In Māori tradition, ''Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi'' (also known as ''Māhuhu'') was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. According to Māori traditions, the waka ''Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi'' explored the upper reaches of the North Island north of the

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auck ...

during early Māori settlement of New Zealand. Its crew explored

Whangaroa Whangaroa, also known as Whangaroa Village to distinguish it from the larger area of the former Whangaroa County, is a settlement on Whangaroa Harbour in the Far North District of New Zealand. It is 8 km north-west of Kaeo and 35 km ...

, Tākou and Whangaruru. They continued south before returning to Pārengarenga and sailing down the west coast. On the west coast there are two narratives of the captaincy of ''Māhuhu''.

Te Roroa Te Roroa is a Māori people, Māori iwi from the region between the Kaipara Harbour and the Hokianga Harbour in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. They are part of the Ngāti Whātua confederation of tribes. In the early 19th century ...

people of the Waipoua forest say the ''Māhuhu'' canoe was captained by Whakatau and called at Kawerua on the west coast of the North Island where Whakatau's son married a local. The alternative narrative, told by the

Te Uri-o-Hau Te Uri-o-Hau (sometimes spelt Te Uri O Hau or Te Uriohau) is a Māori iwi (tribe) based around New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour. It is both an independent iwi and a hapū (sub-tribe) of the larger Ngāti Whātua iwi, alongside Ngāti Whātua-o-� ...

and

Te Taoū Te Taoū is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Northland and the Auckland Region in New Zealand. Together with Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, it comprises the iwi (tribe) of Ngāti Whātua. The four iwi can act together or separate ...

(from the

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

tribe of

Helensville Helensville () is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku to the south, and Ka ...

and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

) has ''Māhuhu'' under the command of Rongomai and stopping not at Kawerua but Tāporapora Island in the

(this island no longer exists). Rongomai was drowned when the canoe overturned after visiting the island and his body was eaten by the araara or

trevally The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish that includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the ...

fish. Because of this incident, the Ngā Puhi and

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

who claim descent from Rongomai, did not dare to eat the trevally in the times before they embraced Christianity. The tradition then tells of ''Māhuhu'' heading back north to

Rangaunu Harbour Rangaunu Harbour is a shallow harbour in the far north of New Zealand. It is situated on the east coast at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula. The name in Māori means "To pull out a shoal of fish". With an area of it is the fifth-largest har ...

where the crew eventually settled. At the end of its service the waka was interred in a creek, Te Waipopo-o-Māhuhu in the

. As part of the 1990 commemorations of the 1840 signing of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

made a large waka which also bears the name ''Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi'' or ''Māhuhu-o-te-rangi''.

References

*E. Shortland, ''Traditions & Superstitions of the New Zealanders'' (Longman, Brown: London), 1856, 25. *E.R. Tregear, ''Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary'', (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay), 1891, 20–21. Māori waka Māori mythology {{Maori-myth-stub

See also

References