| Great Māori migrationwaka | |
| Commander | Tamatea Arikinui, Kahukura, Arutanga, Tangiia |
|---|---|
| Iwi | Ngāti Ruapani,Rongowhakaata,Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti,Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki,Ngāti Ranginui,Ngāti Kahungunu,Ngati Porou |
Tākitimu was awaka (canoe) withwhakapapa throughout thePacific particularly withSamoa, theCook Islands, andNew Zealand in ancient times. In severalMāori traditions, theTākitimu was one of the greatMāori migration ships that broughtPolynesian migrants toNew Zealand fromHawaiki. The canoe was said to have been captained byTamatea.
TheTākitumu [sic] was an important waka in the Cook Islands with one of the districts on the main island ofRarotonga consequently named after it.Sir Tom Davis, a former prime minister of the Cook Islands, wrote, in the form of a novel,[1] an account of 300 years of voyaging of theTākitumu by his own forebears as told in their traditions.
TheTākitimu appears in many traditions around New Zealand. Most accounts agree that theTākitimu was a sacred canoe. Many also give the name of the captain as "Tamatea", although in different forms. (He is not to be confused withTama-te-kapua, who sailed theArawa to New Zealand.)
The Takitimu waka landed at Whangaōkena (East Cape), Ūawa (Tolaga Bay), Tūranganui (Gisborne), Nukutaurua (on Māhia Peninsula) and other points further south along the East Coast.
Accounts from the northern East Coast indicate that theTākitimu left Hawaiki after two brothers, Ruawharo and Tūpai, took the canoe from their enemies and escaped to New Zealand. The vessel landed on theMāhia Peninsula (Te Māhia) and the crew dispersed: Ruawharo stayed at Te Māhia, a man named Puhiariki went toMuriwhenua in present-dayNorthland, while others moved toTauranga.
A Ngāti Kahungunu account of theTākitimu is given by J. H. Mitchell, according to whom the explorerHoaki and his brother Taukata had travelled to New Zealand from Hawaiki in theTutara-kauika, searching for their sister Kanioro, who had been abducted and taken there by Pou-rangahau. They returned in theTe Ara-Tawhao seekingkumara seeds and bearing the news that the islands were sparsely populated.[2] This inspired Tamatea, the Arikinui ("great chieftain"), who led the tribes of Ngāti Hukumoana, Ngāti Hakuturi, and Ngāti Tutakahinahina, which lived in the villages of Whangara, Pakarae, and Rehuroa, to build a canoe and lead a migration to New Zealand.[3]
Tamatea ordered the construction ofTākitimu. It was made by three craftsmen, called Ruawharo, Tupai, and Te Rongo Putahi. The initial work was done on Titirangi hill, the later work at Tamatea's house in Whangara.[3] Four stones, Kohurau, Ka-ra, Anewa, andPounamu were used to make five adzes, named Te Awhiorangi, Tewhironui, Rakuraku o Tawhaki, Matangirei, and Hui-te-rangiora. Te Awhiorangi, the most sacred of these adzes, was used by Tamatea to ceremonially cut through the waves, clearing the way for the canoe to travel over the sea.[4] The canoe was first roughly shaped at Titirangi hill and then taken to Tamatea's house at Whangara, where the carving was completed in an extremely sacred enclosure which was off limits to women and commoners.[3] The craftsmen and their tools had to be specially purified in water when their work was over; J. H. Mitchell records thekarakia sung by thetohunga (high priest) during this work.[3] All the chips and sawdust from the canoe had to be ritually burnt, because it was too sacred to be used for any other purpose.[3]
Tamatea and Ruawharo consecrated theTākitimu by singing akarakia which J. H. Mitchell records and pouring a calabash of water over the bow. Then four rollers, called Te Tahuri, Mounukuhia, Mouhapainga, and Manutawhiorangi were used to launch the canoe into the Pikopiki-i-whitilagoon.[5] After this, it was taken in the night to Te-whetu-Matarau and the tohunga Ruawharo cast various protective spells for the boat, one of which J. H. Mitchell records.[6] J. H. Mitchell forcefully denies stories that Ruawharo alone or with his brother Tupai stole theTākitimu from the tribes of Te Tini-o-Pekerangi, Te Tini-o-Whakarauatupa, Te Tini-o-Makehukuhu, and Te Tini-o-Tutakahinahina.[7]
TheTakitimu was a large, single-rigger canoe.[8] It consisted ofrauawa (boards attached above the hull),haumi (extensions to the front and back of the boat),taumanu (thwarts), akāraho orrahoraho (deck), atauihu (figurehead),rapa (sternpost),whitikotuku (frame for an awning),tira (masts),puhi (plumes of feathers),kārewa (buoys) andhoe (paddles). The canoe had six ceremonial paddles: Rapanga-i-te-atinuku, Rapanga-i-te-ati-rangi, Maninikura, Maniniaro, Tangiwiwini, and Tangi-wawana.[3] There were twobailers: Tipuahoronuku and Tipuahororangi.[3]
At the front of the canoe there was a space for the sacred objects in which theatua (gods) of the people resided.[3] These objects representedRanginui (the sky) andPaptuanuku (the Earth).[9] The objects also represented a number of spirits that protected theTakitimu on its voyage:[10]
TheTakitimu was too sacred for women, commoners, children, or cooked food to be allowed onto it, so the crew consisted entirely of prestigious men:[4]
Tākitimu travelled from Hawaiki toRarotonga in three days. J. H. Mitchell followsPercy Smith in making the ship part of theGreat Fleet, but says that because it was a single-rigger canoe, it proved faster than the rest of the canoes and left them behind.Tākitimu made the journey from Rarotonga to New Zealand in only eleven days. A shortage of food forced the crew to pray toTangaroa andTāne, who provided them with raw fish and birds to eat.[8]
TheTākitimu arrived atAwanui at the base of theAupōuri Peninsula inNorthland. Some members of the crew settled in this location, but Tamatea led most of the crew continued aroundNorth Cape, and along the east coast of theNorth Island until they reachedTauranga. Here Tamatea left theTākitimu, entrusting the command to Tahu, whom he instructed to find a source ofpounamu or greenstone (nephrite jade).[11]
AsTākitimu travelled along the east coast, the crew stopped at various locations and gave them names. These includedHikurangi, named after a mountain on Hawaiki,Whāngārā, and thePakarae River.[12]Titirangi hill in modernGisborne was named after the hill on which theTākitimu had been built.[12] The tohunga on theTākitimu conducted fire rituals that placed themauri (life force) of their traditional knowledge in the land at locations which later became the sites ofwhare wānanga (centres of traditional learning).[13]
When theTākitimu reached Te Papa, near Oraka on Nukutaurua (theMāhia Peninsula), the tohunga Ruawharo left the canoe to settle. At the island ofWaikawa at the south end of the Māhia Peninsula, the crew established an important shrine, which was later the site of awhare wānanga called Ngaheru-mai-tawhiti, which J. H. Mitchell says became the chief source ofmauri for the whole East Coast.[14]
AtWairoa, theTākitimu went up theWairoa River to Makeakea, now the site ofTākitimumarae. One of the canoe's rollers fell into the river and transformed into a taniwha. Later, part of this roller was recovered and used by arangatira named Kopu Parapara to build a house at Te Hatepe, which inherited thetapu of theTākitimu. This house was relocated toWaihirere, but it had become derelict by 1898 and was burnt down. In 1926 it was decided to build theTākitimumarae on this site as a successor to this aspect of theTākitimu canoe.[15]
As theTākitimu passed the mouth of theWaikari River, the tohunga Tupai saw a mountain inland. He lifted up apāpāuma (a magical wooden carving representing birds), which transformed into a living bird and flew to the top of the mountain, causing it to make a rumbling sound. The mountain was namedMaungaharuru ("rumbling mountain") as a result.[16]
When the canoe reached theWairarapa region, Tupai left the canoe to settle.[16] Here he established awhare wānanga, where he later educatedRongokako, the son of Tamatea Arikinui.[17]
None of the remaining crew had the power to maintain the specialtapu of theTākitimu, so it became aparaheahea (ordinary, non-sacred canoe). Despite this, Tahu Pōkai led theTākitimu onward to theArahura River on the west coast of theSouth Island, where he found the source of pounamu which he had sought. TheTākitimu was deposited on a flat ledge in the river, where it turned to stone.[16][18] J. H. Mitchell reports a story thatT. W. Ratana attempted to visit the site of theTākitimu in the early twentieth century, but was thwarted by a supernatural fog.[19]
The tribes of the Tauranga region refer to the canoe asTakitimu. Some traditions say that theTakitimu was captained by Tamatea, father of Ranginui, and Kahungunu the founding ancestor ofNgāti Ranginui. Ngāti Kahungunu recognise this "Tamatea" as the grandson of Tamatea Arikinui, and refer to him as "Tamatea-pokaiwhenua-pokaimoana". However, accounts in Northland and Tauranga do not indicate the existence of more than one "Tamatea" from theTakitimu.
South Island traditions indicate that Tamatea explored the western and southern coastlines of the South Island. TheTākitimu is said to have been turned to stone atMurihiku. From there, Tamatea is said to have built another canoe, theKāraerae, to return to the North Island.
