Taikehu

A sacred island
Motutapu is a taonga (treasure) with many special places. National reserves like Motutapu protect natural, historic and cultural heritage for all New Zealanders, and help safeguard the biodiversity of the planet. The tangata whenua of Motutapu have a spiritual, cultural and historical relationship with their taonga.

According to tradition, Motutapu was named after a place in the Polynesian homeland of the New Zealand Maori. The island is said to have been settled by the Maori ancestor Taikehu, Taikehu having been a tohunga (tribal priest) who arrived on the Tainui canoe. It later became known by his descendants as Te Motu tapu a Taikehu, or the sacred island of Taikehu'. Motutapu remains a place of special significance to the Tainui tribal confederation, and in particular to Ngai Tai.