Skilled Polynesian navigators had known about the long cloudy southern islands, which we also call New Zealand, for many generations. But it was not until food shortages and arguments made the tropical island Hawaiki uncomfortable that they built a Great Fleet of eight huge canoes to journey to colder southern waters and settle Aotearoa. Those who were staying on Hawaiki came to the beach to wave the Great Fleet off, and the young priest Ngatoro and his sister Kuiwai were at the front of the crowd. The captain of one of the canoes called Ngatoro over, and asked him to come aboard for a moment to bless the boat with his powerful magic. So Ngatoro climbed aboard and started to call down blessings on the canoe and its voyage. But as Ngatoro stood in the middle of the boat, the captain shouted the order to set sail. He wanted to keep the priest on board, to bless not just the boat and the journey, but the new homeland too. Ngatoro could have leapt overboard or halted the boat with storms and curses.
