Maoris, with whom Tawhaki is the elder brother and the ariki, a piece of national pride on the part of both branches of the race. Apparently the Rarotogans trace no descent from Tawhaki, though many Maoris do. I have already pointed out that Rarotonga history makes Taaki to have flourished forty-six generations ago, whilst the Maori table published in the Journal Poly: Soc: vol. vii, p. 40 makes him to have lived forty -eight generations ago, by taking the date of Turi as twenty generations ago. We may therefore fix the date of Tawhaki as about the year 700.
The Rarotonga stories of these two heroes are similar in most respects to those of the Maoris, whilst they differ in detail. Their mother, (according to the first) was Ua-uri-raka-moana. On one occasion she commanded Karii to perform an operation on her head, which Karii refused to do. She then said, "My son, thou shall not remain an ariki. Thou shalt serve!" Taaki was then directed to do the same thing. He did so; and after retiring to his own district of Murei-tangaroa, it was not long before great power (mana) entered suddenly into him, and soon the news spread that the country was illuminated by him, the lightning flashing from his body. (The Maori story is the same here). Karii now became jealous and angry at the power of his younger brother, especially because their father Emā had turned his aftections on Taaki, which caused Karii to offer his parent at the marae as a sacrifice
