Ruatapu
| Ruatapu | |
|---|---|
| Other names | ruatapu |
| Gender | Male |
| Region | Polynesia |
| Ethnic group | Māori, Cook Islands Māori |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Uanuku Rakeiora/Uenuku, Unnamed slave woman (Māori) |
| Siblings | Taiē, Ina, (Cook Islands) Paikea, Ira |
| Consort | Uanukukaiatia/Uanukutapu, Tapotuki Tonga, Tutunoa (Cook Islands) |
| Offspring | Tamaiva, Moenau, Kirikava, Te Arauenua, Te Urutupui, Tongirau, Touketa (Cook Islands) Hau (Māori) |
Ruatapu was a son of the great chief Uenuku, and a master canoeist in Polynesian tradition who is said to have lived around 30 generations ago. Most Māori stories agree he was an older half-brother of Paikea and 69 other sons, while traditions recorded from the Cook Islands sometimes state he was Uanuku Rakeiora's only son.
In the oral traditions of the Cook Islands, Ruatapu travels around central Polynesia; from the Society Islands, to the Cook Islands, and lastly to Tonga before coming back to the Cook Islands to live out the rest of his days and eventually die at Aitutaki. Most traditions record him as a prominent ancestor, gaining three wives between the last two groups of islands.