Kae

When Tinirau's son Tuhuruhuru is born, Tinirau seeks a skilled magician to perform ceremonies for the child. Kae comes to the village and carries them out. Once the ceremony is complete, Tinirau calls his tamed whale Tutunui ashore, cuts a piece of its flesh, cooks it and gives Kae a portion. Kae praises the food. When he says he must return to his own village, he refuses the canoe Tinirau offers and contrives to travel on Tutunui instead.

Tinirau lends him the whale but gives a clear instruction: when the animal feels the sea bottom and shakes, Kae must jump off to the right and wade ashore. Near the coast Tutunui gives the signal. Kae does not release it. He holds on as the whale struggles against the sand until its blow-holes are stopped and it dies. Kae and his people haul the body ashore, cut it up and cook it. Tinirau and his wife recognize the savoury smell carried across the water and understand that the whale has been killed.

Tinirau sends a party of women to find Kae, believing a women-only journey less likely to reveal a hostile purpose. They learn to recognize him by his overlapping teeth. At night, they use games and comic performance to make the gathered people laugh; when Kae laughs, they see the whale's flesh between his teeth. They dim the fire, put the household to sleep and pass Kae from hand to hand to their canoe. In the morning Tinirau lets Kae wake in an unfamiliar house and challenges his mistaken belief that he is home. Kae realizes where he is and is killed. Kae's people then attack Tinirau's fortress and kill Tinirau's son in retaliation.