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Plume of the Arawas

V. The Bird-of-Tu Soars

page 44

V. The Bird-of-Tu Soars

We hear the trumpet blast,
Sounding upon the wind.
We grasp the spear of war,
And follow Red-ey'd Tu.

The whole of the following day was marked by the turmoil of warlike preparations, and then came the morning of the departure, and with it the great day of their lives for many youths on Hikurangi. Warriors at last! The thrill of it! Away the youths went bounding up and down the marae before admiring sisters and parents. Scarcely could they stop to eat a hurried meal. Warriors at last! Their people watched them with a heart-bursting pride that could not be hidden.

In the seclusion of his dwelling, the ariki was bidding farewell to his beloved Marama, whose joyous spirits of the previous day had now departed. She clung to him, weeping quietly, oppressed by some intuition of approaching woe.

Mawaké-Taupo grew uneasy as he sensed her fears. What ailed the child? What evil could befall him in this war with Tuhoe? Had not he and his greenstone meré come unscathed through many years of battle?

“O my father!” she whispered. “Last night I saw the lightning's spear strike Putauaki's peak. Lightning out of a clear sky! An evil omen! Ah me! Now let me gaze on Pahikauré, that weapon rare, thy sign of page 45 power! Show it to me and to Manaia here, that we may see its hue!”

He held it up so that the sunlight streaming through the doorway fell upon it. A beautiful weapon it was, a mottled greenstone of a curious grain, highly polished, almost transparent, and far harder than any other stone. No deadlier weapon in all Aotea-roa; no other so famous among the living, no other so known among the dead!

“Aué!” cried Marama. “See how a little cloud dims the lustre of that bright, blade! I fear for thee, O my father. My heart will know no rest until thy return. Alas! My father!” and she clung still closer to him, as if to shield him from some coming blow.

Manaia meantime had been gazing steadily at the blade still held aloft. Was Marama cursed with the matakité or second-sight, even as Te Haahuru her mother had been cursed before her? Certainly the blade of Pahikauré had grown dull, but then that might be due to heat or moisture from the holding hand, Yet Manaia had a queer impression that the ancient weapon was responding to some force unknown.

“Ha!” cried Mawaké-Taupo at last, as he lowered his arm.” Pahikauré will soon grow bright with the blood of mine enemies. Enough! Come soon, O Manaia, for the morning meal is over and the taua is assembling! Thy little group of chosen youths is waiting for thee. Come soon!”

As he passed through the open doorway, he knew that the strong arm of Manaia was drawing Marama's drooping form into a comforting embrace. Strange that she should have no fears for her brother's safety! Why should she have such fears for him, her father? Strange!

page 46

With an effort he cast aside such thoughts. The taua called. Its serried ranks assembled on the marae presented an imposing sight, and the ariki took in the details at a glance. Ah! Clothing reduced to almost nothing! A coiled rope of plaited flax hanging from the belt of each youth in Manaia's band! And the arms! To every man a tough wooden spear, and with it a stone club or other thrusting or striking weapon, such as a whalebone patu, a stone axe, a big-headed tewhatewha, or a sharp-edged meré!

In addition to the weapons, each man was carrying a small quantity of food, principally aruhé or pounded and roasted fernroot, the sustaining food so favoured by warriors when on the march. But the taua would travel lightly, and its supplies would be renewed from time to time on the way. It would be a desolate country indeed where Maoris could find no food whatever for their needs.

As Mawaké - Taupo appeared, the sacred rite of the “Tohi Taua” was just being performed. With a branchlet of karamu and some water drawn from a tapu spring on Hikurangi, the chief tohunga was sprinkling each warrior so that he might be strengthened in spirit and endowed with courage for the great tasks ahead of him as a follower of Tu, the God of War.

The ariki waited until the ceremony was over, and then he cried:

“Hearken, O warriors, to the brief word of Mawaké-Taupo as ye depart for the Uréwera! Hearken! The fame of the Arawa canoe is in your hands. Therefore; paddle ye the canoe with skill, lest the spray of the Ocean of Tuhoe mar the sheen of the canoe's plume.”

A tremendous and approving roar came from the warriors as they flung themselves with abandon into page 47 a final war-dance, gradually working their way towards the brow of the hill, until suddenly, with one accord, they broke into a deep-chested chant:

“The Bird floats in the sky
With new-fledged pinions.
The Bird soars—the Bird-of-Tu.
Hu! Hu! Hu!
Hu! Hu! Hu!”

Then down they swept over terraces and palisades in a headlong rush—with the weird “Hu! Hu! Hu!” the sound of the war-god's wings, ever rising above the din: “Hu! Hu! Hu!”.

On the flat below the pa they halted for a brief space and re-formed. Then, while Mawaké-Taupo and the young Manaia held their weapons up in farewell greeting to one lonely figure on the topmost tower, away sped the taua at a swift pace towards the outer hill, with thoughts only for the plains beyond.