|
Legend of Te Aroha Mountain |
|
|
|
| The following stories were recorded by writer, James Cowan, and published in 1930: (Text has been abridged) The Arawa Legend:Five centuries ago a chief of the Arawa people climbed to the topmost peak of the Te Aroha range, and surveyed with winder the vast expanse of territory that stretched west and south and north as far as vision could carry. His name was Kahumatamome, which means "Sleepy-eyed Kahu... Kahu was the son of Tama-te Kapua, the captain of the Arawa sailing canoe, who had died and been buried on the summit of Moehau (Cape Colville), and he was on his way home to Maketu from a visit to a kinsman at the Kaipara.... As was his way, he kept to the tops of the ridges on his travels, and when he came to these parts, he descended the mountain heights that loom like a blue cloud above the Waihou River. As he stood on the mountaintop he thought of his kinsfolk on the distant seashore, and said, "Let this mountain peak be called `Aroha -tai-o-Kahu` - his love towards the sea. Then he climbed to a point where he had a clear view over the western plains... and he named that peak "Aroha-uta-o-Kahu", or Kahu's Landward Love. The Tainui Legend: The Tainui canoe crew's descendants have a different narrative, attributing the name giving to Rakataura, the priest of Tainui, six centuries ago.... He ascended loftiest peaks of this range to survey the surrounding country, and as he stood on the heights he, chanted songs of affection and sorrow for his distant kinsfolk, and he named the inland-looking peak Te Aroha-i-uta, and the other Te Aroha-i-tai... |
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 August 2010 )
|
