A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

After the Rata episode, Grey gives Whakatau an extraordinary origin. Apakura discards her small apron into the sea; Rongotakawiu shapes it into a living child and teaches him magic. The boy flies kites while running beneath the water, so observers see the kite but no person holding it. When he comes ashore, attempts to catch him fail. He tells his pursuers to bring Apakura, the only person able to hold him. She recognises his explanation of their relationship, and he leaves the water to live on land.

Grey then explicitly introduces a second, consistently different account of the destruction of Te Tihi-o-Manono. Tinirau sends Hine-i-te-iwaiwa to enlist Whakatau against the killers of Tuhuruhuru. Initially he conceals his identity, but she learns marks by which to recognise him. With six companions, he confronts the enemy’s champions from his canoe. Oil makes the water transparent, exposing the diver Mango-huritapena; a noose catches the aerial leaper Pitakataka. These are tactics in this version, not evidence that all the opponents are sharks or birds.

Whakatau sends his companions back, distinguishing heavy rain as a sign of his death from mist and a fiery horizon as signs of victory. He infiltrates the great house with firewood carriers and secretly passes a rope around its supporting posts. Recognition inside provokes the occupants to rise; he pulls the rope, brings the house down and burns it. Hine-i-te-iwaiwa sees the red sky from her roof, and he returns to his village. This second account supplies a complete revenge outcome, while the water-born childhood is an earlier narrated origin. Their juxtaposition is retained without asserting that every account of Whakatau has precisely this biography.

Formation from a discarded apronUnderwater childhoodKites controlled from the waterRecognition by ApakuraTransparent-water tacticCollapse and burning of an enemy house
01

Origins & earliest records

George Grey’s Polynesian Mythology, The Legend of Rata, pp. 85–91 in the hosted transcription; English book published 1855.

02

Records & interpretation

The public historical narrative explicitly separates an extraordinary birth account and an alternate revenge telling. The named maker and bodily source are stated; no mermaid anatomy or invented stature is assigned.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Polynesian Mythology: The Legend of Rata, pp. 85–91

    Māori narrators and writers; English collection edited by George Grey · English publication 1855; hosting source label [1854]

    Childhood and explicitly alternate revenge narrative both read through their outcomes; edition label discrepancy retained.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary historical narrative transcriptionGrey: The Legend of Rata, Whakatau passagesResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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