Rongorongo is an ancestress from Ra'iātea Island (

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 Māori tradition, particularly of the

Ngā Rauru Ngā Rauru (also ''Ngā Rauru Kītahi'') is a Māori iwi in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 4,047 Māori claimed affiliation to Ngā Rauru, representing 12 hapu. History Early history The early history of Ngā Rau ...

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi. History Early his ...

Ngāruahine Ngāruahine is a Māori iwi of New Zealand located in South Taranaki, North Island. A treaty settlement was signed with the Crown in 2014. Following ratification of the settlement with the Crown, Te Korowai o Ngaruahine Trust (TKONT) was establ ...

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

, and

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

. She was the wife of Turi, the chief of the '' Aotea'' canoe which was given to Rongorongo as a present by her father Toto. After Rongorongo overheard

Uenuku Uenuku (or Uenuku-Kōpako, also given to some who are named after him) is an atua of rainbows and a prominent ancestor in Māori tradition. Māori believed that the rainbow's appearance represented an omen, and one kind of yearly offering made ...

chanting incantations of Turi's murder, Turi and his people fled to

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 ...

in the ''Aotea'' and arrived at the mouth of the

Patea River Patea ( ) is the third-largest town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Pātea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Whanganui on . Hāwera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east ...

. In te reo, ''rongorongo'' holds meaning to the concepts of news, fame, and report; or it can be a

verb A verb () is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descri ...

(-''hia'', -''na'') to describe experiences such as hearing, smelling, and feeling.

References

Māori mythology Women in mythology Legendary progenitors Legendary Polynesian people {{Māori-myth-stub