#paikea

There once lived in Hawaiki a chief called Uenuku, who had seventy-one sons. Seventy of these sons were possible chiefs one day, for their mothers were of noble birth. But Uenuku had one wife who was a slave, and because of this, her son Ruatapu was of no importance.

One day Uenuku decided to build a great canoe. A tall tree was felled, and for a long time his men worked at hollowing and smoothing and carving it. When it was finished it was painted red and hung with strings of feathers.

Then Uenuku brought together all his sons, so that their hair might be combed and oiled and tied into top-knots. This was so that they would look well when they sailed for the first time in the great canoe. Uenuku himself combed and oiled and tied their hair, for this was tapu, a sacred thing.

When all but Ruatapu were ready, Ruatapu said to his father, “Are you not going to comb my hair as well?”

But his father said, “Why would I bother to find a comb for your hair? These combs are sacred. They cannot be used on the hair of people of no importance.”

Then Ruatapu said, “But indeed, I thought I was your son.”

His father said to him, “Yes, you are my son. But your mother is only a slave woman, so you are not a chief like your brothers. I cannot comb your hair.”

Then Ruatapu was very ashamed, and ran away and planned to revenge himself. He ate no food that night, but went down to the canoe and cut a hole in its bottom. Then he filled the hole in again with chips of wood, and hid the bailer.

In the morning all the noble sons of Uenuku launched the canoe for the first time, and Ruatapu went with them. The canoe was a beautiful sight, with its feathers and tall carvings, and it went very fast over the waves. They paddled a long way out to sea, and Ruatapu kept his heel over the hole so it would not be seen. When they were out of sight of land, Ruatapu pushed away the chips from the hole and water rushed into the canoe.

“Where is the bailer?” his brothers shouted.

“Quickly, bail out the water, or we are lost!”

But Ruatapu had hidden the bailer, and the canoe filled with water and sank. Then Ruatapu had his revenge, for all his noble brothers were drowned, excepting one. Ruatapu swam after his last brother, whose name was Paikea, but he could not catch him, for he was a strong swimmer and could tread water for hours. Then Ruatapu said to Paikea, “Which of us will carry back this news to land?”, pretending to be innocent as he clung to a piece of driftwood.

“It is I who will do so,” Paikea said. “I will not drown. I am descended from Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and he will help me.”

Tangaroa heard Paikea, and sent a whale to take him to land. So Paikea escaped from Ruatapu on the back of the whale.

Then Ruatapu recited a magic incantation, and sent five great waves rolling across the ocean after Paikea. But Paikea was too far away, and he came to land just before the waves reached him. The waves hit the shore and bounced off again, and went back across the ocean. They rushed over Ruatapu, who was still in the sea, and Ruatapu was drowned by his magic.

But Paikea was safe. It was the East Coast of the North Island to which the whale had brought him, and his children's children live there still. The whale became an island, and you can see it there today.

The Whale Rider Explanation

I’ve loved this story since I was a little girl, although I didn’t know it. When I was one, a movie called ‘Whale Rider’ came out. Though they share names, they weren’t carbon copies. Rather, a real life modern Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa, aka New Zealand) girl, descendant of Paikea, struggles to become the heir to the chief, who is her grandfather. While it isn’t a perfect movie (misogyny isn’t as ingrained in traditional Māori society as the film made it seem) it's still an interesting look into the culture and mythos, and inspired by interest in the legend of Paikea. It also has a phenomenal soundtrack - I didn’t gain an interest in listening to instrumental music until I was an adult, but that doesn’t mean you don’t!

Regarding the ideas behind this story, it really makes you think; at what point does your righteous anger* become terrible revenge? Ruatapu killed his brothers, and for what? Even if Paikea had died, and Ruatapu made it to land, the system that allowed his mistreatment would still be in place. We cannot know his intentions once made leader; he is not said to hate the hierarchy but instead hated how it worked to his personal detriment. So was Paikea right to leave his brother to die? Could he have changed? We won’t know.

*It WAS reasonable for Ruatapu to resent how he and his mother were treated.

As for the art: First, of course, is the title. The Māori language (aka ‘te reo’, the language, or ‘te reo Māori’, the language of the Māori) has developed a very interesting writing system as of late. While they still use the Latin writing system quite a bit, I am excited to see these symbols flourish! Basically, each syllable starts out as a stick, and then depending on the order and types of letters/sounds, ‘curls’ are added to each stick.

Second, Ruatapu in the boat with the other brothers. I tried to keep clothing, boat and paddle carvings as accurate as possible. The belt on the brother falling out was not based on anything, but the other belts in the other drawings have meanings behind the patterns. Besides that, there are two things to note: hair and a lack of tattoos.

In Māori culture, hair is sacred, and only those with high status can do their hair. Often, leaders didn’t have fancy hairdos because they had to do their hair themselves; I made Paikea an exception because he’s sort of supposed to be perfect. Thus, he’s good at hair, and also has several feathers (status symbols) stuck into his hair buns. Ruatapu doesn’t have a fancy hairdo because I figured the only one who’d want to touch his hair is his mom, but since she was of lower status, it was more likely he’d do it himself.

Tattoos, or Tā Moko, are sacred and highly personal. Just like Maui’s tattoos from Moana, they tell a story, but less so of an individual and more of someone’s lineage. As such, each design is individual, and different body parts with tattoos can be affected by both tribe and gender. While the individuals in this story are old enough to start the Tā Moko process, I didn’t draw their tattoos. Frankly, it would be rude, as my creations would be a simplistic copy of a beautifully detailed art form. So, I left them out. Feel free to add your own tattoos though! I’d be interested in seeing what your version of cool tattoos would look like.

Third, Ruatapu and Paikea facing off. Ruatapu is shown to be clinging to that driftwood, as he doesn't have a strong connection to the ocean, and as such isn’t a strong swimmer. *Paikea, meanwhile, clearly can swim well, and even holds a ‘mere pounamu’ (club of jade) aloft! Paikea knows something is fishy. In any case, the Kowhaiwhai patterns on their belts also reveal a little about the men. Ruatapu has the Ngaru pattern, which represents the waves that a waka (canoe) cuts through. Paikea has the Mangōpare pattern, which represents the hammerhead shark, an animal known for strength, courage and power.

* I also gave him a beard to show that he was older.

For the last picture, I just tried to draw a cool scenery shot. I wish I could’ve featured the whale more, but frankly such a big, round animal is hard to hold onto, and I doubt even Paikea could’ve held onto one who was jumping out of the water. But at least you can see the North Island in the distance!

Let me know if you’re interested in checking out the movie, I’d be happy to show you.

Also below is a portrait i drew while trying to figure out how I wanted Paikea to look