Koro and Moko Fishing, Part Two: The Naming of Para Te Hoata

A story of Ngāti Whakaue, as told by Norma Sturley

From their vantage point on the lake, Koro points to where the cave of Tūnohopū was, or is. Now barely visible and covered over with vegetation, he relates the story of Tūnohopu and the loss of his son, Taioperua, who was taken by Tūwharetoa while Tūnohopū and his family took refuge in the cave.

Rowing further south around the promontory of Kawaha, Koro and his mokopuna gaze upon the sleepy village of Ōhinemutu. Seeing the steam rising in the distance, Moko asks why there is so much steam.

Koro tells her that when Ngātoroirangi was climbing Tongariro he became so cold to the extent that he was dying. He called to his sisters, Kuiwai and Haungaroa, to bring him fire to warm him up. His sisters sent two deities, Te Hoata and Te Pupu, back to Aotearoa carrying baskets of fire to warm up their brother. On the way there, the fire fell out of their baskets creating the geothermal belt from Hawaiki to Tongariro. However, some of Te Hoata’s fire fell in Ōhinemutu and mixed with the cold water of Parawhenuamea (Goddess of Cold Water), creating the vast amount of steam that rises daily in the village. The land where this phenomenon takes place within the village of Ōhinemutu was then named Para Te Hoata to commemorate this.

Koro then closes his eyes and recites the chant:
“E Para, e!  Tītoko o te ao mārama,
Tukua au kia puta ki tāwhangawhanganui nō Rangi, nō Papa
He āio, tū atu te makariri!  Haramai te werawera,
Hika rā taku ahi ki a Kautetetu,
Hika rā taku ahi ki a Te Pupu,
Hika rā taku ahi ki a Te Hoata,
Ki a Te Moremore-o-te-rangi, e.”

To take advantage of the weather, with the clouds disappearing from the head of Moerangi, Koro rows further out towards the middle of the lake. The sun is shining, the fish are biting and the mokopuna, basking in the warmth of the sun, sees Mokoia Island looming ever closer.

She asks her koro if they could land on the island as they have done so often before and bathe in Waikimihia, Hinemoa’s Pool.

Read part three of this story here

This story comes from the original Great Te Arawa Stories website created by Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru (NPeW) Education Trust in 2018. To ensure consistency, minimal updates were made to the text before it was transferred to this new site.