Story: Papatūānuku – the land
Chiefs sometimes reserved land by naming it after parts of their body. Tamatekapua, the captain of the Te Arawa migratory canoe, claimed the Ōkūrei peninsula (Te Kūreitanga-o-te-ihu-o-Tamatekapua, in full) at Maketū by comparing it to the bridge of his nose. This whare rūnanga (meeting house) at Ōhinemutu, Rotorua, is named after Tamatekapua.
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Auckland Art Gallery - Toi o Tamaki
Photograph by Josiah Martin
Permission of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
