Arawa (canoe) - Ancestral Beginnings

Ancestral Beginnings

The Arawa waka tradition begins in Hawaiki with a woman by the name of Te Kuraimonoa. Because of her great beauty and spirituality she was admired by Puuhaorangi, a spiritual being who later adopted the form of a human and had a sexual liaison with her. This resulted in the birth of a son named Ohomairangi. Ohomairangi, in turn, became the eponymous ancestor of the Ngāti Ohomairangi people, who much later came to be known as the Te Arawa Confederation of Tribes (Stafford, 1967, p. 1).

Seven generations after Te Kuraimonoa and Puuhaorangi, the famous Arawa ancestor Tama-te-kapua was born. He was a highly ranked chief and mischievous person, to say the least. Tama-te-kapua, whose name is inextricably linked to the Arawa waka, was a very resourceful character. Many of his well-known exploits are retold by his descendants.

Tama-te-kapua had a dog named Pootakatawhiti, which unfortunately was put to death because it transgressed the laws of tapu in the village of a neighbouring tribe. This led to Tama-te-kapua and his brother using stilts to steal fruit from village chief Uenuku's sacred poroporo (breadfruit) tree as a way to avenge this insult. However, one night, Uenuku and others caught them in this activity. They eventually both managed to escape Uenuku's clutches but a battle ensued shortly thereafter due to these events in which Houmaitawhiti and his two sons routed the army of Uenuku. After this fight, it was decided that Tama-te-kapua and others would migrate to another land (Stafford, 1967, pp 2-5).