The Romance of Hine-moa

Transcription

[Traditional Māori instruments (13 secs)] [Narrator] Mokoia Island sits in the middle of Lake Rotorua. It is the setting for the most famous Māori love story, Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. Hinemoa, a beautiful young woman of noble birth, belonged to the Tūhourangi people who were a subtribe, or hapū, of Rotorua's Te Arawa tribe. They lived at Ōhinemutu on the shores of Lake Rotorua. Hinemoa was so beautiful that young men would instantly fall in love with her. But because of her high rank, her hapū decided they would choose her husband. Tūtānekai was a strong and handsome young man, who could wield a mere, or club, with skill. He was from the Ngāti Whakaue hapū, and lived on Mokoia Island. Tūtānekai first saw Hinemoa when he attended a meeting on shore. Like other men, he fell in love with her at first sight. And she fell in love with him, even though they were not able to speak to each other. Though Tūtānekai's father was a chief called Whakaue, he was actually conceived as a result of an affair between his mother and a visiting chief. Tūtānekai's mother was forgiven by Whakaue, who brought up the boy as his own son, but people knew that Tūtānekai was illegitimate. Because of this, Hinemoa and Tūtānekai kept their passion for each other secret, because they feared their families would disapprove. On returning to Mokoia Island, Tūtānekai played beautiful yet sad music on his flute. It wafted across the lake where the lovesick Hinemoa sat on a rock and listened to the mournful sounds. Hinemoa's hapū became suspicious so pulled their canoes up onto the shore so that she would have no way to paddle over to the island and join Tūtānekai. Eventually Hinemoa could bear it no longer, and decided to swim across to Mokoia Island. She took some gourds to help her stay afloat. When she reached the shore she hid in a hot pool. In order to attract Tūtānekai's attention, each time his servant came by to fill a gourd of water, Hinemoa, disguising herself in the dark, broke it. Eventually Tūtānekai came to see what all the fuss was about. He saw his beloved Hinemoa, and they spent the night together. Though the families initially opposed the romance, the resulting marriage was eventually approved and it cemented a strong bond between the two hapū, creating peace in the Rotorua district. This union is still celebrated through oratory and songs by Te Arawa. The famous story has spread beyond Rotorua. A 1913 film, titled Hinemoa, was among the first movies shot in New Zealand, and the words of one of New Zealand's most well-known songs, Pokarekare Ana, are often slightly changed to suit the legend. Te Arawa singer Sir Howard Morrison sung the song, as did Dame Kiri te Kanawa, and Rolf Harris even recorded a version.