Puhi-moana-ariki

This effusion was composed and sung with the intention of annoying his brother Toroa. Puhi has also a jeer for Tane-atua when he sang "Travelling inland is a homeless man," for the latter was a restless wanderer. Puhi also expressed his intention of continuing the dispute. "I will contend throughout the seventh and eighth months, and for the whole season. Leave me and mine to pick up morsels of food in autumn. Then shall be heard the sound of food planting." Here comes the dire insult: "Your food shall be toroa and taiko." These are the names of two birds, but the former was also the name of his brother. The mentioning of a chief's name in such a manner was deemed a great insult, and termed a tapatapa, or challenge. So it was on account of this insult in claiming his elder brother as a food that Puhi received his second name Puhi-Kai-Ariki, or Puhi the eater of his elder-born.

It must be here understood that the seed tubers of kumara, or sweet potato, were always planted in a most ceremonial manner, accompanied by the chanting of planting songs, rendered by one, two, or three of the adepts at such proceedings. Hence the chanting of such a song by Puhi would, no doubt, have been perfectly correct, he being a younger son of the principal family of the immigrants. But this song was composed and sung by Puhi for the express purpose of insulting his elder brother Toroa. the ariki or the leader of the family by the law of primogeniture, who was necessarily an important and tapu person.

When Toroa heard the insult directed at him by his younger brother, he retaliated by singing a tewha, or planting song, into which he introduced a belittling use of the name of Puhi:—

Te komiti runga, miti raro, miti haha, Ka tipu te wai, ka ora te wai. Ko te wai na wai, page 68 Kote wai na Uru-mananawa. Ka tohi atu tama ki te akerautangi, Te hekenga o Tu ki tauaraia. E Puhi, E; Ngahoro E; Kai tai, kai te whakarua koia e-e. Te ko o makauea ki runga o Maketu, Tatara mai i Hikurangi, Ko te ika moe iahuaroa. Ka piri te hono ko mau whakaarahia, Uru o Weka ki te tuku roa ki te wai puatea. Ka mahuta e Puhi E; Kai tai, kai tai, kai te whakarua koia e e, A—Ha—Ha. The quarrel between the brothers had now become so bitter that Puhi decided to take the Mata-tua canoe and seek a home elsewhere. For some reason nearly all the immigrants accompanied him, including his son Rahiri, who is said to have given his name to one of the northern tribes.

The only immigrants left at Whaka-tane were the six members of Toroa family. Neither the Mata-tua canoe nor any of its crew ever returned southward to Whaka-tane. They are said to have settled in the North and to have become the founders of the tribe Nga-Puhi.

It is for this reason that the name of Puhu-Kai-Ariki was selected as one of the figures on the Takitimu Carved House, while that of Toroa represented the Mata-tua people of Whaka-tane. As well as being linked to Ngāpuhi in the north, the Mataatua is said to have landed in the Bay of Plenty. According to the traditions two visitors, Hoaki and Taukata, arrived on the Hīnakipākau-o-te-rupe from Hawaiki, bringing kao (dried kūmara, or sweet potato) which they gave to Toi, said to be one of the first great Polynesian explorers. Toi sent the canoe Te Aratāwhao to Hawaiki captained by Tama-ki-hikurangi, charging him with retrieving more kūmara. Tama stayed on in Hawaiki and sent the kūmara back on the Mataatua canoe, captained by Toroa with his brother Puhi, his sister Muriwai, and his daughter Wairaka. The canoe arrived at Whakatāne, which was named after an incident where the Mataatua had come adrift. Wairaka saved the vessel, uttering the words ‘Me whakatāne au i ahau nei!’ (I must act like a man!)... According to traditions, the brothers Toroa and Puhi fought over food resources, and Puhi took the canoe northward to Tākou Bay in the northern Bay of Islands, where he became an important ancestor for Ngāpuhi. Source: Rāwiri Taonui, 'Canoe traditions - Canoes of the Bay of Plenty', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/canoe-traditions/page-4 (accessed 2 November 2019)

http://www.whangaroa.co.nz/Takou-Bay.cfm Takou Bay lies on the eastern coast of the Far North district between the Bay of Islands and Whangaroa Harbour. This wide north-east facing bay contains a 2km long beach bisected by the broad and shallow Takou River. Rocky shores at each end of the beach help to provide an ideal habitat for sea-life, making the bay a favoured spot for both bathers and fishermen alike. Enhancing its appeal as a pristine, unspoiled spot, Takou Bay is often described as being “off the beaten track”.

The location might be remote but its significance to iwi Maori is huge. Both Ngapuhi and Bay of Plenty tribes agree that the great waka (canoe) Mataatua rests at Takou Bay and in 1986 a reunion was held by both groups in the Bay of Islands to celebrate its travels.

In Maori tradition, Mataatua was one of the great voyaging canoes by which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand. Maori traditions say that Mataatua was initially sent from the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki some 1000 years ago to bring supplies of kumara (sweet potato) to Maori settlements in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Moves are afoot to recognise the resting place of the Mataatua waka at Takou Bay as a wahi tapu (sacred place). The site is around the Takou Bay river, about 30km north of Kerikeri.

The double-hulled waka was capable of carrying a large number of people and was captained by the chief Toroa, who was accompanied by his brother Puhi, sister Muriwai and daughter Wairaka and others. Descendants of these ancestors are the iwi Ngapuhi of Northland, and the eastern tribes of Te Whanau Apanui, Te Whakatohea, Ngati Awa, Ngai Tuhoe and Ngaiterangi.

After arriving safely in Aotearoa at Whakatane, in the eastern Bay of Plenty, a conflict developed between chief Toroa and his brother, Puhi, who headed north on the Mataatua with some of the crew. It's believed Mataatua made landfall in the North at Whangape in the North Hokianga and that it made various trips around the North Island before it was finally laid to rest in the Takou River.

One version of its history is that the waka was carried overland from the Hokianga. While traveling overland, tiheru (the bailer) was lost in the forest, Te Puke Tiheru o te Mataatua. This forest is now known as Puketi.

Another version tells of the Mataatua bailer being lost at Motukokako (Cape Brett) where it turned into a rock, known as Tiheru o Mataatua, outside Cape Brett. In the far north there are several references to the lost tiheru (bailer) – Te Tii Waitangi and Te Tii Mangonui are named to commemorate it.

Finally Puhi settled at Takou, planting kumara, taro and gourds. Iwi who descend from the Mataatua waka acknowledge that the Takou River is the waka's final resting place. A monument, erected by the descendants of the Mataatua in 1986, stands on the southern banks of the river, on private land, about 2.5km from the river mouth.

Te Huranga Hohaia of Te Tii, recently presenting evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal for the Ngapuhi claims, reflected on a story passed down to him of how the waka tried to enter the Takou River but the sea was too rough. On board was a woman named Tawhiu Rau who was arguing with her husband. The tohunga (priest) of the waka ordered that she and her children be thrown overboard to appease the gods and restore calmness to the sea. As a result, Tawhiu Rau and her children were thrown overboard where they were turned to stone and can still be seen today at the entrance of the river mouth. The rock, Kohakoha, marks the river mouth and the entrance to the river.

Ngati Rehia kaumatua Reuben HeiHei says Tawhi Rau is recognised as the kaitiaki taniwha (sacred guardian) of Takou. There are several recorded archaeological sites along the river and several pa (fortified villages) in the immediate vicinity.

The wahi tapu registration report was written by Takou Bay resident and Historic Places Trust Maori heritage adviser Atareiria HeiHei. Much of the oral history was provided by Ngati Rehia kaumatua Reuben HeiHei and Meeke Puru.

Public access to the beach was closed in October 2011, to allow local shellfish stocks to replenish after a group of 4 scuba divers were apprehended with more than 17 times their legal limit of paua (abalone). Tragically, all of their illegally-taken shellfish were undersized. It is not known when the road will re-open to this out-of-the-way but much-revered stretch of Northland's coast.

(Excerpts taken from Bay Chronicle editor, Keri Molloy's 12/05/2011 newspaper article and from author Rawiri Taonui's account on the website 'Ko Tenei te Wahi/This is the Place'). http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/northland/bay-chronicle/...

GEDCOM Note

Bio notes: Start of Ngāpuhi