Editing South Island (section)

==Māori mythology==

The island is also known as ''[[Te Waka a Māui]]'' which means "[[Māui (Māori mythology)|Māui]]'s [[Waka (canoe)|Canoe]]". In some modern alliterations of Māori legends, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Māui, while the North Island was [[Māui (Māori mythology)#Māui fishes up the North Island|the fish that he caught]].

Various Māori [[iwi]] sometimes use different names, with some preferring to call the South Island ''Te Waka o Aoraki'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mein Smith |first=Philippa |title=A Concise History of New Zealand |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |location=Australia |isbn=0-521-54228-6 |page=6 }}</ref> referring to another Māori legend called the story of Aoraki, as after the world was created, Aoraki and his three brothers came down in a waka to visit their mother, [[Papatūānuku]] the earth mother, only to crash after failing to perform a [[karakia]] on their way back home to their father, [[Ranginui]] (also known as Raki) the sky father, in turn causing the waka to transform into an island and the four brothers into the mountain ranges on top of it.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/our_stories/understanding-aoraki-aoraki-bound-alumni-reach-new-heights/ |title=Understanding Aoraki }}</ref>