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The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions: Horo-Uta or Taki-Tumu Migration. [Vol. III]

Chapter III

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Chapter III.

O mother! dread now robs me
Of every power of soul and will.
If only one dread evil loomed
O'er me, I could my life sustain,
And my fond heart could ponder
O'er my past in loneliness and gloom.
I could my tears drink
As ebbs the tide of life;
Whilst I, a sacred solitary one,
Could rest me on O-rua-anga-ra;
And ask the ocean-mist to hide
Or drive me far out on the sea,
And drown at once the longings,
Cares, and griefs, and soul of life.
Though I maintain my war in life,
Who notes my deeds? I'm drowned in tears.
Oh! blow, thou gale, in furious gusts,
And take me far up to the heavens,
And let man dance his dance of rage below
And fling his arms about in
Vain attempt to smite his enemy.

Pou-Heni and Hine-Kau-I-Rangi.
(Nga-Ti-Kahu-Ngunu.)

Family disputes amongst the Nga-ti-ira, occasioned through the trespass of certain of them on the kumara-plantation and fruit-trees of others of the tribe, at last led to quarrels and blows, and such sorrow resulted that the weaker party resolved to leave the cultivations of their fathers and seek a home in other lands. For this purpose they asked Tama-a-kawa (son of baptism) for the canoe called Horo-Uta, which he had made for Hiki-tapu (sacred charm) and Tu-kari-kawa (thrown-up mounds of earth for the ceremony of baptism). Having obtained page 67 it they shipped the remains of food and some young plants of kowhai and other trees; then went on board, and, accompanied by Pou-heni, sailed over the sea and arrived at O-hiwa (on the watch). They grounded on the Rae-o-kanawa (brow of Kanawa—bright), the bar at the mouth of the River O-hiwa. Whilst the people were busily engaged in getting the canoe off, Hine-kau-i-rangi (daughter swimming in the sky), with a few personal attendants, went away inland; and as soon as the people were at liberty they left the canoe and followed after their female companion of supreme rank. These are the names of those who thus followed her: Hou-nuku (bore down into the earth), Hou-rangi (go up to the sky), Taki-whenua (follow on the earth), Taki-rangi (follow in the heaven), Pawa (trap), Rongo-tope (news of the new-grown fern), Tai-kehu (somewhat red), Tari-toronga (carry small portions), Ta-puke (bury), Waha-paka (dry mouth), Koneke (slide), Tane-here-pi (man who invoked the tide), Karo-taha (ward off the blow from the side), Whio-roa (long whistle), Tao-roa (long spear), Tapuke (bury), Hi-wara (indistinct sound), Te-hatoitoi (more briskly), Ta-hore (peeled), Kura (red), Tu-te-pakihi-rangi (the dry day), Tai-a-roa (weary); and their women, Manawa-roa (persistent heart), Hine-mataotao (cold daughter), Te-ra-kume (the day of asthma), Mapu-hia-rangi (sigh for heaven), Koia (it is so), Waha-puku (silent one), Tangihia-wai-tutu (cry for the juice of the tutu—Coriaria ruscifolia, Ta-poto (short garment), Tanga-roa-kai-tahi (the sea-god of one meal), Hine-kapua-a-rangi (daughter of the cloud of heaven), Ia-ki-te-rangi (sound in heaven), Nenewha (bedim the sight), Wai-taramea (the juice of the tara-mea—Aciphylla squarrosa), Wha-kite (to see), Hine-huhunu-rangi (double canoe of the sky), Hau-ki-te-rangi (wind in heaven), Hina (grey-headed), Whiti-anaunau (crop, and search for), and others. They easily found her track by the marks left by her attendants, and to each place so marked they gave a name. Places where some work had been done they called Te-mahinga (the work of) Hine-kau-i-rangi. They also named each place where she had sat down or over which page 68 she had walked, and these are the names given to these places, and their signification. Where she hung up her maro (apron) to dry was called Te-horahanga-maro (the maro hung up to dry). Where she rubbed her hei (ornament worn on the chest) they called Te-miringa-a-hei (the rubbing of the breast-ornament); where she chanted the incantation which is chanted when visiting a strange locality they called Te-whaka-uranga (give confidence to stay there); where she had built a temporary hut or screen they called Hoka-hoka (stick bushes up); where the impression of her foot was seen on the path they called Tapuwae-roa (long foot); where she had been vexed and broken the trees on the path they called Rapa-rapa-ririki (little flashes of anger in the eyes); where she had sat to take a view of the country they called Tirohanga (looking); and where she had wept they called Tangihanga (weeping). Thus they went on naming each place until they came out of the forest at Tupa-roa (tall unfruitful tree), or Tipa-roa (long drought).

There they cooked food for themselves and for those who went by the sea-coast; but, as the coast party had not come up, their food was left in the umu, so they called that place Umu-tao-roa (food cooked a long time in an oven). Again they went into the forest, and continued on till they came out at Tai-harakeke (flax-swamp), where those whose duty it was to catch birds and preserve them in calabashes (tahaa) for the party were so fatigued that they laid down and died; and to this day their chief Wai-paka (water dried up) and all his men may be seen stretched out where they lay down, with their tahaa of preserved birds, all turned into stone.

The rest of the party again entered the forest and travelled on till they came out at Maunga-tapere (the mountain-house where the family-tribe meet) and Maunga-haumi (mountain where timber was obtained to haumi—lengthen the body of their canoe). Whilst on this mountain Pawa had occasion to pass his water, and whilst so doing he chanted this song:—

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Water, go to a distance.
The water of the circumcised
Is descending as a path
For his haumi
Go, O water! go
To a distance, and descend as
The water of the Wai-roa (long water).

From that mountain they proceeded towards the coast, and came out at Whanga-ra (sunny home), where they found the one hundred and forty men of Pou-hei, who carried the dog-skin mats, lying in heaps on the coast, with their teeth set fast, and dying. The Nga-ti-ira (offspring of Ira) made water in calabashes, and warmed it on the fire, and prized their mouths open with sticks, and poured the warm water into their mouths: this revived them, and they rose and joined the party of Paikea, and went forward with them to Te-muri-wai (the creek on the sea-coast). At Whero-whero (the red) they saw the canoe, or locality, called Te-pua (the blossom), and they went to a place afterwards called Whaka-manu (cause to float), where the natural features of the country so reminded them of their home beyond the sea that they all exclaimed, “This is like our old country: this is like our place called Te-kuri (the dog); that is like Te-whaka (repay a gift), where we left our old canoe Te-pua high and dry.” They took possession of the place and occupied it, and began to cultivate, by setting the kumara brought by Hine-hakiri-rangi (daughter of the greedy), and named the place they set them in Manawa-ru (delighted heart). They did not plant the whole kumara, but broke off the inner end, to be preserved and cooked on stones called Mata-pia (piha) (flint of the small kumara of the crop) as food for their maintenance while the sprouting end, which they planted, was growing.

The bulbs of the kumara brought by Hine-hakiri-rangi, and set under her direction, grew, flourished, and yielded an abundant crop, as she had all the knowledge of cultivating such, and was guided in her operations by the blossoming of the kowhai (Sophora tetraptera); but the plants set by her relatives page 70 at a place called Papaka (turned yellow by the heat of the sun) did not grow, because those people were ignorant of the knowledge required to plant the kumara. There were various sorts of kumara which were brought over in the Horo-Uta. One was called Pohue-waha-roa (convolvulus of the long mouth); another the Koiwi (strength): these are now seen growing on the cliffs of the sea-coast near the East Cape.

Ira took up his abode at Turanga-nui-(a-Rua) (d) (the great standing of Rua), and after a time he built a house at Paka-rae (dry forehead); and Paikea came to Whanga-ra and lived there. When the news was heard by Rua-wharo (pit of the coughing) that Tu-pai (noble standing) was residing at Pori-rua (two vassals), Aro-pawa (face towards the smoke), and Pa-tea (white stockade), he went with Tu-pai in the canoe Taki-tumu to see Paikea at Whanga-ra, to convey a propitiatory gift of kumara to him. When they arrived at Whanga-ra they conspired to kill Ira, and take his body as a savoury accompaniment to be eaten with the kumara they were about to present to Paikea. This murder was intended as revenge for the act of Ue-nuku, who tumbled Rua-wharo into a fishing-net when they all lived in Hawa-iki. It was for this reason Rua-wharo was called Ko-te-kaha-whitia (knocked into a fishing-net).

When Paikea heard of the intention of these two, he said to them, “O sirs! you really carry matters to an extreme when you bring your old quarrels here, and secretly plan to murder your elder relative for evils committed so long ago across the sea. Why bring them here, and seek revenge for them in this land?” This speech of Paikea put an end to the plot, and Ira was saved from death. Rua-wharo and Tu-pai afterwards returned to their own home, and Paikea and Ira went to U-awa (landed in a river), where Ira built a house which he called Mata-te-ahu (face of the altar), or Mata-tuahu (altar-face), and, with ceremonies, and incantations chanted, put into it the gods which had been brought over in the most sacred of all the canoes which came from the other side, and was called Horo-Uta.

At U-awa was rehearsed all the history, and the kit was opened page 71 in which the history was kept (the priests occupied the house, and rehearsed all the history there), and Ira appointed Whare-patari (astronomy) to be the high priest and guardian of the gods which were put into that house, and to be leader of those who rehearsed the history. It was from this house (temple) that history was learnt, the knowledge of which has been handed down and taught even to this day.

Rongo-Kako and Tama-Tea. (Nga-Ti-Kahu-Ngunu.)

Our ancestors first lived in Hawa-iki, and these are their names: Rongo-kako, Tama-tea, Rua-wharo, Kupe, and Ngake.

The cause which led some of these to migrate was war amongst themselves on account of certain lands and cultivations. The names of some of these cultivated lands were Tawa-runga (upper ridge) and Tawa-raro (lower ridge).

The family quarrels became so fierce that they came to blows, and a battle ensued in which Moenga-kura (sleep in a red bed) and Moenga-toto (sleep in blood) were killed. These two were the first slain in this most ancient battle, caused by the acts of the sub-tribe under the leadership of Pou-nawa(ngawha) (post split open). The war did not last long, and peace was made through the mediation of Riri-noa (angry without cause), Muka-noa (swell up without cause), Kai-pia (gum eater), Kai-whanaunga (defame relations), Tama-tau-enga (son of the battle), Nuku-ma-rae-roa (move to the long headland), Rongo-ma-rae-roa (news from the long headland), Takataka-putea (trembling baskets), Marere-a-tonga (lost from the south), and Moha-nui-o-te-rangi (great bird of the heaven).

War broke out again, occasioned by a woman called Are (open space), but it did not continue long, and peace was again made.

But these wars were the cause of our ancestors leaving Hawa-iki, and migrating to these islands in search of land where they could live in peace.

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Taki-tumu was the name of the canoe in which the seventy of the sub-tribe commanded by Tata embarked, and came over the ocean to these islands of Ao-tea-roa and the Fish of Maui.

On account of the swift sailing of the canoe along the coasts of these islands she was also called Horo-Uta (pass swiftly along the coast).

On their voyage over the sea they were so much in want of food that they agreed that some of the crew should be killed for the others to eat. The first who was doomed to death was called Motoro (eat scraps); but he took his child Kaha-wai (powerful in the water), and gave it to die in his stead. The child was killed and eaten, and the crew were kept alive for some time; but they were again in want, and determined to kill one named Te Angi (fragrant). He also took his child called Koukou (owl), and gave it to be killed and eaten in his stead. Again they were in want, and determined to kill Te-ao-maro (the waistband for the day). He also gave his children to die and to be eaten in his stead. These, the children called Tore-tore (sore eyes), Tu-angi (very thin), Tu-a-iwa (the ninth), and Kuku (mussel), were given up to be killed and eaten by the crew, and Te-ao-maro's life was saved, and the canoe came on and landed on these islands (of New Zealand). Had the bodies of the children thus killed not supplied sufficient food to reach land, then Toi would have been required to give up his two children Ti (Cordyline) and Mamaku (Cyathea medullaris), to save his own life and provide food for the starving.

This canoe Taki-tumu landed at Tauranga, and Tama-tea stayed there with his wife Iwi-pupu (bones tied in a bundle), and begat Kahu-ngunu; but Kupe (determined), Ngake (middle of a fishing-net), and Rua-wharo went on in the canoe to Tu-ranga, Wai-apu, and U-awa. When they arrived at Nuku-tau-rua, Makaro, the daughter of Rua-wharo, decided to stay there; and they landed a little inside of Te-were (the burnt), and left food for her. The canoe also landed at Te-wai-roa and Mo- page 73 haka, where another of the daughters of Rua-wharo stayed. The canoe went on, and at Maunga-rahiri, which was the landmark in the interior, and Ruku-moana, the mark in the sea, they landed on the coast, where another daughter of Rua-wharo, whose name was Ranga-tira, was left, with some of what they had killed for food on their voyage across the sea namely, of Kaha-wai, of Kuku (mussel), of Toretore (large mussel), of Tu-a-iwa (a shellfish), of Tu-angi (cockle), and of Pakake (whale). The canoe went on and landed at Kopu-tau-aki (throbbing stomach), where another of the daughters of Rua-wharo, named O-maki (food for the invalid), stayed. With her also was left portions of the food Te-whangai-o-tama (that which fed Tama), of Pakake of Koro-ama (a certain fish), and of Te-kaka (Nestor productus). The canoe still went on, and arrived at Po-ranga-hau (windy night), where another daughter of Rua-wharo, called Tai-raka (rough sea), landed and stayed. The food of this woman was Pipi (cockle) and Tai-raki (a shellfish). The canoe went on, and landed at Rangi-whaka-oma (day of racing), where Kupe put his token on the land. The name of that token was Waka-whenua-kapua-rangi (pit dug in the shape of a canoe called Cloud of the Sky), and also Ma-iri-rangi (placed in heaven). Now, Ma-iri-rangi was a man and an associate chief of Kupe, and, when his son Moko-tu-a-rangi (the marks in heaven) was in want of water, he was sent by his father to Rangi-whaka-oma for it. The father went along the sea-coast even to Ahi-tio (fire to cook oysters), and stood on the sand of the seashore, holding the calabash of water in his hand, and became a stone, which may still be seen there.

Kupe went on in the canoe, and crossed over to the South Island. Other canoes came to these islands of New Zealand, some of which are the Te-Arawa, Tai-nui, Mata-tua (Mata-atua), Kura-whau(hau)-po, and Aotea.

Tama-Tea. (Nga-Ti-Kahu-Ngunu.)

This is the tale about Tama-tea and his canoe Taki-tumu. Tama-tea was father of Kahu-ngunu, from whom the ti- page 74 kahu-ngunu take their tribal name. The companions of Tama-tea were his father, Rongo-kako, Hiki-tapuwae, Hiki-taketake, Rongo-i-a-moa, Tai-hopi, Tai-hopa, Kahu-tu-a-nui, Motoro, Angi, Kupe, Ngake, Paikea, Me-nuku, the children of Tato, and others.

They left Hawaiki for two reasons: the first was a quarrel about a woman, the second a quarrel amongst themselves about Wena (Whena).

They had ascertained from other chiefs the direction to steer from Hawaiki to these islands (New Zealand).

They went to the forest Tawhiti-nui to search for trees to make canoes. They found six trees and felled them. This was a work for the gods, as their ancestors had said, “The gods would assist in all great work when proper incantations had been chanted and offerings made to them.” The canoes were made, and were called Taki-tumu, Arawa, Mata-tua, Kura-hau-po, and Toko-maru, and were dragged down the stream called Hau-hau to the sea. Taki-tumu was the first taken to the stream, and her name was changed, and she was called Horo-Uta.

When all was ready they proceeded on their voyage. After being at sea some time the food they had taken on board was all consumed, and the crew were faint with hunger. Tama-tea rose and chanted a mata-ara. At the same time he glared fiercely at the crew, who thought he intended to kill some of them as food for the rest. One of them stood up and said, “I have a calabash (ipu) of preserved birds.” These were distributed amongst the crew; but ere long hunger again oppressed them. Tama-tea repeated his chant and glared at the crew as before. Another of the crew stood up and said, “I have some preserved fish.” They ate these, but ere long were again hungry. Tama-tea stood up a third time and chanted, and glared at his crew, and once more food was produced. Thus Tama-tea repeated his chant and the same threat till the canoe landed at Ao-tea-roa (North Island of New Zealand).

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The canoes landed at Whanga-paraoa, and, after staying there some time, sailed along the coast to Tau-ranga. Here the canoes separated: some went northward, and some stayed there, others going to different places.

Kupe and Ngake embarked again in the Taki-tumu, and left Tama-tea and his son Kahu-ngunu at Tauranga, where they resided for some time. On a certain occasion the father and son were making a net, and (Tama-tea) braided some of the hair of (his wife) Iwi, the mother of Kahu-ngunu, into it. This was an unbounded insult to the mother and son, and on this account Tama-tea left Tauranga, and went to reside with Whare-patari in his pa, and took Rua-tai, the daughter of Whare-patari, to wife, soon after which Kahu-ngunu went and lived with his father; but they did not stay long with Whare-patari, but left and went to Turanga, taking some pet lizards with them. These they fed with the berry of the tawa-tree (Nesodaphne tawa). These lizards belonged to Tara-paikea.

At Ara-paua-nui they noticed the people of that place occupied their time in trapping rats and digging roi (fern-root); and as father and son journeyed on they named places from events which occurred. At O-ti-ere the people lived on patiki (flatfish). On the road to Tapu-te-rangi they lost one of their pet lizards at a place which they called Poka, after the name of the lizard lost there. At Wai-tio they consulted the gods, and called the spot Taro-hanga. They journeyed on to Puna-awatea and Poho-kura, on the Ruahine Mountain, to the pass on the road to Patea. Here they looked back to Hare-taonga, and saw sea-gulls flying, when Kahu-ngunu uttered aloud this saying: “Behold the sea-gulls flying and screaming over Tapu-te-rangi (Watchman Island); and, oh! the thought of eating the thick-sided patiki (flounder) at Ti-ere (at Roro-o-kuri Island, in the Napier harbour), and mealy fern-root at Puke-hou (Petane), the fat rats at Rama-riki (near Ara-paua-nui), and the glutinous paua at Tahito (near Ara-paua-nui)!”

Tama-tea heard his son utter these words, and said, “Are you longing for our home? If so, return.” The son replied, “I page 76 only uttered a sigh of regret.” At this place one of the lizards scratched in the ipu (calabash); so it was taken out, and a hei-tiki (greenstone effigy) tied about its neck, and it was put into a cave amongst rocks, and a tree was planted and called Poho-kura. The lizard still lives there, and its mana (influence) has not left it. When it roars it indicates bad weather. From there the father and son travelled on to the forest of Hau-puru and to the cave at Turanga-kira. Travellers stop at this cave for shelter and accommodation at night. One man of a party of travellers of the tribe of Nga-tama-hine died there from the effects of frost and snow. Tama-tea and Kahu-ngunu went on to Repo-roa, and ascended the mountains at Te-ranga-a-tama-tea, where they left a lizard, and called the place Ao-rangi. Going on, they arrived at the settlement of Tari-nuku, near Whanga-nui, who offered food to them, including a calabash of preserved birds. Tama-tea ate all the birds, which made Kahu-ngunu angry and brought on a quarrel with his father, which caused them to separate, and each went his own way.

Kahu-ngunu went by way of Nga-pu-makaka, O-wha-oko, Taru-a-rau, Ngaru-roro, Nga-huinga, and by the head-waters of the Mohaka River, through Kainga-roa, to his home at Tauranga.

Tama-tea went to Whare-kanae, Para-heke, Te-hoko, and crossed the Whanga-nui River at Tawhiti-nui, thence up the river in a canoe to Hiku-rangi, and cast anchor at Te-punga; thence he went to Manga-nui-a-te-ao, Whaka-papa, and across to the Taupo Lake at Te-rapa, and to Wai-hi and Pungarehu. There he obtained a canoe and a crew, and crossed the lake to its outlet and landed. As the earth sounded hollow, he called that place Tapuwae-haruru. He boasted that he could descend the river in the canoe Ua-piko to O-koro. The people warned him of the waterfall. He started, and passed Nuku-hau and Hipapa-hua, and on to the entrance of the race at the Huka Falls. There his friend Riri-wai jumped on shore. Tama-tea and his thirty companions went on. Going over the fall, they page 77 all perished. The canoe Ua-piko, turned into stone, is to be seen there to this day.

Tama-Tea-Pokai-Whenua. (Nga-Ti-Hau.)

Rongo-kako was the father of Tama-te-a-pokai-whenua (light-coloured son, who travelled round the land), the progenitor of all the tribes who live on this island Ao-tea-roa, and also of the Wai-pounamu. He came from Hawa-iki in his canoe Taki-tumu(tupu), also called Horo-Uta. She landed at Tu-ranga on the fish which Maui, his progenitor, pulled up out of the sea. He left his canoe at Tu-ranga, and travelled along the sea-coast to Ahu-riri (altar for war), where his pet lizard called Tapu-te-rangi (sacred sky) fled into the harbour of that place. Thence he travelled on to the Rua-hine Mountains, where he stuck up, at a place he called Te-onepu (the sand), his staff Rakau-taonga (valuable staff), to mark the spot where his son Kahu-ngunu left him and returned to Ahu-riri.

Kahu-ngunu's desire to return was occasioned by seeing sea-gulls following himself and his father along the Rua-hine, and hovering just above their heads, which caused Kahu-ngunu to utter these words, which have since become a proverb, “The sea-gulls cry mournfully over Tapu-te-rangi” (the sacred sky); and also this proverb, “The big-sided flatfish of the great Harbour of Rotu” (rotu—cause to sleep by incantations).

Tama-tea asked his son, “Do you feel love for our home?” Kahu-ngunu replied, “It is but the utterance of my regret.” Tama-tea said, “If you feel regret for our home, you are right to go back;” and Kahu-ngunu went back to Here-taunga (pre-ordained home), and Tama-tea went on his journey, and came to a great mountain, where another of his pet lizards, called Poho-kura (red stomach), escaped; but he had still another pet lizard left, called Puke-o-kahu (hill of the garment), and he went on and came to a great river called Moa-whanga (harbour of the moa), or Moe-whanga (harbour where they slept). When he left this river he stuck up the ends of his firebrands on the page 78 bank of the river, and left them there, that they might turn into water-gods. He went on till he came to Whanga-nui (great harbour), where, being weary, he rested, and combed his hair, and tied it up in tufts on the top of his head, whence the place was called Putiki-whara-nui-a-tama-tea (the hair of Tama-tea tied up with scraped flax).

This is all I am acquainted with of the history of our ancestors, and of the travels of Tama-tea-pokai-whenua.

But it was the crying of the sea-gulls that made Kahu-ngunu say to his father, “O sir ! do you continue your journey, and I will return at once, as I feel regret at my absence from the sea-gulls who cry at the mouth of the Ngaru-roro (wave at the entrance) River yonder.”

And Tama-tea-pokai-whenua sang this song:—

Oh! my blush of shame is as
The rage of fire on my cheek.
On me—yes, on Tama-tea.
Come, and with the weapon
Of war smite me—yes,
Slay, that I no longer
May be in life or light.
Though I be noble, still
Exert your spell, and
Beguile me into death.

Tama-Tea-Pokai-Whenua. (Nga-Ti-Mahuta.)

The Arawa was the canoe in which Tama-tea-pokai-whenua came to these islands. He came to Te-awa-o-te-atua (the river of the god), O-potiki (the last-born), Niu-waka (divining-rod of the canoe), Whare-kahika (house of the aged), U-awa (land at the river), Tu-ranga, Wai-roa, Ahu-riri, Here-taunga, Matau-a-maui (Maui's fish-hook), Ngaru-roro, Parapara (gum), and Poho-kura. From this last-mentioned place Tama-tea and Kahu-ngunu returned, and broke a ta-wai tree (Fagus menziesii) to mark the place of their parting; for there Kahu-ngunu remembered the sea-gulls in the Ngaru-roro River, and felt sorrow for his home, and Tama-tea said to him, “You ought to return from this.” Kahu-ngunu answered, “Yes. Do you continue your journey, and I will return.”

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Tama-tea said “Yes,” and went on to Rangi-tikei (the day of walking), Tura-kina (thrown down), Whanga-ehu (the harbour of spray), and to Whanga-nui, where he combed the hair of his head, and tied it up in a tuft, and called the place Putiki-whara-nui-a-tama-tea-pokai-whenua. He then paddled up the Whanga-nui River to the Tara-roa (long time absorbed in incantations to the sky), and threw seeds of the Phormium tenax up on the cliff, where they grew beneath the trees, and also seeds of the kotukutuku (Fuchsia excorticata) shrub. On his arrival at O-maka (food thrown away) there was nothing to which he could fasten his canoe, so he bent a stone, and moored his canoe to it, and hence the name of that place, Te-kowhatu-piko (bent stone). Soon after this he arrived at Tau-po (load-stone), and, again taking canoe, he went down the Wai-kato River; but at the fall—probably O-rakei-korako (the strides of the albino)—he was carried over, and was drowned.

The descendants of Tama-tea were Mahine-rangi (fair daughter of heaven)—who took Tu-rongo (news heard) as her husband—and Rau-kawa (leaf of the kawa-kawa—Piper excelsum), and Waka-rere (swift canoe).

Tama-Tea-Pokai-Whenua. (Nga-I-Tahu.)

Tama-tea, being deserted by his three wives, Hine-rau-kawakawa (daughter of the kawakawa—Piper excelsum—leaf), Hine-rau-haraki (daughter of the extraordinary leaf), and Te-kohi-wai (wasting water), sailed all round the islands in search of them, and, with Kupe, had the honour of naming rivers, headlands, and various places along the coasts. The promontory at the base of the On-lookers is known as Te-koura-a-tama (the crawfish of Tama—where he landed and roasted a crawfish).

On reaching the southern extremity of the island he continued his voyage up the west coast. At the entrance to every inlet he waited and listened for any sound which might indicate the whereabouts of his runaway wives; but it was not till he arrived off the mouth of the Ara-hura (the path exposed) River that he heard voices. He immediately landed, but did not discover his page 80 wives, being unable to recognize them in the enchanted stones which strewed the bed of the river, and over which its waters murmuringly flowed. He did not know that the canoe in which his wives escaped had capsized at that spot, and that the crew had been transformed into stones.

Tama-tea, accompanied by his servant (Tumuaki), proceeded inland towards the mountain called Kani-ere (sound of a dance). On the way they stopped to cook some birds which they had killed; and while preparing them the servant accidentally burnt his fingers, which he thoughtlessly touched with the tip of his tongue. This (as he was tapu) was a flagrant act of impiety, for which he was instantly punished by being transformed into a mountain, which has ever since been known by his name, Tumuaki (crown of the head).

Another consequence of his crime was, that Tama-tea never found his runaway wives, whose bodies had been turned into greenstone, the best kind of which is often spoilt by a flaw, known by the name of tutae-koka (excrement of the birds—which the slave was cooking when he licked his fingers).

Kahu-Ngunu. (Nga-Ti-Mahuta.)

Rongo-kako was father of Tama-tea, who begat Whaene and Kahu-ngungu. The elder brother, Whaene, was the acknowledged head of the tribe; but the younger brother, Kahu-ngunu, had one hundred and forty men under his command. Whaene was a selfish and lazy man, and the people had to provide fish and all other kinds of provisions for his use. He invariably chose the best of the fish and of all the various sorts of food provided, and left the worst for his people. Kahu-ngunu observed this. He made a fishing-net, and set it in the sea, and enclosed so many fish that he and his men had to call the people to help to drag the net on shore; then he divided the fish he had caught amongst the various sub-tribes, giving a portion of good and a portion of poor fish to each, and sent a similar page 81 portion to Whaene, some good and some poor of the fish. When the portion was brought to Whaene, he asked, “Who divided out these fish?” He was told that Kahu-ngunu did. He took a fish and slapped Kahu-ngunu on the face with the tail of it, because he had dared to send him any but the best fish. For this, Kahu-ngunu and those men who acknowledged him as their leader left Whaene, and went and lived with the Nga-ti-porou tribe. When there, Kahu-ngunu took a wife, and had children; but by-and-by he left them with their mother and her tribe, and they became leaders and parents of it, and many Nga-ti-porou can now trace their descent from them.

When Kahu-ngunu left his wife and children he went to Nuku-tau-rua, the home of another tribe, whose chief was an idle fellow like Whaene, but he had a fine-looking woman, called Rongo-mai-wahine, as his wife. On their arrival at this settlement Kahu-ngunu was invited to stay at the house of the head chief, and had a sleeping-place allotted to him on one side of the house, while the chief and his wife occupied the other side of the house. Kahu-ngunu fell in love with the wife of his host, and determined to win her love and make her his wife. His followers had another house set apart for their own exclusive use. One day he called his followers to go with him to dig fern-root. They went where the fern-root grew most luxuriantly amongst the hills, and each man soon had procured a bundle of roi (fern-root) and brought it to the top of the hill overlooking the settlement. Kahu-ngunu directed them to tie all into one, and when this was done it was a bundle as high as a man. Then they rolled it down the hill into the courtyard of the settlement, and when it was unloosened it filled all the courtyard, to the great delight of the hungry people of the place, who exclaimed, “This man, Kahu-ngunu, is a strong man to procure plenty of food, and paua is the best fish to eat with it.” But the sea was deep on the coast, and the people were lazy, so they had no paua to eat with it.

Kahu-ngunu one day said, “Where do you procure the paua, page 82 the shells of which I see lying about here?” They said, “From the sea; but it is deep where they are to be obtained, and only those who can hold their breath a long time can go down, and then they only get a few paua.”

Kahu-nganu went and sat on the cliff overlooking the sea, and saw a kawau (shag) diving in the sea. He held his breath when the kawau dived, and repeated to himself,—

I suppress my breath,
And count one, two, three,
Four, five, six,
Seven, eight, nine,
Ten, and now come
To the surface
And breathe again,
And come on land

Then the kawau rose to the surface; but Kahu-ngunu still held his breath until the kawau had dived three times and he had thrice repeated these words. He thought, “If I can hold my breath so long I can dive where these people obtain the paua.” So he ordered his people to make a kori (a small pot-net), and to tie a long rope to it, and then, taking with him some of the people of the place to point out the rocks where the paua could be obtained, he and his followers went out in a canoe. Kahu-ngunu said to his people, “When I jerk the rope you must pull the net up.” Then he took the net and dived into the water. They waited for some time, and thought he must be drowned; but presently he jerked the rope and they pulled the net up, but it was so full they could not lift it into the canoe. Kahu-ngunu swam on shore, and the inhabitants of the place came and were long in taking all the paua away, there were so many. Again the people wondered at the power of Kahu-ngunu to procure food.

Kahu-ngunu said to his followers, “If you eat of the paua give the roe to me.” They did so, and he ate many of them. Now, this food produces flatulency, like the tawa-berry. The tawa-berry is cooked in a hangi (oven of hot stones), in the same way as the karaka-berry (d); but after the tawa has been cooked it page 83 is not kept in water so long as the karaka-berry, but may be eaten in a few days.

His hearty meal of the roe of the paua produced its usual effect on Kahu-ngunu, and after some time the host awoke and charged his wife with idleness in not providing the house with aromatic grasses and herbs. They quarrelled hotly and became exceedingly enraged with each other, while Kahu-ngunu laughed and enjoyed the fun. Again the host awoke and charged his wife with idleness. They were so angry this time that they cursed each other, and even struck at each other, till the wife left the house and went to her parents. They were very much grieved that the man should curse his wife, and they urged her to be revenged on him by leaving him and taking Kahu-ngunu as her husband. They said, “Kahu-ngunu is a brave man, and is such a powerful fellow to obtain food”. She agreed to what was said; and her mother combed her hair and ornamented her head with the most beautiful feathers of the amo-kura (red-tailed tropic bird—Phaeton rubricauda) and the toroa (albatross), and clothed her with the kaitaka (d) mat; and she went and took Kahu-ngunu as her husband. Thus the lazy fellow lost his wife by the deceit of Kahu-ngunu.

Kahu-ngunu begat a child by her, and they called it Kahu-kura-nui, who begat Tu-puru-puru, who begat Rangi-tu-ehu, who begat Tu-aka, who begat Ma-hina-rangi, who took to wife Tu-rongo and begat Rau-kawa, the ancestors of the great Nga-ti-rau-kawa tribe.

Kahu-Ngunu. (Nga-I-Porou.)

Kahu-ngunu lived at Tauranga, and one day he and his sister Whaene and their people went to draw their net. The net belonged to Whaene. When it was pulled on the beach, Kahu-ngunu seized the fish in the body of it, which made Whaene so angry that she struck him with her hand. Kahu-ngunu was ashamed at this insult, and left her and the people, and went to a forest, where he ate some pareta (paretao), and called the place Pareta; going on, he killed and ate a kaka, and called the page 84 place Kaka-kai-a-moi. He went on to Pahau-ehu, Ngarara, Whaka-wai, and Kohaha-pare-moremo. Going on, he went into a cave. Sitting in the cave, he saw a man called Pa-roa pass in front of it, who saw Kahu-ngunu, and, not knowing who he was, invited him to his settlement. After Kahu-ngunu had lived some time at the home of Pa-roa the latter discovered who Kahu-ngunu was. Pa-roa said to his daughter, named Hine-puariari, “Girl, there is a husband for you.” She took Kahu-ngunu as her husband. One day a woman of her tribe said to Hine-puariari, “How do you like your husband?” She answered, “He is more than I could wish.” Rongo-mai-wahine, the daughter of Rapa, who lived at Tawa-pata (near Table Cape), heard what Hine-puariari had said, and made this remark: “The great river at Tata-pouri is ever ready to welcome him.”

Kahu-ngunu asked his wife to dress his hair. She combed it all day, and on the morrow combed it again, and not till then was she able to form it into a putiki (topknot). So she held it between her knees and rubbed it with oil which she held in a paua (Haliotis) shell, and not till she had used the contents of ten shells was the hair limp enough to allow her to bind it with flax, but the flax broke as she bound it round the hair. He asked her to fetch his girdle. The flax of which it was made was grown at Tauranga. With this girdle she was able to tie his hair. And from this came the proverb, “The flax that bound the top-knot of Kahu-ngunu (the son of Tama-tea) was left at Tauranga.”

Kahu-ngunu left his wife and went to Nuku-tau-rua (Table Cape) and Tawa-pata (Portland Island), where Rongo-mai-wahine and her husband Tama-taku-tai lived. Tama-taku-tai spent his time carving wood to ornament houses, but did not assist in cultivating food for his people. Kahu-ngunu observed how the people procured the paua and pupu (limpets), and endeavoured to cause a quarrel between Rongo-mai-wahine and her husband; so he proposed to his companions to go and dig roi (fern-root), and when they had procured a quantity his page 85 friends suggested to tie it up in bundles and carry it to the settlement. To this he objected, and sent them to the pa. When they were out of sight he tied all the roi in one bundle, and carried it on his back to the precipice Tawa-pata, just above the village, and untied the bundle and let it fall. It scattered all over the pa in such quantities that it filled the spaces between the houses. The people of the settlement collected and began to roast and feast on it, praising Kahu-ngunu, and saying, “Now we have a strong and able chief, who can procure food for us.”

The family of Ma-ringaringa-mai were at the paua fishing-grounds; so Kahu-ngunu proposed to his companions to go and collect paua, and instructed them to get flax and plait ropes and make nets, and prepare sticks to prize the paua from the rocks; and he went to the top of a hill near the coast from whence he could watch the kawau (shag) diving in the sea, and as the shag dived he held his breath, to see if he could hold it as long as a shag was diving. When a shag dived he began to count, and say, “Pepe (hold, suppress the breath) tahi, pepe rua, pepe toru,” and so on to ten. If the shag had not come to the surface of the water he again repeated the pepe. This he did without drawing a breath until the shag had dived and come up three times: he concluded he could hold his breath for a considerable time, and thus be able to dive and obtain a great quantity of paua.

At low water he took some nets and swam out to the furthermost rock to which the paua-collectors were in the habit of going in a canoe, and dived and filled his nets, and pressed the paua into them so tight that the nets were on the point of bursting, and returned to shore; but some paua he caused to adhere to his body and head. These were taken to the sacred place as offerings to the gods. Those in the nets were so heavy that the people of the settlement could not drag them on shore, so the people of the adjoining pas were called to assist. The paua-nets were pulled on shore, and the people feasted on their contents.

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Having witnessed the great feats of Kahu-ngunu in procuring food, the people contrasted him with the chief Tama-taku-tai, and took the wife of that chief and gave her to Kahu-ngunu, who begat Kahu-kura-nui, Tu-puru-puru, Rangi-tu-ehu, Hiri-ao, and Huhuti. Huhuti took Whatu-i-apiti as her husband; and these five are the ancestors of the principal tribes of the Nga-ti-kahu-ngunu.

Tamatea-Pokai-Whenua. (Nga-Ti-Kahu-Ngunu.)

Give heed to this! Rongo-kako was the father of Tama-tea, and was the ancestor of all the tribes of New Zealand. Tama-tea, came from Hawaiki in a canoe called Taki-tumu, or Horo-Uta. He first landed at Turanga, which is on the fish his ancestor Maui had drawn up out of the ocean. There he left Taki-tumu and travelled by land, keeping near the seacoast of the sea of Tauranga, until he reached Ahu-riri, where his pet ngarara (lizard), called Tapu-te-ranga, fled from him to the interior of Ahu-riri. He travelled thence to Ruahine, where, at Te-onepu, he set up a pole called Rakau-taonga, to mark the place where his son Kahu-ngunu turned back because he saw the sea-gulls flying over the Ruahine Mountains, following them, and wheeling over their heads, and crying, and he said to his father, “O friend! you proceed on your way: I will return from this place because of my regard for the karoro (sea-gulls) which cry from the ngutu awa o Ngaru-roro (the mouth of the Ngaru-roro River).” Then Tama-tea addressed his son Kahu-ngunu-matangi-rau, and said, “Do you feel love for your own place?” “No,” said Kahu-ngunu, “I am only sighing.” His father said, “If love for your own place influences you, go back to it.” So Kahu-ngunu returned to Here-taunga, and Tama-tea journeyed on till he reached the lofty mountains, where another of his lizard pets, called Poho-kura, escaped; but he still had one, called Puke-o-kahu. When he reached the great river called Moa-whanga, he stuck up the unburnt ends of his firewood in it (and hence the saying, “The ends of the firebrands of Tama-tea”), so that they should become taniwhas (gods).

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As he went along the sea-shore, his dog ran into the water and became a taniwha; but he went on and reached Whanga-nui, and sat down and combed his hair, and tied it up into a topknot, and from this circumstance the place was called Putiki-whara-nui-o-Tama-tea. This is all that is known of one of our ancestors who was named Tama-tea-pokai-whenua.

Tama-tea-pokai-whenua had two wives—the first was Iwi-rau, the mother of Kahu-ngunu-matangi-rau; the second was called Mahaki-roa, the mother of (1) Ko-au-tama-aki-roa, (2) Kahu-nui, and (3) Apa, the father of the Rangi-tikei tribe.

Kahu-Ngunu. (Nga-Ti-Kahu-Ngunu.)

Kahu-ngunu left Tauranga on account of a dispute between himself on the one side and Paoa and Whaene on the other. Ira-nui accompanied Kahu-ngunu on this migration. When they arrived at U-awa, Kahu-ngunu took Hinga-roa (long fall) to wife, and came on to Titi-rangi, at Turanga-nui. (At this time Rua-pani was living at Wai-pawa.) On the evening of the day of his arrival at Titi-rangi, Kahu-ngunu asked, “To whom belongs the fire I see yonder?” and was answered, “To Rua-pani.” On the following day Kahu-ngunu was taken to the pa of Rua-pani, where he took to wife Rua-rere-tai. The following chiefs and their wives were in the pa with Rua-pani at that time—namely, Rua-here-here-tieke and his wife Rongo-mai-wananga, Rua-roa and his wife Rahiri-momori, Kahu-noke and his wife Kahu-kiro-kiro, Tama-tea-kuku and his wife Hine-te-ra, Tu-te-kohi and his wife Hine-te-wai.

During his stay with Rua-pani, Kahu-ngunu heard of the fame of a woman of supreme rank called Rongo-mai-wahine, and on that account he took a journey to Te-wai-roa, where there was much totara timber to make canoes. He stayed on the way at Te-mahanga, and took Hine-pu-ari-ari to wife, but soon forsook her again. This story was told to Rongo-mai-wahine, who exclaimed, “If he comes here we shall receive him: we, Te-ati-hau, have a wide mouth.” Kahu-ngunu went to Kahu- page 88 tara, where Rongo-mai-wahine lived with her husband Tama-taku-tai, also Rapua-i-te-rangi and his wife, also the following noted chiefs of those days and their wives—namely, Hine-tua, and his wives Moe-te-kakara, Hine-kumu, Whaka-ruru-a-nuku, Tu-kapua-rangi, Aio-rangi; Tawhi and his wife Tu-te-wana-a-tai; Mokai-tua-tiri and his wife Tau-kiekie; Hine-kahu-kura and his wife Kuku; Rangi-ta-wau and his wife Kiri-mamae; Manu-pokai and his wife Whai-ta; Hine-waka and his wife Taki-moana; Hine-auta and his wife Te-uhu; Tama-i-ua-te-rangi and his wife Mata-hina-te-rangi; Rangi-mata-moana and his wife Mai-ranga; Rangi-katia and his wife Hine-matire-rangi; Mate-roa and his wife Te-matenga; Mangu-mangu (wife not given).

When Kahu-ngunu had been two days at Kahu-tara he said to his thirty followers, “Let us go and dig some fern-root.” When this was done some of the men said, “Let us tie it up in large bundles;” but Kahu-ngunu said, “No let us tie it all in one large bundle.” So they tied it all together in one bundle with torotoro (Metrosideros scandens), and rolled it to the brow of the hill above the settlement where all the people lived, and let it run down in front of the houses, where it was untied, and the women and children gathered into the storehouses sufficient for all the people there. All the women praised Kahu-ngunu for this act of kindness to them and their children. While they were eating the fern-root they wished for something to eat as a kinaki (savoury morsel) with it, because the women would not go to dive for paua (Haliotis) as a relish to eat with the fern-root. So Kahu-ngunu said to his followers, “Let us go to the sea-beach.” They went and sat on a hill overlooking the sea, whence they saw a kawau (Graculus varius) diving and catching fish. Kahu-ngunu said to his people, “Pepa (Pepe), (hold your breath), and see how many times that kawau will dive and come up before let it go.” They did so, but could not hold it long. Then Kahu-ngunu said, “I will try;” and the kawau came up five times before he had to breathe. But he said, “I can hold my breath longer.” page 89 He tried again, and held his breath till the kawau had come up twelve times. Kahu-ngunu then said, “You remain here, and I will go and dive for some paua.” He took a net and went down to the beach, and tied a rope to the net, leaving one end on shore, so that when he had filled the net his people could drag it in. He dived into the sea and filled the net, and swam to land again. His people pulled the netful of paua on shore, and took them up to the settlement, and allowed each female to collect as many as she liked of them, and all partook of the feast so provided by Kahu-ngunu; but he himself only ate the hua (the roe) of the paua.

Kahu-ngunu occupied part of the house in which Tama-taku-tai and his wife Rongo-mai-wahine lived. They slept near the window. Kahu-ngunu, who slept on the same side of the house, and had eaten much of the roe of the paua, was tormented with flatulency, which gave occasion to Tama-taku-tai to upbraid his wife for leaving the house unprovided with sweet-scented herbs. They disputed until anger rose so high that Rongo-mai-wahine left him for good, and took Kahu-ngunu as her husband. In time they two had the following children—namely: Kahu-kura-nui, Rongo-mai-papa, Tama-tea-kota, and Tau-hei-kuri. Previous to this Rongo-mai-wahine had borne Tama-taku-tai two children, Rapua and Hine-rau-wiri; and before Hine-rau-wiri was born Tama-tea, who was living at Tauranga, left that place with a number of followers to visit Rongo-mai-wahine, who was expecting shortly to have a child. On the way they ran short of food, and had to eat of the ponga (Cyathea dealbata). They called the place where they first ate of it Te-ponga-tawhao (the forest of ponga); where the pare-tao (a certain creeper) got between their toes as they walked they called Pare-ta-ngahue-hue (where the pare-tao is abundant); where they had so little food they called the place Kopae (put into little baskets); where they became weak with hunger they called the place Ngarara-whakaware (deceived men); and where they became lean for want of birds to eat they called the place page 90 Te-matuku-tai-here-koti (the bittern of the sea-shore). All these names were given to the several places by Tama-tea. When he arrived at Te-wai-roa he found that the child born after Kahu-ngunu had taken Rongo-mai-wahine was a girl, and not begotten by Kahu-ngunu, but by Tama-taku-tai, and he called the child Hine-rau-wiri (daughter of the fish-net) in honour of the net Kahu-ngunu had taken the paua-fish in.

Tama-tea returned home by way of the sea-coast, for the purpose of seeing Ira-nui.

As Tama-tea had been long absent from his home at Tauranga, his son Rangi-nui set out from that place to follow the road his father had taken, to see what had kept him so long away; at the same time Tama-tea was returning home by another way than that his son travelled, and the son did not meet his father. Tama-tea arrived at U-awa, where Hinga-roa lived at Manga-kuku, and wept over the daughter and also over the son of Ira-nui called Taua. At the settlement Te-aho-waiwai he left some of the people of the tribes of Te-maro-kora-hunga, Nga-ti-hine, and Te Ngutu-au, as vassals, to provide food for his grandchild Taua, the son of Ira-nui; and then proceeded to his home at Tauranga, and found his own son Rangi-nui away in search of himself. This made Tama-tea sorrow greatly at his own home, until he died.

When Rangi-nui, in search of his father, arrived at Haunga-roa, a branch creek of the Wai-roa River, he found Ha-moko-rau building the house of Tama-tea-a-moa, and called to him and said, “Bring your axe nearer as you cut your timber. Cut it here and cut it there.” Tama-tea-a-moa laid his axe down, and all but Rangi-nui went to the place where Tama-tea-a-moa and his people lived. Tama-tea-a-moa ordered food to be cooked for his guests, and added, “They are making sport of me.” While the food was being cooked, Rangi-nui, who remained at the building, took an axe of Tama-tea-a-moa, and began to trim some rafters for the house. He had finished four rafters before page 91 the axe became blunt. Then he took another axe and made four more; and thus he worked until he had finished all the rafters required, using one axe for every four rafters. Then he called his followers to proceed on their journey, because Tama-tea-a-moa had been heard to say, “Go and kill the men, and drag them to our settlement;” but some of his people said, “Do not kill them yet, but go and see what Rangi-nui has been doing.” But by this time Rangi-nui and his followers had got some distance from the settlement; so the people of Tama-tea-a-moa followed them and invited them to come back, but they would not. Then Tama-tea-a-moa asked Kura-pori, the sister of Rangi-nui, to follow them and invite them to come back. She went after them and found them at another settlement. There Kura-pori took a husband and begat Ue-nuku-whare-kuta; and when Tama-tea senior heard of the birth of his grandchild Ue-nuku-whare-kuta, the child of Kura-pori, he sent Te-rau-tangata, Puku, and Kahu-tapere to be vassals and providers of food for that child and his children; and they cultivated the Au-titi and the Kura-o-kupe kumaras for him and them on the plantations at Rata-nui, a little to the north of Wai-apu.