Story: Tangaroa – the sea

This tekoteko (carved figure on the gable of a house), on the ancestral house of Te Herenga Waka marae, is of Kupe, who is said to have discovered New Zealand. Some believe that the first tekoteko was the immobilised figure of Te Manuhauturuki, whom Tangaroa placed at the top of his wharenui (meeting house). Subsequently, tekoteko are an important part of wharenui.