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A Song of Prophecy.
(Mata.)

This chant is an example of a class of song called mata, a supernatural vision, a prophecy chanted by a priest. It was a seer’s chant uttered on the west coast of what is now Wellington Province, just before the great Rauparaha’s war-canoe invasion of the South Island, and his capture of Kaiapohia (Kaiapoi) Pa, 1830. The seer was Kukurarangi, of the Atiawa tribe. Standing forth on the marae before the assembled warriors, the tohunga chanted:—

He aha te hau e pa mai nei?
He uru, he tonga, he parara.
Ko nga hau tangi rua—e!
E tu ki te rae o Omere^* ra
Ka kite koe, e Raha,
I te ahi papakura ki Kaiapohia.
Ma te ihu waka, ma te ngakau hoe,
A ka taupoki te riu
O te Waka-a-Maui^†
Te raro ra! Below there!
Tukitukia ha! Rerea ha! Kopekopea ha!
Taku pokai tarapunga Fly through the seas!
E tu ki te muriwai ki Waipara ra—
Hi—ha!
Ka whakapae te riri ki tua, ho—o—o!

[Translation.]

What wind is this that blows upon me?
The West? The South? ’Tis the Eastern breeze.
Stand on the brow of Omere hill
And you will see, O Rauparaha,
The glare of the blazing sky at Kaiapohia!
By the bow of the canoe, by the handle of the paddle,
The Canoe of Maui shall be overturned
Then paddle fiercely!
Deeply plunge your paddles!
See my flock of seabirds
In the quiet waters of Waipara!
Hi—ha!
Beyond that spot will rage the fight!