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The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions. Te Arawa [Vol. VII, English]

Chapter XII — Landing of the Arawa in these Islands [New Zealand] (Nga-i-te-rangi)

Chapter XII
Landing of the Arawa in these Islands [New Zealand] (Nga-i-te-rangi)

Oh! woe is me! In grief
We vainly nurse our child
In days of long eighth moon.
What can I do for thee?
We still feel bound
By ancient powers of sacredness
And customs taught by those
Thy fathers, ancient lords, and priests,
Who came from other side
In Arawa canoe, and landed here.
Thy ancestors will not depart;
[Their customs, usages, and powers]
Will not submit to change
In one short day, nor can
The dawn of day succeed
The rising sun. But we
Were cursed, as Tau-hu said,
That we two must be
Cooked by fire in steam
That Whiro (god of evil)
Might depart at once,
And leave the daylight
World all free to us.
How beautiful thy skin!
How noble is thy form!
But, oh! my bright greenstone
Has gone – been taken in
The battle-strife of gods,
That evils of the past
Might to the surface come,
And there be seen by all.
Oh! now I see the corpse
And skeleton, and this alone
Is left by death to me.

War was the cause of the Arawa leaving Hawa-iki. Some of the ancient men say that the tree out of which the Arawa was made was a large tree; but the wood out of which the Arawa was constructed was a branch of a tree.

Those for whom the Arawa was made were called Hou (plume of feathers), Hei (breast-ornament), Tia (mistake one thing for another), and Tama-te-kapua (son of the cloud) [perhaps from the fact that he ofttimes walked on stilts], and these chiefs and their wives and people came in the Arawa.

When the time arrived that this canoe, the Arawa, should sail away from Hawa-iki the people assembled and sought for a priest for the canoe, so that the priest might repeat the ceremonies over the people of the canoe while they were out on the sea; so it was proposed to go and fetch a priest called Nga-toro-i-rangi (stretch forth towards the heaven, or search in the heaven), and his wife called Kea-roa (long influenza), so that the priest could perform the ceremonies for the male part of the people, and the priestess those for the female part of the crew – that is, the ceremonies and customs performed for the female line of ancestors and goddesses.

Some tribes say that these two were of the crew of the Tai-nui migration, and that they wished to go on board of that canoe, but through the deceit of Tama-te-kapua they were decoyed on board of the Arawa, and brought here in her to these islands [New Zealand].

When Nga-toro-i-rangi and his wife Kea-roa had been got on board of the Arawa, the canoe sailed over the sea towards these islands, and landed at Whanga-paraoa (harbour of the whale), where Tai-ninihi (the tide that moves stealthily away) took the plume out of the hair of his head and threw it into the sea, as he had seen the red flowers of the pohutukawa (Metrosideros tomentosa) on shore. The plume floated on the sea, and was cast up on the beach, and was found by Mahina (the moon); and hence the proverb, "The plume cast on shore [and possessed] by Mahina" – that is, the plume found by Mahina on the sea-coast.

The crew of the Arawa had been overtaken by evil even while they were sailing across the sea. Before they had landed on these islands [of New Zealand] Kea-roa, the wife of Nga-toro-i-rangi, had been seduced by Tama-te-kapua, at which her husband was exceedingly angry, and he performed the ceremonies and chanted the incantations that the Arawa might be swallowed by the sea. The canoe was partly engulfed in the throat of the Parata (the god in the ocean whose breath, inhaling and exhaling, causes the tides, the flood and the ebb), which caused the crew to cry out in dread, and say "O Toro! (Nga-toro-i-rangi) the pillow of page (27)Kea-roa has fallen." This, of course, took place as the canoe went down head first, and the pillow dropped from the place on which it usually lay; and when Nga-toro-i-rangi heard this voice of dread of the people he felt sorrow for them, and chanted his incantation that the Arawa might be drawn back out of the throat of the Parata. These were the words of his incantation:—

Pull out the sacred post
Of the first god of the whale,
Of the distant god, the whale,
That the voice of Nga-toro-i-rangi
The determined may be heard
At the first post,
At the inner post,
At the outer post,
And descend, descend
From your Hara
{From the reputation of your sin)
And pull the Hara
Out from the Arawa,
Even when the dreaded foam
Of the Parata is seen.
But, come up, come up,
Come up, Tanga-roa
(God of the ocean);
Come up, move on,
Collect in a heap,
And dare the gods.
Come up, come up.

And by the power of this incantation the Arawa came back with her crew out of the throat of the Parata to this world of life, and health, and light; and when the canoe was again rightly afloat she sailed on, and landed at Whanga-paraoa (harbour of the whale), and from thence she went to the island Ao-tea (daylight), from thence she sailed to Moe-hau (sacred ceremonies not performed, or gifts intended for the gods not presented, or sacrifices duly given with all the sacred ceremonies to the gods), from thence she sailed into Hau-raki (calm wind), from thence she sailed to the island called Repanga, at Ahuahu (Mercury Island), where Nga-toro-i-rangi let loose the tame pets, the two birds. These were his pet birds which he had brought from Hawa-iki: Takere-to (drag the foundation) was the name of one, and Mumu-hau (murmur of the breeze) the name of the other; they were male and female. The canoe sailed away from Ahuahu, and went toward Katikati (nibble), where they landed at a place called Te-ranga-a-tai-kehu (the placing the people of Tai-kehu – red tide – in a row), where the canoe was anchored, and where they saw people who had come in the canoe Tai-nui, which canoe had come from Hawa-iki, and had landed at Whanga-paraoa, where she had lain at anchor. She had also lain at anchor at the Ranga-a-tai-kehu; and hence some of the old men say that Tai-nui was the canoe some of the crew of which were the first to land at Tauranga. Another canoe, the name of which was Mata-atua (face of a god), also came from Hawa-iki, and landed at Whaka-tane (like a man), the crew of which had taken the land there.

We will revert to the account of the Tai-nui canoe. Rau-mati was the navigator of the canoe, and he and his family tribe had been left by the Tai-nui canoe at Tauranga, where they had taken up their abode.

The Arawa had sailed for the Ranga-a-tai-kehu, and had gone to Maunga-nui (great mountain – on the east side of Tauranga harbour), which district was taken possession of by Tu-taua-roa (Tu of the long war-party) where he and his tribe stayed and took possession.

The Arawa sailed again, and landed at Wai-rakei (beautiful water), where the crew rested for the night; and on the following morning they sailed away, and landed at Maketu (ridge of the nose), where the canoe was dragged on shore, and into the river the crew cast the anchors of the Arawa, which were made of stone. Toka-parore (sometimes called bream, or mangrove-fish, or rock of the parore) was the name of one, and Tu-te-rangi-haruru (the uplifted heaven of booming noise) the name of the other: Toka-parore was the anchor of the bow, and Tu-te-rangi-haruru that of the stern. So the Arawa was hauled on shore at Maketu, and left there.

Nga-toro-i-rangi stayed on shore, as also did Tama-te-kapua, and Hei, and Tia, and Wai-nui-taha (side of the great water), the son of Hei, and Tapu-ika-nui (great sacred fish or corpses). Some call this last man by the name of Tai-pui(pua)-ka-nui (great round heaps of clouds): he was the son of Tia.

When Rau-mati had heard that the Arawa had been drawn up on shore at Maketu, he and his people went to Maketu that they might burn the Arawa and consume her with fire; so Rau-mati burnt the Arawa, and she was consumed by fire.

When the people, the parents and elder brothers of Ha-tu-patu (breath of the uplifted weapon), had heard of the Arawa having been consumed by fire, they all wept for the loss of the canoe; and the father of Ha-tu-patu rose and made a speech to his sons, and said to Ha-nui (great breath), Ha-roa (long breath), and Ka-rika (uneasy), "O my offspring! if these had been the days of my youthful power, and when I was a youth, I would not have taken long to obtain satisfaction for the burning of your so-much-revered canoe the Arawa." When Ha-tu-patu heard these words he resolved in himself that he would kill Rau-mati in payment for the burning of the Arawa; and he and his associates went to Maketu. When Ha-tu-patu was near to where Rau-mati was staying, he sent a messenger to spy where Rau-mati was; and when he knew where Rau-mati was staying, he took his own war-belt and his red war-apron, and repeated an incantation over them as he was putting them on himself. He chanted and sang:—

Give me my belt
To bind it round me;
Give my girdle to me
That I may draw it on me;
Give me my war-apron
To make my look noble.
The war-apron is for the battle;
The war-apron is for the contention.
An apron for battle-rage
Is the war-apron of Tu!
(The god of war and battle).
My war-apron, O Tu!
Tu of the world,
Tu of the heavens,
Tu of the earth,
The very god of war.
O my war-apron!
Tu the enraged,
Tu the furious,
Tu of the inciting eye,
Tu the snarer,
Tu the lord of the sea.
But my apron,
My apron is of Tu,
page (28) Tu the warrior-eater,
Tu the eater of man.
Give my apron to me,
To clothe me with,
To put my apron on –
The apron of Tu.
Tu does move;
Tu does jump,
Tu does walk,
Tu does rise-
Does rise at dawn,
As the day dawns
In the dawn of this battle,
In the dawn of this blow,
In the dawn of power,
In the dawn of priests,
In the dawn of this son-
Of me, of this disciple.

When he had ended his incantation for his maro (war-belt or apron), he then chanted the words for his maipi – that is, for his tai-aha (tide of the breath) or hani. He took his maipi in his hand and chanted and sang,-

Oh! now is the weapon
Held to give a blow.
The weapon of whom?
The weapon of Hapai.
The weapon of whom?
The weapon of Toa,
The weapon of Tu,
Tu the angry,
Tu the contender,
And of you all-
Of the origin of things,
Of the gods,
Of the priests,
Of the disciples,
And of the gods-
The gods who intervene,
To be given to me,
To this son,
To this disciple,

He then called on the gods of the Po (darkness or spirit world) and of the Ao (world of light) (d), and said,-

Oh sirs! oh!
Give to this weapon
To cut and slash,
To tear and rend,
A fish [corpses] to slash,
A fish to rend,
A fish to fall,
To fall towards me
Without apparent force;
And death by this weapon,
Given downwards,
Descending downwards;
The fish to the Po (darkness),
Given downwards,
Descending downwards;
The fish to the Reinga (world of spirits),
I go by the path upwards,
You go by the path downwards.
And may the hairs of my body
Grow on your head,
And your head be given
To me, to me,
To this son,
To this priest,
To this disciple.

Then the war-party of Ha-tu-patu rushed on Raumati, and a battle ensued and Raumati was killed by Ha-tu-patu, and Ha-tu-patu took the head of Raumati and went back to Roto-rua (two lakes). And one of the associates of Ha-tu-patu rose and chanted a pioi (a song sung while brandishing or flourishing a weapon of war), and sang,-

The tide of the sea is swift.

page (29)

And his friends took up the song, and sang,-

Oh sin! our day.

The friend of Ha-tu-patu again chanted and said,-

O our day! wring them out.

The people then sang and said,-

Pioi e, pioi e
(Chant the song, and brandish the weapon).

The friend of Ha-tu-patu sang,-

The eye that was shut.

The people sang,-

The eye that saw much.

He chanted,-

O sin! our day.

The people sang,-

Ha-nui, Ha-roa, and Karika
Are powerful in the tide of the sea.

He chanted and sang,-

O sin! our day.

The people chanted,-

O sin! our day. Shut it, shut it.

Ha-tu-patu and his followers were chanting and brandishing their weapons as they danced towards the settlement, and the people at the place listened to the words of the song they were chanting. As soon as the chant was ended, and Ha-tu-patu and his friends had sat down, the father of Ha-tu-patu rose and threw his garments from him, casting them aside, and rushed into the water of the Lake Roto-rua, and when he had got into it he waved with his hands and, shouting with his voice, chanted this incantation:—

Come from the land, come from the sea,
Great company of Tu (the god of war);
Come from the seeking,
Come from exploring,
Come from the search,
Great company of Tu.
Tu possessed, Tu delighted, Tu calmed, O-i!
Calmed as the calm of the great heaven now beheld,
Which is possessed, delighted, calmed, and action taken,
By the company, the great company of Tu.

When the old man had ceased to chant his incantation, whilst he waved his weapon to and fro, the war-party went to the water, where they were subjected to the ceremonies, and where incantations were chanted over them by the father of Ha-tu-patu, that they might be free from the sacredness which would otherwise be on them on account of their having shed the blood of man at Tauranga. This having been performed, the war-party came out of the water, and went to the settlement and rested.

Some tribes say that Raumati was pursued by Ha-tu-patu to the mouth of the Tauranga River, where Ha-tu-patu and his people had a battle with Raumati and his people, and that Raumati was killed at that place, and his head – that is, his skull – was hung up on a post by the people of Ha-tu-patu, and hence that place was called Panepane (head or skull), by which name it has ever been known to this day.

The descendants of those who came over in the Arawa began to disperse: some went to live at Maketu, some went to Roto-rua, and some went as far as Whanga-nui (great harbour); and the son of Tapu-nui-a-tia (great sacredness of Tia), who was called Maka-hae (wild loathing), resided at Maketu, and in the seventeenth generation after him the chief Puku-atua (possessed of a god) was living.

Another canoe came from Hawa-iki and landed at Whaka-tane (like a man) (d). This canoe was called Te-mate-atua (death or sickness of a god) or Mata-atua (face of a god); and when the descendants of those who came in her became numerous they called themselves Nga-i-te-rangi (descendants of Rangi).

When the Mata-atua landed at Whaka-tane her people went on and took up their abode at O-potiki (place of the young child), where their descendants are still in occupation to this day, and are now called Te-whakatohea (cause to persist) and Uri-wera (the burnt descendants). When the descendants of those who came over in this canoe increased and became many, they strove with the descendants of those who came over in the Arawa, who occupied the land on the sea-coast from Te-tauranga-a-te-arawa (the anchorage of the Arawa) even to Maketu. The Mata-atua people did battle with these Arawa, and at last they compelled the Arawa to go inland to the Roto-rua district, and leave the whole coast from Tauranga to Maketu for their conquerors. So the Arawa who occupied the coast left their homes and went to reside with the other Arawa at Roto-rua, where they resided till the days when Europeans were seen in these islands. The lands on the coast were held by the Nga-i-te-rangi, but in later days some of the Arawa from Roto-rua went back to live on the lands on the coast near Maketu, and even at the old place called Maketu. Here they were attacked by the Wai-kato and Nga-i-te-rangi in the old Maketu pa called the Tumu (headland), which pa was taken; and through this the Arawa again took the lands they had lost in old days – the lands which were taken from them by the descendants of those who came in the canoe Mata-atua, and the Arawa hold these lands to this day.