Story: Te Arawa

This carving of Tūtānekai playing a flute stands in Rotorua’s city centre. Tūtānekai lived on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua. Although of high rank, he was an illegitimate child. He was conceived when Tūwharetoa, a chief from Kawerau, visited the island. His mother Rangiuru was forgiven by her husband, Whakaue, who reared the boy as his own. Tūtānekai grew into a handsome young man, a fine dancer and athlete, which aroused the jealousies of his three elder half-brothers. All four had fallen in love with the beautiful Hinemoa of Ōwhata, on the lake’s eastern shore. However, it was Tūtānekai’s seductive flute-playing that won Hinemoa’s heart.