Rākaihautū was the captain of the

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

() and a Polynesian ancestor of various , most famously of Waitaha and other southern groups, though he is also known in the traditions of Taitokerau and in those of Rarotonga. In Māori traditions, once Rākaihautū landed the at the top of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, he moved southward and dug up many of the island's major lakes using a magical (digging stick), filling them with food for his many descendants.

Origin

Rākaihautū originally sailed with his wife Waiariki-o-āio, their son Te Rakihouia, and their people from Te-patunui-o-āio aboard the canoe over 34 generations ago. The crew included some of Rākaihautū's kin who were of the tribes Te Kāhui Tipua, Te Kāhui Roko, and Te Kāhui Waitaha. Rākaihautū's daughter Te Uhi-tataraiakoa stayed behind in Te-patunui-o-āio. On the journey to the South Island, the heavens and the ocean blocked the canoe's path until Rākaihautū chanted a and cut a passage with his adze. He eventually landed the at Nelson, on the top of the South Island.

Exploration

From Nelson, Rākaihautū and his wife separated from Te Rakihouia and began to explore the Southern Alps. Te Rakihouia and Te Kāhui Waitaha took the canoe and continued down the east coast, eventually landing it near the Clutha River. In the tradition of Ngā Puna Wai Karikari o Rākaihautū, Rākaihautū dug out the large lakes from Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoroa, and Rangitahi in the north to Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri in the south. For this purpose, he used a digging stick named . Upon reaching Foveaux Strait, he then travelled back up along the east coast, reunited with Te Rakihouia, and settled in Banks Peninsula, where he thrust his stick into a hill called above Akaroa Harbour, renaming it (the stick) to . The stick became the rocky peak that is known to Pākehā as Mount Bossu. Specific lakes that Rākaihautū is credited with digging include

Lake Tekapo Lake Tekapo () is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau). It covers an area of and ...

, Lake Pukaki, Lake Ōhau, Lake Hāwea, Lake Wānaka, Lake Wakatipu, Whakatipu Waitī, Te Aitarakihi near Washdyke, Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, and Lake Forsyth.

Legacy

Namesakes of Rākaihautū include (The Storehouse of Rākaihautū) and (The Fish Basket of Rākaihautū). He is most famously known as an ancestor of Waitaha, though the founders of Kāti Māmoe and the lesser known Te Kāhea, iwi are both said to be descendants of Te Uhi-tataraiakoa's great grandson Toi. Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu are also said to be descended from Toi through the ancestor Rāhiri. The ancient Hāwea tribe is sometimes said to descend from Toi, or they could have arrived on their own canoe—the under Taiehu's captaincy—earlier than the . might have otherwise been the name of Rākaihautū's adze onboard the when it arrived to the South Island.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Māori mythology Legendary Polynesian people Year of birth missing Year of death missing Polynesian maritime navigators

Origin

Exploration

Legacy

See also

Notes

References