Place names from Polynesia
The ancestors of Māori often gave names from Polynesion mythology to the New Zealand landscape. People brought their traditions from island to island over centuries of migration.
Over many centuries, the ancestors of Māori migrated across the Pacific Ocean, taking place names with them as they went. Image: David Eccles.
Māui’s fish
Māui is the trickster hero of Polynesian myth. There are pūrakau and stories about him in many places throughout the Pacific. The most common pūrakau in Aotearoa New Zealand tells about how Māui fished up land from the sea. The North Island is named Te Ika-a-Māui (the fish of Māui) and takes the form of a giant stingray. The South Island is named Te Waka-a-Māui, the canoe from which Māui caught his prize. Stewart Island Rakiura is named Te Punga-o-te-waka-a-Māui, the anchor stone of Māui’s canoe.
Hawaiki
Hawaiki is a very important place in Māori tradition and is a significant name that was brought to Aotearoa NZ from Polynesia. In mythology, it is the place from which all bounty came, including life, food, and treasures – a paradise where the spirits returned. People gave this important name to many islands and places during migrations across the Pacific.
There are some places called Hawaiki in New Zealand, including Maketū, Aotea Harbour, Lake Rotongāio, Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf, and the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden.
Te Rerenga Wairua
Guardian mountains on the west coast of Rarotonga, including Maunga Piko, Maunga Tea, Maunga Ko‘u and Te Rēinga-a-Pora, stand above a black rock called Te Rerenga Vairua. This was where spirits were said to depart to the paradise of ‘Avaiki. There is a similar name pattern in Aotearoa New Zealand, where Maunga Piko, Whangakea, Maunga Kohu-a-naki and Te Rēinga stand along the eastern and western pathways to Te Rerenga Wairua (the spirit’s leap), at Cape Rēinga.
Sometimes Polynesian names were taken to new islands. For example, on the island of Taha‘a in Tahiti a taniwha named ‘Aifa‘arua‘i is said to have terrorised people travelling between Taha‘a and Motue‘a. It was killed by a man from Ara‘ura. The tradition carried to New Zealand, where Kaiwhakaruaki was a taniwha who lived in the Parapara Stream, in Aorere (Golden Bay). It attacked and ate people travelling between Parapara and Motueka and a man from Arahura killed it.
Te Rerenga Wairua (the spirit’s leap), at Cape Rēinga. Image: Phillip Capper.
Place-name clusters
Hikurangi and Aorangi
Hikurangi and Aorangi are a pair of mountain names that ancestors of Māori carried across the Pacific.
Aora‘i is the second-highest mountain in Tahiti, and Hi‘ura‘i stands nearby. The pairing next appears in Rarotonga, where ‘Ikurangi is the high peak overlooking the capital, Avarua. Arorangi stands on the other side of the island. Hikurangi mountains are guardian mountains.
Aorangi and Hikurangi are mountain names of special significance to Māori. In te Ika a Maui (the North Island), Hikurangi and Aorangi are side-by-side in the Ruahine and Raukūmara ranges. The two names also made it to te Waipounamu (the South Island). Hikuraki is in Pelorus Sound and the Wairau River and was once the name of Banks Peninsula and a small lake in Southland. Aoraki/Mt Cook is the tallest mountain in the South Island.
Aoraki was an atua ancestor, a demi-god, and the name of a central figure in one of Te Waipounamu's most important creation stories. The name appears in similar stories from throughout Polynesia. Image: LEARNZ.
Common characteristics
Some names were repeated in new places because of similar physical characteristics. For instance, the name Ahuahu (Great Mercury Island) occurs in Tahiti and on Rapanui (Easter Island) as Akuaku. In both these places, as on Ahuahu, there are ancient garden plots in areas where the soil is warmed, making it ideal for growing kūmara. The name was repeated in these widely separated places because of their common physical characteristics.
Ahuahu/Great Mercury Island. Image: LEARNZ.
Explore this map of Aotearoa New Zealand which features names relating to the legend of Māui.