The Three Waves

Te Ao Hou, May 1957, Page 46

The Three Waves by Whirinaki Maori School NGA NGARU E TORU Tena te miharo ki te matakitaki i nga ngaru e haeremai ana ki runga i te tahuna i te kuhunga mai i Hokianga. Ma te pakiwaitara nei pea e whakamarama te timatanga o enei ngaru. A Kupe, e hoki ana ki Hawaiki. Kua haere a ia i te tahauru me te taha rawhiti o Aotearoa, a e hoki ana ki tana iwi i Hawaiki ki te korero atu i nga mea papai o Aotearoa a he tino kainga hei haeretanga mai. Te nui o te manu i nga ngahere, nga ika i roto i nga awa, ae ra whai hua o tenei whenua. Engari i mua o tana hokinga he mahi ano tana ki te whakatika i tana waka, i a Tokimatao-whaorua mo te moana, a ko te wahi i u ai a ia ki te mahi i tana waka ko Hokianga otira kahore ano kia whakaingoahia ko Hokianga. I tana porangi ki te hoki ki Hawaiki, mahue ana tana kuri me tana kupenga i runga i te one i te wahi e kiia nei inaianei ko Onoke. I te roa o tana rangatira e ngaro atu ana, ka mea te kuri nei kia kohatu a ia mo te tupono hoki mai o tana rangatira kei reira tonu a ia e tatari ana. Kei reira tonu taua kohatu i tenei ra. I haere atu a Kupe i tenei wahi a i te mea e hoki mai ana ano tapahia ana tenei wahi ko Hokianga ara ko te hokinga mai. I te taenga ki te tahuna, ka whakahau a Kupe i nga e toru ki te tiaki i te kuhunga atu ki Hokianga. Ko te ngaru tata ki uta ko Ngarupae-ki-uta. Ko te ngaru i waenganui ko Ngaruroa, a ko te ngaru i waho ara ko te mea nui o enei ngaru e toru ko Ngaru-nui. Akakoa kua maha ke nga rau tau i te haerenga atu o Kupe, kei reira tonu nga ngaru nei, na Kupe nei i whakahau kia tu tiaki i taua wahi. Mehemea ka tae koe ki Opononi, me haere koe ki Hokianga. Kei reira ka kite koe i nga ngaru nei, a Ngaru-pae-ki-uta. Ngaru-roa, me Ngaru-nui, i mahue nei i a Kupe i nehe ra. A most fascinating sight is to watch the rollers come eternally tumbling in over the bar at the entrance of the Hokianga Harbour. The following story is the key to their origin. Kupe's destination was Hawaiiki. He had cruised the east and west coasts of Aotearoa and had many things to report to the Polynesians when he arrived back at Hawaiiki. Aotearoa was indeed the land to migrate to. There were forests teeming with bird-life, rivers alive with fish; in all it was indeed a land of plenty. Before his departure from Aotearoa he had to make his canoe Tokimataowhaorua seaworthy, and what better place to do it than on the shores of the Hokianga Harbour (at this time he had not named the harbour). In Kupe's haste to return to Hawaiiki, he left his dog and fishing net on the shores of the Southern Hokianga Harbour at a place called Onoke. The dog fretted in his master's absence, so as time marched on he willed himself to change into stone, so if by chance one day his master were to return, he would be awaiting him right where he had been left. He is still there today. And because of this “Hokianga” was the name that Kupe gave to our harbour—meaning of course “Returning”. Kupe departed from Aotearoa at this point. On his way out over the bar he commanded three waves to guard the entrance to this harbour. The wave nearest the shore he named “Ngarupae ki uta”, meaning “safe landing”. The middle wave he named “Ngaruroa” meaning “The long wave.” Lastly the largest of the three waves he called “Ngarunui” and as the name suggests it means gigantic wave. Although it is hundreds of years since Kupe's departure from our shores, these waves are still at the entrance of our harbour. It was Kupe who commanded them to stand guard. If by chance some of you may happen to pass through Opononi one day, you should make a point of going out to the Hokianga Heads. There you will see the mightly rollers coming in in groups, one, two, three—Ngarupae ki uta, Ngaruroa and Ngarunui—just as Kupe left them away back in the dim past.