Houmaitawhiti

"In Hawaiki, Houmaitawhiti and his sons Tamatekapua and Whakatūria became involved in a skirmish with the chief Uenuku, who was suffering from a boil. When Uenuku witnessed Houmaitawhiti’s pet dog Pōtaka Tawhiti eating his discarded bandage, he killed the dog and ate it. This was because according to traditional beliefs, the dog’s action was akin to eating Uenuku himself. In retaliation, Houmaitawhiti’s sons stole fruit from Uenuku’s tree. Warfare ensued. One son, Tamatekapua, looked to the sea’s horizon and decided it was time to leave. He built a canoe, chose a crew and sailed off, heading south of the setting sun. Houmaitawhiti, his father, stayed behind in Hawaiki. This carving is of Houmaitawhiti." (Tapsell, 2017).

([Image] Tapsell, 2017).

"Incorporated in this carving is a depiction of the dog, called Pōtaka Tawhiti, who belonged to the ancestor Houmaitawhiti. The carving is inside the Tamatekapua meeting house at Ōhinemutu. Māori kept and ate dogs (known as kurī) which are now extinct. The Te Arawa people would often serve food to visiting chiefs in food bowls carved in the shape of a dog. These bowls were known as pōtaka tawhiti. A Te Arawa tradition relates the tale of the explorer Īhenga’s dog, which was also named Pōtaka Tawhiti. When hunting kiwi in the Rotorua area the dog, after being separated from Īhenga, chanced upon a lake and wolfed down the whitebait he found there. After rejoining his master he threw up the whitebait, and Īhenga realised that the dog had found his people a valuable source of food." (Tapsell, 2017)

Sources:

Harrison, R. D. (2007). Pushing the process: A whānau journey through the Treaty of Waitangi claims process. [Thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts]. The University of Waikato.
http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/4805/th...

Tapsell, P. (2017, March 1). Te Arawa - Origins. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,
https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1555/houmaitawhiti