6-526: Hinemoa is a popular female Māori given name, often shortened to Hine. It is particularly associated with Hinemoa and Tūtānekai , a Māori legend about a couple kept apart. Other people with the name include: The name can also refer to: Hinemoa and Tutanekai Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island
12-520: Is a rhyolite lava dome , rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera collapsed and rhyolitic magma was pushed through the cracks. One of the cracks was below where Mokoia island is today. The foreshores of the island have geothermal springs with hot spring water forming the Hinemoa pool, known to locals as Waikimihia. It also has very rich volcanic soil, which
18-577: Is a bird sanctuary and access is limited to tour parties only. It is home to several rare species, including the North Island kokako , the North Island brown kiwi , and a breeding population of the endangered North Island saddleback . The island is also the location of regular Mau rākau training camps in the Māori martial art of taiaha . The island is sacred to Māori of the Te Arawa iwi , and
24-444: Is the location of one of the most famous legends of New Zealand, that of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai, which has parallels with the classical Greek tale of Hero and Leander . According to legend, the two lovers were forbidden to marry, and Hinemoa's father Umukaria, a chief from the shores of the lake, ordered that she not be allowed to travel by canoe to Tūtānekai's tribal village on the island. Hinemoa decided to swim 3.2 kilometres across
30-415: The lake to the island, guided by the sound of Tūtānekai's flute-playing. For flotation she wrapped rushes (a type of reed) around her and swam her way to the island. According to another version, she made a flotation device from gourds. The Te Arawa version of the widely known traditional Māori love song " Pōkarekare Ana " references the story of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. The lyrics imply Hinemoa's crossing
36-484: Was why the local Māori grew kūmara on it. The stone statue of Matuatonga on the island protected the island's kūmara crop, and tohunga would bring seed kūmara to touch the statue. It was also a very good strategic location, which was why it was often fought over. Mokoia Island is privately owned by local Māori iwi , who run it in conjunction with the New Zealand Department of Conservation . It
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