Migration

Tales were told to preserve and relay important information across the Pacific and down through generations. Stories of Māui and his brothers fishing up new lands, Hawaiki-tautau-o-te-rangi to the south, travelled across the waves. This story held important navigational information which Kupe and Te Ngāhue followed to also sail to Hawaiki-tautau, then Tīwakawaka and further down the line, Toi-te-huatahi.

There are many reasons given to why our ancestors travelled south some of which are:

• Curiosity and exploration
• Over population
• Pressure on food resources
• Climate change
• Conflict and war

Tales of spiritual visions and travels are given as the inspiration for the creation of the Mataatua waka which brought our ancestors to settle in Aotearoa.

Read more about ancient exploration in the Tātai Kōrero section.