SOUTH
TO THE
LEFT OF VENUS
Photograph from Tairawhiti Museum Collection Gisborne. Circa 1880s.
To
all family members. If your name has not been included and you are connected to
these families, you need to be aware that as more information was unearthed,
this project took on a life of its own and became far more extensive than was
first envisaged. As the descending generations widened, it has been necessary to
keep focused on the direct descendants to our son-in-law Chris, as was
originally intended. In so doing, you will still be able to trace your family
history, but we have not been able to record all the branch line names and we
have had to produce four booklets to contain all the material. You will be able
to obtain, from us, those ones relevant to your own family. We have tried to
avoid embarrassing anyone and have only been able to include material to hand.
Should you see any errors please send us the correct information and if you have
material to add to the history we expect that this will be the First Edition!
Kia Ora.
Your name
is Chris Metcalfe and you are of
Whakatohea ki
Opotiki descent from the hapu of Whanau-a-Muriwai.
Meet
Your Ancestors
Compiled for Chris
Metcalfe
The
family somehow lost an irreplaceable photograph of your Great, Great,
Grandmother, a beautiful young Maori woman with a moko on her chin.
It seemed sad that we would never know who she was or what she looked
like, but miraculously a picture was found in a locket now owned by Betty
Schroder and so this project was begun. A huge contribution has been made to
this history by Olive and Camarita Hartog, who have generously shared
information painstaking researched in Maori Archives. Thank-you to Jan Smith for
rescuing documents from June Smith's knitting bag! Other members of the family
including your Mum & Dad, Dallas, Paul, Clive and Jim Peapell (with helpful
records from Daphne’s Bible) Robert & Lynn Stevenson, Hazel McDonald and
Wendy Webster have contributed old photographs or documents and recorded their
early memories.
The series covers a period of 6 centuries and reaches from Northern
Ireland, Scotland and England to
Tahiti and New Zealand.
By Bob & Jill. 17th July, 2002
From Tahiti during
the 14th Century.
Muriwai (female) is
the Eponymous ancestor of the
Your Whakapapa begins 8 generations BEFORE the arrival of the Mataatua Canoe!
The Great Migration.
Since Kupe returned to his homeland of Tahiti after
discovering Aotearoa over 1,000 years ago,
there had been many migrations to the new land, navigating by the stars
as he had instructed. Many must have perished undertaking the voyage but by
the fourteenth century tribes were well established through out the country.
People returned from time to time with stories of this new land and a great
migration was planned. The account below gives us a glimpse of history and the
amazing journey undertaken by these courageous ancestors of yours.
The
Mataatau your Ancestral
Canoe.
Traditional oral history says that during the Great
Migration undertaken during the fourteenth
century, the Te Arawa,
Tainui and Mataatau canoes
along with others
of the fleet, sailed for Aotearoa.
They left from Havaii, an island situated on the lee side of Tahiti and
known today as Raiatea. At that time the island was the religious and cultural
center of Polanesia; and at Opoa, on its southern end, the center of
Government was established. There too stood the celebrated temple of
Taputaputea. It appears that the reason for the migration was over-population
and increasing tribal warfare.
For this particular migration two giant trees were chosen for a double canoe that was to take selected representatives of the tribe to the “ land of Kupe covered in the mist in Tiritiri o te moana, the great open sea that lies to the south." Special rites were performed, tapu lifted and the work began. The two hulls, roughly shaped, were hauled into the open for finishing off and the addition of fittings. In the course of time, the craftsmen with their rude and blunt stone axes produced a masterpiece of art, carved and beautifully inlaid. It was a two masted vessel with a thatched deckhouse built amidships. This is similar to the Te Arawa, a magnificent double canoe.
Bailer Stone Anchor
The vessel was equipped with paddles, bailers (left) and stone anchors, painstakingly drilled. Triangular lateen sails were made of woven coconut fibre. When the sails were required, each was rigged with the apex towards the bow and the yardarm slung from the mast. At the appropriate time, invocations were offered up to Tane to endow the sails with strength to endure fierce gales.
Prayers of protection and blessings were offered over every part of the preparation, down to the most minute detail. Everyone was involved in contributing their skills to the work. When the canoe was ready for launching, special skids were laid down and the warriors of the tribe assembled to haul it to the sea with chanting and prayers. After more ceremony the vessel slid quietly into the sea and was tested until the crew were satisfied with its seaworthiness. It was drawn up onto the beach and the ceremonial feasting began. What celebration!
Fish Hook Maori Paddle
But there was more yet to be done to be
prepared for any eventuality that may arise during a long, strenuous ocean
voyage. Stowed in the vessel were long necked gourds filled with drinking
water; fish dried in the sun; poi wrapped tightly in leaves to protect it from
heat and salt water. Fishing gear, lines of fibre and woman's hair; shell
hooks for bonito; wooden hooks
tipped with shell, for shark; fine nets for flying fish and sea birds; fishing
spears and much other necessary equipment were all loaded and safely secured,
including caged birds and dogs. Each man was carefully chosen for his strength
and power to endure with little to eat and less water to drink under the hot
sun of the day and cold of night. Not only had these men to possess such
stamina but also had to prove themselves skilled in the handling of a craft,
adept at snaring seabirds and fishing; expert at mending sails, joining and
splicing ropes, sewing together of planks. Months were spent in practicing and
preparing for the numerous tasks each was responsible for. Typically there
would be about 52 oarsmen or more, 4 to prepare food, 2 in
charge of the anchor, 4 for the ropes, 2 for steering and 2 appointed
to keep the fire smouldering (no small undertaking in a wooden boat without
the aid of any metal container and
contending with wind and water)
until at last the day came when the weather gods smiled, the wind and
tide were right and all the stars were aligned correctly. One can only begin
to imagine the great ceremonies for protection and guidance (including human
sacrifice) performed as time drew near for the perilous voyage to begin.
Amongst the leading men who sailed from Hawaiki on the Mataatua
where Toroa the Araki (Superior Chief) son
of Hikaroa (Irakewa)
and his brothers Puhi and Taneatua. Tama-K-Hikurangi was appointed Tohunga and
Navigator. The women included Tora’s sister Muriwai and
his daughter Wairaka. The fleet sailed south west
and after many days arrived at Rarotonga in the Cook group, where their
food and water supplies were replenished and minor repairs affected. It is
said that they left from the mouth of a stream called Waitekura.
The Navigator, to quote tradition, "understood the language of the
stars” and kept the prow pointed
in the direction that was a little
to the left of the setting sun. He
was acquainted with the prevailing winds of the seasons and the stars that
were visible each month. He knew that when his ancestors had sailed from the
north to Hawaiki new constellations appeared over the horizon; and that when
they reached the Pito-o-watea (equator) they lost sight of the north star.
Then the south star, with the constellation of Humu would appear as their
guide. He also knew that the voyages to the south of Hawaiki were carried out
between December and March when the north west trade winds were strongest.
Kupe's sailing instructions were that from Rarotonga the course to Aotearoa
was a little to the left of Venus in the month of February.
Navigators where schooled with
a wealth of knowledge, knowing the
names of more than 200 stars and heavenly bodies and understanding prevailing
currents or wind direction with
amazing accuracy. The canoe would leave in the day, setting a course by aligning
two prominent land features (hills, tree or headlands) that were appropriate
for the particular trip. At sea, the stars were the Tohunga’s principal
tool. He would identify one star near the horizon ahead and near the horizon
astern, using these positions to keep
the canoe on course. During the day he resorted to less accurate methods such
as observation of the sun and the direction of wind and waves. Nearing
journey’s end he kept watch for tell tale signs of land, noting differences
in wave patterns, phosphorescence and the color of the water; the presence of
birds and coastal fish, seaweed, floating leaves and driftwood; land cloud,
smoke and even the smell of land. With these signs he could detect land 40 or
50 kilometres away. Without written
language much
was memorized in word
pictures, chant and song of the stars to navigate by.
Translation:
Octopus Compass
In the years since
Kupe’s discovery, many
tribes had migrated to Aotearoa and some had even made the return voyage back to
Hawaki in search of Kumera and Taro; men like your ancestor Hikoroa
(Irakewa) who’s family then made the journey back
to Aotearoa in the Mataatau
canoe.
The Te Arawa, Tainui and Mataatau canoe
and others of the Main Fleet,
rendezvoused at Great Mercury Island and there decided plans for settlement in
the new land. As a result, the island was called Ahuahu, meaning “to shape a
course.” It is recorded that the Te Arawa canoe, amongst others, also touched
in at Cuvier Island and released two birds.
Tradition says that this was done to forecast the winds for future
voyagers. They also encountered
a severe storm during the voyage and lost cargo and were in peril of
their lives. This was of course “the wrath of the gods for someone’s wrong
doing!” It is thought that the
Tainui and Te Arawa canoes where in fact one double canoe lashed together with a
platform connecting them and people living under shelter. Before arriving in New
Zealand the canoes were un-lashed. Much traditional history is common to both
canoes. Between November and February, when the red Pohutakawa tree was
Chief Toroa was a Tohunga with extraordinary powers and he was asked to assist the Te Arawa canoe, with over 100 men and women aboard, which had landed before them and become stuck. Toroa accompanied them to where it was stranded and recited this incantation:
“ TE ANA O
MURIWAI.”
The Te Ararwa canoe then moved on to Maketu and the
Mataatua to Whakatane. Chief Toroa’s father, Hikoroa [Irakewa] had
visited New Zealand on a previous expedition and married a chieftainess
from the Bay of Plenty and taken her back to Hawaiki. As the canoe was
departing for Aotearoa he called to Toroa,
“When you reach your new home, watch out for a place on the east
coast where the waterfall cascades down a high cliff near the sea, where
the mouth of the river gives good anchorage and where a cave in the cliff
provides good shelter, establish your people there.” He was of course
referring to Whakatane, the Wairere falls just above the township and the
cave which is known as Te Ana
O Muriwai..” This ancient
landmark has been preserved at Whakatane and has been “Tapu” (sacred)
for many generations. Muriwai, the sister of Toroa the Chief of the
Mataatua canoe, was a woman of
great mana (prestige.) She occupied this cave after their waka
(canoe) arrived from
Hawaiki in the fourteenth century. It bears her name to this day:
After the voyage from Hawakii, when the Mataatau canoe arrived in Whakatane, in the excitement of landing only its stern was brought up on the shore. Next morning the waves were washing over the vessel and Wairaka called a warning but the men were intent on exploring their new land and they took no notice. Wairaka had to secure the waka herself, having first remarked, "Oh, I must make myself a man!" (E, kia whakatane au i hau!) This, it is said, is how Whakatane gained its name.
A Legend says that still preoccupied with exploration,
Toroa forgot to perform the ritual to mark their safe arrival. Muriowai
had to do this herself, though it was the wrong thing for a woman
to do. Back in Hawaikii their mother, Waiakewa, sensed
that something was
amiss and set out for Whakatane. She
made the voyage on the trunk of a Manuka tree, and on her safe arrival she
planted the tree on a mound on the foreshore. It became a “mauri” of
the Mataatua peoples, a potent force referred to in songs and healing
rituals. Toroa and many of his family remained at Whakatane but one of his
brothers, Puhi, sailed north with others and became an important ancestor
in the far north. Meanwhile,
another brother Taneatua, set out to explore the hinterland with his wife
Hine-Mataroa. (Some say it was
Muriwai and not Wairaka who saved the canoe and spoke the words that gave
Whakatane its name.)
Descendants of the chiefs and chieftainesses of the
Mataatua canoe eventually formed themselves into three main tribes and
those tracing descent from Muriwai (F.) became known as the Whakatohea.
Some historians say that it should be Waka- to- hea and they
attribute the origin of the name to the strife that took place between
Toroa, Muriwai and Puhi-Kai-Ariki when
they were arguing whether the canoe should remain at Whakatane or go
north. “Te waka tohea” means "the canoe contended for.”
The contention over the canoe was a result of the youngest of the
three brothers, PuhiI-KaiI-Ariki, neglecting to recite incantations during
the planting season of the Kumera and taking charge of the work himself,
ignoring the specific instructions given by Hikoroa (Irakewa) before they
left Hawaikii. The three brothers argued and when PuhiI-Kai-Ariki
saw that they sided
against him he stood up in anger and sang the following song, the
interpretation of which is:
The song contained jeering remarks intended for
Taneatua and the insults to Toroa the
Ariki (chief) of the tribe. Toroa
retaliated by belittling his youngest
brother:
In anger the jealous Puhi seized the canoe. With his followers he sailed to the northern parts of the island and settled there. The vessel was finally taken to Matauri Bay and paddled up the Takou stream about three miles from the mouth.
There it was put away. The other two tribes becoming
Tuhoe and Ngati Awa. The Whakatoea settled on the coastal lands from Opape
(your ancestor’s land) to
the eastern shores of Ohiwa harbor. There is a saying of the Ngati Awa
which defines the limits of the Mataatua canoe territory, " It is
“Mai Tikirau ki nga kuru a Wharei." (From Tikirau to the dogs of
Wharei.) Tikirau is a point
near Cape Runaway and Nga Kuri is a crop of rocks outside the Tauranga
harbor which in some respects resemble dogs, and when the waves
break against them the noise is like the barking of dogs.
At Whakatane there is a flat rock opposite the
Pohaturoa Rock where the City Council Offices are at present situated.
Before the land was reclaimed, this rock was by the water's edge and was a
place where councils of war were held. Grave issues of life and death were
decided there. When the Treaty of Waitangi was taken around New Zealand in
1840 for the signatures of the chiefs it was signed by the Ngati Awa
chiefs on this rock. It is a sanctified spot and any covenant made under
the shadows of Pohaturoa was binding and not lightly broken.
Intermarriage between the Mataatua immigrants and the aboriginal
people of the land commenced soon after the canoe landed.
The Kumera became a staple part of the
diet of the Maori and there was much ceremony around its cultivation.
Tradition credits the Te Arawa canoe with bringing the first Kumera to
Aotearoa, but it was also brought in the Mataatau canoe. The tribes fought
much amongst themselves and practiced their ancient religion, with much of
their time spent in harvesting food from land and sea, preparing shelter,
clothing themselves and fashioning implements. They made kites, spinning
tops and swings, swam, fished, snared birds, played games, danced, sang,
carved and did weaving; loved and laughed,
experienced new life
and death, tragedy and tears; honoured heroes and produced some villains;
but always there were
songs and stories, the love of family and land and the typical Maori
humour.
“Maori
Paintings.” By
Gottfried
Lindauer
Kumera Cultivation.
Note digg
Bird life was prolific and birds like Tui had to fight for landing place on a branch, the noise was deafening at times. It is an amazing mimic and Maori trained some to have a vocabulary of more than forty words Maori loved to scare each other (and themselves) with stories of taniwha and other mythological creatures. Life revolved around the four main aspects of Maori culture: spirituality (everything-from trees to lightening had a spirit) land, hospitality (taro was difficult to grow and was kept for important guests, not their own leaders) and ancestors. Genealogies were recorded in song and children were trained to recount them from a young age.
The Tui. A Bird Snare.
These designs below are from a Meeting House at Muriwai, Poverty Bay and are known as “Kowhaiwhai.” Each area produced patterns distinctive to them. The first example is named “Patiki,” the second, unnamed. The colours were red, white & black.
From a Meeting House at Muriwai
A.W. Reed writes: The game of Knuckle Stones, known to
peoples all over the world, was popular with Maori children under the name
of “ruru.” A rough square was traced in the ground and stones are
placed in the corners. The player tosses the remaining stone in the air,
picks up one of the corner stones and catches the first before it touches
the ground. As the game proceeds, it becomes more difficult as two, three
or four stones must be picked up before the first stone is caught.
Ngahiraka and her sisters would have played this many times. Note raupo
walls, traditional dress (the young worn nothing if it was warm.) and a
feather cloak
hanging on right. A water gourd
is on the
ledge.
This very early photo taken of a Marae in the
Gisborne area shows women collecting fresh rushes used for bedding. Fleas
and Kooti’s (nits) were a problem and bedding was changed regularly when
weather permitted. The healing properties of plants had been used for
generations and were adapted to their new environment.
AM. 117. An anonymous note in the
collection, probably based on information supplied by Mair: Large Kumete
or Upi carved out of Matai. In 1865 Sir George Grey gave the noted carver
Patoromu Tamatea of the Arawa tribe, permission to carve him a large bowl.
The war prevented him from completing it before the end of Sir George
Grey’s term of office. The carver then went to Opape, Opotiki to live
(your ancestral land) and in
Below left: There is a story traditional to the Whakatohea tribe
concerning twins who were playing with their kite when it strayed into a
garden becoming snared in a tree. They were subsequently killed. This
famous carving depicts the incident and was part of the decoration in one
of a Meeting House in the area. “Utu” (revenge) was the outcome.
Twin Statues Rakau Whakapapa.
This intricately carved stick
(right) was used as aid to learning names
Although cannibalism was practiced before the
Missionaries brought Christian teaching with its concept of forgiveness
and reconciliation, it was only done in times of war, when it was
customary to eat your enemy! Huge feasts were prepared
after some big battles, when
sometimes hundreds
were cooked and eaten. Usually the fighting was to repay another
tribe for an insult or injustice incurred. Cannibalism was not practiced
to supplement a shortage of meat, as some incorrectly assume.
It is important to realize that in little more than 150 years the
Maori have gone from being a “Stone Age” people to the computer age!
No other native peoples have ever progressed as fast.
But Changes Came.
EXPLORERS:
WHALERS.
Bought with them metal implements, guns and European
items to trade with the Maori and introduced them to tobacco, alcohol,
prostitution and infectious diseases. Animals, which were to become
noxious pests, where released into the bush as a future source of meat.
TRADERS.
John Kennedy.(Your grt, grt, grt
grandfather.)
Kennedy Bay on the east coast of the
Coromandal peninsular of New Zealand,
is named after an early Trader, John Kennedy. It is thought he
transferred from HMS Rattlesnake, to be Wheelwright on H.M.S. “Buffalo,” when
she sailed to Trial Bay, on the northern tip of the peninsular, to collect
Kauri spars (tall, straight trees for use as masts on sailing
Crest Badge: A Dolphin naiant, proper.
Culzean Castle
This ancient clan is found associated with the
south-west of Scotland from the 12th century, and the history of the
Carrick district of Ayrshire is substantially the early history of the
Kennedies. They are claimed to have descended from the Earl of Carrick.
The Kennedys of Dunmure acquired Cassillis, and later one of the family
married Mary, daughter of King Robert 111. Their son was created Lord
Kennedy in 1457, and in 1509 the third Lord Kennedy was created Earl of
Cassilles. While the family had many illustrious men, Gilbert, 4th Earl,
earned an infamous reputation for his dreadful deed of “roasting the
abbot of Crossraguel” in the black vault of Dunure, to obtain possession
of the lands of the Abbey. Archibald, 12th Earl of Cassilles was created
Baron Ailsa in 1806, and in 1831 Marques of Ailsa. Culzean Castle was
built between 1775 and 1790 by the 9th and 10th Earls. It was designed by
Robert Adam. After World War 11 President Eisenhower was presented with a
flat here, as a residence in Scotland. Note the New Zealand Cabbage trees
in the garden.
The Maori Ancestry of
John Kennedy’s wife Rangirauwaka
of Ngati Parou of
Harataunga ( Kennedy Bay)
