Page:Hawaiki The Original Home of the Maori.djvu/226

214 As to where the New Zealand fleet came from prior to its stay in Rarotonga, I much regret that the excitement caused by finding such a complete knowledge of New Zealand histoy in Rarotonga, caused me to forget to ask Tamarua's opinion on the matter; but from the information obtained by Mr. Large, and what was told me by the late Te Pou-o-te-rangi, of Rarotonga, they came from Tahiti, though perhaps not from the Marquesas, as Mr. Large learnt. Whilst there can be no reasonable doubt that in those days, the Maoris and Rarotongans were perfectly familiar with the Marquesas (Iva, or in Maori Hiwa), we cannot neglect the important statement of the Maoris themselves that they came from Tawhiti, or Tahiti, especially when taken in conjunction with the Tahitian names of the west coast of that island, preserved by the Ngati-Awa people of the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. That Tahiti and the neighbouring islands was the home of the Maoris some generations before their migration has been proved by the identity of ancestors.

As to the time of departure of the fleet from Rarotonga to New Zealand, the information obtained by Mr. Large shows that the canoes arrived in Rarotonga with those of Naea. If this is so, then the Maoris must have stayed in Rarotonga for at least three generations, for Naea arrived there in the latter days of Tangiia. This is unlikely, however, because there is nothing in Maori history to confirm it, and, moreover, had there been such a prolonged stay, the names of Maori ancestors immediately preceding the heke, or migration, would certainly be shown on some of the numerous genealogical tables obtained by me in Rarotonga. But there are no such names. The only Maori ancestors in those tables (of this period) are the four last shown in the margin.