Tū-whakararo

A chief of Hawaiki; a son of Tū-huruhuru and Apakura. He was grandson of Hina and great-nephew of Māui. Tū-whakararo went on a visit to the Ati Hapai (or Raeroa) people, whose chief, Poporokewa, had married Mairatea, the sister of Tū-whakararo. In a wrestling match he was treated unfairly, and was killed in a treacherous manner. In revenge for this murder, the slain man's brother Whakatau set out with an expedition, and burnt Te Uru-o-Manono, the temple or tribal meeting-house of the Ati Hapai. This was one of the troubles which led to the exodus of the Māori people from Hawaiki, and their arrival in New Zealand.

Tū-whakararo's wife was named Hakiri Maurea, according to a Southern version of the tale, but it is related in the North that Maurea was the young sister of Poporokewa, and that her rejection of a lover in favor of Tū-whakararo led to the latter's death at the hands of the discarded suitor.

A different account is given of Tū-whakararo's pedigree, he there being called the son of Rata and Tongarautawhiri; also that Tū-whakararo had by his wife Apakura a son named Whakatau.

References

Sources

  • Grey, Sir George. (1855). Polynesian Mythology. Auckland: Brett, pp. 61, 72.
  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, pp. 568-569.

This article incorporates text from Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891) by Edward Tregear, which is in the public domain.