A story of Rongo – He korero mō Rongo

Welcome to our mahinga kai garden – an area honouring the arrival of kūmara and establishment of cultivated food in Taumutu.

This garden is part of our pātaka kai, a gathering place where we can share food, and enjoy a sense of community. It is here we can embrace the spirit of Rongo, the god of cultivated food.

Throughout Aotearoa there are many traditions about the origins of kūmara. In Ngāi Tahu tradition it was Rongo-i-tua who brought kūmara, aboard the waka Araiteuru.

Earlier Waitaha traditions trace the arrival of kūmara to Pou, a mythical being who travelled here from Hawaiki on the back of a large bird, Te Manunui a Tāne.

The story of Pou is depicted in the early rock art drawings of Rapuwai and Waitaha, the first people to inhabit Te Waipounamu.

Sweet and nutritious, kūmara became an important and much cultivated crop. Kūmara growing was a sacred undertaking, and Rongo became revered as the god of cultivated food as he was known to be a fierce protector of these crops.

Kūmara was important to our ancient whānau not only as a significant food source and tradable commodity, but more importantly, kūmara was an indicator of ahikā. Those able to successfully cultivate a consistent crop could assert ahikā that is, lay claim to that māra and that land.

As Taumutu is recognised as the most southern region in Aotearoa where kūmara was traditionally grown, a food crop cultivated this far south symbolises of hardiness, ingenuity, and a bond with the environment.

He korero mō Rongo – He Atua mō te Kūmara me ngā Huanga Kai.

Nau mai ki tō mātou māra kai – he mahinga tēnei hei whakanui i te taenga mai a te kūmara me te tīmatanga o te mahi a Rongo ki kōnei ki Taumutu.

Ko te māra nei he wahanga noa o tō mātou pātaka kai, he rauhītanga hoki e taea ai te tohatoha kai, te rongo i te wairua hapori hoki. Kei kōnei ka taea te kauawhiawhi te wairua o Rongo, te Atua o ngā momo kai kua ngakina e tātou te tangata.

Kei tēnā iwi kei tēnā iwi o rātou ake kōrero mō te ahunga pēhea, te taketakenga pēhea mai a te kūmara. Hei tā Ngāi Tahu kōrero, nā Rongo-i-tua i heri mai mā runga i te waka Araiteuru. Engari tērā atu anō he kōrero nō mua atu i tēnā, nā Waitaha ēnei kōrero. Hei tā rātou, nā Pou i heri mai te kūmara. Heoi ko Pou tētahi tīpua i rere mai i Hawaiki mā runga i te tuarā o te manu nui, arā, ko te Manunui a Tāne tō taua manu ingoa. Ko te kōrero pūrākau mō Pou, koia tēnā i waituhingia ki ngā mahi toi kōhatu tawhito rawa o Rapuwai, o Waitaha hoki. Ko rātou ngā iwi taketake tuatahi kia tae ā tinana mai ki Te Waipounamu.

Ko tēnei tupu te kūmara, he reka, he whaipainga hoki. Ka mutu he huanga kai i ngakina whānuihia. He mahi tapu te mahi whakatipu kūmara. I mōhio whānuihia ko Rongo hei kaimanaaki, kaitiaki hoki o ngā huanga kai me ngā ngakina kai pērā i te kūmara. Me kī, i kauanuanutia a Rongo e te Māori.

Ko te kūmara he momo kai whakahirahira ki ngā whānau o nehe. He momo taonga hokohoko hoki te kūmara. Tāpiri atu ki tēnā, ko te kūmara he tohu mō te ahikā. Mēnā ka taea e te whānau, hapū, iwi rānei te ngaki kūmara ia tau ia tau, ā kāti, he tohu tēnā o te ahikā ki taua māra, otirā ki taua whenua rā.

Ko Taumutu tētahi whenua whakatipungia ai te kūmara i ngā rā o nehe, engari kāore i pērāngia ki te taha whakatetonga o Taumutu. Ko te huanga kūmara i tēnei tōpito o Aotearoa, tērā te kōrero mō te mārohirohi me te kakama a te tangata, me tana hononga, mōhio pū hoki ki tōna taiao.