Rākaihautū was the captain of the Uruaokapuarangi canoe (waka) and a Polynesian ancestor of various iwi, most famously of Waitaha and other southern groups, though he is also known in the traditions of Taitokerau, and in those of Rarotonga.^[1]

In Māori traditions, once Rākaihautū landed the Uruaokapuarangi at the top of the South Island, he moved southward and dug up many of the island's major lakes using a magical kō (digging stick), filling them with food for his many descendants.^[2]

Rākaihautū originally sailed with his wife Waiariki-o-āio, their son Te Rakihouia,^{[lower-alpha 1]} and their people from Te-patunui-o-āio^{[lower-alpha 2]} aboard the Uruaokapuarangi canoe^[5][6] over 34 generations ago.^[4][7] The crew included some of Rākaihautū's kin who were of the tribes Te Kāhui Tipua, Te Kāhui Roko, and Te Kāhui Waitaha.^[8][9] Rākaihautū's daughter Te Uhi-tataraiakoa stayed behind in Te-patunui-o-āio.^[7]

On the journey to the South Island the heavens and the ocean blocked the canoe's path, until Rākaihautū chanted a karakia and cut a passage with his adze. He eventually landed the Uruaokapuarangi at Nelson, at the top of the South Island.^[10]

From Nelson, Rākaihautū and his wife separated from Te Rakihouia and began to explore the Southern Alps.^[5] Te Rakihouia and Te Kāhui Waitaha took the canoe and continued down the east coast, eventually landing it near the Clutha River.^[8]

In the tradition of Ngā Puna Wai Karikari o Rākaihautū,^[11] Rākaihautū dug out the large lakes from Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoroa, and Rangitahi^[12] in the north to Lake Te Anau^[13] and Lake Manapouri^[14] in the south.^[5] For this purpose he used a digging stick named Tūwhakarōria.^[5] Upon reaching Foveaux Strait he then travelled back up along the east coast, reunited with Te Rakihouia, and settled in Banks Peninsula where he thrust his stick into a hill called Pūhai above Akaroa Harbour, renaming it (the stick) to Tuhiraki.

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^[5] The stick became the rocky peak that is known to Pākehā as Mount Bossu.^[14][15]

Specific lakes that Rākaihautū is credited with digging include Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, Lake Ōhau, Lake Hāwea, Lake Wānaka, Lake Wakatipu, Whakatipu Waitī, Te Aitarakihi near Washdyke, Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, and Lake Forsyth.^[9]

Namesakes of Rākaihautū include Te Pataka o Rākaihautū (The Storehouse of Rākaihautū)^[16] and Te Kete Ika o Rākaihautū (The Fish Basket of Rākaihautū).^[17]

He is most famously known as an ancestor of Waitaha,^{[5][lower-alpha 3]} though the founders of Kāti Māmoe^{[lower-alpha 4]} and the lesser known Te Kāhea,^{[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6]} iwi are both said to be descendants of Te Uhi-tataraiakoa's great grandson Toi. Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu are also said to be descended from Toi through the ancestor Rāhiri.^{[4][lower-alpha 7]} The ancient Hāwea tribe is sometimes said to descend from Toi,^{[7][lower-alpha 8]} or they could have arrived on their own canoe—the Kapakitua under Taiehu's captaincy—earlier than the Uruaokapuarangi.^[21] Kapakitua might have otherwise been the name of Rākaihautū's adze onboard the Uruaokapuarangi when it arrived to the South Island.^[8]

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