Story: Te Arawa

Hatupatu and Kurangaituku

Hatupatu and Kurangaituku

After arriving from Hawaiki, the Arawa hero Hatupatu (depicted in the carving at left) settled on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua. The youngest of four sons, he was bullied by his elder siblings. His story is an epic one. He escaped from Kurangaituku, the fearsome bird-woman (right), by jumping over hot springs. Kurangaituku tried to wade through them, but was burnt to death. Hatupatu also avenged the destruction of the ancestral waka Te Arawa by dispatching the enemy chief Raumati, from Tauranga, during a battle. These figures were produced by the master carver Tene Waitere in 1904–5.

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Private collection, Paul Tapsell
Photograph by Paul Tapsell

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How to cite this page:

Paora Tapsell, 'Te Arawa - Settlement and migration', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/1519/hatupatu-and-kurangaituku (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Paora Tapsell, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017