The Legend of The Four Canoes
Long before the Maori inhabited New Zealand he had learned of it: from Kupe,
the greatest of all Polynesian navigators, who had called it Te Aotearoa, land
of the Long White Cloud.
Legend has it the Maori ancestral home was Hawaiki, thought to be an island
near Tahiti. Tribal quarrels caused by a shortage of food, is said, drove four
chiefs to gather their families and tribes into four great canoes and head south
to the land believed held great promise for them.
The Legend of Mataatua
Commanded by Chief Toroa the Mataatua landed at a North Island river mouth
where Wairaka, daughter of Toroa was left in charge while the crew went
exploring. When the tide rose the canoe floated off. Wairaka paddled furiously
shouting “Me Whakatane au i au” (I must act like a man). Finally she reached the
shore and the river was named Whakatane after her efforts. It is said that
whenever disaster threatens, the stone anchor of Mataatua can still be seen on
the bottom of the river.
The Legend of the Takitimu
The story of the Takitimu is the most romantic of the canoe legends. Her crew
soon lost any fears about Chief Tamatea's skill as a navigator when a school of
whales gathered around the canoe and bore her safely toward her destination. As
though this were not sufficient comfort, the Priests on board had brought two
Gods with them, Kahukura, who by day became a rainbow to point the way, and
Hinekorako, who became a moonbeam, took over by night. Thus guided, the Takitimu
landed near Wellington and from there some of her people crossed the straits to
settle in the South Island. |
