Tākitumu was a waka with whakapapa throughout the Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands and Aotearoa / New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori traditions, the Tākitimu was one of the great Māori migration ships that brought Polynesian migrants to New Zealand from Hawaiki.

The Tākitimu appears in many traditions around New Zealand. Most accounts agree that the Tākitimu was a sacred canoe. Many also give the name of the captain as “Tamatea”, although in different forms.