| Great Māori migration waka | |
| Commander | Rongo-i-tua |
|---|---|
In Māori tradition, Mānuka was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled the South Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand). [1] The canoe is said to have travelled to the Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki to procure kūmara, a type of sweet potato. [2] [3] [1] Although the Mānuka returned with kūmara, most accounts state that efforts to germinate and grow the tubers it brought back ended in failure. [3] [1] [2]
Origin story
In Ngā Waka o Neherā (2009), Jeff Evans writes that Mānuka was built from the same tōtara tree as Āraiteuru, her sister waka (canoe). [4] There was a dispute between Tua-kakariki, who first found the log on the beach, and Rongo-i-tua, a visitor who was eager to return home. [4] To stake his claim, Rongo-i-tua had deposited his own excrement on the log while Tua-kakariki was away trying to assemble a work party to move it. [4]
Rongo-i-tua was awarded the log and got help from the Kahui-tipua people to build a canoe, promising to lead an expedition to bring back more dried kūmara. [4] The first canoe to be built was called Mānuka ('ma' = claim possession, 'nuka' = deceive) for the way he claimed the log. [4] Once the canoe had been completed, the Kahui-tipua claimed it for their own and travelled to Hawaiki to acquire kūmara. [4] However, once they returned, they were unable to successfully cultivate it. [4]
Explanations
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One version of the story is that the kūmara failed to grow because the South Island was too cold. [2] According to a Murihiku account, the crop rotted in the ground because ritual incantations were not performed. [3]
Other accounts state that the Mānuka had brought back only a "scraggly few" plants. [3] Subsequent canoe voyages were tasked with bringing back the "better kinds" of kūmara. [3] In one such narrative, Rongo-i-tua, or Roko, set forth from Hawaiki on the Āraiteuru, but was caught in a storm which pushed the kūmara overboard. [2] After washing up on shore, the vegetables were petrified to form the Moeraki Boulders. [2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Māori Peoples of New Zealand / Nga iwi o Aotearoa. Auckland: David Bateman. 2006. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-86953-622-0.
- ^ a b c d e "Page 8. Canoes of the South Island". Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Barber, I. G.; Higham, T. F. G. (2021). "Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia's southernmost habitable margins". PLOS ONE. 16 (4): e0247643. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247643. PMC 8046222. PMID 33852587.
- ^ a b c d e f g Evans, Jeff (2009). Ngā Waka o Neherā: The First Voyaging Canoes. New Zealand: Libro International. pp. 83–84. ISBN 9781877514043.
| Great Māori migration waka | |
| Commander | Rongo-i-tua |
|---|---|
In Māori tradition, Mānuka was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled the South Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand). [1] The canoe is said to have travelled to the Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki to procure kūmara, a type of sweet potato. [2] [3] [1] Although the Mānuka returned with kūmara, most accounts state that efforts to germinate and grow the tubers it brought back ended in failure. [3] [1] [2]
Origin story
In Ngā Waka o Neherā (2009), Jeff Evans writes that Mānuka was built from the same tōtara tree as Āraiteuru, her sister waka (canoe). [4] There was a dispute between Tua-kakariki, who first found the log on the beach, and Rongo-i-tua, a visitor who was eager to return home. [4] To stake his claim, Rongo-i-tua had deposited his own excrement on the log while Tua-kakariki was away trying to assemble a work party to move it. [4]
Rongo-i-tua was awarded the log and got help from the Kahui-tipua people to build a canoe, promising to lead an expedition to bring back more dried kūmara. [4] The first canoe to be built was called Mānuka ('ma' = claim possession, 'nuka' = deceive) for the way he claimed the log. [4] Once the canoe had been completed, the Kahui-tipua claimed it for their own and travelled to Hawaiki to acquire kūmara. [4] However, once they returned, they were unable to successfully cultivate it. [4]
Explanations
One version of the story is that the kūmara failed to grow because the South Island was too cold. [2] According to a Murihiku account, the crop rotted in the ground because ritual incantations were not performed. [3]
Other accounts state that the Mānuka had brought back only a "scraggly few" plants. [3] Subsequent canoe voyages were tasked with bringing back the "better kinds" of kūmara. [3] In one such narrative, Rongo-i-tua, or Roko, set forth from Hawaiki on the Āraiteuru, but was caught in a storm which pushed the kūmara overboard. [2] After washing up on shore, the vegetables were petrified to form the Moeraki Boulders. [2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Māori Peoples of New Zealand / Nga iwi o Aotearoa. Auckland: David Bateman. 2006. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-86953-622-0.
- ^ a b c d e "Page 8. Canoes of the South Island". Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Barber, I. G.; Higham, T. F. G. (2021). "Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia's southernmost habitable margins". PLOS ONE. 16 (4): e0247643. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247643. PMC 8046222. PMID 33852587.
- ^ a b c d e f g Evans, Jeff (2009). Ngā Waka o Neherā: The First Voyaging Canoes. New Zealand: Libro International. pp. 83–84. ISBN 9781877514043.