Artwork Information

Kei te titiro iho tētahi kōhine, he kiri muramura, he āhua mauri tau, he ngāwari, he āio. I ngā maunga o Te Urewera, ko Hinewai he hāuaua, ko tōna tuakana a Hinepūkohurangi, e kitea pātata ana, he kohu. He tūrehu ngā wāhine, ā, ko ā rāua kōrero, he mea hāngai ki te aroha a Uenuku ki a Hinepūkohurangi. I roto i tētahi atu kōrero, ka moe a Hinepūkohurangi i a Te Maunga. Ko tā rāua tamaiti ko Pōtiki, he tupuna o Ngāi Tūhoe, nā reira e mōhiotia ai te iwi o Tūhoe ko Ngā Tamariki o te Kohu.

A young woman looks down, her glowing skin and serene expression convey lightness and calm. In the mountains of Te Urewera, Hinewai is the light rain and her older sister Hinepūkohuragi, shown nearby, is the mist. The women are tūrehu (fairies) and their stories are intertwined with Uenuku, who fell in love with Hinepūkohurangi. In another tradition, Hinepūkohurangi married Te Maunga (the mountain). Their son was Pōtiki, an early Ngāi Tūhoe ancestor, and this is why Tūhoe people are known as the Children of the Mist.