Myths and Legends of the Māori

Found in a 1986 New Zealand Calendar published by The Race Relations Office

Pepuere, February

Ko Maungataniwha

Ka haere te Kōrero nei-mō Nukutawhiti te uri ō Kupe ko ia nei i haere mai ki Hokianga. I noho ia ki te wahapū ō Hokianga, ā, ka hiahia ia ki te haere ki roto rawa ō Hokianga. Engari, ka nui te mataku ō Nukutawhiti no te mea he tino kino te āhua ō tōna moemoeā mō tēnei wāhi.

Ka karanga ā Nukutawhiti ki ngā taniwha ō Hokinga, Arai-te-uru! E Niwa! Me haere kourua ki runga ō te awa; kimihia te mea whakamataku nei ō tērā wāhi. Ka mutu tā kourua mahi ka hoki mai anō.

Ka haere ngā taniwha nei.

Ka kitea e rāua te mea nei e whakamataku ana i ō Nukutawhiti, arā he maunga nui, he maunga teitei, e tū ana. Ka hoki rāua.

E tatari mai ana ā Nukurawhiti ī ā rāua,

E Nukutawhiti he maunga kē!

He maunga kē?

Ae! He mounga kē!

Ka mutu te mataku ō Nukutawhiti. Ka haere ia ki tērā wāhi, ki, te maunga nui.

Ka kōrero ia, E Maunga, kō tō īngoa, ko Maungataniwha, hei karangatanga ki ngā taniwha māia o Hokianga.

Maungataniwha

According to the story it was Nukutawhiti the descendent of Kupe who came to Hokianga. He settled at the mouth of the Hokianga and desired to travel to the inner harbour. But he was greatly afraid, having had terrible dreams about that place.

Nukutawhiti called to the taniwha-guardians of Hokianga, Arai-te-uru! Niwa! Come here! You two are to go up the harbour, find out what is causing so much fear in that area, and then come back here.

The taniwha set off.

They saw what Nukutawhiti was concerned about; it was a mountain, a lofty mouthain there; so they returned.

Nukutawhiti it was only a mountain!

Just a mountain?

Yes a mountain!

Nukutawhiti was no longer afraid. He went into that area where the mountain was. He said O mountain you will be called Maungataniwha in honour of the brave guardians of Hokianga.

Maehe - March

Ko Rangi rau ko Papa

E ai ki ngā kōreo a ō tātou tūpuna Māori, i te tīmatanga ko Io, ā ko ia anake. Mai i te kore, ka puta ko Rangi rāua ko Papa. Ka piri rāua ki a rāua anō, ā ka whānau mai ā Tūmatauenga, me Tangaroa, me Tāwhirimātea, me Tānemahuta, meHaumia-tiketike, me ētahi atu.

Kāore I taea e ngā tama ā Rangi rāua ko Papa te whakatika, no te kaha ō te piri ā ngā mātua, tētahi ki tētahi. Ka taea e rātou te ngōki anake. Nāwai rā, ka hui rātou ki te whiriwhiri me aha rātou.

Ahakoa te pīrangi ō Tūmatauenga kia patua ōna mātua, i whakaritea e rātou kia wehea rāua. Kāore ā Tāwhirimātea i whakaae ā, ka kī atu Waihotia. Ka pepehi tētahi me tētahi ō rātou i ō rātou mātua, engari kāore i taea. Kātahi ka takoto ā Tānemahutu ki runga i tōna whaea ā ka whana i tōna matua ki ōna waewae.

Nō reira, ki ō tātou tūpuna Māori, ko Rangi-e-tū-iho-nei; ko Papatuanuku-e-takoto-nei.

Rangi & Papa

From the first division of time unto the tenth, and to the hundredth and to the thousandth, all was in darkness.

Te Pō nui,

Te Pō roa,

Te Pō uriuri,

Te Pō kerkere,

Te Pō tiwhatiwha,

Te Pō tangotango,

Te Pō tē kitea

Paptuanuku the Earth Mother and Ranginui the Sky Father, the parents of all creation lay joined together and no light came between them. In continuous darkness their children pondered what to do: To kill Them? To separate them? After many disputes, debates and quarrels it was Tāne-Mahuta, God of the forests who slowly forced them apart. The sun shone in and life began to flourish.

Tāne-Mahuta remained with the Earth Mother, and so did Rongo-mā-Tāne God of cultivated food, Haumia-Tiketike God of fern root and wild foods, Tūmatauenga God of war and Tangaroa the Sea god; but Tāwhitimātea God of wind, in moody disagreement went off to join the Sky Father. He frequently returns to ruffle or disrupt or damage those on Earth.

Mei - May

Ngā Kōrero mō Tikipunga

I te wehenga o Ranginui rāua ko Papatuanuku ko Rongomātāne i noho ki te taha o tōna whāea, a Papa. Ka whakatōngia ngā māra kai, ā, ka haere a Puki rāua ko Tuna ki te awa, ā ka whakarere atu i ngā tuna whakaheke ki te wai. Ki ngā rangatira, ko te tikanga ō tēnei īngoa a Tikipunga, ko te hiki ake o ngā punga i te wai. Ko ngā waipuke i muri mai i te raumati te wā pai mō te hopu i ngā tuna whakaheke, he wā pai anō hoki mō te hauhake i te kūmara.

The Naming of Tikipunga

When Rangi, the Sky-father and Papa the Earth-mother were torn asunder, Rongo-mā-tāne walked the earth, crops were planted and grown; Puki and Tuna visited the river and into it cast the eel that shone with the silver of the moon.

What does the word Tikipunga mean? Our rangitira tells us that it means raising of the eel baskets. The silver belly eels are caught on the flood waters of the first heavy rains after summer. It is a time for rejoicing because it is also the time for harvesting the kumara.

The mural, presented by the students of Tikipunga High School, shows the eel in the flood waters, the fisherman and, woven in the background, is the pattern of the kumara.