拉塔的传说在塔希提、新西兰毛利人等波利尼西亚各地都有流传。在毛利人的版本里，守护森林的精灵叫「哈库图里」。故事反映了波利尼西亚人对森林的敬畏：造一艘远洋独木舟要用整棵大树，砍树前要先向森林之神塔内祈祷。

The legend of Rata is told across Polynesia, from Tahiti to the Maori of New Zealand. In the Maori version, the spirits who guard the forest are called the Hakuturi. The story reflects the deep respect Polynesians had for the forest: building an ocean going canoe needed a whole great tree, and before cutting it down people prayed to Tane, god of the forest.

波利尼西亚人是人类历史上最了不起的航海者，他们不用罗盘，只靠观察星星、海浪和飞鸟，驾驶双体独木舟跨越了浩瀚的太平洋。1976年，仿古双体独木舟「霍库雷阿号」不用任何仪器，从夏威夷航行到塔希提，航程约4400公里，证明了古人确实能做到。

Polynesians were among the greatest navigators in human history. Without compasses, reading only the stars, the waves and the birds, they sailed double hulled canoes across the vast Pacific. In 1976, the replica double hulled canoe Hokulea sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti, about 4,400 kilometres, without any instruments, proving that the ancient voyagers really could do it.

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