What is "tokomaru"

Tokomaru may refer to:

• Tokomaru Bay, the name of a bay and town in the East Cape of New Zealand
• Tokomaru, New Zealand, a town in the Horowhenua district of New Zealand
• Tokomaru (canoe), a Māori migration canoe
• Tokomaru, A New Zealand cargo gift ship that was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel north west of the Le Havre Lightship by . All 58 crew were rescued by the trawler Semper and six French Navy torpedo boats.

In Māori tradition, Tokomaru was one of the great ocean-going canoes that were used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. It was commanded by Manaia. His brother-in-law had originally owned the canoe. When Manaia's wife was raped by a group of men, he slew them, including the chief Tupenu. Killing his brother-in-law, he took the Tokomaru and set sail with his family for New Zealand. Landing at Whangaparaoa, they finally settled at Taranaki. Te Āti Awa iwi trace their ancestry back to Tokomaru.