Something I learnt - Kupe and the Giant Wheke

Last week, during kete class, we learnt about Kupe and the Giant Wheke. Mr Mitchell shared and told us the story about Kupe and the Giant Wheke.

Kupe was a rangitara, a great fisherman who lived in Hawaiiki. One day when Kupe was fishing with the others, they noticed something unusual. They didn't get the expected tug on their fishing lines, and when they pulled their lines out of the water, their bait had vanished. This had never happened before. Early in the next morning, they decided to go fishing again, but the same thing happened again. They pulled out their lines, and the bait was gone. Kupe noticed something... There was a slimy substance covering his hook, and he recognised it as belonging to an octopus. He knew that Muturangi, a chief on the other side of the island, had a pet octopus. He revealed in a disrespectful way that his octopus, Te Wheke o Muturangi, was indeed the one eating all their bait. Kupe and his people began to build a canoe, that they would use on their journey to kill Te Wheke o Muturangi. The chase continued for weeks, across the vast Pacific Ocean. One morning, Hine-te-Aparangi, Kupe's wife, saw a long cloud in the distance, a sign that land was near. She named the land, Aotearoa, Land of the Long White Cloud. She, Kupe, and the whole whanau were amazed by the beauty of the new land they discovered. The stories they'd known as children of Maui fishing a great land from sea were true. His people explored the new land, and gathered needed supplies. Kupe took his dog, Tauaru, across land to the Hokianga harbour. They left footprints in the soft clay while walking around the shoreline. Over many years the footprints turned to stone and have remained there to this day. Kupe continued the chase, and sailed into Te Moana o Raukawa (Cook Strait), a turbulent and potentially dangerous stretch of water between the North Island and the South Island of Aotearoa. Knowing the turbulent waters would be an advantage to the wheke, Kupe chased it into the calmer waters of Totaranui (Queen Charlotte and Tory Sounds.) Because of the many waterways and islands around those areas the pursuit continued for many days. Kupe finally caught Te Wheke o Muturangi at the entrance to Te Moana o Raukawa from Totaranui, and the great sea battle began. Kupe jumped from his canoe onto the back of the giant wheke, and struck a fatal blow to its head. Te Wheke o Muturangi was finally defeated. Kupe returned safely to his whanau, and they got themselves ready for their return to Hawaiiki. Te Wheke o Muturangi, which was thought of as a bad omen, had lead them to a new land they now called Aotearoa, a land Kupe knew future generations would call home.