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The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions: Tai-Nui. [Vol. IV]

Chapter I

page 27

Chapter I.

By leaves alone are we deceived,
By Pani's child (the kumara) and Rongo-tau,
From whom old Kahu-kura came;
And those were held most dear, O sons!
By all your female ancestors:
But now such at a distance are.
Perhaps ‘twas I who went
And brought you all from Hawa-iki,
And nursed and tended you
Till all grew into men.
And then your ancestors
Called winds from spirit-world,
To germinate and then to kill,
And you in heaps lay raw.
But you were named with incantation then
Of god Tu-toro-hakina
(The god of life's best joy),
And also Tu-te-ngana-hau
(The god that dares the battle-front),
Who taught the art that warriors learn
Who into battle go, and parry blow of enemy.
But thou dost boast the battles fought
By all thine ancestors, and dost claim
As thine their every victory
In Kai-rau (all the hundred) won,
And darest all as kawau (shag) dares—
To dive beneath the ocean-wave,
And take the haku (king-fish)
From out the deep dark sea,
And hear thy fame resounded
Far in Hau-matao (the wind so cold).
But if in distant lands they ask,
“Whose son art thou?” reply,
“The brave are known to all,
page 28 And those who in the war-canoe
Take rank with others far in the prow
Are known as warriors, and all
The tribe will hail aloud their fame.”
But in the battle-rush,
Where youth first battle meets,
And wounds are seen and felt,
Not thou, my child, went'st then,
To wait in old Ngaengae (the heel),
But rushedst to storm the great
Totara-i-ahua (the tree that altar was),
And daredst the brunt of spear's point
‘Midst crowd of furious warriors,
And then with those thy kindred
Sailedst o'er the sea in Manu-kau.
Yet why should I boast of thy fame

Hape-Ki-Tu-A-Rangi.
(Nga-Ti-Mahuta.)

I Will speak of those canoes which were left behind when the other canoes brought our ancestors from Tawhiti-nui (great distant).

Hape-ki-tu-a-rangi was left behind at Hawa-iki; but he sailed from thence, and his was the first altar erected in Ao-tea-roa (North Island of New Zealand), and the name of his canoe was Tai-nui; but the head chief and leader in Tai-nui, whose name was Hotu-roa (long sob), also began to erect a post for an altar, but Hape disputed with him in regard to the posts of their altars, as Hape had first erected a post for his own altar, and also because Hotu-roa had charred the post of his altar with fire.

Tai-Nui.(Nga-Ti-Maru.)

This is the history of the migrations of the ancestors of the Maori from Hawa-iki, and it will commence at that part of which the Maori has a perfect knowledge.

The Maori came to New Zealand on account of a great war in Hawa-iki. In that war multitudes of people joined in a battle, and great numbers of men fell in the strife. The name of that battle was the Ra-to-rua (double sunset), and, when some of page 29 those who took part in the war migrated and arrived here, they composed a dirge in remembrance of that battle. The men who originated the war were He-ta (the wrestled-with) and Ue-nuku (trembling of the earth), and it was in that battle that these two took opposite sides, and fought each against the other. As peace could not be made, one party fled to New Zealand and the others stayed at Hawa-iki. Those who came to New Zealand are at the present day called the Maori.

Before the fleeing party had left Hawa-iki they consulted and determined to build canoes in which they could go and discover new lands in which to dwell. First they built the canoe called Tai-nui, and when she was finished they dragged her into the sea and loaded her with a cargo. Now, these are the names of the great leaders in that canoe, Tai-nui: Hotu-nui (great sob), Hotu-roa (long sob), Hotu-papa (sob on the earth), and Hotu-mata-pu (weep for the familiar face). And the names of the women of note who came in that migration were Marama (light) and Whaka-oti-rangi (heaven complete).

When the people had put all the cargo into the canoe, those on shore, who stayed behind in Hawa-iki, called to those departing and said to Hotu, “O Hotu! it is a Tama-tea”’ (sixth moon of the year, when gales and bad weather are most frequent); but Hotu answered, “It does not matter: let me go and meet Tama-tea far out on the sea, and fight with him there.”

Then Hotu, with chants and incantations to the gods, sought to bind the power of the winds and waves, so that the track on which he sailed in his voyage might be calm and unbroken by any power. Then, entering on his voyage, he sailed across the sea and landed in these Islands of New Zealand, where the crew of Tai-nui saw the red glow of the bloom of the Pohutu-kawa (the baptismal offering held up); and Tai-ninihi (tide glide gently away) threw his red head-dress plume into the sea, which drifted and was cast by the waves on the Whanga-paraoa (harbour of the whale) beach, where it was found by a man page 30 named Mahia (sound of a voice), or Mahina (nearly grey), and hence the proverb, “The head-plume of Mahia which drifted;” and the herbs of which that head-dress was composed grew on the spot on which they drifted, and are still growing there to this day.

Tai-nui then sailed northward, and landed at Whitianga (crossing), where her sail was left. Thence she came on to Moe-hau (slumbering wind), and into Hau-raki (the Thames), and on to Te-ana-puta (hole through a neck of land), to which Tai-nui was moored; from thence she sailed to Wai-whakarukuhanga (water in which to cause to dive), which is situated between the rivers Wai-hou (water that burrows in the earth) and Pi-ako (the young bird taught), at which place they left the anchor of Tai-nui, which consisted of a large stone, where it may be seen to this day, and is known by the name of Te-pungapunga (the pumice-stone).

Tai-nui then sailed northward, and out of Hau-raki (the Thames), coasting along the west bank to Whaka-tiwai (like a canoe without sideboards; a river canoe), and on to Whare-kawa (the house of baptism), where the noted female of high rank, called Marama, and her man-slave, at her request, were landed. The canoe proceeded from there to Tamaki (start involuntarily), and the crew paddled her on up the river to O-tahuhu (substantial food), where they landed and attempted to drag the canoe across the narrow neck into the Manu-kau (all birds) Harbour; but, though they used every effort, they could not move the canoe; and the reason of this failure was the fact that Marama had slept with her slave. But the two culprits were near at hand, and were coming towards those with the canoe, who were still attempting to drag Tai-nui; and Marama at once took a position on the deck of the canoe and uttered the words of this chant:—

Drag Tai-nui till she reaches the sea.
But who shall drag her hence?
What sound comes from the horizon?
The earth is lifting up,
The heavens rise
page 31 In company with feebler ones.
Welcome hither! Come, O joyous Tane!
Thou the leader and provider [canoe].
Here are skids laid to the sea,
And drops the moisture now from Marama,
Caused by the gentle breeze
Which blows down from Wai-hi (spirting water).
But still Tai-nui stays,
And will not move.
Red, red is the sun,
Hot, hot are its rays.
And still impatient stand the host.
Take ye, and hold the rope,
And drag with flashing eyes,
And drag in concert all.
Rise now the power
To urge. She moves and starts;
Moves now the prow.
Urge, urge her still.

And all the people in loud concert shouted, “Urge on and move.” Then the canoe was moved and dragged to the waters of Manu-kau (all birds). It was then all the crew knew that Marama had degraded herself with her slave, as expressed in some of the words of her chant.

The canoe being now in the waters of the west coast sea, she sailed on to Awhitu (regret), where the skids of the canoe were left. Those skids were the saplings of the karaka-tree. From thence she sailed out into the open sea, and went south along the west coast, and landed at Heahea (foolish), in the Kawhia district, where she was moored, and where she has remained ever since, and is to be seen to this day, turned into stone; and all her crew took up their abode in that district.

Tai-Nui.(Nga-Ti-Maru.)

The Maori does not know the year in which Hotu came to this land (New Zealand)—that is, when he came to Aotea-roa (North Island of New Zealand); nor does he know how far distant is that day, from the present time: but we, the Maori, page 32 know perfectly the lines of our descent and the generations of our ancestors.

The people (those who migrated in Tai-nui) lived in Hawa-iki. They built a canoe in which they might voyage in search of new lands as a home for themselves, and dragged it to the sea, and put a cargo on board. These are the names of some of those who came in that canoe, Tai-nui: Hotu-nui, Hotu-roa, Hotu-ope (sob of the crowd), Hotu-papa, and Hotu-mata-pu; but there are others whose names are not given. The women of note who came in this canoe were Marama and Whakaoti-rangi; and the seeds which these women brought with them were those of the kumara and hue (gourd).

When the canoe was leaving Hawa-iki, those who stayed there called to Hotu and said, “O Hotu! it is a Tama-tea.” Hotu answered, “Why heed the past? Let me and Tama-tea go far out on the sea and battle there.” The “Tama-tea” is the new moon, and we, the Maori, believe that when the new moon appears gales are likely to happen, as the wind is supposed to be in the act of covering the pit (d) out of which the moon comes.

Tai-nui sailed away from Hawa-iki, and crossed the sea and landed in these Islands of New Zealand, where the crew saw the red blossoms of the rata (Metrosideros robusta) and of the pohutu-kawa. When Tai-ninihi saw these blossoms he was sorry in respect to what he had brought in the canoe—the kura, a red substance—and he said, “What a waste of care on my part to bring the kura, as there is so much of it in these islands!” and he threw his kura into the sea. The district at which the canoe landed was called Whanga-paraoa (harbour of the whale), on the east coast. The kura of Tai-ninihi was cast up on the sea-beach, and was found by a man called Mahina; and hence the proverb, “The kura cast up on the coast and found by Mahina.” This proverb is repeated to any one who has lost anything, and if his lost article is found by any one the owner cannot obtain it again. All the tribes of New Zealand know and repeat this proverb.

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Fish Hooks (Matau or Matika) Mangaa; 2 Mango(Moriori); 3 Kahawai; 4 Mango; 5 Tamure; 6 Tuatini.

Fish Hooks (Matau or Matika)
Mangaa; 2 Mango(Moriori); 3 Kahawai; 4 Mango; 5 Tamure; 6 Tuatini.

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When the crew landed, Tai-ninihi (tide gliding stealthily away) went to obtain some of the rata-blossom to wear as a head-dress in place of the kura he had brought from Hawa-iki. The Hawa-iki kura was used as an ornament for his head. He put the rata-blossoms as a plume on his head; but he had not thus worn them long when they began to fade. Then he was sorry for his Hawa-iki kura which he had thrown into the sea, and he went in search of it along the sea-beach, but did not find it, as Mahia (or Mahina) had been there before him, and had found and taken it. When he learnt that Mahia had found his kura he went to him to obtain it; but Mahia (sound) would not part with it. Tai-ninihi asked again for it. Mahia answered, “I will not give the kura to you, as it is a kura which has been floating in the sea, and was cast on the beach and found by me.” This is now a custom in regard to anything found, such as greenstone or any other thing, and this custom is always acted on by us, the Maori; and the found article will not be given back to the one who has lost it. If the person who has lost anything demands it from the one who has found it the saying of Mahina (moon) is repeated to the one who lost it.

Now, Mahina was a descendant of those who had arrived in New Zealand in some other canoe which had landed here before Tai-nui or the other canoes came to these Islands.

The crew of Tai-nui acted in a very deceitful manner. When all the canoes landed at Whanga-paraoa they found a dead whale (paraoa) stranded on the coast, and the first who found the whale tied lines to it. But the crews of the other canoes disputed with the crew of the first canoe and with each other: each asserted that their canoe landed before the others. Hotu-nui, the leader of the Tai-nui migration, concocted a plan by which they could claim the stranded whale, and also prove that the Tai-nui landed before any of the other canoes. Hotu-nui and his crew took leaves of the flax (korari), and scorched them in a fire, and plaited them into ropes, and tied them to the page 34 whale; but these ropes they put below the ropes already fastened to the whale. Their own ropes were then tied to stakes put into the sand. Tai-nui landed on the coast in the evening. The same night her crew tied these ropes to the whale, and went back to their own canoe; and Hotu-nui commanded his people to build an altar (tuahu), scorching the leaves of the treeswhich they used for that purpose, so that the leaves should appear seared. This fact, and that the flax of their ropes was dry, were to be given as proofs that their canoe was the first to land in New Zealand. This was done by the people; and the day dawned, when all the crews of the various canoes disputed each with the other as to which canoe landed first on the coast. The crew of Te-arawa asserted that they had first landed on the coast. The crew of Mata-tua said they landed first. The Kura-hau-po crew stated they were the first to land. The crew of Toko-marn declared they had landed before any of the others. Hotu-nui said to the crews of those four canoes, “Friends, hearken. Ours was the canoe to land first on the coast of New Zealand, before any of you had arrived here. But let this be the proof as to which of our canoes landed first: Let us look at the ropes which the crews of the various canoes tied to the whale now before us, and also let us look at the branches of the trees which each have put up in building an altar: then the owners of the rope which is the driest and most withered, and of the altar the leaves of which are the most faded, were the first to land on the coast of the country where we now reside.” Tama-te-kapua, and the leaders of the crews of all the other canoes, at once accepted the proposal, and went to see the ropes by which the whale was tied; when they acknowledged that the ropes belonging to the crew of Tai-nui were those which were the most withered, and the leaves of the trees used to construct the altar of Hotu-nui were the most faded; so they all agreed, as a matter not to be disputed, that Tai-nui was the first of all the canoes to land in these Islands.

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Since that time, when the names of the migration canoes are given they are given in this consecutive way: Tai-nui, Te-arawa, Mata-tua, Kura-wau(hau)-po, Toko-maru; and in song the name of Tai-nui is invariably given first.

I will therefore now proceed to relate the history of the Tai-nui migration only.

They called the coast at which they first landed, and where they had found a stranded whale, Whanga-paraoa (the harbour of the whale), in remembrance of the whale found there, and which they had tied with ropes.

Tai-nui left Whanga-paraoa, and came northward and landed at Whitianga (crossed), where the crew left the sail of Tai-nui leaning against a cliff. This, when seen from the sea, is in all respects like the sail (whakawhiti) of a Maori canoe, and the name given to the locality where it was left is Te-ra-o-tai-nui (the sail of Tai-nui). The canoe still came on northward, and a little to the north of Whitianga it landed at a place called Wharenga (overhanging cliff), where the crew amused themselves with games. Having seen a very large stone, which would be about five tons in weight, also another stone which was wide where it touched the ground, but pointed on the top, on this pointed stone they placed the large heavy stone, which is ever a matter of wonder to those who see it at this day. This stone is now called Pohatu(Kowhatu)-whakairi (stone hung up), and is like this: A small black and white sketch showing the shape of the stone Pohatu(Kowhatu)-whakairi.But some say this is a man of the crew of Tai-nui turned into stone. Others say it is to mark the spot where the Tai-nui crew amused themselves with games of powerful feats.

Tai-nui came on to Moe-hau (Cape Colville), and went up Hau-raki (the Thames), and landed at the Ana-puta (cave through the cliff). This is a hole which extends through a cliff to which Tai-nui was moored. This is situated a little to the south of Tara-ru (barb shaken).

In the year when the canoe belonging to Nga-ti-maru was waterlogged near Tamaki, and some of the crew drowned, this cave or hole through the hill collapsed, which was believed by page 36 all the Maori people to be an evil omen, and indicative of the death of those who were drowned from that canoe. This cave fell in about three weeks before those men lost their lives.

Tai-nui left Te-ana-puta and went in the direction of Wai-hou, and when midway between Wai-hou and Pi-ako the crew left the anchor of their canoe. This anchor was a very large stone, which is to be seen there to this day, and is called Te Pungapunga (the pumice-stone). The canoe went on towards the west of Hau-raki, and crossed to Whakatiwai, and coasted along past Whare-kawa, where Marama, a woman of high rank, was, at her own request, landed, together with her slave man. The canoe went on, and, turning westward, sailed past Wai-heke (descending water) and Motu-korea (island of the small canoe). She landed at Taka-puna (search for the spring of water), where the crew employed themselves in exploring and looking over all the country, and ascended the hill of Taka-puna (Mount Victoria—Flagstaff Hill), from whence they saw birds flying from the west, coming from Manuka (regret) (Manu-kau), which district they explored, and discovered the sea of the west coast, by which they were incited to explore, and, if possible, discover a narrow neck of land over which to drag their canoe into that sea. They found that the Tamaki River was the river of the east coast which went closest to that sea, up which they voyaged, and landed at O-tahuhu (the ridgepole), where they attempted to haul the canoe across into the Manu-kau (all birds) (or Manuka) waters; but all their power was not of any avail to move the canoe, as Marama had degraded herself with her slave. While they were endeavouring to drag the canoe across the portage Marama and her slave were coming towards them, and were close to where the crew were vainly endeavouring to move the canoe. Marama saw the futile attempts of the crew to move their canoe, and ascended and stood on the highest part of her deck, and uttered these words of a chant to give power to the people to drag her:—

page 37

Drag Tai-nui down to the sea.
But who shall drag her?
Listen to the sound on the horizon—
The power of a troubled sea,
The power of heaven's rain,
But power of the younger child.
Come, welcome, gladsome Tane,
And carry in thy snare
Thy prostrate child out to the sea,
As drips the water from
The mouth of Marama, caused by
The breeze blown from Wai-hi,
While Tai-nui remains unmoved.
Rises red the glow of sun,
And, scorching, pierces all,
And makes man powerless.
But hold the ropes again—
Hold them, and, vigorous, pull.
Let coming energy prevail
And move the prow,
That she may glide out to the sea.

This was the origin of this chant, which is now chanted by all the tribes when they drag a canoe or any heavy material, and was first chanted by the crew of Tai-nui when they dragged that canoe across the portage from Tamaki to O-tahuhu [O-tahuhu to Manu-kau].

There are also other chants, which were sung when Tai-nui was dragged from the forest on the other side in Hawa-iki.

According to the accounts given of Tai-nui, some say she was taken, as here given, across the portage at O-tahuhu into the Manuka Harbour; others say she was not taken into, or by, the Manuka Harbour. These latter assert that the evil of Marama with her slave, after she landed at Whare-kawa, in Hau-raki (Thames), was the reason why the crew could not move the canoe when they attempted to haul her across the portage.

Another fact by which it is known that Tai-nui did not pass through the Manuka Harbour is that there are no signs (or anything left as proof) of her passage in the harbour, but they are all outside, on the sea-coast.

page 38

Then, as I assume, Tai-nui did not go up the Tamaki River, but from Taka-puna sailed northward to the Nga-puhi (the plumes) district [districts in which the Nga-puhi reside]. Some tribes say the ancestors of Nga-puhi came in Tai-nui, and hence their name, which is derived from the plume at the head of that canoe; but the Nga-puhi are perfectly acquainted with their own origin and with the derivation of their name.

Tai-nui went on northward towards Muri-whenua (land's end), towards the west; and perhaps a little to the east of Muri-whenua Tai-nui landed, where the crew again amused themselves with games, and where they piled a heap of stone, and made the heap in the form of a whale, which was done in remembrance of the whale about the possession of which they and the crews of the other canoes disputed at Whanga-paraoa, at the time when they all first landed in these Islands (New Zealand). They called the name of this heap of stones Tohora-nui (great whale). The Ngapuhi may perhaps be able to substantiate this assertion.

The canoe then sailed westward, and, turning south-ward, went along the west coast; and at a place a little northward of the entrance of the Manuka Harbour there is seen another sign (or mark) of Tai-nui. Now, if Tai-nui had gone by way of Tamaki, and across the O-tahuhu portage, and through the Manuka Harbour, there would have been marks left by her in the harbour; but all the marks are seen at its mouth. There is the paddle which was stuck up by one of her crew in the side of a cliff, which was done by him as they sailed past on the west coast; hence the certainty that Tai-nui came by way of Muri-whenua (land's end). Also, there are at a place called A-whitu (regret) the skids of Tai-nui. These are growing there to this day, and are karaka-tree or kopi (Coryno-carpus lævigata).

The canoe voyaged on southward, and landed at Heahea (silly), in the Kawhia district, where she was drawn up, and is there to this day, turned into stone, and is still called Tai-nui.

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The Tai-nui crew now took possession of and occupied that district, and those who had brought seeds and roots from Hawa-iki planted them there. The two women who came in this canoe, called Marama and Whakaoti-rangi, occupied four plots of ground: each had two plots. Each of the two had one plot for her kumara and one for the hue; but when the seed-kumara planted by Marama came up the kumara had become pohue (Convolvulus clematis), and the hue came up as mawhai (Sicyos angulatus), which made her ashamed, as the seed she had sown produced that which was not like the original.

The plots sown by Whakaoti-rangi were not so, but the kumara sown produced the kumara, and the hue the hue; which delighted her, and caused her to utter this sentence of gladness: “Yes, how noble are the contents of the small basket of Whakaoti-rangi which she has brought from Hawa-iki! and how truly each seed has produced its own kind!” This has become a proverb for those who are provident in regard to food, and for the care they take of their crops. Of these it is said, “The little basket of Whakaoti-rangi.” All the tribes are acquainted with the fame and doings of Whakaoti-rangi, and all know this proverb in which she is named. Thus ends the history of all the crew of Tai-nui; but I will continue the history of Hotu-nui, as he was the supreme leader of the Tai-nui migration.

Hotu-nui took to wife the daughter of Mahanga (twins), Mahanga was a descendant of those who came in the canoes which landed in New Zealand before the Tai-nui migration. When the time came that the wife of Hotu-nui expected a child, Hotu-nui had prepared a plot of land on which to cultivate the kumara, but he had only prepared the tuahu (hills or little mounds in which to set the kumara tuber). At that time the storehouse in which Mahanga kept his harvested crop of kumara had been plundered. Now, the big-toes of the feet of Hotu-nui were crooked, and Mahanga saw, in front of his food-store, the footprints of those who had stolen his kumara. Some of the many footprints he recognised as those of Hotu-nui. Hotu- page 40 nui had accidentally been near the storehouse, but did not know the food-store of his father-in-law had been robbed, and the thieves had not been careful to hide their footprints. As soon as Mahanga saw footprints like those which would be made by the feet of Hotu-nui he blamed him for the theft; but Hotu-nui denied the charge. Mahanga, however, would not listen to reason, and said, “You plundered my kumara storehouse.” Hotu-nui was so much ashamed of this cause of dispute with his father-in-law that he determined to leave the home of Mahanga and wander away, no matter where. He went to his wife, who was still expecting a child, and said, “After I have left you, and your child is born, if the child is a son call him Maru-tuahu, in remembrance of my plot of ground which I have tuahu (made into little mounds), and have not planted with kumara, as I am now a wanderer, and am going I know not where.” She asked, “To what land are you going?” He said, “To Hau-raki.” She again asked, “Have you seen that land?” He said, “Yes, I have seen that land, as I came by that land in my canoe Tai-nui.”

He and his people, who numbered fifty [one hundred], left the home of Mahanga and travelled towards Hau-raki, and arrived at Whare-kawa (house named), where he found men in occupation called Uri-o-pou (descendants of Pou—post), and there they took up their abode in a pa called Whakatiwai (like a canoe without side boards), in the Whare-kawa district.

The chief of that district, and of all the people, was called Rua-hiore (hole of the tail), where the people of Hotu lived as vassals; that is, they were subordinate to the people of that place. When Hotu-nui and his people possessed a fishing-net, or roi (dried fern-root), or pohue (dried con-volvulus-roots), they were plundered of these by the people. Not anything was left to them, no matter of what minor value; all was taken from them by the Uri-o-pou.

After Hotu-nui had left his wife she had a child, who was a son, and she called him Maru-tuahu, according to the wish of Hotu-nui.

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When Maru-tuahu was a big boy he played with the children of the district. The games in which he engaged were niti (neti, throwing fern-stalks), taa-potaka (whipping-top), and pirori (playing with a hoop) (d), which were the games usually played by Maori boys. When the whipping-top of Maru-tuahu was thrown by his whip to the furthest distance, some of the children were jealous, and said, “This bastard throws his top the furthest,” and thus they treated him at all times. When they played at a game of mamau or taa (wrestling), and he was able to throw his antagonist, they again said, “Bastard, bastard, where is your father?” at which he was ashamed, and went to his mother and asked, “O mother, where is my father?”

She answered, “At Hau-raki.”

He again asked, “Where is that land?”

She answered and said, “Look in the direction of the rising sun.” He understood, and kept her words in his heart; and when he became a man, and had been tattooed, he and his slave went in search of his father, and at each pa on their journey he asked, “Do you know of any body of men who were migrating having passed by this way?”

The people of the first pa of whom they asked this question answered, “There has not any migration of men passed by this way of late, but a migration of Hotu-nui passed here long, long ago.”

He asked, “In what direction did they travel?” The people answered, “They went in the direction of Hau-raki.” He and his slave went on, and at each pa Hotu-nui asked the same question, and was answered, “It is a long time since the migration of Hotu-nui went this way.” Maru-tuahu and his slave went on and arrived at Whare-kawa, where their attention was attracted by seeing some pigeons and tui (Prosthemadera novæ-zelandiæ) congregated in a kohe-kohe (Passiflora tetrandra), up which Maru-tuahu climbed to spear them (d). The name of the locality where this tree stood is Te-haumi (confederacy), and the place where the tree stood is called Te-kohekohe. To this day this tree is still standing in the scrub where it then grew.

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At this time two women were coming in the direction of the spot where Maru-tuahu was spearing birds; these women had come from their home to collect the kiekie (Freycinetia banksii), to make matting for the floor of their house. These women were the two daughters of Rua-hiore, the chief of all that land. These women came by the seaside, inland of which stood the tree in which Maru-tuahu was spearing birds. The women heard the koe-koe cry of a tui which had been speared, and one of them said, “There are men.” The other girl said, “Where can any men come from?—as we two only have left our home to come here.” They became afraid and said, “Perhaps they are men from a distance.” The elder sister went to one side, and the younger went on and saw Maru-tuahu in the tree, but he did not see her. She returned to her elder sister and said, “Let us return home; there is not any man.” They returned to the pa, when the younger sister said, “Not any, not any man is as fine-looking as the one I have seen.” The eldest sister said to her, “Friend, you said, ‘There is not any man.”’ The tribe asked, “Where is that man?” She answered, “He is not far north of our pa.” The father of the two girls said,” Go and invite him to our pa.” The two sisters went back and were seen by the slave of Maru-tuahu going towards them: the slave called up to Maru-tuahu in the tree and said, “There are people coming towards us.” Maru-tuahu descended in a hurry, as he had not any garments on whilst in the tree. When the girls had arrived where Maru-tuahu and his slave were, they said to Maru-tuahu, “Come with us to the pa.” Maru answered, “Yes; you go before us.” The girls went towards the pa, but as they went they disputed as to which of them should have Maru-tuahu as her husband. The elder sister said, “I will have him as my husband.” “No,” replied the younger sister, “I will have him as my husband, as I was the first to see him.” The names of these sisters were: Pare-moehau (the plume of the sleeping wind), the name of the elder; and the name of the younger was Hine-urunga (daughter of the pillow).

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Maru-tuahu and his slave followed the road by which the two sisters had gone, and when they had arrived at the Tarata (hot spring) they left their comb and gourd of oil there in the crevice of a rock; and the name of the rock in the small cave of which they left these things is Ana-kotaha (cave of the dart, arrow, or sling), which is a place where anything might be securely left. This cave exists to this day. Maru-tuahu and his slave went on until they arrived at the pa the name of which is Pu-anoano (dizziness from the effect of looking from a height). That night Maru-tuahu went from the pa to the small cave where he had left his comb and gourd, and washed himself, and anointed his head and adorned it with a rau-kura (red head-dress) [made of feathers: this head-dress is esteemed by the Maori as an adornment of great value], and came back the same night to the pa; and at dawn of day the people looked at him and said, “This man is a chief; his appearance proves it.”

Maru-tuahu asked the people of the pa, “‘What is the name of the sea spread out before us, and what is its generic name?” They answered, “Hau-raki is the generic name, but Ti-kapa (the tii—Cordyline—set in a row) is the name of the sea.” He knew from these names that his father was in this district, and again asked, “Have any people migrated to this district?”

The people asked, “From whence, and what is their name?” Maru-tuahu answered, “I merely ask the question.”

The people said, “There are people of a migration which came here who are now in this district, but it is long since they came here. They are the migration which was led by Hotu-nui.”

Then Maru-tuahu verily knew that his father was in the district, and he went to see his father Hotu-nui, who was living at Whakatiwai. When he came to the pa he climbed up over the palisading, and did not enter by the usual gateway, as he was sacred at this time (d), and entered the house of his father Hotu-nui, who did not then recognise his son. Food was cooked, and, with that for the people, some was brought in a kono (small page 44 basket) for Maru-tuahu and his slave. Maru-tuahu did not go near to the food intended for him and his slave, but waited till Hotu-nui went to partake of that which was intended for him; then Maru-tuahu went and sat down near to the basket of food (kono) of which Hotu-nui was about to partake. Maru-tuahu waited till Hotu-nui put forth his hand to take of the food, and then Maru-tuahu also put forth his hand to take of the same food, but he put his hand over that of Hotu-nui. Hotu-nui was angry because of this act of lifting cooked food over his hand, as his hand was sacred; but Maru-tuahu said, “It is thine [I am your son].” Old Hotu-nui thought that this young man was perhaps the child of his wife, the daughter of Mahanga. When they had sat in silence for some time, Hotu-nui asked Maru-tuahu, “What is your name?”

Maru-tuahu answered, “Did you say to your wife, ‘If after I am gone you have a child, let the child be named in regard to the plot of land I had made into little hills, but which I did not plant’?”

The old man said, “I did say so,” and recognised that this young man was his son, and that his name was Maru-tuahu. He wept over him till evening. When he ceased to weep he said to the people of his pa, “Do not go outside (of your houses), as this is a sacred night; I must perform all the ceremonies and chant all the incantations for the tuahu (baptism) of Maru-tuahu.” The tuahu, in this instance, is the name of a certain ceremony in baptism.

Now, if Hotu-nui had not left Kawhia and gone to Hau-raki, Maru-tuahu would not have followed him, and Hotu-nui would have been there at the time of the birth of Maru-tuahu, when the ceremonies and incantations would have been performed and chanted whilst Maru-tuahu was a child [and his baptism would not have been necessitated when he had become a man].

Maru-tuahu took to wife the two daughters of Rua-hiore, the supreme chief of the Uri-o-pou people, who resided at Whare-kawa, on the western seashore of Hau-raki.

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The names of his wives were Pare-moehau and Hine-urunga, who were the young women who had met Maru-tuahu and his slave, while Maru-tuahu and his companion were spearing birds.

Maru-tuahu lived with his wives at Whakatiwai, where the people who migrated from Kawhia with Hotu-nui resided.

Maru-tuahu asked his father, “O father, do the people, your superiors, act in a kind manner towards you?”

Hotu-nui answered, “O son, these people in the midst of whom we and my followers live do not leave even a crumb in my hand.” He then gave an account of all the evil acts which the people Uri-o-pou had practised on himself and his people. From thenceforth Mara-tuahu determined to test the disposition of the Uri-o-pou people, and thus prove, or disprove, the statements of his father and his father's people in respect of Uri-o-pou. Some time after, Maru-tuahu commanded some of the men of his tribe to go and ask for a few fish from a net which was then being drawn on shore by the Uri-o-pou people. The men sent asked for fish, but were refused and beaten. At the same time they of the net, in reference to Maru-tuahu, said, “Is the flax that grows at O-toi (moist) used to tie your hair up?” [Do you use the flax of the O-toi swamp to tie up your sacred hair, which would make it too sacred for you to use in making nets whereby you could procure fish to eat?] Maru-tuahu was now convinced of the truth of what his father had stated, and ordered all his father's people to cut flax and make nets. All the people worked at net-making; and soon a large net was finished, which they used at Whakatiwai, and caught an abundance of fish at a place called “Karihi-tangata” (men used as the sinkers of a net), but this name is of more modern date, and has become a proverb, the origin of which we shall presently see, as we proceed in this history.

The people of Hotu-nui and Maru-tuahu caught an abundance of fish that they might be able to give a feast to the Uri-o-pou people, in the midst of whom Hotu-nui and his people page 46 were living as dependents. Though they caught a great quantity of fish, what were these for such a numerous tribe as the Uri-o-pou, about whom Hotu-nui said, “Uri-o-pou may not perhaps come to partake of a feast of fish provided for them by such an insignificant tribe as we are, and perhaps all the tribe may not come to our feast, as they will see how poor and insignificant a feast we, who are not a numerous people, are able to provide for them”? But Maru-tuahu said to the people of his father, “Collect the leaves of trees.” The trees the leaves of which he intended were called pukapuka (Brachyglottis repanda), but other tribes call this tree wharangi. The people collected the leaves of this tree till they had more of them than the quantity of fish they had provided for the feast. Now, the fish which these leaves most resemble is the patiki (flounder). These they intermixed with the fish, till they had large whata (stages) piled up to a great height, which, when looked at, appeared to be all fish. Then a house was built to receive the guests, which was eight kumi (kumi, sixty feet) in length [or four hundred and eighty feet]. When this was built the Uri-o-pou people were invited to come and partake of the feast provided for them by the people of Hotu-nui and Maru-tuahu. The tribes who accepted the invitation and came were Uri-o-pou (descendants of Pou—post), Marama (light), and Te-wai-o-taha (the water of Taha—side). The house was quite filled by the guests. The object of this feast was to slay and exterminate all these tribes, and it was given by Maru-tuahu to revenge the insults put on his father by them. These tribes occupied the house one day, and at night the people of Hotu-nui fell on them and slaughtered them all, and burnt the house with all the corpses it contained, and also the food provided as a feast for the people thus slain. Having thus killed all the original occupants of this part of the land, Hotu-nui and his tribe took possession of the district from Whakatiwai even to Rawaki (quite full).

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Some of those of the tribes of Uri-o-pou who escaped fled, and went northward, and took up their abode in the Hoki-anga (returning), amongst the Nga-puhi (the plume). The name of the principal chief of those who escaped was Mara-tea (the cultivation of light-coloured soil). Others who escaped the slaughter of Maru-tuahu were allowed to live in the district, but these were degraded, and made to do the work of vassals, to guard the land and cultivate the crops, which position they hold to this day.

This was the first act of Hotu-nui and Maru-tuahu to exterminate the people of the land, and to take and claim the whole district. The name of this slaughter was “Te-ika-pukapuka” (the fish—dead men—of the Brachyglottis repanda).

Maru-tuahu, his father, and all their people, with his two wives, lived at the Whakatiwai Pa, where the wives of Maru-tuahu bore him children. The eldest sister had the children called Tama-te-po (son of the night), who is the progenitor of the tribe known by the name of Nga-ti-rongo-u (descendants of Rongo-u—true report), and Wha-naunga (related), who is the progenitor of the Nga-ti-wha-naunga Tribe (descendants of Whanaunga), and Tama-te-ra (son of the sun), the progenitor of the Nga-ti-tama-te-ra Tribe (descendants of Tama-te-ra—son of the sun).

The younger sister had Te Ngako (fat) and Tauru-kapakapa (fluttering west-wind). Te Ngako was progenitor of the Nga-ti-maru, descendants of Maru (shade), who to this day occupy Hauraki (the Thames) district. Nga-ti-maru is the generic name of all the tribes, as Whanaunga was descended from Maru-tuahu, but the name of their father was not taken by or given to them (the sons of the elder sister), but assumed by the younger (the son of the younger sister) called Ngako.

Years after the slaughter of Te-ika-pukapuka old Hotu-nui died; at which time the people of Maru-tuahu numbered seventy [one hundred and forty], who lived quietly and in kindness with the descendants of those who had been degraded and kept as slaves by Maru-tuahu. Their principal pa (stockade) was called page 48 Whakatiwai, but Maru-tuahu was the leader of all the vassals who resided in the whole district; and of him all the tribes then occupying the Hau-raki district were afraid (held in awe), especially those tribes who had not been attacked by Maru-tuahu. Thus they lived together till the days when the children of Maru-tuahu grew into men.

Maru-tuahu was a man of great bodily power, and a great cultivator of food; and to this day there are spots of plain country which are said to have been land which he cultivated, and there are now pits, or open pools of water, which are said to have been where he had his pits in which he stored his kumara crops: these pools of water are large and deep, and are on the ridges of high hills, nor does the water of these pits dry up in the driest summer. Among the names of these pits are Te-hunga-o-rewa-tu (the people of Rewa-tu—float upright), Whakatau-toroa (to cause the albatross to alight). The hill on which these two pits are situated is called Puke-rewa (the hill risen up), and is in the O-rua (to become bogged) district, and is a little north of the Government land at Pi-ako (the young bird taught).

The time came when Maru-tuahu died, but his children still occupied the home and land which had been bequeathed to them by their father, Maru-tuahu, and grandfather, Hotu-nui. The sons of Maru-tuahu had now become men; and at that time a new kind of garment was brought into the district, which is called a tatara (loose), which the Nga-puhi call haronga (scraped flax), and which is made of the flax called wharariki (Phormium colensoi). When seen by the people of Maru-tuahu they were much pleased with the flax of which it was made, and asked, “Where does the flax grow of which this mat is made?” The owners of the mat said, “It grows in the Hau-raki district.” This caused the women of Maru-tuahu's tribe to wish for some, and to go and procure it, in order to make such mats for their own use. Five women of the tribe of Maru-tuahu therefore left their home to obtain the flax; the wife of Tauru-kapakapa, called Waenganui, also joined the five.

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These six left Whakatiwai and landed at Wara-hoe (false), a little to the south of the Totara Pa, in the Hau-raki (Thames) district, and there procured the coveted flax.

In these days the old inhabitants of the district, who were numerous, having seen how comely the wife of Tauru-kapa-kapa looked, became possessed of a desire to take her as a wife for one of themselves. Some of the men went to where the women had left their canoe, and there waited till the women returned, and took Waenganui by force, and let her five friends return to their home. These went to Tauru-kapakapa and all his people and said, “Our companion has been taken from us by the tribe called Tu-hukea” (the man who uncovers anything).

Tauru-kapakapa determined to go for his wife, and went along the sea-shore by Rawaki, and passed the mouth of the Pi-ako River, thence in a canoe up the Pi-ako River; and at the Kere-pehi (pressed down) he left the Pi-ako and went up a branch creek of that river, called the Hiku (tail). Having arrived at the Awa-iti (small creek), he stayed in a pa at that place called Matangi-rahi (great land-breeze); from thence he went to the main river Wai-hou and arrived at a place called Rangi-ora (day of recovery), where he again took a canoe and came down the Wai-hou River, towards the locality from which his wife had been taken by the Tu-hukea people.

The people of the Pa Matangi-rahi were of the Nga-ti-hako (descendants of Hako—spoon), under the supreme chief called Wharewharenga-te-rangi (gloomy sky). Some of the people of this tribe escorted him on his journey to obtain his wife. They all went in a canoe, which was carried down the river by the ebb-tide; and when they had come to Hui-rau (cramp) these men said to Tauru-kapakapa, “We are not far from where your wife is kept prisoner,” and he at once sounded his pu-tara (trumpet-shell). This shell is from the ocean, the small end of which is broken off, through which it is blown. If blown by one who had learnt the art, it was a source of great delight to the men of the days of old. When the people of the pa who had page 50 taken his wife heard the blast of that trumpet-shell, they all came out of their houses and sat in the marae (open space of their pa), and listened to the sound from the pu-tara, and asked, “To whom does the pu-tara which we now hear belong (or who is it who is sounding it)?” Waenganui (the wife of Tauru-kapakapa) asked them, “How is the tide? Is it flowing or ebbing?” and was answered by the people, “It is ebbing.” She said, “If the tide were flowing I should have said it is Tauru-kapakapa who is playing on the pu-tara we hear.” The people said, “No doubt he is a fine fellow; and does your husband really know how to play on the pu-tara? How conceited you are of your husband!” For some time they disputed with her, by which time the canoe with Tauru-kapakapa had got to the Pure (perform sacred ceremonies), where he again blew a blast on his pu-tara, which convinced Waenganui that it was her husband who was blowing the signal-shell. The canoe came on and arrived at O-rua-rangi (full-grown animal), where his wife was kept prisoner, when, still sitting in the canoe, Tauru-kapakapa called to the people and said, “Give my wife to me,” and a second time he repeated the same demand, to which the people in answer said, “Bear the pain of the [poisonous] gluten of the [barb of the] whai (sting-ray), which has entered [the wound].” He returned to his home without landing at the pa, and when he arrived at Whakatiwai he informed his people of what he had done, of his demanding his wife, of the detention of her by that people, and of the answer he had received from them when he demanded her restoration to him. His people were sorry for the people who had thus treated him and had still kept his wife from him: at the same time they rejoiced in the fact that the woman had been kept, so that they might have a pretext to attack and kill the people of that side of Hau-raki also.

All the original inhabitants of the Hauraki district agreed not to allow the wife of Tauru-kapakapa to be given up to him, giving as a reason for their determination the attack and slaughter by Maru-tuahu of some of the sub-tribes of the tribe Uri-o-pou.

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The migration, that is, the descendants of Hotu-nui, said, “We have shown our kindly intention in allowing Tauru-kapakapa to go alone and ask for his wife. If she had been given up to him (evil would have been avoided); but now, O tribe of Tu-hukea, you will not escape vengeance;” and the tribe of Hotu-nui determined to exterminate the people who had taken the wife of Tauru-kapakapa.

A war-party was collected by this diminutive tribe, which went into the district of this numerous people. When the people of Hotu had arrived near to the O-rua-rangi Pa they placed surprise-parties in all available positions around the pa; but these were posted on the opposite bank of the river on which the pa stood. These had all been placed without the enemy having seen any signs of their presence. A chief of the tribe of Tauru-kapakapa, called Kai-rangatira (eat the food of a chief), proposed that he should go into the pa all alone and act as spy to the attacking party. Ere he left he said to his people, “After I have left you, do not eat any food or drink any water;” but as soon as he had departed the people disregarded his injunction and partook of food and quenched their thirst, which act caused the spy to become confused and to oversleep himself in the pa. When he awoke in his hiding-place in the pa day had dawned, and all his people were anxiously waiting his return, wondering if he had been discovered by the people of the pa and killed. The spy slept till it was fully light, and when he awoke he heard the echo of the noise made by the fern-root-pounders beating the fern-root for the morning meal; and he also felt the movement of the fishing-nets on which he was lying being pulled from beneath him by those who were going to use them in obtaining fish. He had slept in the house in which nets were kept. When he felt the nets being pulled from beneath him he at once began to repeat [mentally] the Puni (hide, cover up) incantations to bedim (para) the eyes of his enemies, in order that he might escape unrecognised. He then went out of the house in which he had slept, and passed through the midst of page 52 a crowd of his enemies, who saw him, but who imagined he was one of their own people, as their minds were so fully occupied with the thought that they must be in a hurry to put the nets into the canoes and go with them for fear of the tide ebbing so far that the mud on the banks of the river would stay them in their voyage. But some who observed the spy asked, “Who is that man who is going yonder?” to which some of their own people replied, “Where can a stranger come from and be in our midst unknown to us? He about whom you ask is one of ourselves.”

The people of the pa left in their canoes, some to obtain fish with their nets; others to collect the shell-fish called pe-raro (or kuwharu), which are found in the soft mud, and are about three inches in diameter, and have a thin and brittle shell. A few remained behind in the pa to cook and pound fern-root for those who had left, as those who had gone to fish and to collect shell-fish could not return before the tide came in and they could come back in their canoes, on account of the deep mud between the high-water line and the line of low tide. The leaders of the attacking party, Tauru-kapakapa and the spy Kai-rangatira, were fully aware of the fact, as the people of the Pa Matangi-rahi, who had attended Tauru-kapakapa on his visit to get his wife, had informed him of this. In that journey Tauru-kapakapa had asked his companions and hosts, “How do the people of this land obtain food?” They replied, “When there are neap tides (tai tangaroa) the nets of this people are used, as the tides do not run as swiftly than as at spring tides, and the nets are not broken. At such times most of the people of the pa go to fish and collect the pe-raro shell-fish; but, if any do not go, these might look at those who have fish and shell-fish, and want without the power to obtain, in having neglected so to do when they might.” Thus it was that Tauru-kapakapa obtained the information as to how and when he might attack the people of the Orua-rangi Pa. This knowledge led him to wait for the time of neap-tides, when he collected his war-party to attack the pa. Those men who had answered the question of Tauru- page 53 kapakapa were not aware of the object of his question, or of the doom which would fall on the people who had taken his wife, or that the information given in the answer to the question would lead to its consummation.

When the spy Kai-rangatira had returned to his people, the ambush party rose and rushed into Orua-rangi and killed all whom they met, and set fire to the pa. The flames were seen by those who were out fishing, who attempted to come on shore through the deep mud, and escape to the pas of others of their people, thinking that they might escape, as there might not be any enemy in the paths they might take. They left all their canoes and nets; and, when arrived where they could obtain firmer footing, they were met by ambushes of the enemy, who slaughtered them as they fled, and not any escaped; and Waenganui, the wife of Tauru-kapakapa, was restored to her husband. The slaughter was very great, as the district in those days was very thickly inhabited: the people were in numbers like the inhabitants of the O-potiki (the youngest-born) at this day [1860].

When the people of the Orua-rangi Pa had all been killed the Nga-ti-maru took possession of it, and lived there, and allotted amongst themselves all the plots of ground that had been cultivated by the killed. There were many inhabited pas near to the one thus taken, but the inhabitants of these did not come to the rescue or succour of their attacked relatives, but kept quiet, as the fear of the offspring of Maru had come on all the district, for this battle and the battle of the “Ika-pukapuka.” The Nga-ti-maru did not attack any of these pas, as they had not given any cause of offence. And this was the second time that the descendants of Maru slaughtered the original people of the land.

The Nga-ti-maru now lived in quiet with the people of the district, and after two years Kai-rangatira went to Te-puru (the stopper) to visit the various pas which had not been attacked by his people; but the people whom he was visiting said amongst themselves, “This is the man who acted as spy on the Orua-rangi Pa.” However, he went on his journey, and arrived at page 54 Kohanga (nest), the people of which place thought (said), “We must murder this man when he returns, as, in the event of his death, the offspring of Maru will not have a brave leader, as this is he by whom the plan was laid and executed in the attack on Orua-rangi. If we kill him we shall be able to conquer his tribe, and thereby revenge the death of our relatives.” This proposal was agreed to by all the leaders of the people of the various pas, from Tara-rua even to Orua-rangi. Now, these pas were fourteen in number, and when Kai-rangatira had passed most of these stockades the people of them said to the people of the last pa to be visited by Kai-rangatira, “When you see Kai-rangatira returning, send a messenger to inform us of the fact.”

These are the names of those fourteen pas, the people of which agreed to murder Kai-rangatira: Tara-ru (the trembling barb), Tutu-kaka (the perch of the kaka—Nestor productus), Koro-nae (stile), Poro-iti (small block), Totara (Podocarpus totara), Harohanga-kahu (swept over by the kahu— Circus gouldii), Wai-kauri (water of the kauri— Dammara australis), Kopu (stomach), Huru-moimoi (dog-skin mat), Te-puta-te (noise of the battlefield), Nga-hua-hou (first of the crop), Tiki-rahi (great image), Tiki-oko (go to fetch the calabash—gourd), and Oue-puhia (one variety of Phormium tenax—flax—blown by the wind). When Kai-rangatira was seen by the people of all the pas, and was returning, the people of the fourteen pas collected, and went on the road with him to Ku-pata (the drip), where he was attacked by a great crowd, and all attempted to spear him. He parried all their spears in three attempts they made to run him through; but on the fourth attack he fell, impaled by many spears through his body, and when prostrate on the ground he said, “Unaided I had to battle the whole crowd.” The meaning of those words is this: One man cannot stand before the charge of a crowd of people, for who can parry the blow of this one and that one? Kai-rangatira noticed the manner in which he was run through by the people; but before his death he said, “You page 55 kill me; but my people will kill you, and take and possess your land;” after which he was speared to death by this people.

When the Nga-ti-maru heard that all the people, the original occupants of Hau-raki (Thames), had joined in the murder of Kai-rangatira, they sorrowed and wept, and said, “We will not pity or spare you, the occupants of any pa, now, as we thought you would be quiet-living companions and friends in the land which we jointly occupy. We shall nurse our wrath; but you shall become lonely and solitary wanderers.”

Tauru-kapakapa at this time went to the tribe Nga-ti-hako, who had taken him to the Matangi-rahi Pa to obtain his wife, that he might obtain their aid in revenging the death of Kai-rangatira; but this tribe caught and murdered him: thus the Nga-ti-maru were lost in grief by the death and murder of these their two greatest leaders. As Kai-rangatira was the first murdered, vengeance for his death was first sought. A war-party of the Nga-ti-maru attacked all the fourteen before-named pas, and took them in one day, killing most of their occupants. In days gone by Hau-raki was thickly populated, but now man is a solitary creature there by the acts and power of the few of the descendants of Hotu-nui. All these were slain by the warriors of the tribe of Maru-tuahu.

When the original people of the Thames were thus slaughtered by the descendants of Hotu-nui, some of those who escaped fled to Whitianga (crossing), in the Tai-rua (double tide) district, whose descendants still reside there, and are now called Nga-ti-hei (descendants of those who carry a breast-ornament, or carry with them the remembrance of an injury unavenged). Others who were captured in the Thames district were killed; not one taken was spared, because of the evil they had done; but some who had escaped into the forest and had lived there a long time—these, when they returned, were spared to cultivate the land. The descendants of these are kept to do such work to this day. In days of old, if such people as these — page 56 that is, those who escaped the weapons of their enemies in the Hau-raki (Thames) district, but whose power and influence were taken from them—refused to cultivate the soil and grow crops for their conquerors, and obey the commands of their masters, they would be killed; but now, under the new customs [English law], these are not killed, and, knowing this, they are pert, proud, and disobedient.

From these battles for the murder of Kai-rangatira has come this proverb: “Land was taken, and apportioned [to and by the conquerors];” and the original owners of the land have become nothing, and the Nga-ti-maru now own the land, even to this day.

The Nga-ti-maru now turned their attention to the Nga-ti-hako for the murder of Tauru-kapakapa, and fought the battle of Mataii (obtained by artifice), from which Paeko (the beds in a cultivation dug up) and Wharewharenga-te-rangi (cliff of heaven) escaped, and fled to Roto-rua (double lake), Maketu (sick one standing), and Whaka-tane (like a man), where their descendants still live to this day, but have become amalgamated with the sub-tribe of Te-arawa, called Nga-ti-whakaue (descendants of Whaka-ue; propel a canoe with a paddle worked against the tide).

Those who thus slaughtered the original people of Hau-raki (Thames) were in all seventy [one hundred and forty]. But the Nga-ti-maru have ever been few in number, and hence the sentence so often used by their leaders when they address their followers when on a war expedition: “Do not let any of us take note of how few we are, but keep the heart from dread.” Also this is a sentence used by their orators: “We are not few because of disaster, but have been so from the days of our fathers. If the canoe is cut off abruptly at the bow it is well, as it was so left by those of old, and is not of these days” [though few, and abrupt in our actions, we are as our fathers were]. When such speech was made to the people of the Nga-ti-maru they learnt wisdom.