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Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race

The Legend of Poutini and Whaiapu. — The Discovery of New Zealand

page 82

The Legend of Poutini and Whaiapu.
The Discovery of New Zealand.

Now pay attention to the cause of the contention which arose between Poutini and Whaiapu, which led them to emigrate to New Zealand. For a long time they both rested in the same place, and Hine-tu-a-hoanga, to whom the stone Whaiapu* belonged, became excessively enraged with Ngahue, and with his stone Poutini. At last she drove Ngahue out and forced him to leave the place, and Ngahue departed and went to a strange land, taking his jade stone. When Hine-tu-a-hoanga saw that he was departing with his precious stone, she followed after them, and Ngahoe arrived at Tuhua with his stone, and Hine-tu-a-hoanga arrived and landed there at the same time with him, and began to drive him away again. Then Ngahue went to seek a place where his jade stones might remain in peace, and he found in the sea this island Aotearoa (the northern island of New Zealand), and he thought he would land there.

Then he thought again, lest he and his enemy should be too close to one another, and should quarrel again, that it would be better for him to go further off with his jade stone, a very long way off. So he carried it off with him, and they coasted along, and at length arrived at Arahura (on the west coast of the middle island), and he made that an everlasting resting-place for his jade stone; then he broke off a portion of his jade stone, and took it with him and returned, and as he coasted along he at length reached Wairere page 83 (believed to be upon the east coast of the northern island), and he visited Whangaparoa and Tauranga, and from thence he returned direct to Hawaiki, and reported that he had discovered a new country which produced the moa and jade stone in abundance. He now manufactured sharp axes from his jade stone; two axes were made from it, Tutauru and Hau-hau-te-rangi. He manufactured some portions of one piece of it into images for neck ornaments, and some portions into ear ornaments; the name of one of these ear ornaments was Kaukau-matua, which was recently in the possession of Te Heuheu, and was only lost in 1846, when he was killed with so many of his tribe by a landslip. The axe Tutauru was only lately lost by Purahokura and his brother Reretai, who were descended from Tama-ihu-toroa. When Ngahue, returning, arrived again in Hawaiki, he found them all engaged in war, and when they heard his description of the beauty of this country of Aotea, some of them determined to come here.

* Or pounamu, or greenstone, or jade.

Obsidian, with which the natives grind down the jade.