Ko Hea Toku Ara

The following patere (chant) has been composed to mark the opening of the new kitchen at Kaputuhi Pa.  It recalls Ngati Kaputuhi whakapapa as descendents of the Tainui canoe and the Ngati Maniapoto tribe.  The patere has been inspired by Dr Pei Te Hurinui Jones’ recording and translation of Ngoki’s chant – Taku Ara i a Turongo.  I have followed a similar style of ‘free translation’, employing poetic license and borrowing from Jones in several parts.

Click here for an English translation

1 5 10 15 20 25 30 31 32 33 34 35 40 45

Ko hea toku ara i heke mai ai au? Ko te ara o Hoturoa I kunenga mai ra i te toi ki Hawaiki. E tu e Hotu kei te kei o tou waka, ko Tainui Kia mihi atu au i au aitanga, Te puna whakatupu tangata. Ko Hotuope, Ko Hotumatapu Ko Motai-tangata-rau. Whakamau i te ara, Ko Ue, ko Rakamaomao, ko Kakati, He putanga ariki, ko Tawhao. Na Tawhao ko Turongo; Takahia te waewae ki te Tairawhiti Ko Mahinaarangi i kitea! Ko te rua ra i moe ai a Raukawa Na Raukawa ko Rereahu; Na Rereahu ko toku taumata na ko Maniapoto! Te tangata takitahi, Ka rangona e te tini, ka rangona e te mano. I aha ha! Tamaki ki raro, Mokau ki runga Ko Te Kawairirangi, ko Rungaterangi; Na Rungaterangi ko Maniaopetini He Maniaopetini ko Taitengahue. Kei nga turanga rau a te toa He ara tau-tika mai ki au. Na aku pekanga-rau mai o Raukawa Ka whakaturia e au ko Kurawari Ko Matangi, ko Tahakoke, ko Whakikauia. He kawei tautohe ki a Te Kanawa Hei hurihuri ma te uri. Na Whakikauia ko Kaputuhi Ko Taitengahue i whaia hei hoa moenga He hononga, ka puta ko Parekura Nana te wai hei waiu mo toku hapu. Tenei te ara ka mau ki au Ka mana ki te whare, Kaputuhi; E tu e Kui, kia tomo mai ki tou whare I kitea e oku papa i nehe ki Waikeria, Ki Te  Kawa. Te tau mai nei kei Hangatiki; Ko Taitengahue kei runga. Me whakakotahi ki a Parekura Ka anga te aroaro hei karanga mai! I aha ha!

Explanatory Notes:

Line

2.     Hoturoa was the Captain of the Tainui canoe which journeyed from Hawaiki and finally settled at Kawhia.

3.     Hawaiki is the ancestral homeland of the Maori, prior to their arrival in Aotearoa.

14.   Mahinaarangi was a high-born female of the East Coast.   Through her, the people of Tainui are able to whakapapa to the tribes of the East Coast.

15.   Raukawa is the eponymous ancestor of the Ngati Raukawa tribe.

17.   Maniapoto is the eponymous ancestor of the Ngati Maniapoto people.

21.   According to tradition, Te Kawairirangi was killed at Tamaki and Rungaterangi at Mokau, hence the saying ‘Mokau ki runga, Tamaki ki raro’.  The full Tainui pepeha or tribal motto reads: Tamaki ki raro, Mokau ki runga, Mangatoatoa ki waenganui, ko Pare Waikato,  ko Pare Hauraki , ko Te Kaokaoroa o Patetere (From Tamaki below, to Mokau above, with Mangatoatoa at the centre, Waikato district, Hauraki district, to the Patetere Range continues.

28.  Kurawari was a daughter of Raukawa and sister to Rereahu.

29.   Matangi was a contemporary of Maniapoto.

30.   Ngati Kaputuhi was accused by Taitengahau Te Kawana in a Native Land Court hearing of inventing the Tahakoke line.  He claimed Whakakauia as a sister to his ancestor Te Kanawa        

34.   Parekura was the second of three children to Taitengahue and Kaputuhi.  The first was Maniauruahu and the last-born was Tarawehi.

35.   The descendents of Parekura alone took the hapu title, Ngati Kaputuhi.

37.   The meeting-house of Ngati Kaputuhi.

39    The meeting-house originally stood at Waikeria, on Ngati Kaputuhi’s Tokanui land, before being shifted to Te Kawa in 1906.  In 1947 it was relocated to its present site, Hangatiki.

42.   Taitengahue is the tekoteko of the meeting-house.

43.   Parekura is the carved pou out front of the meeting-house.