The legend of Ruatepupuke

According to an East Coast legend, the art of carving was discovered by Ruatepupuke, the grandson of the sea god Tangaroa. Ruatepupuke’s own grandson had an insatiable appetite for kai moana (seafood) and to meet his demands, Ruatepupuke fashioned a stone into an exquisite fishing lure which he named Te Whatukura-o-Tangaroa (the sacred stone of Tangaroa).

Tangaroa was offended that his name had been used without permission, and sought revenge. When Ruatepupuke’s son, Manuruhi, tried the prized lure he caught a massive haul but did not observe the custom of offering the first fish back to Tangaroa, further aggravating the sea god. Tangaroa decided to punish his great-grandson by pulling him down to the depths of the ocean, where Manuruhi was transformed into a birdlike tekoteko (carved figure) on the top of Tangaroa’s house, Hui-te-ana-nui.

Ruatepupuke, noticing that his son was missing, followed his footsteps to the edge of the ocean and dived into the water. He came upon the underwater village and found Hui-te-ana-nui. To his amazement, the whare was covered in carvings that spoke and sang to each other. When Ruatepupuke asked about his son’s whereabouts, one of the talking poupou (carved posts) told him that the bird-shaped tekoteko of the house was Manuruhi.

Ruatepupuke hid in the house and waited for its residents, the fish people, to fall asleep, whereupon he set the house ablaze. He had time only to rescue his son and some of the poupou – which were unable to speak – from the mahau (porch). Thus the first carvings came into the world.

Many years later, Ruatepupuke’s descendants brought these examples from the legendary homeland of Hawaiki to Aotearoa, where they served as models for Te Rāwheoro, the famous whare wānanga (school of learning) established by Hingaangaroa at Ūawa (Tolaga Bay). Future students of the wānanga, such as Tūkākī and Iwirākau, spread the influence of this school throughout the East Coast and eventually beyond.