original_query: Who was Ruatapu and what was his role in Polynesian tradition?
query: Who was Ruatapu and what was his role in Polynesian tradition?
answer: Ruatapu was a master canoeist and son of the great chief Uenuku in Polynesian tradition.  Different traditions portray him differently; some as a prominent ancestor who traveled extensively throughout central Polynesia, gaining wives and settling in various islands, while others depict him as a vengeful figure who killed his half-brother's high-born peers and attempted to destroy his father's land.