Te Erui

Te Erui is in oral tradition of Aitutaki, one of the ancestors founders of the island. Father of Taruia, it would be indeed at the origin of the second vagueness of installation on Aitutaki after that of Ru and before that of Ruatapu. Many accounts are devoted to him which although sometimes contradictory, present nevertheless a certain number of common elements and more generally a total coherence.

Origins of Te Erui and its departure of Kuporu

The whole of the accounts agrees to identify the Te Erui origin as being an island called Kuporu or Kuporu-Avaiki, Avaiki taking the direction " from island of origine". According to the genealogy collected by Maui Pomare confirmed by that published by " Te are korero O Aitutaki" , it would go down from Tapakau Nui Tuavaru, one of the ariki of Kuporu.

Tapakau Harmed Tuavaru

Aia Paste (called Patea Aitu) in the second version

Teariki Tutu

Vananga O Akaia

Te Roku Atua

Te Erui

Te Erui would have had 2 or 3 brothers: Matareka, Tavi, (Tava) and 3 sisters Puanga, Maoa (or Naoa) and Ruaau.

The crossing towards Aitutaki

Te Erui decided one day to leave to discovered other islands. The motivations with this departure are given to us by Timi Koro: " the island (of Kuporu) started to become over-populated, because of the long reign of a wise chief who had put an end to the tribal wars ". Te Erui built for its voyage a dugout doubles. It chooses for that two large trunks of Tamanu in which it dug each of the two hulls, that it baptized respectivment " Viripo" and " Moetakauri". As for the chechmate, it would have been called " You Rangi Marama". Accompanied by his/her younger brothers Matareka, Tavi and Tava, Te Erui tried a first crossing which appeared unfruitful. Returned on Kuporu, the Ta' unga, then required of him to change the name of the hulls of its dugout into Rangi-Pae-ATU and Rangi-Pae-Tai and to build a second chechmate, one of both front being devoted to Tangaroa and the other in Rongo. Once the modifications carried out, Te Erui set out again at sea always accompanied by his/her brothers. It is during this second navigation that Te Erui and his/her brothers would have discovered Aitutaki

The installation of Te Erui on Aitutaki

When it arrived on the island the ariki was Ru. A war between the two men followed of which Te Erui left victorious. In the account of Timi Koro, Te Erui after having killed two of three Ru wire, namely Tupa and Mokoroa and having saved elder Utataki, finally would have concluded an alliance with overcome by marrying his/her Pito-roa daughter. According to the version collected by Maui Pomare, Ru itself would also have been killed.

Died of Te Erui, his/her son Taruia succeeded to him although there still, according to the versions, there would have been of it several, Taruia-iria, which Taruia Akapitipiti would have succeeded… Always it is that it is one of these downward Te Erui Taruia which was driven out thereafter of Aitutaki by Ruatapu whose arrival was to constitute the third large wave of settlement of the island.

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