Those among us who take a real interest in the history of the Polynesian Race, and especially those who have studied the matter somewhat deeply with a view of eliminating errors in the Native histories, and bringing the discordant data into the semblance of real history, are aware that the date at which Kupe the Polynesian Navigator visited New Zealand is very uncertain.
Many Maori traditions accredit him with the original discovery of these islands. It is worth while, therefore, endeavouring to clear the matter up—if it is possible. In the following notes, all that is known of Kupe is for the first time brought together into one focus.
We may, perhaps, thus come to some definite conclusion on the subject. First, it is abundantly clear that Kupe was one of those South-Sea rovers—the product of the age of navigation which, commencing at the period when the Polynesians occupied the Fiji group, ended with the discovery and colonisation of, probably, every island in tropical and temperate Polynesia.
Trusting to the Rarotongan traditions and genealogies, we can assign an approximate date to the dawn of this period, which has been shown to bo about the year a. Kupe must have flourished during this era of navigation, for no one has ever suggested that he made his voyages later than the great heke to New Zealand, although some traditions state the fact that he was a contemporary of those who came here in the fleet.
Others again show him to have lived many generations prior to that period—and herein lies the difficulty which we must now attempt to solve. In the first place let us consider the place-names in New Zealand connected with Kupe. There are a number of such names, but nearly all on the West Coast of the North Island. The following for instance:—. Fanciful as the above names are, they seem to show a connection with the celebrated navigator.
All these places are on the shores of Cook Straits , excepting Numbers 3 and 16, and there are also two rocks on the coast near Rimu-rapa, Sinclair's Head, near Wellington , named Toka-haere and Mo-huia, which represent Kupe's daughters mourning for him, when he crossed the Straits to prosecute his discoveries in the Middle Island.
Passing over for the present Kupe's connection with the Patea river, Cook Straits , we now come to the places connected with his name in the north, the information having been gathered by Mr. John White some fifty or sixty years ago. The last statement, but one, to the effect that Kupe was the first man to come to this island may not be correct, but it seems apparently to indicate, at any rate, in the minds of many that his voyage must have been long anterior to the date of arrival of the fleet in , notwithstanding the persistent accounts in some of the histories of the "Aotea's" voyage, that Kupe gave to Turi the directions for finding New Zealand.
Kupe is supposed to have separated the North from the South Island, which action is referred to in the following ngeri, or words sung to a war dance:—. Such were the great signs Of my great ancestor Kupe. Aropaoa, the island forming the east side of Queen Charlotte's Sound. Titapua, an island that is said to have stood off the east entrance of Cook's Straits, and from whence albatross were obtained; now sunk below the sea, according to Maori tradition.
Te-rau-o-Titapua or titapu , feather-plume of Titapua, has become emblematical for a plume, or ear-pendant of albatross feathers. This is a strange tradition, for there are no signs of a submerged island.
Can it have referred to the Chatham Islands where the albatross is very common? There are numerous references to Kupe in old Maori poetry, some few of which that are pertinent to this story are quoted below:. Nga-whatu, the Brothers' Rocks, in passing which for the first time, in old times, the eyes of strangers wore blindfolded so that these rocks might not be seen; otherwise a storm would arise. Here the last line refers to the kareao supplejacks , tataramoa brambles and tumata-kuru spear grass , ongaonga nettles , and other obstructions to travel in the forest and open, which are called nga taero a Kupe, the obstructions of Kupe, when he was exploring the country.
This expression is now often applied to mental difficulties and obstructions. We may now consider what tradition says as to Kupe's visit to New Zealand, and will first translate the earliest account that appeared in print, viz. This account is said to have been furnished to Sir George by Rawiri Waimako, father? Waiharakeke was the name of the river where 'Aotea' as a tree grew, and Toto had hewn it out.
When the tree fell to the ground it split, and 'Mata-atua' canoe was formed of one part, 'Aotea' of the other. Whilst 'Mata-horua' canoe was given to Kura-maro-tini, 'Aotea' was given to Rongorongo Turi's wife Toto's two daughters. When the line got to the bottom, Kupe thought he would deceive his companion page 45 with it, so said to his younger brother—'Friend Hotu, my line is caught, dive for it! Kupe replied—'It cannot be done, but you jump into the water and dive for it.
So Hotu-rapa dived, and when he had got to the bottom, Kupe cut the painter of the canoe, and proceeded to carry off Kura-maro-tini. When Hotu-rapa came up to the surface, the canoe was a long way off, so he called out—'O Kupe, return the canoe for me! Then he crossed the straits of Rau-kawa, and there entered the Awa-iti Tory channel where he met the fierce current of Kura-te-au which forced him back, but he tried again and succeeded, and then got into the whirlpool. Here was the Wheke-a-Muturangi a cuttle-fish or octopus which, as soon as he heard the canoe, rose up to overwhelm Kupe's canoe.
When it came to the surface, Kupe saw it, and considered how he should overcome this taniwha. Then he decided what to do. The tentacles of the cuttle-fish were approaching to sink the canoe, whilst Kupe was strenuously and continuously cutting them off.
But what was that to this taniwha! Now, Kupe bethought him of another plan by which he would kill it. So he took out his calabash and throw it on the water, where it was immediately seized on by the cuttle-fish who thought it was the canoe. As soon as its body got on to the calabash to press it down, Kupe stood carefully on his canoe, and as carefully lifted his axe, and with a tremendous blow severed it in two and killed it.
But Kupe did not remain, he returned to the other side to his home. He left his signs here, but returned himself. On his arrival he found Turi there, and it was in the fourth year after his return —after Hawe-potiki was killed—that Turi came hither to New Zealand.
As the canoe approached the sea side, Kupe heard it and went to see, and then said to Turi—'O Turi, when you go, look to the rising of the Sun, and keep the bows of the canoe in that direction. If you stand on one side of the river and call out they will answer; that is the place. The account then describes Turi's voyage and his settling at Patea, and winds up as follows:—"This roturns to the handing over by Toto of 'Aotea' to Turi; she was launched at night, and as Kupe heard the scraping of the keel on the sand he went to the shore to see Turi: and said to him—'Depart in peace , look to the rising of the Sun, and do not divert the bows of the canoe from where the sun and the star rise; keep the bows there,'" and then repeats what has been said about the two men or birds at Patea.
In this story there are one or two rather precise statements; first, that Kupe found no one at the places he landed at, nor saw any signs of inhabitants beyond the birds—which, however, may have been men's names; secondly, that Turi was to steer constantly to the sun rise; and thirdly, that Turi left Rai'atea four years after Kupe had returned.
The first statement may be correct, but the second is, I think, certainly wrong as I propose to show later. It must be remembered that this account of Kupe's voyage is the foundation of nearly all that has been printed about him since. Kupe again went to the priests. He described the problem and asked the priests what should be done. They replied that they were not powerful enough to overcome the action of the octopus, so Kupe should ask Muturangi himself to stop its doings.
The sea is its home; the people are wrong in going there to fish. One of these anchors was a tatara-a-punga coral from Maungaroa, a mountain in Rarotonga, 1 and the other was a puwai-kura, a reddish stone like kiripaka flint or mata-waiapa obsidian from Rangi a tea.
After the anchors were placed on board, Kupe went out to slay the octopus. On arrival at the fishing ground named Whakapuaka, the lines were let down. They were hauled up before reaching the bottom, and then it was seen the bait had been eaten.
The octopi followed the lines to the surface, where Kupe and the sixty men of the canoe Matahorua began to slaughter them. They continued to do so till night fell, while the great octopus of Muturangi was all the time waiting a little beyond. The body of this octopus was eighteen feet long, while its feelers were thirty feet long when stretched out.
Its eyes were the size of the papaua-raupara a thin, flat shellfish, like the pearl oyster. But when the canoes tried to approach the monster, it made off to the deep sea. It was now night, so Kupe returned to shore, while Ngake or Ngahue followed the great octopus out to sea in his canoe, Tawhiri-rangi. You must all board the canoe, so there may be one death for us all, and not me alone while you remain lamenting in safety ashore. Matahorua was now launched and the voyagers departed. There were seventy-two people on board.
You can see him reddening mura-haare on the ripples of the sea. They tried to approach the monster, but to no avail; the octopus only went on faster, directing his course toward this undiscovered island of Aotearoa. Not long after this, an island was seen in the far distance, like a cloud on the horizon, toward which the octopus made straight.
If the octopus should stop anywhere, let it remain there until I come. So Ngake continued on in pursuit, while Kupe went on from the North Cape to Hokianga and stayed a while.
In the course of his wanderings there in search of food, he came to a place where there was some soft clay uku-whenua into which his feet sank and left holes, as did the feet of his dog Tauaru.
When Kupe and his children departed from Hokianga, they left the dogs behind because the dogs had wandered off into the forest to hunt birds. The dogs returned to the beach and howled; Kupe heard them, but he used a prayer to prevent them following, and they were at once turned into stone. Another account of these dogs is that Kupe decided to leave them there as guardians for the land, and he carved out of stone a male and female dog to represent them.
Ngake informed Kupe that the octopus of Muturangi was there within a cave giving birth to offspring. Kupe proceeded to the cave and broke it open, which caused the octopus to flee in the night towards the south.
This name was given by Kupe because one of his daughters here made a wreath of kawakawa leaves, and the name has ever since remained in memory of it. At this place is a kahawai spring where Kupe kept as provisions the fish of that name. Near here the sail of the canoe Matahorua was broken, and Kupe, Ngake, and their friends proceeded to make another for the foremast.
There also is a heap of stone, from the top of which Kupe recited his prayer to draw fish up for his daughters, among others, the hapuku, which ordinarily lives in deep water.
Hine-uira, one of his daughters, asked Kupe what he was gazing at. After this they started in pursuit of the octopus, going on to the mouth of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Port Nicholson , on the west side of which their canoes landed. From there, after going to Hataitai Miramar Peninsula they went on to Owhariu Ohariu, west of Wellington, on Cook Strait where the sails of Matahorua were hung up to dry, hence the name of that place.
The two islands are in Wellington Harbor. Kupe approved of the names. Then they got some large seaweed, and made receptacles for these provisions, so that the food would not be spoiled by dampness. They found Te Rimu-rapa a very disagreeable place because of the wind, so proceeded north to Porirua Harbor, where Mata-horua was anchored.
Here, on the east side of the harbor, near the mouth, Kupe saw a stone which he at once desired as an anchor for the canoe; it was a kowhatu-huk a tai a white stone, probably volcanic. His daughters also had the same wish because of its excellence. Ngake now said to Kupe it was time they went after their enemy. So they left and went to Mana Island, where Kupe left his wife and his daughters for a while. After leaving his family there, Kupe and Ngake made a straight course for Te Wai-pounamu South Island , and when they drew near it, they saw the octopus of Muturangi approaching their canoes.
The two canoes of Kupe and Ngake separated to allow the octopus to pass between them, which it did, the head rushing forward drawing its tentacles behind, which spread out even beyond the canoes. From head to the end of its tentacles, it was two hundred and forty feet long, while the body was twenty four feet wide.
He speared it twice, and when it felt the pain, it stretched out its tentacles to break the spear of Ngake, who was using his spear from the other canoe.
In most cases we are able to assign an approximate date for historical occurrences connected with the Maori Tradition, but in regard to the time of the discovery of these isles we are at fault, for apparently no reliable genealogy from the discoverers has been preserved. From other evidence, however, we can assume that such discovery was made not less than forty generations ago, or say the tenth century. The story of the coming of Kupe is encrusted with myth, and there are several versions as to the cause of his coming.
One of these versions is to the effect that his daughter Punaruku was slain while bathing at Wai-o-Rongo, at Rarotonga, where she was attacked and, as our mythopoetic Maori puts it 'carried off to Tai-whetuki,' the house of death. Kupe pursued the monster who had slain his daughter across far ocean spaces until he finally caught and slew him at Tua-hiwi-nui-o-Moko, in Cook Straits, assisted by his nephew Mahakiroa.
The following table shows the position of persons mentioned in this tradition in regard to Kupe. It was given by Te Matorohanga this is the 'sage' of our Memoirs, Vol.
After a weary voyage across the southern ocean, one day a low hung cloud attracted attention. Quoth Kupe, " I see a cloud on the horizon line.
It is a sign of land. He ao! A cloud! That cloud betokened the presence of land, rest and refreshment for cramped and sea racked voyagers. The two vessels made the land in the far north, where the crews remained for some time, after which they continued their voyage down the east coast of the North Island.
When Kupe returned to Hawaiki from these isles, the people asked him:- "Why did you call the new found land Aotearoa, and not Irihia or Te Hono-i-wairua, after the homeland our race originated in? Our seafarers now came on from Palliser Bay, and entered the harbour, landing at Seatoun, the foreshore of which place is known as the Turanga-o-Kupe, possibly so named from the fact that the sea rover was hurt against a rock when bathing at the Pinnacle Rock, known as the Aroaro-o-Kupe.
While encamped at this place Matiu and Makaro are said to have named the two islands, Somes and Ward, after themselves.
Rocks in the sea at Sinclair Head and Tongue Point are said to have been named Mohuia and Toka-haere after two of the daughters of Kupe. Their food was wind alone, and in these days those folk bear the aspect of rocks. The following lines from an old song refer to these occurrences :- "He uri au no Kupe, no Ngake E tuha noa atu ra kia pau te whenua Te hurihuri ai ko Matiu, ko Makaro.
Hori goes on to relate the old myth that Kupe left here the obstructions to travellers by land, such as the ongaonga nettle, Urtica feros , the tumatakuru Disearia toumatou , and papaii Aciphylla , which were burned in after times by Tamatea of Takitumu, an immigrant from the Society Group. Again we refer to a reference in song:- " Nga taero ra nahau, e Kupe! I waiho i te ao nei. Another old local myth is to the effect that our harbour was at one time a lake in which dwelt two monsters named Ngake and Whataitai syn.
Hataitai, the native name of Miramar peninsula. These two beings attempted to force their way out of the harbour. Ngake succeeded by forming the present entrance, but Whataitai failed in a similar attempt at Evans Bay.
Hence he assumed the form of a bird and betook himself to the summit of Tangi-te-keo Mt. Victoria , where his shrieks were plainly heard. Leaving Wellington Harbour our seafarers moved on to Sinclair Head, where they camped for some time in order to lay in a stock of sea stores in the form of dried fish and shellfish, for which that place has ever been famed in Maori annals. Here also they procured quantities of rimurapa D'Urvillea utilis , the great wide stems of which they utilised as vessels poha in which to store and carry their dried foods, a use to which this giant seaweed was frequently put by the Maori.
It was on this account that the party named Sinclair Head Te Rimurapa. The point near this head known to us as the Red Rocks is called Pari-whero, or Red Cliff by natives, on account of the peculiar colour of the slate rock in that vicinity. Here are two old myths concerning the origin of such redness.
One is a somewhat prosaic one, namely that Kupe had his hand clamped by a paua Haliotis so severely that the flowing blood stained the surrounding rocks, as also the ngakihi limpet, Patella of the adjacent waters. The other version sounds better, and is to the effect that Kupe left his daughters at this place while away on one of his exploring trips.
He was away so long that the maidens began to mourn for him as lost to the world of life. They lacerated themselves after the manner Maori, even so that the flowing blood stained the rocks of Pari-whero forever. Moving on from Sinclair Head the rovers stayed a while at Owhariu, and then went on to Porirua Harbour. What year did Kupe come to Aotearoa? What Polynesian visited in in NZ and what was his name? What year did kupe the moari chief land on nz? Where did Maori chief Kupe come from?
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