Pūhaorangi, (he atua nō te rangi) an atua (god) of the heavens was overwhelmed by the beauty of Te Kuraimonoa (precious treasure) and he fell in love. During the nights he would descend from the heavens to be with her.

At first Te Kuraimonoa believed it was her husband Toi but then realized it was in fact the atua, Pūhaorangi. Te Kuraimonoa became pregnant and the next time Puhaorangi came to her he said, “If our child is born a boy call him ‘Ohomairangi’ (heavenly awakening | born of the heavens).

So it was that Kuraimonoa gave birth to a son, Ohomairangi from whom our Te Arawa whakapapa links with our atua, Pūhaorangi.

Our kaumatua today still speak of our people as ‘Te Heketanga-a-rangi’- those who descend from the heavens, in proud remembrance of the origin of our tūpuna Ohomairangi. Ngāti Ohomairangi was the name of the tribe of people who first arrived on the Arawa waka with Tamatekapua.