Rākaihautū

Rākaihautū was the captain of the Uruaokapuarangi canoe (waka) and a Polynesian ancestor of various iwi, most famously of Waitaha and other southern groups, though he is also known in the traditions of Taitokerau, and in those of Rarotonga.

In Māori traditions, once Rākaihautū landed the Uruaokapuarangi at the top of the South Island, he moved southward and dug up many of the island's major lakes using a magical kō (digging stick), filling them with food for his many descendants.

Origin
Rākaihautū originally sailed with his wife Waiariki-o-āio, their son Te Rakihouia, and their people from Te-patunui-o-āio aboard the Uruaokapuarangi canoe over 34 generations ago. The crew included some of Rākaihautū's kin who were of the tribes Te Kāhui Tipua, Te Kāhui Roko, and Te Kāhui Waitaha. Rākaihautū's daughter Te Uhi-tataraiakoa stayed behind in Te-patunui-o-āio.

On the journey to the South Island the heavens and the ocean blocked the canoe's path, until Rākaihautū chanted a karakia and cut a passage with his adze. He eventually landed the Uruaokapuarangi at Nelson, at the top of the South Island.

Exploration
From Nelson, Rākaihautū and his wife separated from Te Rakihouia and began to explore the Southern Alps. Te Rakihouia and Te Kāhui Waitaha took the canoe and continued down the east coast, eventually landing it near the Clutha River.

In the tradition of Ngā Puna Wai Karikari o Rākaihautū, Rākaihautū dug out the large lakes from Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoroa, and Rangitahi in the north to Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri in the south. For this purpose he used a digging stick named Tūwhakarōria. Upon reaching Foveaux Strait he then travelled back up along the east coast, reunited with Te Rakihouia, and settled in Banks Peninsula where he thrust his stick into a hill called Pūhai above Akaroa Harbour, renaming it (the stick) to Tuhiraki.

The stick became the rocky peak that is known to Pākehā as Mount Bossu.

Specific lakes that Rākaihautū is credited with digging include Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, Lake Ōhau, Lake Hāwea, Lake Wānaka, Lake Wakatipu, Whakatipu Waitī, Te Aitarakihi near Washdyke, Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, and Lake Forsyth.

Legacy
Namesakes of Rākaihautū include Te Pataka o Rākaihautū (The Storehouse of Rākaihautū) and Te Kete Ika o Rākaihautū (The Fish Basket of Rākaihautū).

He is most famously known as an ancestor of Waitaha, though the founders of Kāti Māmoe and the lesser known Te Kāhea, iwi are both said to be descendants of Te Uhi-tataraiakoa's great grandson Toi. Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu are also said to be descended from Toi through the ancestor Rāhiri. The ancient Hāwea tribe is sometimes said to descend from Toi, or they could have arrived on their own canoe—the Kapakitua under Taiehu's captaincy—earlier than the Uruaokapuarangi. Kapakitua might have otherwise been the name of Rākaihautū's adze onboard the Uruaokapuarangi when it arrived to the South Island.