Ihenga was an early

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

explorer, according to

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. He was the grandson of

Tama-te-kapua In Māori mythology, Māori tradition of New Zealand, Tama-te-kapua, also spelt Tamatekapua and Tama-te-Kapua and also known as Tama, was the captain of the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' canoe which came to New Zealand from Polynesia in about 1350. ...

, who was the captain of the Te Arawa

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

. Tama-te-kapua and his relatives set out for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from

Hawaiki In Polynesian mythology, (also rendered as in Cook Islands Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in many Māori stories. ...

in a

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

. They explored the coast of the North Island before settling in

Maketu Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. Maketu is located in the Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow. It is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on t ...

in the western

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

. Ihenga then traveled south and settled around the

Rotorua lakes Rotorua Lakes District or Rotorua District is a territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. It has one urban area of significant size, the city of Rotorua. The district is governed by Rotorua Lakes Council, which is headq ...

. He first discovered Kaituna, "the chiefly river". From there, his dogs went searching for food and returned with whitebait, prompting Ihenga to search for the nearby water source, which he found and named Te Roto-iti-kite-a-Ihenga, "the little lake seen by Ihenga", now known as Lake Rotoiti. He later discovered and named

Lake Rotorua , image = Lake Rotorua.jpg , caption = Lake Rotorua , alt = Lake Rotorua , image_bathymetry = , pushpin_map=New Zealand#North Island , pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Rotorua , pushpin_relief=yes , caption_bathymetry = , location = R ...

, Te Rotoruanui-a-Kahumatamomoe, or "the second great lake of

Kahumatamomoe Kahumatamomoe (Kahu for short) was an early Māori explorer in Māori mythology, Māori traditions. He travelled with his nephew Ihenga from Rotorua to Kaipara Harbour and then alone around the Coromandel Peninsula and back to Rotorua. Lake Rotoru ...

" and the island

Mokoia Mokoia is a small settlement in south Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3, to the east of Hāwera and about 17 km northwest of Patea. History and culture Mokoia is close to the site of ...

. He settled in

Ngongotahā Ngongotahā is a town on the western shores of Lake Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It is 10 kilometers northwest of Rotorua city, and is part of the Rotorua metropolitan area. Its population was as of Its name is derived from a legend ...

. Ihenga was married to Hinetekakara, the daughter of Kahumatamomoe, and they had a daughter called Hinetekakara. According to legend, the daughter was captured and killed, and her remains were thrown into Lake Rotorua. Ihenga later found the remains at the edge of the lake, and he placed a memorial stone that he named

Ōhinemutu Ohinemutu or Ōhinemutu is a suburb in Rotorua, New Zealand. It includes a living Māori village and the original settlement of Rotorua. Demographics The statistical area of Kuirau, which corresponds to Ohinemutu, covers and had an estimated p ...

, "the end of the girl".

References

Legendary Māori people New Zealand Māori people Arawa (canoe) Legendary Polynesian people {{Māori-bio-stub