The place where Māui’s canoe landed on the back of the fish where he, his brothers and uncle disembarked. Māui instructed them to leave the fish and not cut it up while he travelled to and from Hawaiiki with other family members seeking the correct karakia, incantation, to perform the proper rites and rituals to give thanks, before carving it up and sharing with the people.
But in his absence his brothers and uncle ignored him, cutting and hacking at the fish, in doing so forming the many valleys, rivers and lakes we now see in this carved landscape. There was consequence for their actions, but that’s another story you can learn about at; ‘Te Waka’.
