The name of the niu at Kuranui is Motai. The name of the hapu of Ngati Raukawa who occupied this area is Ngati Motai. The name of the man who was the last guardian of the niu is Motai Te Pakaru. Motai is an old ancestor of the Tainui people:

Hoturoa

Hotuope

Hotumatapu

Motai

Ue

Raka

Kakahi

Tawhao

Turongo : Mahinarangi

Raukawa

(Jones 1959, p.20)

(Simmons, 1975, pp.282-285)

Some traditions suggest that Motai was actually one of the men who came of the Tainui (Simmons, 1976, p.165) but such lists are usually interpreted as a genealogy. In any case, Motai was an important early Tainui ancestor from whose line Raukawa, the eponymous ancestor of Ngati Raukawa, can be traced. The name Motai was said to have been given to this niu by Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi and that he was deputising for King Tawhiao at the erection of the niu (Okoroire School Jubilee publication p.3).

Near the base of the niu is a figure in human form but with the head of a bird carved from the same timber as the niu. This is Rupe, who took the form of a pigeon and according to local oral tradition, he was Te Ua ’ s god. Rupe was also known as Maui-mua, and he is part of the extensive web of stories of ancestors woven around the figure of Maui and his brothers. It was Rupe who climbed the various levels of the heavens in search of Rehua, whom he needed to consult to help him in his search for his sister Hinauri who had gone away to live with her husband Tinirau. Rupe found Rehua and using his powers of enchantment, transformed himself into a pigeon and flew down from the heavens to Motutapu where he found the dwelling of Tinirau. He perched at the window while the local people tried to spear the bird and to snare him in a noose but failed. Hinauri saw them and stopped them. She stared hard at the bird and realised it was her brother Rupe. The same day she gave birth to her child. She had not been happy in Tinirau ’ s house and Rupe took her and the child and they flew back toward the heavens. They carried with them the placenta with the intention of burying it in the land of Rehua but on the way it fell into the sea and was eaten by a shark. Nevertheless, they flew on to Rehua and settled there, tidied the village