka a Raki i a te moretu tenei waka e takoto ana.

                    Ko Uruao ia Taite whenua e takoto ana.

Ka Matahua.  Ko ka karakia tena o ruka i tena waka ko te kauhoe ko te tinitini o te Pararaurakuu. Ko te atua ko Tukaitauru.  Ko te toki nana i tukituki mai te moana.  Ko ka pakitua te ikoa o te toki, ka u taua waka kite au Pouri, ki tera motu ki te takata.  Kaore i hoki tenei waka ekari i whakaahua tia ki te Raki.  Koia te waka a Tama Rereti.  No reira i hoatu ai ka whetü Tohu o te tau, moka tau kai moka tau korekai, mo ka tau pai, mo ka tau kino.  Na reira ko autahi hei tohu mo te tau, ko takurua hei titiro ko Puaka hei tohu moka Ika o te moana.  Ka oti tenei waka ki te Raki.Muri mai ko Uruao kahu ano a Matiti ki te tahi taha o te raki ki te Patunui ano oaia ki te taepataka o Te Raki,, Kahu a Matiti ki tau tarinui o matariki kia Tokopa,, ia ia ka whetü kino ka whetü pai,, ka whetü kino ka whetü pai,, ka whetü kai,, ka whetü kore kai,, ka tau pai, ka tau kino, ka riro mai a Weroi teninihi a Weroi te kokoto a Weroi te aumarianei, te ahurunei, te mahana nei ko Uruao na Taitewhenua i tuku mai kia matiti na matiti i tuku kia Rakaihautu ka manu mai a Uruao ka riro mai I kona ka takata a Waitaha ka rito mai te kähui tipua me te kähui tipua me te kähui roko ka riro mai a Toi me Rauru, ka riro mai a Rakaihautu te ko a Tuwhakaroia.  Ko Matuarua te atua, ka haere tonu mai a Matiki ka u mai ki tera motu kua ki tera motu i te takata tika tonu mai a Rakaihautu ki tenei motu kaore hetakata o tenei motu.  Ko Rakaihautu te takata nana i timata te ahi ki ruka ki tenei motu ka nohoia tenei motu e Waitaha.  Kätahi a Rakaihautu ka haere ra waenganui o te motu nei haere ai me ka takata ka riro tonu tono ko tera roto a uta te roto a tai, takapo, Pukaki, Öhou, Häwea, Wanaka, Whakatipu Waimaori, Whakatipu Waitai haere tonu te Anau, Waiau tae noa atu ki te mutuka mai o te moutere, ka waho ka kaitiaki i reira Ko Noti raua ko Nota. Ka hoki mai Rakaihautu te roto nui a Whatu kai maranuku, Waihora, kai taiari, kaira Rae, Wainono, Okahu, a aitarakihi Waihora, Wairewa  i konei ka huainate ikoa  o taua ko tuhiraki,, no reira ka whaka tauki ka puna karikari a Rakaihautu, ka poupou a te rakihouia, mo ka pähao tuna, kanakana, ka whakapepeha a Waitaha ki te hao te kai a te aitaka a tapuiti i reira ka toua te kauru, te aruhe, te aruhe, me ka manu me ka mea katoa ka turuturutenei motu, ko Rakaihautu te takata ko rakihouia ko  Waitaha te hapü, ë ai tonawhakatauki o mua tae noa mai ki tenei raki, ka puna karikari a Rakaihautu ka poupou a Te Rakihouia ka pakihi whakatekateka a Waitaha= ko te waka ko uruao kaore i hoki ki te wahi i haere mai ai ke te patunio o aio ki te taepataka o Te Raki, ekari i wakaahuaketia ki te moana. No reira ka kau matua i karakia ai i ka tere moana, Pütai tua, Pütai Waho, he putaka he whai ao, he ao marama, kati ikonei tera atu ano ka karakia=   

[Genealogy follows . . .]{ this is not included on this Page Please contact us if you wish to view it}

Nama 2

[Genealogy follows . . .

Nama 3

 Otira me whaka marama i konei te ahua o ka waka,, e rua ka I haere mai i patunuioaia, I taepataka o te raki = Ko Te Waka huruhurumanu ko Uruao,, note uka mai ki Hawaiki,, ka waiho atu Te Kahui roko,, ka riro mai i a Uruao,, te Kahui Tipua I muri ka manu mai, Ko Matatua,, katahi ka haere mai,, Te Puhi matua,, me te puhi mau, me te Puhi haere,, ka kiia ko haere te karakia. 

 Interpretation  

This is a tradition of the Waitaha. The place that the canoe and the people came from was from a land called Patunuioaio, and this land is beyond the horizon where the sky hangs low upon the ocean. The canoe, Huruhurumanu, was the first and after that was the ‘Canoe of Raki’ and this canoe lay under the ancestor known as ‘Te Moretu’ At this stage Uruao lay in the district called Taite Whenua.‘Matahua’was the incantation used upon the ‘Canoe of Raki’ and the crew were the deities that inhabited the forests and the trees from which the canoe was carved. Their god was Tukaitauru. There was also a great adze on board that cleared a passage across the ocean and its name was ‘Ka Pakitua’. That canoe beached at Aupouri in the Northland and this land was already occupied. This canoe did not return but instead became a constellation in the heavens now known as the ‘Constellation of Scorpio’ or to Maori as, ‘Te Waka a Tama Rereti’. Its stars are markers for the seasons and they were placed in the heavens as signs for the season of food, for the season of scarcity of food and for the good and bad years. Consequently, the ancestral stars such as Canopus (Autahi) became the star of the year with Sirius (Takurua) pointing to Rigel (Puaka) which was a used as a marker for the fish of the seas. And so it was that this canoe was completed in the heavens. 2. After that we have the canoe called Uruao. The ancestor, Matiti, whom represented both the summer and a particular constellation of that season moved to the land called Patunuioaio. The Matiti constellation then moved towards the autumn constellations near the ‘Pleiades’ (Tau Tarinui o Matariki) which resided in the portion of the sky we call, Tokopa. Herein we find the good and bad stars, and the stars that showed the abundance and scarcity of food which indicates the season of wealth, the season of scarcity, the good seasons and the poor season. The stars that feature as part of the tail of the ‘Constellation of Scorpio’ were signs of warmth and plenty and they would then pass beyond the horizon indication the start of autumn. The Uruao, which came from the district, Taitewhenua was sent here to Matiti and Matiti sent it to Rakaihautu. The Uruao was launched and departed for this place. It was from there that the people of Waitaha came, as well as deities known as the Kahui Tipua and Kahui Roko. The ancestors Toi also departed from there, as did his son Rauru. Rakaihautu also departed from there. The apparatus used to dig the lakes was called Tuwhakaroria and Matuarua was the god, and the Matiti constellations came and fell on the other island that was occupied. Rakaihautu carried on his journey to the other island. There were no people on this Island. Rakaihautu was the man that lit the fires of occupation upon this Island.This Island was settled by Waitaha. Then Rakaihautu went inland to explore with the people and with his digging tool, Tuwhakaroria, he created the inland lakes as well as the lakes along the coast – that is lakes such as Tekapo, Pukaki, Ohau, Hawea, Wanaka, Whakatipu Waimaori, Whakatipu Waitai and his work continued on with Te Anau, the Waiau River, continuing down to the bottom of the island where he left the guardians there, called Noti and Nota. Rakaihautu returned and created Lake Tuakitoto (Te Rotonui o Whatu), Kai Maranuku, Lake Waihora near Taiari and Kaikorai (Kaikarea), Wainono Laggon, the Otaio River (Okahu), Te Aitarakihi near Washdyke, Lake Ellesmere (Waihora) and Lake Forsyth (Wairewa). It was here that his digging tool was re-named Tuhiraki and where the following proverbs were coined: ‘Te Puna Karikari a Rakaihautu – Fiordland: The springs excavated by Rakaihautu’ and for the rivers along the eastern coastline of the South Island ‘Te Poupou a Te Rakihouia – The Weirs of Rakihouia’ for the eel and lamprey. And because of their fondness of eel the Waitaha uttered the following proverb, ‘Te hao te kai a te Aitaka a Tapuiti – ‘Eel is the delicacy that belongs to the descendants of Tapuiti’. It was here also that the roots of the cabbage tree and the fern-root can be found as well as the birds and all other things that pertain to this island. Rakaihautu was our ancestor. Rakihouia and Waitaha are the hapu. As the people say in proverbs from long ago even until this day, ‘Fiordland: The springs excavated by Rakaihautu’, ‘The South Island is rich in eel and lamprey that belong to Rakihouia’ and ‘Canterbury: The Plains that rediate the pre-eminence of Waitaha’. The Canoe was Uruao. It did not return to its land as it came here from Patunuioaio and the lands beyond the horizon but its image is a formation upon the oceans. Therefore, the elders pray to make the canoe swift over the oceans and so they pray to the ancestors, Putaitua and Putai waho to bring the canoe into the world of light. There are more chants but let us end here . 

[Genealogy follows . . .]

Nama 2

[Genealogy follows . . .

Nama 3

However let me explain the image of the canoe. There were two canoes that came here from beyond the horizon at Te Patunuioaio. They were the Huruhurumanu and Uruao and they were from Hawaiki. The Kahui Roko were left there and the Uruao departed. The Kahui Tipua came here afterwards on the Matatua.Then came the Puhi Matua and the Puhi Matua and the Puhi Mau and the Puhi Haere who said the incantations as they went. This tradition may be taken as the standard Waitaha tradition of Rakaihautu’s claim to occupation and possession of the South Island. That this tradition is about nomenclature is evidence in Pokuku’s comment, ‘Ko Rakaihautu te takata nana i timata te ahi ki ruka ki tenei motu ka nohoia tenei motu e Waitaha’ (Rakaihautu was the man who lit the fires of occupation in this island).As stated earlier, the above manuscript was written in 1887 by two tohunga (Wi Pokuku and Herewini Eli) who were trained by Te Maiharoa. By the 1920s Te Maiharoa’s grand-daughter, Wikitöria Paipeta, was attempting to incorporate the Waitaha tradition into Ngati Tahu oral traditions. Wikitöria wrote:

Me timata mai tenei korero ite Kahuirongo mete Kahuitipua I haere mai irunga ite waka ko Uruao te ingoa. Te tangata o runga ko Terakihouia tona iwi ko Waitaha te häpu Irunga ko Ngatihuirapate haaapu, Ko te ingoa o taua waka kote waka Araki No Taiehu ano taua waka na te tere otaua waka, I kiia kote waka Huruhurumanu no muri ko matatua muri iho ko matahouia. Na Taiehu ano tenei waka, Te Wakaaraki ko Taiehu te tangata, konga Pakitua te ingoa ote toki, Na kona i tapahi te paakitua peka. Koia nei te wähi i haere mai ai enei waka. Na Te Ope Te Ruaaraki itiki tenei waka, Te Waka ia te Maretu e takato ana, I haere mai ana te ope Teruaraki itaitaha ote raki ihaere mai ai aua Waka, Te patunuiaio ko Taepapaka ote raki Ka hoatu kia Taiehu te waka]

 Interpretation 

Let’s begin the story with the deities Kahui Tipua and the Kahui Rongo who came here on the Uruao canoe. The principal person on board was Te Rakihouia and his tribe was Waitaha and the subtribe were the Ngati Huirapa. Therefore the name of the canoe was known as ‘The Canoe of Raki’ and it was also the well-known canoe of Taiehu and it was an extremely fast vessel which is why it was named ‘Huruhurumanu’. It came before Matatua and well before Matahouia. Now, back to Taiehu again and his canoe ‘Te Waka a Raki[houia]’ with Taiehu in command in branches (of whakapapa) can be cut and arranged in order …This is the way in which these ancient canoes were brought here by the people from Te Rua-a-Raki (far  beyond the horizons)  The crew would lie in the vicinity of the start Te Moretu.This is the way in which the people from Te Rua-a-Raki would make their approach, the canoe would lie under the star Te Ope a Ruaraki would make their way here from the other side of the horizon in those canoes from Patunuioaio where the sky meets the heavens. Those canoes would be sent here by Taiehu.] In this text Wikitöria has made Ngati Huirapa a hapu of Waitaha on the Uruao. Ngati Huirapa is a Ngati Tahu hapu, and in Wikitoria’s time was the resident hapu of the region. Wikitöria was attempting to collapse the ‘core information bytes’ into Ngai Tahu tradition so that her grandfather’s teachings of Waitaha would not be lost.The writer believes the Kahui Tipua origins lay in mythology rather than human history. It is also clear that the tradition from Pokuku and Eli may have just as much to do with star lore as tribal origins. 

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October 02, 2005