Story: Canoe traditions

Page 2. Canoes of the northern tide

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Kurahaupō

Ngāti Kurī of Muriwhenua say that Pōhurihanga was the captain of Kurahaupō, and that it landed at Takapaukura (Tom Bowling Bay) near North Cape. Pōhurihanga married Maieke and their children settled Kapowairua, Pārengarenga Harbour, and Murimotu.

Ngātokimatawhaorua and Māmari

After the Polynesian explorer Kupe returned to Hawaiki his canoe, Matawhaorua, was re-adzed and renamed Ngātokimatawhaorua (ngā toki – the adzes) by its new captain, Nukutawhiti. Ngātokimatawhaorua, accompanied by Māmari under Ruanui, returned to the Hokianga, where the two captains built whare wānanga (houses of learning). Ruanui began consecrating his building first, without waiting for Nukutawhiti. A metaphysical battle followed, and Ruanui’s tohunga (priests) chanted incantations, compelling a huge whale to beach itself as a sacrifice. Nukutawhiti’s tohunga performed opposing incantations, attempting to push the whale back out to sea. Ruanui’s prayers were finally exhausted and the crew of Māmari were forced to leave the Hokianga area. Māmari made landings at Ōmāmari and Whāngāpē Harbour, where Ruanui’s descendants live today. The battle of the priests is remembered in the name Hokianga-whakapau-karakia (Hokianga where incantations were exhausted). Ngātokimatawhaorua and Māmari are important canoes for the tribes of Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri.

Tinana and Te Māmaru

The Tinana canoe, later renamed Te Māmaru, is particularly important for the Muriwhenua tribes of Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu. Tinana, captained by Tūmoana, landed at Tauroa Point near present-day Ahipara. The canoe later returned to Hawaiki, where Tūmoana’s nephew, Te Parata, renamed it Te Māmaru. It was then brought back to Muriwhenua, its crew first sighting land at Pūwheke Mountain on Karikari Peninsula before sailing around Rangiāwhiao and Whatuwhiwhi to make landfall at Te Ikateretere, near the mouth of the Taipā River. Te Parata married Kahutianui-a-te-rangi, the founding ancestor of Ngāti Kahu.

Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi

Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi (Māhuhu) is the most important canoe for the Ngāti Whātua tribes occupying the Kaipara region between Hokianga Harbour and Tāmaki (Auckland). According to tradition Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi came from Waerota, Waeroti and Mata-te-rā after a feud over food resources. The canoe's cargo included several new types of food, including uwhi (yam), kūmara (sweet potato) and taro, another starchy tuber. Māhuhu first reached land on the eastern seaboard of Northland, where it explored the coast between Whangaroa, Tākou and Whangaruru. Some accounts say it then explored Bay of Plenty and East Coast before returning north to Pārengarenga. From here it rounded North Cape and sailed down the west coast of Northland.

Te Roroa people of the Waipoua forest say Māhuhu was captained by Whakatau and landed at Kawerua on the west coast. Here Whakatau's son, Rongomai, married a local woman called Takarita. Their , Te Pukenui-o-Rongo, overlooked the landing place of Māhuhu.

Another account according to Te Uri-o-Hau and Te Taoū (from Ngāti Whātua of Helensville and Auckland) is that Rongomai was the captain of Māhuhu, and the canoe landed on Tāporapora, an island that once stood inside the Kaipara Heads. Some time after his arrival at Tāporapora, Rongomai was drowned in a fishing accident. His remains were partly eaten by araara (trevally) and tāmure (snapper) before being pounded by the waves onto the rocks near Waikāretu. To this day the area is remembered as Te Ākitanga-o-Rongomai (the beating of Rongomai). Some accounts say that Māhuhu returned to the north and settled at Rangaunu Harbour where it was interred in a creek, Te Waipopo-o-Māhuhu.

Mataatua

The Mataatua canoe of the north has a strong association with the traditions of Bay of Plenty. Descendants from these two regions held a reunion in 1986. Some northern accounts say Mataatua first made landfall in Bay of Plenty before sailing north. One account says that after leaving Bay of Plenty it rounded Cape Rēinga and then sailed southward along the west coast and into Hokianga Harbour. From there it was hauled overland to Kerikeri before sailing to Tākou Bay. Others claim the canoe was carried across the Auckland isthmus before sailing northward along the coast to the Hokianga. The earliest Ngāpuhi account says that Mataatua landed in the north first and went to Bay of Plenty some time later. Northern accounts name Puhi, Te Wahineiti and Miru as the leaders on the Mataatua. Miru is also credited with circumnavigating the North Island in the canoe.

How to cite this page:

Rāwiri Taonui, 'Canoe traditions - Canoes of the northern tide', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/canoe-traditions/page-2 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 8 Feb 2005