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aotearoa - ruaumoko - the myth



After NGATORO-I-RANGI, tohunga and helmsman of the Arawa and first ancestor of the Te-Arawa tribe, landed on Aotearoa, he undertook a journey into the interior of the country. On his way he caused springs to burst forth in waterless valleys, trees to grow on hills and lakes to fill with fish. Finally he climbed the snow covered Mt Tongariro. A snow storm killed his companion and he too almost froze to death. In greatest need he called on his sisters in HAWAIKI for help. Te Hoata and Te Pupu travelled beneath the floor of the Pacific. They passed through Whakaari, Moutohora, Okakaru, Rotoehu, Rotoiti, Tarawera, Whakarewarewa, Orakeikorako and Taupo bringing fire to Tongariro and so saved Ngatoro-i-rangi. On the path taken by the two sisters the fire still burns today, everlasting from the EARTH. On his return to the coast near Mt TARAWERA, Ngatoro-i-rangi confronted and challenged the sorcerer, Tama-o-Hoi. Ngatoro-i-rangi overcame the evil spirit and banished him to the entrails of the mountain

Afterwards, the Tuhou-rangi and Ngati Rangi-tihi lived on Mt Tarawera. Their ancestors lie buried on the mountain which possessed special powers and was tapu. At the foot of Mt Tarawera lies the picturesque Lake Rotomahana on whose shores stood the world-famous Pink and White Terraces. These sinter terraces formed by the geysirs Te Tarata and Otukapuarangi were much visited by travellers in the 19th century. The Maori guided the newcomers to the sights. It was the tohunga, Tuhoto Ariki from Te Wairoa, a direct descendant of Ngatoro-i-rangi, who warned his people of the consequences of change in their way of life and prophesied misfortune. On 31 May 1886 on a trip across Lake Rotomahana to the terraces, a group of pakeha tourists and their Maori guides saw a fully manned waka, a war canoe, which glided silently over the water close by. Ten days later, in the early hours of 10th June 1886, Tarawera erupted. It buried the villages of Te Ariki, Moura, Waitangi and Te Wairoa under a metre-thick layer of ash. 153 people, almost all of them Tuhou-rangi and Ngati Rangi-tihi lost their lives. After more than a week tohunga Tuhoto Ariki was rescued from his buried house and was taken to hospital in Rotorua. He died one day later. During the examination the doctor had cut off his hair, not realizing that the head of a tohunga is tapu and must never be touched.


■  Earth Art Works from Maunga Tarawera


The Pink and White Terraces are irretrievably lost. One hundred and ten years have passed since the volcanic eruption. After being printed, the EARTH samples taken from Whakarewarewa appear in a range of colours from white to red.