This carving portrays the moment Ngātoroirangi ascended Mount Tongariro. The story behind it is one of great depth—detailing the origins of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and how geothermal and seismic activity were brought to Aotearoa. As the revered ariki and high priest, Ngātoroirangi is the ancestor and progenitor of the Tūwharetoa people.
According to tradition, Tūwharetoa descended from those at the stern of the Te Arawa waka, while Te Arawa iwi came from the bow. In the carving, Ngātoroirangi holds the decorative hoe (kōrepe, or steering oar) to symbolize his role as the paramount navigator and chief of the vessel.
Below him is Ruaūmoko, god of earthquakes and volcanic force. Ngātoroirangi journeyed up Tongariro to claim the surrounding land, but while near the summit, he was trapped in a fierce blizzard. Freezing, he called out to his sisters in Hawaiki for fire. They sent the female fire-deities, Te Pūpū and Te Hoata, who traveled beneath the earth carrying sacred embers.
In this piece, the carved clam shell represents the pouch holding those sacred embers, while the manaia on Ruaūmoko’s brow portray Te Pūpū and Te Hoata, who guided the subterranean heat along his trail—igniting the volcanic line from Whakaari to Tongariro and leaving a lasting legacy of geothermal energy across the land.
This carving now resides at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s Maniapoto Campus in Te Kūiti.
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