MY CULTURE

This page is about our stories... The stories that link us to the land, the mountains, the rivers and the sea. Anei wetahi hei taonga mo tatou te iwi...
Nau mai, haere mai... panui mai   
GENERAL CULTURE
THE MEANING OF KA MATE:
an over view of the Ka Mate haka including translation.

MANA WAHINE
PAPATUANUKU MOTHER EARTH Papatuanuku is the mother earth while Ranginui is the vast expanse of the heavens. Originally they were locked in a loving embrace that lasted almost for ever.

THE STORY OF HINEAHUONE  Hineahuone is in fact the garden of mortal man. However Hineahuone’s auspicious life began, literally, as a hand full of dirt. In fact it was Tane who wanted a wife

HINETITAMA & HINENUIOTEPO Tane Mahuta created Hineahuone from the sacred soils of Kurawaka. Then he used his nose to breath life into her nostrils and took her to be his wife. She bore him a daughter

RONA THE WOMAN IN THE MOON The story of Rona is a classic Maori tale and is used to teach us about respect for all things. Rona it seems was not a lazy girl but her husband was very demanding

MAHUIKA Mahuika was the grandmother of the mischievous hero Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. She lived in a cave near his village. Mahuika was the keeper of the ancient fires

TE HERENGA WAKA

MAUI POTIKI - NUKUTAIMEMEHA Nukutaimemeha was the waka of the famous demi-god Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. He was renown as a great trickster and thrilled the ancient Maori world with his daring


TAMATEKAPUA - TE ARAWA A young chief called Tamatekapua captained Te Arawa. Indeed it was Tamatekapua’s actions that led to the hurried departure of Te Arawa in the first place

TOROA & PUHI - MATAATUA Mataatua was the waka in which the crew of Aratawhao returned to Aotearoa. Under the leadership of Hoaki, the canoe traveled to Hawaiiki to collect kumara

HOTUROA -TAINUI The famous chief Hoturoa captained the Tainui canoe. He and his fellow tribesmen decided to build a voyaging waka to escape the endless wars and food shortages

TAMATEA-ARIKINUI - TAKITIMU Takitimu is one of the most sacred waka to travel to Aotearoa. It was commissioned by the chief Tamatea-Arikinui. He gathered some leading tohunga together

HINEHAKIRIRANGI - HOROUTA Hinehakirirangi was the sister of Paoa,captain of Horouta canoe. According to east coast oral traditions Horouta began it’s journey from the Gisborne region

TOITEHUATAHI - TE PAEPAE Te Paepae-ki-Rarotonga was the canoe of the great chief Toi-te-huatahi, or as some knew him Toi-kai-rakau. Toi was the most influential chief of his time

TANIWHARAU

MOKOHIKUWARU In many stories Mokohikuwaru is said to have lived in a cave on Mount Taranaki. He was, in fact, a dangerous reptile god with very strong links to the underworld 

MANGAPUERA Mangapuera was a very strange mix of creatures indeed. It lived and hunted along the banks of the Wanganui River. Mangapuera is described as having a lizard like body

KAPUWAI Kapuwai was a magnificent creature that had a man’s body but the head of a dog. In some stories he is covered with scales

MOREMORE Moremore was the son of Pania, the maiden of the reef. Pania’s home was essentially the sea but every night she came ashore to sleep at a small freshwater spring

MOKAI RANGATIRA

MOKOMOKO Despite his small size and cute appearance, gecko terrified early Maori settlers. Reptiles are the children of Punga, son of Tangaroa.

RONGOKAKO Undoubtedly one of the most important members of our family, the Kiwi represents the soul of Tane Mahuta and lives in the heart of the forest.






Will be adding more images each month... my hope is that kura and kai-ako start using my blog as a resource... nga mihi ki a koutou nga kai tautoko o te kaupapa Maori... mauriora