Whakaturia

A chief of Hawaiki; a son of Haumai-tāwhiti. On account of an insult given to his father, he, with his brother Tama-te-kapua, went night after night to steal the fruit from the poporo trees of Ue-nuku. Whakaturia was caught, and was sentenced to die by being hung up in the smoke inside the roof of Ue-nuku's house. From this he was rescued by his cleverness, and by a stratagem of his brothers. War was declared, and the result was that many chiefs with their followers determined to leave Hawaiki. Hence the great migration to New Zealand.

References

Sources

  • Grey, Sir George. (1855). Polynesian Mythology. Auckland: Brett, pp. 76 ff.
  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, p. 607.

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