Te Hono ki Rarotonga

Te Iti Kahurangi were priviledged in September 2009, to accompany King Tūheitia on his first official state visit to the Cook Islands, to strengthen ties between both countries and their indigenous peoples.

During their stay, many stories were shared about the linkages between descendants of the Tainui canoe and the people of Rarotonga.  According to Cook Island history, Tainui was instead a man who was born in Tahiti but raised by his grandparents in the traditional homeland of Hawaiiki.  As a young man, Tainui yearned to be reunited with his parents and siblings back in Tahiti.  And so, his grandfather fashioned him a canoe called Te Kārae-a-Kura, so he could make the journey to his younger siblings; Tai-te-ūkui, Tai-te-nio-veri, Tai-te-rā-varu, and Tai-te-rā-iva.  Subsequent to their reunion, Tainui and his family, as well as their descendants, became known as Ngāti Tai.

It wasn’t long before Tainui, along with his family, began inquiring about ocean exploration.   They embarked on a journey aboard Tainui’s canoe, which they renamed Ītere.  They first landed at Araura otherwise known as Aitutaki, an island atoll off the coast of Rarotonga.  Here, Tainui married Kura-i-te-rā, the daughter of local chief Rū who discovered Araura.  Together, they begat Taitumu.

What ensued was a visit by the eponymous ancestor Ngahue, who brought with him stories of the precious greenstone which he had seen in his journeys across Aotearoa.  These stories incited such excitement, Tainui and his family once again boarded their canoe to make the Pacific Ocean voyage.  It was here that the canoe was given the name Tainui.  Upon departing Araura, the Tainui canoe headed for Ngātangiia cove in Rarotonga, where other canoes from Hawaiiki also moored.  Its final destination was Aotearoa.

Many of the places and landmarks mentioned above were part of the excursions during the group's stay in the Cook Islands.  Moreover, some of the tunes and actions of this whakaeke, were influenced by songs and cultural displays they encountered, such as ‘ute’ and ‘pe’e’.

This whakaeke serves as both an acknowledgement and a reminder of the group's trip to Rarotonga alongside King Tūheitia, one which they will never forget.