Tinirau, Kae and the whale Tutunui
A traditional account tells how Tinirau allowed Kae to ride his treasured whale Tutunui. Kae caused the whale to strand and killed it, provoking Tinirau’s response. Te Ara connects versions of this story with carved pakake motifs on buildings and food storehouses. The account shows whales as beings within relationships of trust, obligation and wrongdoing.
Tutunui and the obligations of hospitality
The account of Tinirau, Kae and the whale Tutunui concerns more than the loss of a valued whale. In published versions, relationships between hosts and visitors, promises, wrongdoing and the consequences of broken obligations shape the story. It is a useful companion to the library’s broader treatment of Māori relationships with whales because it places the whale within a social and moral world rather than treating it as a commercial resource.
Explore connected books
Explore connected history
- Te Wai-o-Rongomai and Te Puna-o-Rongomai
- Waikanae naming traditions
- Whale Song, Kāpiti — Blood, Oil and Bone (2025)
- Puketapu ki Paraparaumu — History and Living Connections
- Modern whaling and whale watching
- Māori and whales: an enduring relationship
- Whale names in te reo Māori
- Paikea and the whale that saved him
- Whales, taonga and customary resources