Character guide

Māui

major

Also known as Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga, Māui-tikitiki, little Māui, Taranga, Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga

Māui is the trickster-hero whose feats and schemes ripple through Polynesian tradition, from outwitting his brother-in-law Irawaru to fishing up islands. His defining tension is between his extraordinary power and his restless, sometimes cruel ambition—he punishes slights with enchantment, as when he stretches the road to starve Irawaru before transforming him into a dog. His exploits anchor the collection's early and middle arcs, showing how wit and magic can bend the world, yet never quite conquer death itself.

Pāoa

major

Also known as poor Pāoa

Pāoa is a chief whose wife flees in shame after being mistreated, and his long search carries him from village to village, from Taupō to Tongariro to the Waikato, with only his faithful slave for company. His devotion is both admirable and stubborn—he refuses his brothers' companionship, orders them home, and vows never to return unless he finds her. When strangers offer him a new bride instead, his story turns on the question of whether loyalty to the lost can coexist with the life that waits ahead, making him a quiet emblem of migration's human cost.

Hatupatu

major

Also known as O Hatupatu

Hatupatu is a youth whose story pits human ingenuity against a supernatural captor, the bird-woman Kurangaituku, who keeps him in her lair. His escape depends on quick thinking and knowledge of the land, and his eventual triumph restores him to his family and his standing. His arc gives the collection one of its most vivid portraits of survival—how a young person's wit and courage can turn captivity into a homecoming, and how the wild world of spirits and monsters can be outwitted by a determined human.

Manaia

major

Also known as Hawaiki, Ko Manaia

Manaia is a chief of Hawaiki whose gathering of neighbors to make spears ends in the rape of his wife Rongotiki, setting off a cycle of vengeance and counter-vengeance. He discovers a hidden son, Kahukakanui, in the midst of battle, and with his wife's incantations he kills the fleeing Tupenu. As his warriors dwindle under relentless attacks, he chooses to abandon his homeland and sail the Tokomaru toward a new country, even sacrificing his reluctant brother-in-law to the gods. His story is the collection's clearest portrait of how personal outrage becomes the engine of migration.

Tāwhaki

major

Tāwhaki is a hero whose story moves from earthly struggles to the skies, where he is said to dwell still, worshipped as a god whose footsteps cause thunder and lightning. His ascent is driven by the need for revenge and for knowledge that only the heavens can provide, and his presence in the collection links human genealogy to the great gods of wind, sea, and forest. He matters because his journey shows the Polynesian cosmos as a place where a determined hero can climb from the human world into the realm of the gods and return—or remain—as a lasting presence.

Turi

major

Turi is a chief of Hawaiki on the verge of fleeing Uenuku's vengeance when Kupe's discoveries give him a destination. He heeds Kupe's instructions to steer ever eastward, loads the Aotea with seed, sweet potatoes, karaka berries, edible rats, and tame birds, and accepts his brother-in-law Tuau's better paddles for the voyage. His departure—secretive, provisioned, and guided by another's knowledge—makes him a model of the planned migration that carries Polynesian people across the ocean to New Zealand, and his story anchors the collection's theme of departure as both loss and beginning.

Whakatau

supporting

Also known as little Whakatau

Whakatau is raised by his ancestor Rongotakawiu, who teaches him every kind of enchantment, and his childhood is spent playing a strange game: flying kites while running along the bottom of the waters, only to slip back under whenever people on shore try to seize him. That elusiveness hardens into a purpose — he is the instrument of a long, patient revenge for his family's deaths. He matters because his story shows how magic and trickery, not brute strength, drive justice in this world, and his feuds ripple forward into the wars that eventually push whole tribes to migrate.

Rātā

supporting

Also known as So Rātā, Te Rātā

Rātā grows up knowing his father Wahieroa was treacherously slain by Matuku-takotako, a monster who lives beneath the ground and rises with the new moon to eat men. He travels to the entrance of the ogre's lair and questions the watchman left there, learning the two fountains where Matuku washes and combs his hair — and the fatal rule that he can only be struck at one of them, since the other would betray Rātā's shadow. His patient, tactical approach to vengeance sets the tone for the legendary adventures that follow, including the enchanted tree and the canoe that builds itself.

Tūtānekai

supporting

Tūtānekai is the son of a chief and lives on Mokoia Island, where he plays his flute in the evenings; the music drifts over the water to Hinemoa, a woman of rank forbidden to marry him. The tension is not battle but custom — she is kept apart by her family, and the lake itself is a barrier only love can cross. His story, told to Grey by a chief beside a warm spring on Mokoia, became the most famous romance in Māori tradition and anchors the collection's turn from cosmic myth toward human longing.

Ngātoro

supporting

Ngātoro belongs to the generation of great voyagers, alongside Kupe and Turi, who read the sky and sea and guide their people from Hawaiki to Aotearoa. His authority rests on sacred knowledge — the incantations and navigational lore that make a long open-ocean crossing possible — and on the delicate politics of leading chiefs who each believe they should command. He matters because the migration stories are the spine of the book: without the priests and navigators, the canoes never arrive, and the tribal histories that follow have no beginning.

Tūmatauenga

supporting

Tūmatauenga is one of the many children of Heaven and Earth, cramped in the darkness between their embrace, and when the brothers debate whether to separate their parents, he is the one who urges killing them outright. His ruthlessness sets him apart from Tāne and the others, and after the separation he becomes the patron of war and of human effort. He matters because he embodies the violent, striving side of existence — the force that later myths of human conflict and chiefly warfare are traced back to.

Rupe

supporting

Rupe moves between the world of men and the sky, and his power is transformation — he becomes a kererū, a native pigeon, to fly where no canoe can reach. His loyalty to his sister drives him to leave the familiar world and negotiate with the gods themselves. He matters because his story shows the family bonds that run through even the most supernatural tales, and because his flight into the heavens opens a doorway between the mythic and human realms that later stories pass through.

Tamatekapua

supporting

Tamatekapua commands the Arawa on its voyage to New Zealand, but his genius for seamanship is matched only by his appetite for other men's property and wives. He steals Rua's goods and Whakaotirangi, then tricks Ngātoro by tying a telltale string to a canoe beam instead of his wife's hair — a betrayal that earns him the proverb, 'A descendant of Tamatekapua will steal anything he can.' His treachery forces Ngātoro to summon a whirlpool that nearly drowns the whole crew, making Tamatekapua the engine of the migration's most dangerous crisis.

Horowhenua

minor

A chief and ancestor involved in the story of the Arawa migration.

Hakawau

minor

A sorcerer who uses magic to defeat enemies and protect his people.

Marutūāhu

supporting

Raised by his mother in Kāwhia after Hotunui fled a false accusation, Marutūāhu grows into a young man 'as handsome as the beautiful crested cormorant.' When he finally reaches Hauraki, two sisters quarrel over which of them will have him — the plain elder sister is furious when the beautiful younger one is given to him instead. His arrival transforms Hotunui's household and plants the seed of a warrior lineage that will shape the tribes of Hauraki.

Hotunui

supporting

Also known as Paka Hotunui, Paka, O Hotunui

Hotunui arrives from beyond the ocean in the Tainui canoe and settles at Kāwhia, but a thief's footprints — erased by his own unusually large feet — get him accused of robbing a friend's storehouse. Too ashamed to stay, he leaves his pregnant wife with instructions to name the child after his unplanted field, then travels to Hauraki and becomes chief of Wakatīwai. His abandoned son Marutūāhu eventually seeks him out, and the reunion of father and son drives the story's central arc.

Te Ponga

supporting

Te Ponga arrives at a village where his agility in the dance so dazzles the crowd that Puhihuia conceives a warm passion for him. Unable to sleep for love, he follows his slave's plan: feign a furious thirst, shout for water, and let the chief send his daughter to the spring — where the two can finally speak alone. His willingness to scheme and risk everything for a stolen conversation sets up the elopement that follows.

Tukutuku

minor

Also known as young Tukutuku

A young woman who plays a role in the story of Hatupatu.

Kupe

supporting

Kupe explores the islands, names the Kōkako and Tīwaiwaka, and leaves his marks on the land as proof he was there — but he himself sails home, finding Turi and his people still dwelling in Hawaiki. When Turi prepares the Aotea for escape, Kupe appears out of the dark to counsel him: steer ever eastward, seek the river whose mouth opens west, and listen for birds that call like men. His precise sailing directions turn a fugitive flight into an organized migration.

Kae

minor

Also known as O Kae

A man who steals the whale Tutunui and is punished by Tinirau.

Hinemoa

supporting

Hinemoa is a beautiful chief's daughter whose love for Tūtānekai is thwarted when her family hauls every canoe ashore to keep her from him. Guided only by the soft measure of his trumpet across the water, she takes six dry gourds as floats and casts herself into the lake, resting at a sunken tree stump and warming herself in a hot spring when she finally reaches Mokoia. Her night swim — equal parts desperation, courage, and ingenuity — is the heart of the tale.

Īhenga

minor

A grandson of Tamatekapua who explores and names places in New Zealand.

Tinirau

minor

A chief who owns a pet whale and seeks revenge on Kae for killing it.

Ngātoroirangi

minor

A high priest who calls on fire from the gods to survive on a mountain.

Whakatūria

minor

A figure in the story of the Arawa canoe migration.

Uenuku

minor

A god of rainbows and a chief in Hawaiki involved in conflicts.

Rua

minor

Also known as Rua'

A chief who builds a house and is involved in a story of revenge.

Hinauri

minor

A sister of Māui who marries and faces tragic events.

Irawaru

minor

A man transformed into a dog by Māui in a fit of jealousy.

Ngāhue

minor

A chief who discovers greenstone in New Zealand and brings it back.

Tāwhirimātea

minor

The god of winds and storms who wars against his brothers.

Tangaroa

minor

Also known as Rau-hau-a-Tangaroa

The god of the sea and father of fish and reptiles.

Rehua

minor

Also known as Te Pūtahi-nui-o-Rehua

A powerful being in the heavens who hosts Tāwhaki.

Kahureremoa

minor

Also known as Te Kahureremoa

A daughter of Paka who marries Marutūāhu.

Matuku-takotako

minor

Also known as Matuku

A monstrous bird slain by Whakatau in a cave.

Te Kanawa

minor

Also known as Fairies Te Kanawa

A man who encounters fairies and learns from them.

Takarangi

minor

A chief who falls in love with Raumahora in a famous romance.

Raumahora

minor

A woman loved by Takarangi, central to a romantic legend.

Kāhukura

minor

A man who learns the art of net-making from fairies.

Rangitu

minor

A figure in the story of the Arawa canoe.

Tangotango

minor

A woman who marries Tāwhaki and later returns to the heavens.

Takakōpiri

minor

A chief involved in the story of the Arawa migration.

Puhihuia

minor

A woman who elopes with Te Ponga after a clever plan.

Whakaue

minor

A chief and ancestor of the Te Arawa people.

Ruaeo

minor

A chief who fights in the wars of the Arawa.

Kuiwai

minor

Also known as Ko Kuiwai

A woman who brings the kumara to New Zealand.

Kurangaituku

minor

A bird-woman who captures Hatupatu and is later tricked by him.

Māuitaha

minor

One of the brothers of Māui.

Hine-i-te-iwaiwa

minor

Also known as Hine

A goddess of weaving and a wife of Māui.

Ponaturi

minor

Also known as The Ponaturi, the Ponaturi

A race of supernatural beings who are tricked and destroyed by Tāwhaki.

Tatau

minor

A chief involved in the story of the Arawa canoe.

Hīoi

minor

A chief who appears in the story of the Arawa migration.

Toi

minor

Also known as Toi'

An ancient ancestor who searches for his grandson across the Pacific.

Hoturapa

minor

A man killed by Tamatekapua to steal his wife.

Tānemahuta

minor

The god of forests and birds who separates heaven and earth.

Tutunui

minor

A pet whale of Tinirau killed by Kae.

Wahieroa

minor

A chief killed by Matuku-takotako, avenged by his son Rātā.

Tuau

minor

A chief involved in the story of the Arawa canoe.

Te Paka

minor

Also known as Paka

A chief who fathers Kahureremoa and fights Marutūāhu.

Tiki-tawhito-ariki

minor

Also known as Tiki

A legendary figure who creates the first woman.

Hou

minor

A chief who appears in the story of the Arawa migration.

Tūwhakararo

minor

A warrior killed in revenge, sparking a cycle of conflict.

Tāmure

minor

A chief who fights in the wars of the Arawa people.

Whakataupōtiki

minor

A warrior who avenges the death of Tūwhakararo.

Raumati

minor

A chief involved in the story of the Arawa canoe.

Karihi

minor

A brother of Tāwhaki who fails in the ascent to heaven.

Taikehu

minor

Also known as Te Ranga of Taikehu, Te Ranga-a-Taikehu

A chief on the Arawa canoe during the migration.

Haungaroa

minor

A woman who accompanies the Arawa migration.

Tūtewehiwehi

minor

A chief who fights in the wars of the Arawa.

Hinenuitepō

minor

The goddess of death who confronts Māui in his final quest.

Apakura

minor

A woman who mourns her son and seeks revenge.

Tamanuiterā

minor

The sun god, son of Rangi and Papa.

Māuimua

minor

One of the brothers of Māui.

Rangitihi

minor

A chief and ancestor of the Te Arawa people.

Hawepōtiki

minor

Also known as little Hawepōtiki, Te Hawepōtiki, Poor little Hawepōtiki

A child killed in the story of Hatupatu.

Mangōpare

minor

A chief who appears in the story of the Arawa migration.

Rongorongo

minor

A woman who marries Turi and accompanies him to New Zealand.

Maru

minor

Also known as Maru'

A god of war and a chief in Hawaiki.

Toto

minor

A woman who gives the Aotea canoe to Turi.