to the māori the milky way is the waka (canoe) of tama-rereti. the front and back of the canoe are orion and scorpius, while the southern cross and the pointers are the anchor and rope. according to legend, when tama-rereti took his canoe out onto a lake, he found himself far from home as night was falling. there were no stars at this time and in the darkness the taniwha would attack and eat people. so tama-rereti sailed his canoe along the river that emptied into the heavens (to cause rain) and scattered shiny pebbles from the lakeshore into the sky. the sky god, ranginui, was pleased by this action and placed the canoe into the sky as well as a reminder of how the stars were made.