Hawaiki is the legendary island homeland to which all Polynesian people, including the Maori , trace their roots. Kahutia Te Rangi originated in Hawaiki, then came to New Zealand on the ancient whale’s back.
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Hawaiki Term Timeline in The Whale Rider
The timeline below shows where the term Hawaiki appears in The Whale Rider. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Summer: Chapter 6
Whangara’s people descend from Kahutia Te Rangi, who traveled from the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki to the North Island of New Zealand on the back of a whale (the ancient...
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Autumn: Chapter 9
...another describes the herd of whales from before, which is waiting motionless between the island Hawaiki above and a protective sea trench below. The ancient whale hesitates to lead them on....
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Winter: Chapter 14
...“burst through the sea” near Whangara, where they have arrived after a long journey from Hawaiki. The whale starts to miss his master, who builds a life and starts a family...
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