Story: Take whenua – Māori land tenure

Kahupeka naming the land

Kahupeka naming the land

The Tainui ancestor Kahupeka names land features in this illustration by Cliff Whiting. She is said to have named, among other places, Mt Pirongia and Te Aroha. One way to claim land was to show that an ancestor, like Kahupeka, had discovered and named it.

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New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa
Reference: He korero purakau mo nga taunahanahatanga a nga tupuna: place names of the ancestors, a Maori oral history atlas. Wellington: New Zealand Geographic Board, 1990.
Mixed media by Cliff Whiting

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How to cite this page:

Paul Meredith, 'Take whenua – Māori land tenure - Take whenua – principles of land-use rights', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/18380/kahupeka-naming-the-land (accessed 2 May 2024)

Story by Paul Meredith, published 24 Nov 2008