Kia Orana!
We would like to extend a very warm welcome to you from everyone here at The Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa! You have arrived at a truly unique and very special slice of Paradise right here in the very heart of the South Seas. We wish you a wonderful stay here with us, and look forward to welcoming you back to your ‘second home’ again and again! If at any time I or my team can do anything more to help you get the most out of your stay, please don’t hesitate to contact the Front Desk and ask for myself or for the Manager on Duty. Enjoy!
Kia Manuia!
Motu Akitua
Traditional History
MOTU AKITUA, the small island or motu on which The Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa is located today, holds a significant place in the traditional oral history of the discovery of the island of Aitutaki.
In the modern European history of Aitutaki, the island was discovered by Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty on 11 April, 1789. The master and vessel later acquired notoriety in the annals of British naval history over the "Mutiny on the Bounty" which occurred just 17 days later, the most famous mutiny of all time.
In Polynesian folklore however, ancient voyagers had already settled the island of Aitutaki several hundred years before. This is the oral tradition of that discovery and settlement.
Ru, a paramount chief, navigator and successor to the powerful Ru-Chieftain title of Avaiki-Atia (Avaiki-Asia or Avaiki-of-the-West), embarked on a quest to discover and settle a new avaiki. While other chiefs and navigators with similar ambitions embarked on their quests accompanied only by warriors, Ru departed his homeland on his voyaging, double-hulled canoe called Nga-Pu-Ariki, accompanied by his four wives (Paitu-Vaine), four brothers and twenty beautiful maidens of royal descent (Pa-Tepairu-Vaine) as well as some warriors and elders.
Legend has it that a violent storm struck during the voyage. While his crew feared for their lives, Ru prayed to the God of the Sea, Tangaroa, to subside the storm. Lo and behold, an island lay ahead, glimmering in the light. Ru named the island Uta-taki-enua-o-Ru-ki-te-moana ("the-land-of-Ru-glimmering-at-sea"), believing that his God had guided him to this island. Today, that island is called Aitutaki.
During the voyage, some inevitable hanky-panky had ensued between the brothers and the maidens, which led to some jealousy and ill-feeling within the group. When hauling the double-hulled canoe ashore through a channel, one of the brothers is said to have been purposefully tripped, and was crushed on the reef by the weight of the canoe. Ru buried his brother, Veri-tua-Maro, on the nearby islet or motu. While he and his party rested on the islet to recover from their ordeal, Ru made a momentous personal decision.
Again, as was customary, a name was bestowed to signify an event or occasion of importance. Ru named the islet Uritua-o-Ru-ki-te-moana (the place where Ru turned his back on the sea), signifying Ru's decision to settle permanently and never to voyage again. The islet is alternately called A'aki-te-tua, also having the same meaning, i.e.: "to turn one's back (Ru's)....". It is from the latter that the present day name of the islet is derived: Motu Akitua, the place where Ru turned his back on the sea. The name is also believed to refer to the 'broken back’ suffered by his ill-fated brother during the hauling of the canoe along the channel, named by Ru as O’otu Channel in remembrance of the Full Moon which glimmered and gleamed on that historic night of discovery.
As an astute leader, Ru knew that other voyagers would later call by and likely cause strife and warfare. Arrive they did, and as they landed, he married off the royal maidens to the ranking chiefs and warriors of each canoe, thus forming tribal allegiances to better defend the island from later hostile voyagers. Ru sired many children, which further extended the tribal bonding. Seventeen other canoes from different avaikis landed on Aitutaki during Ru's lifetime. Due to his mana, his stature and wise administration, Ru is said to have lived to a ripe old age.
Legend recalls that it is from these eighteen canoes that the people of Aitutaki today have descended, and to this day, Ru is revered as the first man to have discovered and settled Aitutaki.
