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Our Brand Story
NGA KORERO O TE
TOHU O TAI TOKERAU TOURISM
In the beginning there were no
earth, no sky, no sea. Out of this desire came the two primal parents
Papatuanuku ( the Earth mother) and Ranginui ( the Sky father). They embraced in
the realm of night and seventy children were born to them, all male, and thus
Ira Atua (the first family) came into being. Living in darkness and longing to
experience the  world
of light and day, the siblings decided that their parents should be separated.
However, not all the children
agreed. Tumatauenga ( the deity of war) wanted them killed. Tane
Mahuta ( the deity of man and forests and everything that dwells within)
thought they should be separated, with Ranginui going above t the sky and
Papatuanuku dwelling on the earth below. In turn they tried to separate
their parents. Rongomatane (deity and father of cultivated foods) tried,
but with no success. Tangaroa (deity of the sea), followed by Tumatauenga
also tried but to no avail. Finally Tane Mahuta placed his shoulders
against the ground, thrust his feet upwards and pushed.
The sinews binding his parents
stretch back and forth, heaving and swaying, until finally the parents were
separated and the children experienced Te Ao Marama (light of day) for
the first time. When this happened, Tawhirimatea (deity and father of
winds and storms) who had not agreed to the separation, went up to the sky to be
with his father.
When the separation was completed
there was only one thing lacking, the uha ( female element). Since there were
no women, Tane took some clay from a place known as kura-waka and
fashioned it into the form of a women. Then he breathed life into the nostrils,
and thus was created Hine-ahu-one (the earth formed maiden). Tane
Mahuta and Hine-ahu-one had a daughter and thus the family of man had
begun.
Today we are families originated
from Tane Mahuta, father of plants and man. We are spread like the mamaku fern,
throughout Tai Tokerau. We are many families, we are many clusters and yet we
are the same family. We form the taurapa (stern post) of the waka and together
we provide the stability and the sustainability for economic development for Tai
Tokerau Tourism.
We are Te Whanau o Te Tai
Tokerau, the families of Northland
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