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The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions. Awatea, Taranaki, Nga-Ti-Hau Nga-Ti-Rua-Nui [Vol. VIII, English]

Chapter 27

page (168)

Chapter 27

Oh the shame I feel
That I am single still.
The night in sleep is spent
And day is spent in
Watching, waiting for the dawn
To show on mountain range.
And drowned my memory
In a flood of bitter thoughts
Of acts that were, and deeds now past
That ne'er to me shall come again
I knew a man, who never thought
Or felt affection for his spouse
And even now such still are here
O'er whom I weep till I
Can feel a dimness come
Upon my sight, still I
Have a sparkling star like
Glow within my heart, that
Urges me to go to ……….
Of the Hakanga, to
Weep and sigh o'er thee
Yes thee o Kore, as thou
Has cast me far away,
And cold neglect has driven
This once all endeared
Form so far from thee

page (169)

The battle of Rangi-toenga
(Nga-ti-rangi)

The origin of this Proverb of my ancestor

"Give the food to be eaten
Lest at dawn of day
There be Manga-whero"

and this is that which gave rise to this Proverb of my ancestor.

Rangi-toenga (day of learnings) of the Nga-ti-rangi of the tribe of Kahui-rangi took to wife Hine-kawhia (daughter of Kawhia) of the Nga-ti-awa tribe, but Rangi-toenga had two wives and his other wife was from Tara-naki, and her name was Tane-koraho (made of fair skin). And so the children Rangi-toenga had by Hine-kawhia were these

These sons of these two women by the same father, disputed A black and white diagram showing the children Rangi-toenga had by Hine-kawhia. And those he had by Tane korako were these A black and white diagram showing the children Rangi-toenga had by Tane-korako. with each other in respect to (for possession) of the cultivation called Te-rewa-tapu (the sacred rising).

When the younger brother of Rangi-toenga (the father of these disputants) went out to fish, these men said to their nephews "If you like to make war on each other, do so with your fish only."

So soon as their uncles had gone out to fish, these nephews rose and had a fight with each other in regard to the disputed cultivation, and Nuku-mahu and Tonga-korau rose and had a battle with their fists and Nuku-mahu lay prostrate on the ground by the blows of Tonga-korau, and Nuku-mahu rose from the ground and took a Puriri root (vitex littoralis) page (170)with which he killed Tonga-korau.

Rongomai-rerea went to the tribes Nga-ti-rangi and Nga-i-tawake, to ask them to go and revenge the death of his younger brother Tonga-korau, but these tribes did not agree to do so because they were related to the mother of Nuku-mahu to Hine-kawhia.

Rongomai-rerea then went to the Tara-naki tribes and made the same request to them, that they should come and revenge the death of his younger brother. They consented, and they rose and came in a body from Tara-naki, and they found on their arrival that the Nga-i-tawake had collected a great amount of food at Rewa-tahi (one sail) which had been collected for their own consumption; who when they had heard of the war party of the Tara-naki tribes coming against them, they proposed that they should eat the food they had collected, at once even on the day they had heard the news of the Tara-naki war party going against them, but Nuku-mahu said "Do not eat the food to day, but rather let us eat our food tomorrow". The food they had collected consisted of kiwi (apteryx) Tui (parson bird) Tuna (eel) Kumara (ipomoea batatas) Aruhe (fern root) Paua (haliotis) Kuku (mussel). So this people sat still with their food, and at dawn of the following day, the Tara-naki war party rushed on them and took the Pa (fort) of this waiting people of Nga-i-tawake, and the Pa was taken, the tribe was taken, and all this great collection of food was taken, and this defeat gave rise to the proverb which was uttered by my ancestor viz

"Give the food to be eaten
Lest at dawn of day
There be Manga-whero"

as this Pa and battle were at the Manga-whero (red branch) so the defeat and battle were called "Manga-Whero".

As soon as the Pa (fort) had been taken by the war party from Taranaki, Nuku-mahu ran and climbed up into a tree page (179)and Rongomai-rewa told him to come down, and Nuku-mahu gave him a Paraoa roa (long spear like weapon made of whale bone) which was called Te-pae-o-te-rangi (the ridge of heaven) so that he might kill him Nuku-mahu so he killed him, and those who escaped from the Pa (fort) fled to the forest, and the females Reke-i-tuituia (the heel that went here and there) Korotiwha (spotted in lines) and Tatai-rangi (measure the heaven) a girl: all these were of the Nga-i-tawake tribe and about eighty men of the Nga-ti-rangi tribe with a hundred of the followers of Te-tupe-o-tu (the coming of Tu, god of war) Manu-nui-ki-te-rangi (great bird at heaven) Kare-tu-rangi (ripple standing in heaven) Tawharewhare-o-te-rangi (plunder of heaven) Ngarue-rangi (tremble heaven) Kai-tangi-ika (cry for fish) and Tatai-rangi (measure heaven). When these men heard the distant babbling noise of the Wai-o-ngana (water of the persistent) water, they said to the people (tribe) to lead them to it (then) to which place when they had arrived they built a Pa (fort) at O-maru (the power or protection) where they were attacked by the Tara-naki people, and the tribes of Tara-naki were beaten, by those few who had escaped from the defeat at Manga-whero (red branch).

The people in the Pa (fort) at O-maru spoke with each other, and some said to the others "Who ever said that the people who break fishing rods should stand up and make a speech?" These words were said in derision by some of the people who occupied the Pa at Omaru, to others who occupied the same Pa, and these words were spoken by a man called Ra-kino (evil day) and he spoke these words in the night just as the Pa (fort) at O-maru was attacked at dawn by the Tara-naki tribes when the Tara-naki were beaten, and in the battle or while the Tara-naki tribes were still stoning the Pa, a man called Korotiwha (spotted in stripes) rose and said to his friends "O my younger brothers it is red" (or cease to war now) page (172)so he and his friends left the battle and went away some distance from the battle, and left Ra-kino and his friends to battle with the enemy, as the Ra-kino had uttered the taunt about the broken fishing rods to Korotiwha, so that Ra-kino might feel the force of his being left alone, so Ra-kino and his people were defeated by the Tara-naki tribes, and when Korotiwha saw that Ra-kino and his people had been defeated, he and his followers came back into the fray and again warred with the enemy and he and his people beat the war party and Rongomai-rerea was killed in this affray.

This was the last great battle in which Nga-ti-awa took part.

(155A to follow this)

page (173)

Tama-tea-moiri
(Nga-ti-rua-nui)

Now let me speak about the tribes who owned the land in the Taranaki (retaliating power) district, that is on the south at Kakaramea (red ochre) at Wai-o-ngana (water of Ngana (persist)) at Waha-moko (mouth of the reptile) that is from Kakara-mea up to Wai-o-ngana, belonged to this tribe the Nga-ti-rua-nui, and the land from Wai-o-ngana up to O-take-o (origin of or much food) belonged to the Nga-ti-whare tribe, and the land from O-take-o up to Te-namu (the fly) belonged to Nga-ti-tu-maha-roa and the Ngati-rua-nui had not any claim to nor did they reside on any land at Waha-moko (mouth of the lizard) but in modern times the power of the war weapons in the battles fought the Nga-ti-rua-nui have obtained claims to land at Waha-moko and they have occupied and cultivated land there; and the tribes called Nga-ti-whare and Nga-ti-tu-maha-roa have become extinct like the extinction of the Moa, that is there are not any of the descendants of these tribes which can call them selves by these names at this day, as these tribes have been extinguished by the Nga-ti-rua-nui.

In days of old the Nga-ti-rua-nui resided at Te-ranga-tapu (the sacred body of people) but they had many places of abode, as the people on the coast lived in peace with others and there was not any evil in those days, and the people of one sub tribe did not order the people of another sub tribe from any portion of land they might occupy, so that the sub tribe of Nga-ti-whare lived on land owned by other sub tribes, and the Nga-ti-whare also lived with other of the sub tribes and also partook of the food raised by those sub tribes, and such sub tribes did not order the Nga-ti-whare from these lands.

In those days an old woman of the name of Tama-tea-moiri (fair son lifted up or of fame) lived at Te-ranga-tapu (sacred body of people) with her sons, she was page (174)a sister of the chief Rua-whata (bloom of the food stage) and in the days spoken of she roasted some fern roots and made cakes of them, which she could keep in her storehouse, and partake of when ever she wished for such, and at this time her son went to fish on the coast, and she was still occupied in coating the fern roots and making her cakes of them when some of the members of the Nga-ti-whare tribe came to where she was, who when they saw what she was doing some of them said "Pound, pound some fern roots for cakes, on which as mats you and your offspring can lie." Now these words are a curse, as the mat spoken of in these words, are mats for an oven to cook in, and these words imply that the old woman and her children should be cooked, and the cakes of fern root she was making should be as mats for their bodies to lie on in an oven. The old woman did not say any thing to the remarks made by the men to her, in the curse they uttered. The sons came back from fishing, and she told them what had been said to her by some of the Nga-ti-whare people, so these young men having seen the path by which the Nga-ti-whare had gone from their settlement they went and informed their tribe the Nga-ti-rua-nui of all that had taken place, all that tribe were exceedingly angered by the news and Te-paraha (the flat rope) gathered a war party of the tribe and went and attacked the Nga-ti-whare tribe, and beat them and then followed the refuges and killed them till he came to Te-inaha (so it is) creek, and on the following day he killed the escapers of the day before, having followed them even to O-take-o (origin of food) river when he had arrived at that river he spoke to the Nga-ti-tui-na-ahu-roa and said "Live in peace, we have not any matter of quarrel with you" and he and his war party went back home but asked by the fugitives of the Nga-ti-whare, the tribe Nga-ti-tai-na-ahu-roa joined them with allies from the Tara-naki tribe

(175A is to follow this)

page (175)

and they all fought against the Nga-ti-rua-nui, but were beaten in every battle by the Nga-ti-rua-nui, and the Nga-ti-rua-nui took some of the lands of these tribes they had beaten, even up to Waha-moko (mouth of the lizard) and Te paraha took possession of the district and built forts at Te-taheke (waterfall) at Motu-mate (clump of trees of death) and at Te-kauae and at Te-arihi (the stealing away) and at the mouth of the Wai o kura (red water) river.

The following is the genealogy of Te-paraha, he had Tama-kiwi (son of the apteryx) who had Rongomai-ora (live whale) who had Kohu-ora (perfect hollow) who had Matini who had Nga-tai (the tides), and this brings us to those of today.

(158A to follow this)