Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People

It is said in proverbs that the bow of Te Arawa canoe rests at Maketu And The stern at Tongariro; thus the descendants from that vessel may be found all over this area. But it was not always thus, For many, many years ago the Arawa people, then known as Ngati Ohomairangi, lived in legendary Hawaiki, far To The north of New Zealand.
Now, after some warss, The decision was made to build a great canoe and migrate to Aotearoa. The journey was long and there was much anxiety: The winds rose And The seas were whipped up And The canoe was drawn into a fearsome whirlpool. But all survived, eventually landing at Maketu.
Then followed a long history of exploration and settlement, with may excitements on the way; for example, The story of Hatupatu and Kurangaituku, The woman who speared birds with her long sharp ilps and ate them raw. She had wings on her arms and feathers on her body, and she took Htupatu as her unwilling husband to her cave high up in the ciff.
But there are stories of true love, like that between Hinemoa and Tutanekai. The lovers were forbidden to marry, but one night Hinemoa swam to her beloved on the island; and when the villagers looked in on Tutanekai's sleeping place in the morning they saw four feet instead of two, and thus was the beginning of a happy married life.
Life was not an idyll. There were wars, often characterised by treachery, and grim vendettas involving whole tribes. Fighting continued into Pakeha times. Indeed, many early missionaries suffered raids, and even terrible death.
This history of Te Arawa, who today occupy the Rotorua lakes district and part of the central Bay of Plenty coastline, Is notable for its readable scholarship. Don Stafford quotes many sources, giving various arguments on controversial points. Te Arawa makes liberal use of whakapapa, As well as chants and prayers (with translations where possible) and contains numerous illustrations and a detailed index.