WHO WAS KUPE?

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22172, 27 July 1935, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHO WAS KUPE?

BT W. GIliFiS BECKKTT

A VOLCANIC DEITY

"The lone land of Ao-tea-roa was first discovered about the year 925 A.D. by K upe, a famous Polynesian explorer and ancestor of the Maori." How often do we meet with similar introductions to works on New Zealand history? Groping in the mythological mist that cloaks the dim history of the Maori, chroniclers have come upon continued reference to the great Kupe, and for want of some more tangible figure have invested his reputed discovery of New Zealand with the importance of historic fact. So widely accepted is this view that we find it emphasised on the foremost pages of our text-books. For our school-children, too, Kupe's fabulous voyage marks the starting-point in their sketchy studies of pre-pakcha history. Yet on what frail fabric are these fantastic claims based. On available evidence I cannot subscribe to the opinion that Kupe ever existed as a man —let alone that he discovered Ao-tea-roa in such and such a year. Kupe of the ancient traditions was a powerful volcanic deity. For proof of this we have only to look about us at the many gigantic monuments in the North Island erected to his memory.

As for Kupe's being "one of the most famous ancestors of the Maori," such a statement is based on pure supposition. No acceptable genealogy can be found that recognises Kupe as a human ancestor. If this in itself were not sufficient, there are his five mythical daughters—Wairaka, Kurareia, Mohuia, Kurawaiho and Taiapua—to be considered. Do any of these names appear in authentic tribal genealogies ? Definitely not. In North Auckland For the sake of convenience, let us in our study of Kupe's handiwork start from the North and move southward. Scattered widely over the countryside between Takou Bay and Kerikeri, in North Auckland, are many mementoes of a mighty volcanic upheaval. Yast masses of basaltic rock have been tossed here by a giant hand, and all around, for a distance of half a mile or more, this evidence of volcanic activity persists. Because of their orderly array, these massive rocks are known to the local native as Nga Toka Whakarara a Kupe (the boulders arranged by Kupe). Countless generations ago the God of the Yolcano was very restless hereabouts. it calls for no expert eye to see how this land has been bombarded by projectiles from some terrific outburst. Here is our first hint that Kupe's interest lay, not in sea-going canoes, but in the smouldering bowels of the earth. At one time, it is said, Kupe resolved to prepare a feast for his associate, Manaia; so he drew up these huge boulders in the form of a banquet platform. Both he and his guest boasted a prodigious appetite, as befitted such powerful deities, and Kupe killed a whale to serve for their modest repast. When this tasty morsel was ready foe the eating and there was still no sign of Manaia, Kupe despatched two messengers to Hokianga to tell him that the hour was ripe. These two ambassadors, in the form of huge volcanic bombs, are to be found to-day at Whirinaki, Omanaia. One is named Te Tou-o-Moko (Ruau Moko being the god of earthquakes). Lesser Deities With the continued delay Kupe grew more and more impatient, and soon he sent forth two lesser deities, Puraho and her brother Tarakaimohi. Puraho carried a scoop (tiheru), and as they proceeded she burrowed a deep channel in the land, reaching across toward Hokianga. 11' you strike inland from Nga Toka-Whakarara, you will find a deep gulch' from which it would seem these boulders have been flung out, and following along from this a long gorge cuts through the hills toward the \\ est Coast. The rising of the sun put an end to Puraho's work, for all such supernatural projects are carried out under cover of night, but so strenuous had been her efforts that a channel was dug nearly from coast to coast. The forms of the brother and sister, together with their monstrous scoop, are preserved for all time on a ridge between Tapu-wae-tahi and the Waimate. Other marks of Kupe's activities are numerous in this district. At Kohukohu, on the banks ot the Hokianga, there are some huge stone ovens said to have been built by him, which actually are the remains of ancient thermal springs. His magic canoe can be pointed out at the North Head of the Hokianga Harbour entrance.

Next let us transfer our attention to Auckland City, and particularly to those beautiful volcanic cones which are her most proud possessions. "Sparkling waters" may be an aptdescription of Auckland Harbour on a sunny day, but it must never be regarded as a translation of "Waitemata." Literally, this euphonious name moans "Waters of the Volcanic Obsidian." "Waitemata" itself conjures up a picture of that great landlocked waterway subjected to a bombardment of hurtling rock and falling ashes A Lava Stream Although to-day Mount Eden is generally known as Maungawhau, its true Maori name is Taiapua—one of Kupe's mythical daughters. Then there are Wairaka (Mount Albert), Kurareia (One Tree Hill), Mohuia (Mount Smart) and Kurawaiho, the remaining four daughters of the volcanic deity. At the height of one gigantic outburst a bubbling stream of lava shot from the -molten crater of Wairaka and coursed down to the sea, sweeping further and further out until the mass stretched almost across the full width of the upper Waitemata. That lava stream has formed a long reef which to-day creeps out from the base ot Point Chevalier and almost joins with the opposite shore. Maoris know it as Tokaliaere, mythic grand-daughter, of Kupe. At Waikaremoana, in the solemn Urewera country, we next take up our the.me. Hereabouts are stupendous evidences of volcanic action, and we find significant names, such as Te Waka o Kupe, Nga hoe o Kupe, and Nga whakarara o Kupe. to remind us of this fiery deity. Further south still, in the Wairarapa (Sparkling Waters) district, are to be seen, forming the summit of a high ridge near Featherston, the shapes of two enormous canoes, inverted. These arc Nga Waka a Kupe. Perhaps the greatest feat ever accomplished by Kupe was the cutting of a channel to what is now Wellington Harbour.

I make so bold as to say that Kupe, whose feats of exploration and navigation are so endeared to our historians, never existed in human form. Instead, he was a volcanic deity, and to Kupe's agency the Maori attributed many of the awe-inspiring phenomena left in Aotearoa by giant upheavals in ancient times.