# Turi — Polynesian Mythology character guide

> Turi in Polynesian Mythology by George Grey.

**Role:** major

**First appearance:** 0017-legend-of-the-emigration-of-turi

## Snapshot

A chief who, warned of vengeance, drags his canoe Aotea to the sea by night and follows Kupe's directions eastward to a new land.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Kupe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se/characters/kupe)

_friendship_

Kupe and Turi are fellow explorers and allies in the discovery of New Zealand.

### [Kupe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se/characters/kupe)

_friendship_

Kupe and Turi are fellow explorers and allies in the discovery of New Zealand.

### [Kupe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se/characters/kupe)

_friendship_

Kupe and Turi are fellow explorers and allies in the discovery of New Zealand.

## In the story

### [Legend of the Emigration of Turi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se/chapters/legend-of-the-emigration-of-turi)

The ancestor of the Whanganui tribes, who avenges the death of Pōtikiroroa by killing Uenuku's son Hawepōtiki and later leads the emigration to New Zealand on the canoe Aotea.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se/characters/turi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/polynesian_mythology_se/characters