Whakapapa
Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi kia rangatira te tuu.
Rauru was a man of one mind. There was no going back on his word, hence he was called Rauru Kiitahi (Rauru of the one word). Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi was a pre-migration iwi. Within the paahuki of Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi can be found place names and hapuu that were named by Te Kaahui Rere prior to the arrival of Aotea - Te Ihonga, Tieke, Tapuarau, Potiki-a-Rehua, Oturooriki, Te Kiri-o-Rauru, Moerangi, Ngaa Ariki and Te Ihupuku. From the eponymous ancestor Rauru were many hapuu, of which 12 remain active today.
This is the ancient koorero as passed down through the generations and is acknowledged by iwi within Aotea.
Ko Aotea Te Waka | Aotea is the Canoe Turi is the Commander |
When Turi arrived in Paatea, Taikehu was the prominent man who belonged to Te Kaahui Maunga, of the Te Kaahui Rere people. The Paatea River at the time was called Te Awanui-a-Taikehu (the great river of Taikehu).
Turi and his wife, Rongorongo, had four children, Tuuranga-i-mua (a son), the eldest, Taaneroa (a daughter),
Tutawa-whaanau-moana (a son born at sea), and the youngest, Tongapootiki (who was born in Paatea). In time the family grew prompting them to move out in different directions within Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi. As a result of population growth Tuuranga-i-mua’s descendants moved south of Paatea. Tutawa-whaanau-moana and Tongapotiki’s issue moved to Whenuakura and Waitootara. Taneroa’s issue moved northwest.
According to oral koorero of the elders of Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, this was planned and through generations and intermarriage, the knowledge about the Kaahui Rere traditions declined letting its identity eventually become intermingled with the traditions of the Aotea waka. It was during this time that whakapapa became intertwined because of the strong influence of the Aotea people. However, koorero of the Kaahui Rere and their place-names remain significant to Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi today.
Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi Rohe
The rohe of Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi at 1840 began at Kaihau-a-Kupe (the mouth of the Whanganui River). The kaainga or occupied sites at Kaihau-a-Kupe included Kaihokahoka (ki tai), Kokohuia (the swampy area at Castlecliff), Te Whare Kaakaho (the Wordsworth Street area), Pungarehu/Te Ahi Tuatini (Cobham Bridge), Te Oneheke (between Karamu Stream and Churton Creek), Patupuhou, Nukuiro, and Kaieerau (St John’s Hill).
The rohe then extended from Kaieerau along the watershed to Motuhou, Kaihokahoka (ki uta), Taurangapiupiu, Taumatarata, Maataimoana, Taurangakawa and north into the Matemateaonga Ranges and the area known as Tawhiwhi. After the Matemateaonga Ranges, is the Mangaehu Stream where the Mangaehu Paa was situated, near the source of Te Awanui-a-Taikehu (Paatea River). Between Te Awanui-a-Taikehu and Whenuakura Rivers (Te Arei o Rauru) were the paa of Maipu and Hawaiki.
Many Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi paa and kaainga were also situated along Te Awanui-a-Taikehu, such as Oowhio, Kaiwaka, Arakirikiri, Ngaa-papa-tara-iwi, Tutumaahoe and Parikaarangaranga. At the mouth of the river sat the kaainga and marae of Rangitaawhi and Wai-o-Turi which remain today. Along the shoreline between Rangitaawhi and Tuaropaki lies Te Kiri o Rauru. Between Rangitaawhi and the mouth of the Whenuakura River stood Tihoi Paa (where Te Rauparaha rested).
From Tihoi the rohe extends to Waipipi, Tapuarau, Waitootara River, Waiinu, Waikaramihi and Te Wai-o-Mahuki (near Te Ihonga). It continues past the Ototoka Stream to Poopoia (the marae of Aokehu at the mouth of the Okehu Stream), and then continues onwards to the mouth of the Kai Iwi Stream near the marae of Taipake Tuturu. From here the rohe stretches past Tutaramoana (he kaitiaki moana) back to Kaihau-a-Kupe.