Hi there fellow bloggers this week and next and last week we are learning about Tupaia and you probably saw my slide show. I wrote a story about Tupaia’s life. So yeah it took me this whole week but you know me I don’t leave my work unfinished. I hope you enjoy and sit back and relax.
One day in the society island of Rā‘iātea a very talented boy was born. His name was Tupaia he was raised in a high family and because he was born with a great talent he was sent to train with the arioi. A group of priests. He was trained to be a star navigator, a warrior, musicians and an artist. He was also a person who worshipped the god Oro (god of war).
Tupaia travelled widely and spoke a variety of polynesion languages. Now you know the starting of Tupaias journey now the real story begins.
One day warriors of the island of Bora Bora invaded and a high priest named Vaita went into a deep chant, and said “I see people of a different kind, with a giant, giant waka with no outrigger”.
So eventually it happened. People of a different kind came to Rā‘iātea in a ship called the dolphin aboard was Samuel Wallis. He was searching for the unknown southern continent. Samuel Wallis stayed in Rā‘iātea for five weeks.
Then 2 years later The great Captain Cook was studying about venues. To find out the distance between the earth and the sun. But Cook was also looking for the southern continent like Samuel Wallis, that’s why some of his men were on the Endeavour. Captain Cook asked to help and be a guide and so Tupaia did and set off on his journey.
After discovering a lot of islands (Samoa and Tonga etc) but one day some of the men went ashore on Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) without Tupaia and ended in a tragedy, a sailor opened fire and Te Maro sadly died on the beach. The next day Tupaia went ashore and smoothed things out. The Maori on the second hand were interested in firearms (guns). So Joseph Banks traded some of his firearms for supplies like food, freshwater and greenstone etc.
In April, the Endeavor arrived in Australia Cook thought that Tupaia could understand the language but Tupaia didn’t understand it so the crew slowly started to ignore Tupaia. When they left Australia and arrived at Batavia in 1770, Tupaia was surfing from a sickness called scurvy. So hee went to the shore of Batavia to eat fresh and delicious fruits they got better from but they went seriously ill again slowly Tupaia’s apprentice died and then Tupaia.
And that is Tupaia’s journey almost ended but almost ended after Tupaia died Cook returned to Aotearoa in 1773 the Maori were expecting Tupaia but he died at the end.