top of page

I

Wellbeing

Home

ihenga and the patupaiarehe

Ngāti Ohomairangi

taha_0,5x.png
I ngā rā o tuawhakarere, ko Te Tūāhu-a-te-Atua i te tihi o Ngongotahā te kāinga o tētehi iwi porehu.  E ai ki te kōrero, he iwi ira atua i mau ai i a rātau te mana atua, ka mutu, i mōhio whānuihia te iwi rā e kīia nei ko te Patupaiarehe.
 
He tokoiti noa iho ngā tāngata i kite i te Patupaiarehe i tā rātau noho ki runga rawa rā.  Heoi, he maha ngā whakamāramatanga rerekē i puta ai i ngā waha o te hunga tokoiti i waimarie ki te kite i a rātau.  Hei tā ētehi, he kiritea, hei tā ētehi atu he kiri pūwhero, he urukehu hoki.  He pango te tae o ngā karu o ētehi, he kikorangi te tae o ngā karu o ētehi.
 
He iwi rangimārie, ehara noa iho i te iwi whawhai, ehara hoki i te pukuriri.
 
Ahakoa tā rātau noho ki te tihi o te maunga, i ētehi wā ka heke rātau ki te moana o Rotorua ki te mahi īnanga, ki te tiki wai hoki i te korenga o tētehi puna wai e tata ana ki tō rātau pā.  Nā ngā wāhine o te iwi Patupaiarehe te wai i tiki i tētehi puna i raro tonu i ngā pari o te taha raki, i te taha tonu o Kauae, te urupā tapu o Ngāti Whakaue.  Koirā te wā tuatahi i tūpono ai a Ihenga ki te wahine Patupaiarehe i a ia e whakakī ana i tāna tahā ki te wai hei whakahoki māna ki tōna kāinga.
 
Tae rawa ake a Ihenga ki ngā tahataha o te awa ka kitea te auahi e rewa ake ana ki runga rā e māhirahira ai ia kia pikingia te maunga kia kitea atu ko wai, he aha rānei e noho ana ki runga i te maunga rā.  Hei tā ētehi, ehara noa iho i te auahi, engari, he kohu Patupaiarehe kē.  Heoi anō, ka uru a Ihenga ki te wao nui o te maunga, ā, ka tīmata tana piki haere ki runga. Ka hiainu a Ihenga, heoi, ahakoa tana kaha kimi i tētehi puna, auare ake, kīhai i paku kitea tētehi.  Nō reira, ka piki haere tonu a Ihenga kia tae rā anō ia ki tētehi wāhi mīharo rawa atu, otirā, ko te pā o ngā Patupaiarehe.
 
Nā, ka kitea atu tētehi wahine ātaahua o te iwi Patupaiarehe, ā, ka hoatu ia i tana tahā wai ki a Ihenga hei inu māna.  I tino aro atu te iwi Patupaiarehe ki a ia nā te mea kāore anō rātau i tino waia ki te momo pēnei i a Ihenga, he rerekē te āhua, he rerekē te tae o te kiri me ngā makawe, he mangumangu, he aha kē atu rānei, ā, ka tīmata ki te patapatai.  Nā reira i māharahara ai a Ihenga i te korenga ōna i mōhio ki ō rātau hiahia.   Ākene pea i pīrangi ki te patu i a ia hei kai mā rātau, nō reira, me pēhea hoki e kore ai ka pūrere atu ia ki raro, ki te pūtake o te maunga i te wā tere rawa atu ka taea. 
 
Ka whāia a Ihenga e te iwi Patupaiarehe, heoi, he pōturi rawa nō te oma a te nuinga i kore ai a Ihenga e mau.  Hāunga rā tētehi, arā, ko te wahine nāna tonu nei te tahā wai i hoatu ki a Ihenga.  He hiahia nōna ki a Ihenga i unuhia katoatia ai ōna kākahu e tere ake ai tana oma kia mau a Ihenga i a ia hei tāne māna.  I māharahara a Ihenga nā te mea mehemea ka mau kāore pea ia e kite anō i tāna ake wahine.
 
I taua wā tonu rā ka toko ake te whakaaro i a Ihenga kia pania katoatia tana kiri ki te kōkōwai i tana pūtea i kawe ai ia e mutu ai tā te wahine Patupaiarehe whai i a ia i te haunga o te kōkōwai, ā, ananā!  I tutuki.  Ka tahuri atu te wahine rā, ā, ka hoki ake ia ki runga e wātea ai a Ihenga ki te hoki atu ki tana wahine e tatari nei ki te taha moana o Rotorua.

He mea whakamana tēnei kōrero e Norma Sturley, koeke o Ngāti Whakaue.

Qualities: identity, relationships

Did you know?

There are a number of other places where Patupaiarehe were thought to live (and some people believe they still do).  

You can see a Waka Huia episode on the Patupaiarehe of Ngāti Maniapoto here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV2tuJv4GkQ

Here’s a tip:

Want to find more information about the Patupaiarehe or Īhenga?  If you are not sure how to search for reliable information about these or other New Zealand topics, you could try visiting Many Answers.  Here is an entry on Many Answers about how to find information on Māori myths and legends:

https://anyquestions.govt.nz/many_answers/maori-myths-and-legends

 

Many Answers is part of Any Questions which is a safe, free service that lets you chat to a real librarian between 1pm and 6pm every weekday.  They won’t do your homework for you but they will help point you in the right direction and make sure you are finding correct information!

More to read:

https://teara.govt.nz/en/patupaiarehe

From Rotorua Library:

Ngā whetū Matariki i whānakotia, by Miriama Kamo

Taniwha, giants and supernatural creatures: He taniwha, he tipua, he patupaiarehe, by Alexander Wyclif

The seven stars of Matariki, by Toni Rolleston-Cummins

Te Huihui o Matariki, by Toni Rolleston-Cummins

 

This entry is related to these other entries:

Koro & Moko Fishing, Part Four: Īhenga and Hinetekakara

Sources:

Fairy Folk Tale of the Maori, Chapter II, by James Cowan, 1925

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-CowFair-t1-body-d2.html

bottom of page