Tamatea Ariki-Nui was the captain of the Takitimu Waka, it arrived in New Zealand in 1350
Tamatea Ariki-Nui may have wanted to leave because of his desire to begin a new tribe on unclaimed land. Tamatea was first in Hawaiki, which was quite small, meaning it was probably quite crowded with the limited amount of space, but it would have also lacked a good supply of resources.
On the other hand, New Zealand was much larger and quite unpopulated, meaning there was a lot of room for crops and construction. The huge array of animals and other wildlife would also provide food and materials for medicine and other medical items.
Nowadays Hawaiki is depicted as an ancient or magical paradise where gods lived together, and humans were able to turn into birds or ascend into the heavens. Despite these amazing myths and legends talking about how strange the place was, the real location was never revealed. Maori and Pakeha still don’t know if it’s a real physical location or a mythical place.
Shortly after coming to Awanui, Tamatea and his crew climbed to the summit of Mauao (Mount Maunganui) to perform an ancient ceremony, implanting the crew's Mauri onto the hill. Mauri is known to be the spirit or life force of people and nature.
Works Cited
Ritchie, Robert. “TAMATEA-ARIKI-NUI (Tamatea the High Lord) – 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand – Te Ara.” Te Ara, 22 April 2009, https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/tamatea-ariki-nui. Accessed 2 March 2022.
“Takitimu te waka.” TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI RANGINUI,