Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Maori Canoe

The Discovery of New Zealand by Polynesians

The Discovery of New Zealand by Polynesians

The date of the discovery of these isles by Polynesians has not been fixed, owing to some confusion in genealogical lore, though the date of their settlement by that race is fairly clear. The discovery was made, according to Maori tradition, by two voyagers, named Kupe and Ngahue (the latter being also known as Ngake), at a period probably not less than forty generations ago. We have no particulars concerning Ngahue, but his companion Kupe is said to have belonged to Hawaiki Island (probably Tahiti). His father was a Rarotongan, while his maternal grandfather belonged page 387to Rangiatea, the island now known as Ra'iatea. This tends to show that there must have been communication between these islands at that period. Maori tradition of the South Island claims that Kupe flourished forty generations ago.

Putting aside certain myths concerning the voyage of these old seafarers to New Zealand, no reason for the voyage is given in Maori tradition; most likely it was one of the many voyages of exploration made by members of the daring Polynesian seafarers of yore. The voyage was made apparently from the island of Tahiti, the vessel of Kupe being known as "Matahorua," and that of Ngahue as "Tawirirangi." Of the former canoe, or prau, we are told that the hull was composed of three pieces, and that these pieces were not let into each other as is done nowadays, but were simply butted together for lashing, the method known as haumi tuporo. The washboards were fixed, the two anchors prepared, both of which had holes through which the cables were passed. One anchor was of the stone known as tatara-a-punga, obtained at Maungaroa, a hill at Rarotonga. "Matahorua" is said to have accommodated sixty persons. In this expedition Kupe brought his family with him—wife and daughters—a not uncommon occurrence, apparently, among those old sea-rovers.

These voyagers made their landfall near the North Cape, afterwards coming down the east coast to Castle Point, thence to Palliser Bay, where some place-names were assigned. Proceeding, the sea-farers entered Wellington Harbour, where the two islands (Somes and Ward) were named Matiu and Makaro, after two of the daughters of Kupe; while Pinnacle Rock, off Seatoun, was named Te Aroaro o Kupe, after the famous explorer. Moving on along the coast, a sojourn was made at Te Rimurapa (Sinclair Head) for the purpose of collecting and drying shell-fish to serve as sea-stores. Next Porirua Harbour was entered, where the anchor known as Maungaroa was left, and another local stone taken in its place. The abandoned anchor is said to be the one now in the Dominion Museum. Our voyagers next called at Mana Island, whence they crossed the strait in order to explore the South Island and to seek human inhabitants, for so far none had been seen. At Arahura a landing was made, and here greenstone (nephrite) was discovered, pieces of which are said to have been taken back to Polynesia by Kupe and Ngahue. The stone was first seen by Hine-te-uira, another daughter of Kupe, whose fourth daughter, Mohuia, also accompanied him. Hine-waihua, wife of Ngahue, and Hine-te-aparangi, wife of Kupe, were both with the expedition.

page 388

The explorers are said to have sailed right round the South Island, after which they returned north by way of the west coast of the North Island, calling at Whanga-nui, Patea, and Hokianga. From the latter place our voyagers sailed on their return voyage to Polynesia.

An important part of this tradition is the statement that, at that period, the isles of New Zealand had no human inhabitants; it was a desolate land. It was Kupe who gave the name of Aotea-roa to New Zealand. All these voyagers returned to their homes in eastern Polynesia: none remained here. One tradition states that Ngahue killed a moa at a place called Wairere, and took some of the preserved flesh with him on his return to his island home. The version collected by the present writer states that a moa was killed at a wai-rere (waterfall or cascade) up the Arahura River, when the voyagers were collecting greenstone (nephrite) from the bed of the river, and that Ngahue, on his return to Polynesia, reported that greenstone and the moa were the most remarkable products of Aotea-roa. "Kapatua te kaitiaki o te rere, te moa, ka hoki a Ngahue ma ki tera motu, oti atu. I hoki ano a Ngahue ki Hawaiki, nana i korero he pounamu, he moa te taonga o tenei motu, o Aotea."

Our explorers returned to Rarotonga, thence to Rangiatea (Ra'iatea, in the Society Group) and Hawaiki, which latter name was an old one for the Island of Tahiti. On their return the voyagers were called upon to describe their voyage, the aspects and productions of the newly discovered islands, and the course to be taken by vessels desirous of reaching them. All this information, we are told, was carefully preserved by the adepts whose duty it was to conserve all desirable knowledge and transmit the same orally to the next generation.

So far as is shown in Takitumu tradition no other Polynesian voyager reached New Zealand for a long time after its discovery by Kupe and Ngahue, but when Toi, Manaia, and others, probably two hundred years afterwards, wished to visit these isles, they applied to the wise men of their time for the sailing instructions left by Kupe. Those instructions were that the voyage to New Zealand should be made in November, and that the course to be steered from Rarotonga was to keep the bow of the vessel just to the right of the place where the sun sets in daytime, and of the moon or Venus during the night. In connection with this, Mr. S. Percy Smith has written as follows: "The sun sets about S.W. by W. in the end of November in New Zealand, and that is almost the exact course from Rarotonga, which was always the starting-point for New Zealand." (In page 389other accounts it is stated that the bow was directed to the left of the sun.)

We here have a very much abbreviated account of the discovery of New Zealand by Polynesian explorers, as preserved in Maori tradition, together with a statement that these isles were at that period uninhabited by man. Now, the next Polynesian voyager to New Zealand, according to Takitumu tradition, was one Toi, who found many parts of the North Island occupied by a people differing much from those of eastern Polynesia in appearance, and apparently in culture. These aborigines are known to the Maori as Maruiwi and Mouriuri; of these the latter is said to be the more correct name, the former being merely the name of one of their chiefs at the time when Polynesians first settled on these shores.