Hatupatu

Legend tells of his wily escape from the bird-woman Kurangaituku, by hiding inside a rock and then leading her into a boiling mud pool.

Having grown into a man of ability and confidence, he led his people in battle against their enemy, chief Raumati, who had burned the Arawa canoe.

Killing this powerful enemy, he gained great respect and mana, and set himself on the path to becoming one of the most famous of all Māori warriors.

They summoned a fly called Tamumu-ki-te-rangi, who found Hatupatu and brought him back to life with magic.

Hatupatu fled, but she caught him, took him back to her cave, which was full of treasure, and made him live as her husband.

Finally, Hatupatu made it to Whakarewarewa, where Kurangaituku fell into a hot pool called Whanapipiro and died.

Travellers passing by this pool traditionally chanted the phrase Mau e kai te manawa o tauhou to placate her spirit.

The Raukawa version of the tale says that Kurangaituku found Hatupatu injured and nursed him back to health.

Hanui and Haroa began gathering foods for a war party, while Hatupatu learnt the tattoos of Raumati from his father, so that he would be able to recognise him.

Hanui and Haroa set out in canoes, but Hatupatu gathered thirty kākā cloaks and swam with them to Mourea, getting to Ngaukawakawa ahead of his brothers.

He complained, but they did not relent, so he made model soldiers out of bushes and vines and dressed them in the cloaks that he had brought with him.

Finally, Hatupatu attacked, killed a chief named Karika, and chopped off his head with his whalebone mere.

A group of his slaves set out from Maketu to Rotorua with a huge bucket made out of totara bark, containing seventy fish.

[20] Hatupatu had a daughter: A book by New Zealand author Whiti Hereaka about this legend from the point of view of the bird-women called Kurangaituku (Huia Publishers 2021) won the top prize for fiction at the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

[22] The legend was the subject of a song by the same name performed by metal band Alien Weaponry in their 2021 album Tangaroa.