Ngā Rauropi Whakaoranga

Reference to Governor King's ship (1793), "which brought us pigs, potatoes, and cabbages for the first time" (p.8)

"Kupe's canoe was called Tapuae-putuputu, and in it Kupe brought the rat, and a species of roi (fern-root) that grows at Ohuri, Waima, Hokianga" (p.15)

Tumoana's migration. Settlement around Hokianga. "When at Oruru, Rua [Tumoana"s daughter] took a gourd and filled it with the fat of dogs, duly prepared with scented raukawa leaves" (p.11)

Account of introduction of leprosy (tūwhenua) (pp.12-13)

Page 8, a karakia used in planting the hue: 

Tena te uru, ka uru There is the head that is forming Tena te toro, ka toro There is the spreading, advancing Ka toro ki hea? Advancing to where? Ka toro ki Wae-roti, ki Wae-roti Extending to Wae-roti, to Wae-roti Ki te tupuranga mai o te hue To the place where sprung the hue He hue nunui, hue roroa "Tis a large hue, a long hue; Tapa hue, tapa tetere i a hue Plant the hue, that the hue may swell Kia whawhakia ra te kawekawe Then pluck off the tendrils O Puta-i-te-Hue Of Puta-i-te-Hue

"In his travels from Te Kerikeri to Hokianga, Kupe carried a stone which he left in a valley on a branch of the inland Waihou, Hokianga, at a place called Te Puru. When any Māoris pass that way they utter the karakia called Whakauru, which is repeated by strangers coming to a new place. .... Whilst repeating this the travellers throw onto the stone sprigs of karamū or kawakawa, or pebbles, which they have brought with them for the purpose."

(p.15) From an informant Hone Mohi Tawhai (Ngāpuhi): "...Hawaiki, possessed the kūmara in great abundance. If cultivated one year, in after years it grew spontaneously in the midst of other vegetation. Hence the saying of my progenitors to those who remained in idleness on the days of the month devoted to cultivating the kūmara... Hongihongi (July). When the young men remained in the houses, the following was said to them: E noho! E noho! Ko Hawaiki te whenua e tupu noa ake te kūmara i roto i te rahurahu, e ora ai koutou i te kai i runga i ta koutou noho mangere! Remain there at ease! This is Hawaiki where the kūmara grows spontaneously amidst the fern, you will have plenty of food with your idleness!"

(p.19) Ruanui (Ngāpuhi ancestor) said to have introduced the rat, which escaped into the forest, but could be recalled by using the proper form of words. Karakia written. (p.20)

See also Smith 1897 Smith translates information given by Patiki concerning the origins of Māori living at the North Cape. (N.B. Smith"s interpretation of Māori traditions are regarded today as unreliable). In this account, Smith gives the homeland of Māori ancestors as Waerota, which was "rich in productions; the kūmara grew wild inland in the open places of the island of Waerota...". (p.6) It was populated by black people and some with fairer skins. Clothing was of aute, "the bark of which was prepared, whilst the wood was used as floats for fishing nets". The fruit of the trees of that place was converted into oil.... The fruit was called ni, and was the size of a child"s head; some of that fruit was brought to this country as well as the uhi-kaho (yam), but it never grew, and now it is lost altogether in these days. The reason why they sailed or migrated from Waerota was jealousy on the part of a younger towards an elder brother; another reason was a quarrel about a kūmara cultivation, the right to which was contested" (p.7)