
Moeraki boulders
In
Māori tradition, 'Āraiteuru' is the canoe in which brought the ancestors the
Ngāi Tahu people of the
South Island. The canoe was conveyed to New Zealand by the north-east wind, carrying the chiefs Kirikiri-ka-tata, Aroarokaehe, Mangaatua, Aoraki, Kakeroa, Te Horokoatu, Ritua, Ngamautaurua, Pokohiwitahi, Puketapu, Te Maro-tiri-a-te-rehu, Hikuroroa, Pahatea, Te Waioteao, and Hapekituaraki. The fishing net and the water gourd (calabash) of Āraiteuru were turned into stone at
Moeraki in the South Island, where they can still be seen. The canoe itself remained at a place called Matakaea (Shag Point) (Tregear 1891:20, White 1887-1891, II:178-179).
References
★ E.R. Tregear,
Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay), 1891.
★ J. White,
The Ancient History of the Maori, 7 Volumes (Government Printer: Wellington), 1887-1891.
See also
★
List of Māori waka