Kehu also known as Ekehu, Hone Mokehakeha and Hone Mokekehu was an important ancestor to the Māori nations Ngāti Tūmatakokiri and Ngāti Apa. He was an expert on how to traverse their regions and knowledgeable on natural resources contained within. He was a guide to Thomas Brunner and Charles Heaphy, who were English explorers in the 1800s traversing parts of Te Wai Pounamu.

Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, who arrived on the Kurahaupō waka. In the 1600s the iwi settled northwestern South Island, becoming a major power in the region until the 1800s. In 1642, members of Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri made the first known contact between Europeans and Māori, when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman visited Golden Bay / Mohua.