TALES OF THE TAUPO COUNTRY

Taupo Times, Volume III, Issue 105, 29 January 1954, Page 1

TALES OF THE TAUPO COUNTRY

THE COMING OF THE MAORI

(By

R.H

.W.)

I Among the folk-lore and traditions of the Maori people of the past were many tales of the far lands from which their ancestors came to New Zealand, tales which told of those who had voyaged over rolling leagues of Te Moana* Nui A Kiwa, the Great Ocean of Kiwa,- and of the canoes in which they sailed the vast realms of Hinemoana, the Ocean Maid, ever seeking new lands beyond the sunrise. Handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth similar stories were widely current amongst all branches of the Polynesian peoples. These most fearless stone-age navigators the world has seen traversed, over a long period, the vast expanse of the Pacific as early Western peoples explored a lake. And on all important occasions when, the people gathered together allusions to such events would be freely made, just as is often done on historic occasions today amongst other peoples. Some thirty years ago, at a gathering of the Tuwharetoa people at Waihi, on the southern shores of Taupo-moana, I heard a speaker refer to the way in which his ancestors had crossed the Ocean of Kiwa and settled at last on the shores of that inland sea. A generation ago there were a number of pakeha writers who denied that the ancestors of the Maori people could possibly have crossed the Pacific in what they mistakenly called their "frail canoes. " But earlier historical records of European discoverers in the Pacific, and the later researches of anthropologists in many^Polynesian islands, have finally established the reliability of the traditions so far as they relate to the manner in which the ancestors of the Maori came to Aotearoa. Certain writers, too, maintained that Polynesian voyagers could not have crossed the Pacific from westward, as from Samoa to the Windward Isles, on accOunt of the prevailing winds. These tradewinds, however, as Elsdon Best said, had a greater effect on the writers than on the Polynesian voyagers. As to the canoes used in the Polynesian voyages, they appear to have been usually double canoes, though single-outrigger canoes were also used. The former consisted of two distinct hulls lashed a little apart with cross-booms (kiato) upon which a deck was laid, and a deck house was also built. The single outrigger canoe consisted of one hull wjth an outrigger on the port side. From the observations of early European navigators in the Pacific we are able to form an idea of the craft used by the Polynesian sailors in their daring voyages. Captain Cook and the missionary Ellis furnish interesting information. Cook took note of the excellent sea-going canoes seen when he was in the Society Islands (Tahiti) in 1769, and it is worthy of note that this group was the central hub of Polynesia from which the race explored and finally settled the surrounding far-flung islands of the ocean. (Continued on Page 2)

TALES OF THE TAUPO COUNTRY

(Continued from Page 1) One pahi, or double canoe, measured by Cook was 51 feet in length, carrying a lofty mat-sail. These canoes consisted of a keel-part, made from a hollowed out log, above which the vessel was built up with hewn planks sewn together with sinnet, lashings of threeply coconut-husk fibre. The planks were fitted edge to edge, and beaten coconut husk and breadfruit. gum were used for caulking. Pictures of such canoes from drawings by European explorers are extant, as for instance in Cook's Voyages. The vessel was equipped with masts, some having three* sails, paddles, bailers and stone anchors. The sails were made of pandanus mats sewn together in triangular form with wooden yards and booms to strengthen the long side of the triangle. The oars used by the Vikings of Europe had the advantage of leverage against a row-lock but the disadvantage of forcing the rowers to turn their faces toward the wake behind them. The Vikings of the Pacific, with their paddles, faced forward toward impending seas and ever-receding horizons. The second objection to the traditional accounts of voyages from west to east, that of the tradewinds already mentioned has long been dismissed. The prevailing wind does not and did not always prevail. La Perouse, in his account of his stay in Samoa, states that "the trade-winds are very uncertain in these seas, and that it is almost as easy to sail east as west, a circumstance which favours the natives in their long excursions to leeward." This voyager when leaving the group encountered strong winds from the west and north-north-west. Cook also stated - that in December and January the winds frequently blow from west-north-west or north-west. These statements have been confirmed by more recent observers, while early enquirers have established that the Polynesians knew when to expect wind-chang-es, and had well-defined routes for voyages, always starting from one given place. In fact, having once explored the Pacific, the Polynesian knew how and when to reach any part of it. . (To be continued).