Kupe was a Polynesian explorer who, according to Māori history, was the first person to discover New Zealand. He is generally held to have been born to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raʻiātea, and probably spoke a Māori proto-language similar to Cook Islands Māori or Tahitian. His voyage to New Zealand ensured that the land was known to the Polynesians, and he would therefore be responsible for the genesis of the Māori people.
Kupe was born in the geographically uncertain Māori homeland of Hawaiki, to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raʻiātea, between 40 and 23 generations ago. The more specific reasons for Kupe's semi-legendary journey, and the migration of Māori in general, have been contested. Māori oral history recounts that Hawaiki and other Polynesian islands were experiencing considerable internal conflict during his time, which is thought to have possibly caused an exodus.
Kupe features prominently in the mythology and oral history of some Māori iwi (tribes), but the details of his life differ between iwi. Various legends and histories describe Kupe's extensive involvement in the settlement of New Zealand, around 1000–1300 CE, with many talking of his achievements, such as the hunting and destruction of the great octopus, Te Wheke-a-Muturangi.
Voyage to New Zealand The historical Kupe is thought to have been born in the uncertain Māori homeland of Hawaiki, to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raʻiātea. At the time of his journey, he lived in the settlement of Hawaiki-rangi. He was well educated in Polynesian navigation, and likely spoke the hypothetical proto-Māori language, which would have been most similar to Cook Islands Māori or Tahitian. There are many different accounts of Kupe's first voyage to New Zealand that range from tribe to tribe, but most follow a similar basic story. Most histories claim that in a time approximately 40 generations ago (between 900 and 1200 AD), Kupe, his wife Kuramārōtini, the great warrior Ngahue, and a relatively large crew, boarded Kuramārōtini's canoe Matahourua (or in some dialects Matawhaorua). According to the Waitangi Tribunal's Wai 262 report, Matawhaorua was a classical Polynesian open-ocean catamaran, capable of carrying a complement of 25 people under sail or paddle, fully provisioned. It is said that at first Kupe had some difficulty filling the waka, with only a few members from Hawaiki-rangi with him. The report states he eventually found the remaining crew at Pikopikoiwhiti, a nearby village "renowned for its ready supply of adventurers". Seven more were added from there. Some oral histories say he travelled with a second catamaran, Tāwhirirangi, under the stewardship of the navigator Te Ngake.
Matawhaorua set sail for lands further to the south in pursuit of the great octopus of his rival, Muturangi. Matawhaorua is thought to have journeyed towards Te Tai Tokerau. As the waka neared land for the first time, Kuramārōtini saw a thick layer of cloud on the horizon. She is then believed to have exclaimed "He ao! He ao! He ao tea roa!" meaning, ‘A cloud! A cloud! A long white cloud!’. Recognising a large cloud as a symbol of land, Kupe led the waka towards the land, where it is believed his party made their first landing at the Hokianga Harbour. From here, Kupe and Kuramārōtini continued his voyage around the country. He sailed down the coast of the Wairarapa and landed in Wellington Harbour, staying there for some time and naming the islands of Matiu (Somes Island) and Mākaro (Ward Island) after his daughters. A legend says that Kupe then continued his pursuit of Muturangi's octopus, eventually destroying it with a blow to its head after a fierce battle in the Cook Strait. In some versions of the story he travelled as far south as Arahura on the South Island's West Coast, and also to the Coromandel Peninsula.
The Waitangi Tribunal claims that Kupe and his crew remained in New Zealand for as many as 20 years before deciding to return home. Kupe sailed back via Hokianga Harbour, where he sacrificed his son Tuputupu-whenua, drowning him in the spring of Te Puna-o-te-ao-Mārama to guard the land from under the water while he was gone. According to oral history, Kupe believed sacrificing his son would ensure the (life essence) of his whakapapa (descent line) would remain in Aotearoa permanently, even though he would be gone. He then said a karakia, vowing never to return before leaving for Hawaiki. The full name of the harbour is Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe; "the place of Kupe's great return".
Roughly thirty years later, Matawhaorua was thoroughly renovated and refitted under the leadership of Nukutawhiti, Kupe's grandson. The canoe was renamed Ngātokimatawhaorua, which translates literally to "the re-adzed Matawhaorua". Nukutawhiti had memorised his grandfather's navigational instructions for reaching Aotearoa, knowing by heart the star path to follow to get there. Under his stewardship, the journey was no longer burdened with undue risk and ignorance of the geography of lands further south. This time Nukutawhiti travelled for the express purpose of settling Aotearoa, so he thoroughly extended Ngātokimatawhaorua to take more passengers.
Kupe also gave the names to Arapāoa, Mana, Kohukohu, Pouahi, Maungataniwha. These names have been preserved by generations of Māori people settling the regions. While some of the names from other ancestors have fallen out of use, those associated with Kupe seem to have endured.
Time of arrival Estimates of when Kupe discovered New Zealand vary. +DateClaimantNotesRefNeverMargaret Orbell (1985)View of Kupe as entirely mythical.925 CEPercy Smith (1913–15)Attacked by Simmons (1976) as "the great New Zealand myth". Tom Brooking (2005) says that this date "seems too early" and says that historians by 2005 favour 1180 CE.950 CEPei Te Hurinui Jones (1944)Bruce Biggs (1995) states that "the genealogical evidence for this date is questionable".1180 CETom Brooking (2005)Claimed consensus by Tom Brooking.Before 1314 ± 6 CEVarious authors (2014)A 2014 study concluded that no permanent settlement took place in New Zealand prior to the Kaharoa eruption of Mount Tarawera (1314 ±6 CE), but stated that "A brief period of pre-settlement activity that represents discovery of New Zealand by Polynesians and a reconnaissance of the main islands is allowed in this model".mid-14th centuryDavid Abulafia (2019)Claimed consensus of "more modern research" by David Abulafia (2019), with Kupe accompanying the initial settlers in the mid-14th century.
Contention There is contention concerning the status of Kupe. The contention turns on the authenticity of later versions of the legends, the so-called 'orthodox' versions closely associated with S. Percy Smith and Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury. Unlike the attested tribal traditions about Kupe recorded before Smith and Jury, the orthodox version is precise in terms of dates and in offering place names in Polynesia where Kupe is supposed to have lived or departed from. The orthodox version also places Kupe hundreds of years before the arrival of the other founding canoes, whereas in the earlier traditions, Kupe is most definitely contemporary with those canoes. In addition, according to legends of the Whanganui and Taranaki regions Kupe was a contemporary of Turi of the Aotea canoe. In other traditions, Kupe arrived around the year 1400 on other canoes, including Tainui and Tākitimu.
In the "orthodox" version, Kupe was a great chief of Hawaiki who arrived in New Zealand in 925 CE. He left his cousin Hoturapa to drown during a fishing expedition and kidnapped his wife, Kūrāmarotini, with whom he fled in her great canoe Matahourua. During their subsequent journeys, they overcame numerous monsters and sea demons, including the great octopus named as Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, and discovered New Zealand. Returning to Hawaiki, Kupe told of his adventures and persuaded others to migrate with him (Craig 1989:127; see also External links below).
David Simmons said that A search for the sources of what I now call 'The Great New Zealand Myth' of Kupe, Toi and the Fleet, had surprising results. In this form they did not exist in the old manuscripts nor in the whaikorerowhaikōrero: formal speech, oratory of learned men. Bits and pieces there were. Kupe was and is known, in the traditions of the Hokianga, Waikato, East Coast and South Island: but the genealogies given did not tally with those given by S. Percy Smith. The stories given by Smith were a mixture of differing tribal tradition. In other words the whole tradition as given by Smith was pakeha, not Maori. Similarly, the story of Toi and Whatonga and the canoe race leading to settlement in New Zealand could not be authenticated except from the one man who gave it to Percy Smith. Learned men of the same tribe make no mention of this story and there are no waiatawaiata: song, sung poem celebrating their deeds. Tribal origin canoes are well known to the tribes belonging to them: but none of them talk as Smith did of six large sea-going canoes setting out together from Raʻiātea. The Great New Zealand Myth was just that. (Simmons 1977).
Attested local traditions Traditions about Kupe appear among the peoples of the following areas: Northland, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui, Whanganui-Taranaki, Rangitāne, and the South Island.
Northland In the Northland traditions, Kupe is a discoverer and contemporary with, but older than, Nukutawhiti, the ancestor of the Ngā Puhi people. Kupe arrives, lives at Hokianga, and returns to Wawauatea, his homeland, leaving certain signs and marks of his visit.
A reference to Kupe occurs in a version of the legend of Māui fishing up the North Island, recorded in 1841 by Catherin Servant, a Marist missionary. Māui's hook, made from the jawbone of his eldest son, catches in the gable of the house of Nukutawhiti, Kupe's wife. Kupe was involved in the formation of New Zealand (from Māui's fish).Simmons cites Catherin Servant, ‘Notice sur les Maoris de la Nouvelle Zélande’, 1842. Microfilm. (DU:Ho), from an original in the Marist Archives, Rome. Servant was stationed at Hokianga from 1838 to 1839 and then at Kororāreka (Russell) until 1842. In 1849 Āperahama Taonui of Ngā Puhi wrote that 'Kupe came to this land in olden times' to look for Tuputupuwhenua.In this version it is not made clear who Tuputupuwhenua was. 'He went to all places on this island. He did not see Tuputupuwhenua on this land. Hokianga was seen, a returning of Kupe, that is (the meaning of) Hokianga. Under the earth are his and Kui's dwelling’. The land was uninhabited (deserted). Āperahama adds a genealogy from Kupe to Nukutawhiti, the ancestor of the Ngā Puhi.The genealogy is: Kupe begot Matiu who begot Makoro who begot Maea who begot Mahu (or Maahu) who begot Nukutawhiti. Nukutawhiti came ‘from overseas’ with his brother-in-law Ruanui in their canoe named Māmari. They met Kupe at sea, who told Nukutawhiti that Tuputupuwhenua was at Hokianga. When Nukutawhiti arrived at the mouth of the harbour, Tuputupuwhenua disappeared underground.Simmons cites A. Taonui, manuscript in Auckland Museum Library, Graham Collection, no. 120:2. Kupe and his great-great-great-grandchild appear to be contemporaries in this legend. Hoani Timo wrote a manuscript in 1855 in which 'Kupe came in former times – he was the husband of Peketahi; they crossed over from the other side' (of the sea). They lost a child, Totoko, at sea. When they arrived they had more children - Māui-mua, Māui-taha, and Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. Rāhiri, an important ancestor of Ngā Puhi, descends from these childrenSimmons cites Shortland MS86, Hocken Library, Dunedin.