'Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamura' 'When you understand the past, you know your future'
The first peoples of Western Bay of Plenty
Ko ngā pae tawhiti, whaia kia tata. Ko ngā pae tata, whakamaua kia tina. The potential for tomorrow, depends on what we do today
The source of life: Hawaiki is a place of great importance in Māori tradition, and appears in many songs, proverbs and whakapapa (genealogies). In tradition, the ancestors of Māori came to New Zealand in their canoes from Hawaiki, navigating the seas by the stars
Location unknown Māori have wondered about the true location of Hawaiki. The actual location has never been confirmed, and it is uncertain if it is a real, physical island, or a mythical place. Some have associated Hawaiki with the Tahitian island Ra‘iātea (Rangiātea, in Māori). Like Hawaiki, Rangiātea is seen as both a physical and spiritual place
Acknowledgement:
Ngahiraka-Mai-Tawhiti,
Te Kura Waka
Today, waka from the Bay of Plenty continue to navigate to Tahiti by the stars.
Western Bay of Plenty whānau/hapū/iwi today: The tradition of the earliest known first peoples to the Western Bay of Plenty migrated from Hawaiki arriving in the waka:
Te Arawa to a rohe known today as Te Arawa Coastal ranging from: Ōtanewainuku, Te Puke, Maketū, Kaituna, Ōtamarākau
Mātaatua & Takitimu, to a rohe known today as 'Tauranga Moana' reaching from Waihī Beach, Bowentown, Matakana Island, Mauao to Pāpāmoa
Iwi of Tauranga Moana From the waka Tākitimu and Mātaatua - click logo to learn more about our hapu/iwi