Kupe in The Hokianga - Roadside stories

[Traditional Māori instruments (11 secs)] [Narrator] Northland's Hokianga harbour is a large tidal harbour. It occupies an important place in New Zealand's history. It is from here, about 40 generations ago, that the great Polynesian navigator, Kupe, is said to have left to return to his Pacific homeland of Hawaiiki, following his extensive exploration of this country. Kupe is credited with being the first explorer to find New Zealand, whose Māori name is Aotearoa, which means 'land of the long white cloud'. This name is said to have come from Kupe's wife, Kuramārōtini, who saw cloud on the horizon, a likely sign of land, and called out. [Kuramārōtini] He ao, he ao, he ao tea, he ao tea roa' -- a cloud, a cloud, a white cloud, a long white cloud'. [Narrator] According to Māori stories, Kupe's journey to Aotearoa was triggered by difficulties with fishing in his homeland of Hawaiki. The problem was a great octopus belonging to Kupe's competitor, Muturangi. Kupe set out in his canoe to kill the octopus, and the pursuit brought him to New Zealand. Kupe's arrival here in his canoe named Matawhaorua is legendary in the history of Northland's Ngāpuhi tribe. Guided by light reflected from the mountain, Te Ramaroa, Kupe entered Hokianga Harbour. Kupe was so awestruck by the strength of the light that he named the harbour Te Puna-o-te-ao-mārama or 'spring of the world of light'. The light struck the northern shore of the Hokianga, which he named Te Pouahi or 'the post of fire'. When Kupe returned to Hawaiki, he asked if he should return to Aotearoa. [Kupe] Ka hoki ahau? E kore ahau e hokianga mai! Shall I return? I shall never return! [Narrator] Te Hokianga-a-Kupe means the great returning place of Kupe, and is the harbour's full name. Before he returned to his homeland of Hawaiiki, Kupe prepared for the long voyage by growing kūmara at Pākanae on the southern side of the harbour. A memorial to Kupe was erected there in 1955. Kupe also trapped fish among the rocky reefs and boulders that litter the southern coastline of the harbour beyond Koutu Point. When he was on the northern shore, Kupe asked some of his party to prepare food in an earth oven. But when he found it to be cold, he cursed and banished them. This incident occurred at Kohukohu, which means 'the curse'. When Kupe departed the Hokianga, he left behind two pet taniwha, or water monsters, at the harbour entrance. They were called Āraiteuru and Niua, and were to guard the Hokianga and protect travellers crossing the massive sand bar. One of these taniwha was believed to be Kupe's son, Tuputupuwhenua. Kupe threw him into a spring in order to turn him into a taniwha. After returning to Hawaiiki, Kupe provided precise directions as to how to reach the Hokianga. Some generations later, his refurbished canoe carried a new group to these shores. Accompanied by a second waka, Māmari, both vessels were guided safely over the bar by the two taniwha left by Kupe. They are said to still guard the harbour today. Most Māori tribes have stories about Kupe that describe his adventures in terms of their own area. One northern story credits the taniwha Araiteuru with the creation of the Hokianga. She carved out the bed of the harbour when she came ashore to breed. She finally came to rest in the landscape as the prominent range to the north of the Hokianga known as Maungataniwha, the taniwha mountain.