The Love Story Of Hine-Moa, The Maiden Of Rotorua

One of the few love stories that have been handed down through the years.

Rangi-uru was the mother of a chief called Tutanekai, she was properly the wife of Whakaue-Kaipapa, [the great ancestor of the Ngati Whakaue tribe], but she, at one time, ran away with a chief named Tuwharetoa [the great ancestor of the Heuheu and the Ngati-wharetoa tribes].

Before this, she had three sons by Whakaue, their names were, Tawakeheimoa, Ngararanui, and Tuteaiti.

It was after the birth of this third son that Rangi-uru eloped with Tuwharetoa, who had come to Rotorua as a stranger on a visit.

From this affair sprang Tutanekai, who was an illegitimate child.

Finally, Whakaue and Rangi-uru were united again, and she had another son, whose name was Kopako, and then she had a daughter, whom they named Tupa, she was the last child of Whakaue.

They all resided here on the island of Mokoia, Whakaue was very kind to Tutanekai, treating him as if he was his own son, and so they grew up here, Tutanekai, and his elder brothers, until they reached manhood.

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Now there reached them here a great report of Hine-Moa, that she was a maiden of rare beauty, as well as of high rank.

Umukaria [the great ancestor of the Ngati Umukaria-hapu, or sub-tribe] was her father, her mother's name was Hine-Maru.

When such fame attended her beauty and rank, Tutanekai and each of his elder brothers desired to have her as a wife.

About this time, Tutanekai built an elevated balcony which was called Kaiweka.

He had contracted a great friendship for a young man named Tiki, they were both fond of music, Tutanekai played on the horn,

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and Tiki on the pipe.

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They used to go up into the balcony and play on their instruments in the night, and, in calm evenings the sound of their music was wafted by the gentle land breezes across the Lake to the village of Owhata, where dwelt the beautiful young Hine-Moa, the younger sister of Wahiao.

Hine-Moa could then hear the sweet sounding music of the instruments of Tutanekai and his dear friend Tiki, which gladdened her heart within her.

Every night the two friends played on their instruments in this manner, and Hine-Moa then said to herself, “Ah, that is the music of Tutanekai which I hear”.

For although Hine-Moa was so prized by her family, that they would not betroth her to any chief, nevertheless, she and Tutanekai had met each other, on those occasions when all the people of Rotorua come together.

In those great assemblies of the people, Hine-Moa had seen Tutanekai, and as they often glanced at each other, to the heart of both of them the other appeared pleasing, and worthy of love so that in the breast of each there grew up a secret passion for the other.

Nevertheless, Tutanekai could not tell whether he might venture to approach Hine-Moa to take her hand, to see if she would press his in return.

He said “I might be by no means agreeable to her”,

On the other hand, Hine-Moa’s heart said to her, “If you send one of your female friends to tell him of your love, perchance he will not be pleased with you”.

However, after they had met for many, many days, and had long fondly glanced each at the other.

Tutanekai sent a message to Hine-Moa, to tell of his love, and, when Hine-Moa had seen the message, she said, “Eh-hu, have we then each loved alike?”

Some time after this, and when they had often met, Tutanekai and his family returned to their own village and being together one night, in the large warm house of general assembly.

The elder brothers of Tutanekai said, “Which of us has by signs, or pressure of the hand, received proofs of the love of Hine-Moa?”

One said, “It is I who have”.

Another said, “No, but it is I”.

Then they also questioned Tutanekai, and he said, “I have pressed the hand of Hine-Moa, and she pressed mine in return”.

But his elder brother said, “No such thing, do you think she would take any notice of such a low born fellow as you are?”

Tutanekai told his reputed father, Whakaue, to remember what he would then say to him because he really had received proofs of Hine-Moa’s love, they had even actually arranged, a good while before, the time at which Hine-Moa should run away to him”,

When the maiden asked “What shall be the sign by which I shall know that I should then run to you?

He said to her, “A trumpet will be heard sounding every night, it will be I who sounds it, beloved, paddle your canoe to that place”.

So Whakaue kept in his mind this confession which Tutanekai had made to him.

Now, always about the middle of the night, Tutanekai and his friend Tiki went up into their balcony and played, the one on the trumpet, the other upon his flute,

Hine-Moa heard them and desired vastly to paddle in her canoe to Tutanekai, but her friends, suspecting something, had been careful with the canoes, to leave none afloat, but had hauled them all upon the shore of the Lake.

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This her friends had always done for many days and many nights.

At last, she reflected in her heart, saying, “How can I then contrive to cross the Lake to the island of Mokoia?, it can plainly be seen that my friends suspect what I am going to do”.

So she sat down upon the ground to rest, and then the soft measures reached her from the horn of Tutanekai, and the young and beautiful chieftainess felt as if an earthquake shook her to make her go to the beloved of her heart.

Then rose the recollection, that there was no canoe.

At last, she thought, perhaps I might be able to swim across.

So she took six large dry, empty, gourds, as floats, lest she should sink in the water, three for each side, and she went out upon a rock, which is named Iri-iri-kapua,

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From thence to the edge of the water, to the spot called Wairerewai, and there she threw off her cloths and cast herself into the water.

She reached the stump of a sunken tree which used to stand in the Lake, and was called Hinewhata, and she clung to it with both hands and rested to take breath.

When she had eased the weariness of her shoulders, she swam on again, and when ever she was exhausted, she floated with the current of the Lake, supported by the gourds.

After recovering her strength, she swam on again, but she could not distinguish in which direction she should proceed, because of the darkness of the night.

Her only guide was, however the soft measure from the instrument of Tutanekai, that was the mark by which she swam straight to Waikimihia,

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for just above that hot spring was the village of Tutanekai, and at last she reached the island of Mokoia.

At the place where she landed on the island, there is a hot spring, separated from the Lake by a narrow ledge of rocks, this was called Waikimihia.

Hine-Moa got into this to warm herself, for she was trembling all over, partly from the cold, and partly also, perhaps, from modesty, at the thought of meeting Tutanekai.

Whist the maiden was thus warming herself in the hot spring, Tutanekai happened to feel thirsty, and said to his servant, “Bring me a little water”.

So his servant went to fetch water for him, and drew it from the Lake in a calabash, close to the spot where Hine-Moa was sitting.

The maiden, who was frightened, called out to him in a gruff voice, like that of a man,

“Whom is that water for?”

The servant replied, “It is for Tutanekai”.

“Give it here then”, said Hine-Moa, and he gave her the water, and she drank, and having finished drinking, purposely threw down the calabash, and broke it.

Then the servant asked her, “What business had you to break the calabash of Tutanekai?”

Hine-Moa did not say a word in answer.

The servant then went back, and Tutanekai said to him, “Where is the water I told you to bring me?”

The servant replied, “Your calabash was broken”.

And his master asked him, “Who broke it?”

The servant answered, “The man who is in the bath”.

Tutanekai said to him, “Go back again then, and fetch me some water”.

The servant, therefore, took a second calabash, and went back, and drew water in the calabash from the Lake,

Hine-Moa again said to him, “Whom is that water for?”

So the servant answered, as before, “For Tutanekai”.

The maiden again said, “I am thirsty, give it to me”.

The slave gave her the calabash, she drank from it, then, purposely threw down the calabash and broke it.

These occurrences took place repeatedly between these two persons.

At last, the slave went again to Tutanekai, who asked him, “Where is the water for me?”

The slave answered, “It is all gone, your calabashes have been broken”.

“By whom?” asked his master.

“Didn’t I tell you that there is a man in the bath?”answered the slave.

“Who is this fellow?” asked Tutanekai.

“How can I tell, he is a stranger” replied the slave.

“Didn’t he know that the water was for me?” said Tutanekai, “How did the rascal dare break my calabashes?, Why, I shall die from rage”.

Then Tutanekai threw on some clothes, and caught hold of his club, and away he went down to the bath, where he called out,

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“Where is that fellow who broke my calabashes?”

Hine-Moa knew the voice, and the sound of it was that of the beloved of her heart, and she hid herself under the overhanging rocks of the hot spring.

Her hiding was hardly a real hiding, but rather a bashful concealing of herself from Tutanekai, that he might not find her at once, but only after trouble and a careful search.

At last he caught hold of a hand, and cried out, “Hello, who is this?”

Hine-Moa answered, “It is I, Tutanekai”

He said, “But who are you? Who is I?”

Then she spoke louder, “It’s I, ‘tis Hine-Moa”.

He said “Ho, ho, can such a truth be the case?, Let the two of us go up to my house”.

She replied, “Yes”

She rose up from the water as beautiful as a white heron, and stepped upon the edge of the bath as graceful as the shy white crane, and he threw garments over her and they proceeded to his house.

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They reposed there, and thenceforth, according to the ancient laws of the Maori, they were man and wife.

When the morning dawned, all the people of the village went forth from their houses to cook their breakfasts, and they all ate.

But Tutanekai tarried in his house.

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So Whakaue said, “This is the first morning that Tutanekai has slept this way, perhaps the lad is ill, bring him here, rouse him up”.

Then the man who was to fetch him went, and drew back the sliding wooded window of the house, and peeping in, saw four feet.

Oh he was greatly amazed, and said to himself, “Who can this companion of his be?”

However he had seen enough, and turning about, he hurried back as fast as he could to Whakaue, and said to him, “Why, there are four feet”. “I saw them myself in the house”.

Whakaue answered, “Who is his companion then?. hasten back and see”.

So he went back to the house, and peeped in at them again, and then, for the first time he saw it was Hine-Moa.

Then he shouted out in his amazement, “Oh, here is Hine-Moa, here is Hine-Moa, in the house of Tutanekai”.

All the villagers heard him, and there arose shouts on every side, “Oh, here is Hine-Moa. Here is Hine-Moa with Tutanekai”.

His elder brothers heard the shouting, and they said, “It is not true”, for they were very jealous indeed.

Tutanekai then appeared, coming from his house, and Hine-Moa was following him, and his elder brothers saw that it was indeed Hine-Moa, and they said, “It is true, it is a fact”.

After all these things, Tiki thought within himself, “Tutanekai has married Hine-Moa, she whom he loved, but as for me, alas, I have no wife”.

He became sorrowful and returned to his own village, and Tutanekai was grieved for Tiki, and he said to Whakaue, “I am quite ill from my grief for my friend, Tiki”.

Whakaue asked, “What do you mean?”

Tutanekai replied, “I refer to my young sister, Tupa, let her be given to as a wife to my beloved friend, to Tiki”.

Whakaue consented to this, so his young sister, Tupa, was given to Yiki, and she became his wife.

The descendants of Tutanekai and Hine-Moa are at this very day, dwelling on Lake Rotorua

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They are still over the gate into the Whakarewarewa thermal reserve at Rotorua