In Māori tradition, Ngātoro-i-rangi (Ngātoro) is the name of a

tohunga In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teache ...

(priest) prominent during the settling of

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 ...

( Aotearoa) by the

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

, who came from the traditional homeland

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. ...

on the '' Arawa'' canoe. He is the ancestor of

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North Is ...

and his travels around

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

and up onto the

Volcanic Plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions throu ...

are the basis of Ngāti Tūwharetoa's claim to those regions.

Rangiātea

Ngātoro-i-rangi was the son of Rakauri and Hineruarangi and was raised at Te Vaitoa in

Rangiātea Rangiātea in New Zealand Māori culture and tradition, is considered to be simultaneously a physical place as well as a metaphysical place. The physical Rangiātea is somewhere in the Pacific Islands, possibly Ra'iātea Island in the Society Islan ...

. He was descended from the Ngāti

Ohomairangi In Māori mythology, Ohomairangi is an important ancestor who lived in Hawaiki six generations before the migration to Aotearoa (New Zealand). He is considered the major ancestor of the people of both Te Arawa and Tainui waka. During his lifetime ...

tribe and was direct successor to the high priest of

Taputapuatea marae Marae Taputapuatea is a large marae complex at Opoa in Taputapuatea, on the south eastern coast of Raiatea. The site features a number of marae and other stone structures and was once considered the central temple and religious center of Eastern ...

at Rangiātea. He also had ancestral connections to

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

, Rangiātea (Ra'iatea) and other islands in the area. Puha-o-rangi, the father of Ohomairangi, was the progenitor of all of the Te Arawa people. He was trained at Taputapuātea marae as a priest and navigator and was renowned for his skills and status. He made a number of journeys around the islands of

and eventually rose to become a powerful high priest with the mana (authority or right) to carry the most powerful of deities. The people of Ngāti Ohomairangi formed two divisions. After the various battles in Hawaiki these two divisions decided to participate in the migration to New Zealand (Aotearoa), and set about building the two great waka (ships)

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are ...

and Arawa.

Journey to Aotearoa

When the Tainui waka and Te Arawa waka were constructed it was intended that Ngātoro-i-rangi should command the

canoe in its journey from Hawaiki to New Zealand. The two waka were anchored together for the initial sea tests before launching. However, Ngātoro-i-rangi was persuaded by

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. ...

to come aboard Te Arawa with his wife to perform the final rituals that would allow the waka to make for open water. While this was happening Tama-te-kapua ordered his crew to head for open water, and thus Ngātoro-i-rangi and his wife were kidnapped. During the course of the voyage, Kearoa, the wife of Ngātoro-i-rangi, had been insulted by Tama-te-kapua. So, Ngātoro-i-rangi called upon a storm to drive the Arawa into ''Te Korokoro o Te Parata'' (The throat of Te Parata), a mid-ocean whirlpool. It was only when the shrieks of the women and children moved his heart with pity that Ngātoro-i-rangi relented, and let the canoe emerge safely.

Central North Island

Upon reaching New Zealand (Aotearoa) Ngātoro-i-rangi left the waka at Te Awa o te Atua (near Matata) and headed inland. As he went about, springs of water appeared where he stamped his foot. These springs are stills seen all over the area, such as around the

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

Lakes district, through to Tokaanu. He also placed

patupaiarehe Patupaiarehe are supernatural beings ( ) in Māori mythology that are described as pale to fair skinned with blonde hair or red hair, usually having the same stature as ordinary people, and never tattooed. They can draw mist to themselves, but te ...

(human-like spirit beings) on the hills. As he was crossing the plains near Tarawera, Ngātoro-i-rangi came across a strange figure named Te Tama-hoi. He was a demon (atua) who was directing evil spells towards Ngātoro-i-rangi. Ngātoro-i-rangi struggled against the demon and eventually overcame him. Ngātoro-i-rangi stamped his foot opening a chasm in the mountain into which Te Tama-Hoi was buried. The chasm became the volcanic rent of

Mount Tarawera Mount Tarawera is a volcano on the North Island of New Zealand within the older but volcanically productive Ōkataina Caldera. Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua, it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissu ...

. Ngātoro-i-rangi eventually arrived at Lake Taupō (Taupō-nui-ā-Tia), and, looking southward, decided to climb the mountain nearest to him, Tauhara and looked out across Taupō-nui-ā-Tia to claim the land he saw. He reached and began to climb the first mountain along with his slave Ngāuruhoe, who had been travelling with him, and named the mountain

Tongariro Mount Tongariro (; ) is a compound volcano in the Taupō Volcanic Zone of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the southwest of Lake Taupō, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of th ...

(the name literally meaning 'looking south'), whereupon the two were overcome by a blizzard carried by the cold south wind. Near death, Ngātoro-i-rangi called back to his two sisters, Kuiwai and Haungaroa, who had also come from Hawaiki but remained upon White Island ( Whakaari) to send him sacred fire which they had brought from Hawaiki. This they did, sending the geothermal fire in the form of two taniwha (powerful spirits) named Te Pupu and Te Haeata, by a subterranean passage to the top of Tongariro. The tracks of these two taniwha formed the line of geothermal fire which extends from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and beneath the

Taupō Volcanic Zone The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand that has been active for the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs north-eastward thro ...

, and is seen in the many volcanoes and hot-springs extending from Whakaari to Tokaanu and up to the Tongariro massif. The fire arrived just in time to save Ngātoro-i-rangi from freezing to death, but Ngāuruhoe was already dead by the time Ngātoro-i-rangi turned to give him the fire. Thus Ngāuruhoe remains frozen there as the volcanic cone we see today. Ngātoro-i-rangi named a large number of places in the Central Plateau of the North Island in order to claim the area on behalf of his descendants, who would eventually return under the mantle of the tribe

. Due to the clouds that swarmed around the mountains

Pihanga Pihanga is a andesitic volcanic peak in the North Island Volcanic Plateau, located to the north of Mount Tongariro, between Tongariro and Lake Taupo. Lake Rotoaira lies to the south-west of Pihanga, and the smaller Lake Rotopounamu is situated ...

, Ruapehu,

, and Ngāuruhoe, the Desert Road side was unknown to Ngātoro-i-rangi at this time which is why the borderlines of Ngati Tuwharetoa are only one side of Mount Ruapehu, the other side being part of the Whanganui tribal area.

Later journeys

Ngātoroirangi eventually left the Central North Island and returned to Maketu to conduct the rituals to bring Te Arawa waka to rest, before finally settling at Motiti Island. However, on account of a curse uttered by his brother-in-law Manaia, Ngātoro-i-rangi led an expedition to Hawaiki, and defeated Manaia in the battle of Ihumoto-motokia. Ngātoro-i-rangi also left a son at Tongareva Island. Ngātoro-i-rangi then returned to New Zealand and fortified Motiti Island, where he was attacked by Manaia, who, with all his host, perished when by mighty spells Ngātoro-i-rangi raised a huge storm called Te Aputahi-ā-Pawa. It is said that as an old man Ngātoro-i-rangi attempted to travel to

Kawhia Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southw ...

to visit his cousin

Hoturoa According to Māori tradition, Hoturoa was the leader of the ''Tainui'' canoe, during the migration of the Māori people to New Zealand, around 1400. He is considered the founding ancestor of the Tainui confederation of tribes ( iwi), who now in ...

who had taken command of the

waka, but he never arrived. Many years later his bones were recovered from the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

with his facial tattoo (tāmoko) still identifiable. It is uncertain where his remains were finally buried with both Kawhia and Motiti island being possible sites.

Mana of Ngāti Tūwharetoa

academic Hemopereki Simon wrote that the mana in particular the mana whenua and mana motuhake of

is derived from the arrival of Ngātoro-i-rangi and that this is best demonstrated culturally through Puhiwahine's moteatea, He '' waiata aroha mo Te Toko'' or more commonly known as " Ka Eke ki Wairaka."

He Waiata Aroha mo Te Toko ("Ka Eke ki Wairaka")

The following lines from this moteatea relate to the history of Ngātoro-i-rangi.

''Kāti au ka hoki ki taku whenua tupu''
''Ki te wai koropupū i heria mai nei''
''I Hawaiki rā anō e Ngātoroirangi''
''E ōna tuāhine Te Hoata, Te Pupū''
''E hū rā i Tongariro, ka mahana i taku kiri.''

References

Bibliography

*R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), p185. *John TH Grace, Tuwharetoa: A history of the Māori People of the Taupo District (Wellington: Reed, 1959). *Simon, Hemopereki, "Te Arewhana Kei Roto i Te Rūma: An Indigenous Neo-Disputatio on Settler Society, Nullifying Te Tiriti, ‘Natural Resources’ and Our Collective Future in Aotearoa New Zealand," ''Te Kaharoa,'' 9 (1), https://www.tekaharoa.com/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/6/4 *E.R. Tregear, ''Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary'' (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay 1891), pp280–281. *Waitangi Tribunal, He Maunga Rongo: Report on the Central North Island Claims Vol.4, (Legislation Direct: Wellington, 2008), p1282, pp1468–1469. *Mataara Wall, Bruce Stirling and Lennie Johns, ''Ngati Tutemohuta: A Maori History of North East Taupo'' (Pakira Publishing: Taupo, 2009). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngatoro-i-rangi Legendary Māori people Tohunga