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Revenge: A Love Tale of the Mount Eden Tribe

Chapter Nine: The Mystery of Atua

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Chapter Nine: The Mystery of Atua

Maro has broken off his story as night falls. A dispute arises in the whare matoro and Atua disappears. Tata mourns the loss of bis brother and search is made for him, but in vain. A meeting of chiefs is called and after discussion they decide to leave the matter to the will of the gods. Offerings are made to the gods and the tapu removed. Maro tells Puhi some discreditable episodes of Atua's youth.

That night the young people had their evening's amusement in the whare matoro. The old people were occupied with a tale of some of the great chiefs of olden times, and a dispute arose about some point of ancient history, in which Atua took a leading part. As his version of the point in dispute was questioned by some of the older men, Atua got very angry and was heard to mutter to himself. Then he rose and left the house.

Day dawned and the morning meal was cooked. As each family and company of men sat down on the marae around the food which had been set out for them, it was noticed that Atua had not come to take the special food prepared for him. This food was always placed by itself at some distance from the others, and on the east end of the marae, so that he was a conspicuous figure, and his absence was noticed at once. When the people had eaten their repast, Atua's food remained untouched.

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When Atua's absence was noticed, a profound silence fell on the people. Some of the old chiefs could be seen looking now and again at the kai 1 placed for Atua.

As is the custom, the young women came to take the baskets out of which the people had eaten their food, so that they might throw them on the tuahu. As Atua's basket was untouched, none of the girls could muster up courage to handle it, but each, as she passed it, showed signs of dread, and dared not go too close, so it was left on the marae.

The sun had not ascended far above the Wairoa range, and it was time for those who attended to the kumara plantations to go to their work. Usually there was a great noise and bustle, each party collecting their implements and proceeding on the way to their work. Now they rose in silence and left the marae as if each was the only one there.

The old chiefs remained in silence, nor did any of them rise and speak, though they were the leaders of the people. They had the right to allot any portion of land occupied by the kumara to any family or hapu, but this day none of them gave orders. Now and then their eyes would turn to the gates of the pa, and to the roads which lead up to them, as if expecting someone to enter or be seen coming up the paths.

Atua had never taken a wife as he was of the ariki priests who have the power to make and stay war, and who cannot marry. There was no child or wife to ask for him, none who could speak of him as father or husband.

When the sun had set, and the kakarauri 2 came over the pa and hid the scenery from view, the smoke page 154Black and white fascimile page image of the hangi did not as usual ascend to the sky. In the dim light of the moon the forms of some of the young people could be seen issuing from the pa, and directing their footsteps in different directions. The moon was shining full on the pa and the surrounding country when the messengers were seen coming back. As they came up the paths leading to the marae, they went and sat at some distance from the old chiefs. All was still; not a breeze fanned the leaves of the trees.

They had sat in silence for some time when Tata, the priest of Popo's family, and the younger brother of Atua, was seen to rise. He coughed two or three times. Those who composed the audience—the old chiefs of the Mount Eden tribe and those who had been on the secret mission—did not move or look at him.

Tata looked at the moon for some time and, extending his two arms, he waved them to and fro in front of him. At the same time he began to weep. Between his sobs, he cried, "O moon! O moon! All our great men have looked at you, and all our people have seen Rona and his calabash and the ngaio tree on your face.3 We have seen you come and go. Old men and women have sung their songs to you, and about you. O moon, you die and live again. Man, when he disappears on earth, is lost. You die in darkness but come back in light. Why does not man do the same?"

Then turning round and looking, first on the old people, and then on the men and women messengers, he said, "O Atua, where are you? I know the incantations which can cure the sick, heal the wounded, calm the sea, stay the storm, but who knows the ceremony page 155Black and white fascimile page image which can tell as where to find Atua?"

Moving his left hand over his eyes, he dashed the tears from his face and said, "O you who have been sent, I will ask you each what you saw at the pa you visited."

As the moon slowly crossed the starlit sky, and the shadows lengthened and changed and moved silently across the pa, the messengers told the tale of their enquiry and search in the neighbouring pa. While they spoke, the chiefs listened, silent and motionless, and from the whare there came no sound of life. Only the occasional staccato demands and questions of Tata and the melodious tones of the messengers rose on the cool night air to break that all-pervading silence. When they had all spoken and no clue to the disappearance of Atua had been discovered, Tata came out into the middle of the marae. He wore a dirty, worn-out mat tied round his waist as a maro. Passing up and down the marae, he said, "These are my words, O chiefs; you have heard the words of the messengers. It is not my part to dictate to you. You are the pukorero 4 of our tribe. Not only is mine the pain for the absence of my brother, Atua, but the same darkness broods over you all. What am I that I should speak now? You know why Atua has gone away. Mine was not the knowledge to entitle me to contradict him disputing the traditions of our people. Let those who are the pukorero say why Atua is not here."

Tata was about to continue his speech when an old chief who had lost an eye in battle rose. This man, when a young chief, had taken a fine-looking young woman as his slave, intending to make her his wife. While in the act of holding her by the hand, she, being a powerful woman, had tipped him up, and while he was prostrate on the ground, she had gouged out his page 156Black and white fascimile page image eye with her thumb. This had taken place while he was young, but it had not in any way made him less impulsive. On the contrary, since that day, not only had he rebelled against constraint of any kind, but he had married the woman who had robbed him of his eye, and had taken nine other wives.

Jumping up from where he was sitting, he came to where Tata was standing and said, "Sit down, young man! I have seen more die and live again than you have. Atua was your elder brother; your father and mother were his also; but in knowledge he was not our elder brother. If we know all that he knew, why should we hold our tongue in his presence when he is not rehearsing our history correctly? Look at my head, and then look at the heads of those chiefs who have sat all day waiting for your brother. Say if you can see, even in the light of the moon, the colour of old age on our heads. You know that we are the teachers of the young men of our hapu—that it is for us to teach the history of the past. Do ignorant people know how to act correctly? Does ignorance give men the power to discriminate between right and wrong if disputes arise in our pa? The knowledge of the past teaches us all whom we are and what rank we hold in relation to the gods; and all the power we wield is gained from being taught correctly by our learned fathers. Then why, if Atua has spoken what we do not admit to be the true history of our people, why, I ask, are we not to be allowed to correct him? Atua is a proud man. Then, for fear of hurting his pride, are we to allow our young people to learn incorrectly the history which in future will be their guide in the settlement of disputes? No, O Tata, no! We all know that if we, as the pukorero, teach what is not right, or we commit a pakewa, it is an omen of evil and of death to him who so far has lost page 157Black and white fascimile page image his memory.5 Atua is not here. Why, I ask? It may be that he has been led by his pakewa to go to the other world! My words are ended."

A grandson of old Manu said, "Hearken, O fathers, to my words. As Atua is not here, let our old men be called, and let us hear what they say. Let us hear the point at dispute which so enraged Atua. You all know or have heard of the days when Popo was a young man, and of the trouble that was caused by the mat which was taken and, through Tihe's influence, used to cause his death. You must all remember how long Popo was a moho-ao 6 and what pain we all felt for him whilst he wandered in the woods at Titirangi. Cease, O Tata, to bring any cause of evil on your people. Let the words of my grandmother Mihi Rangi be the guide of your deliberations, and let the absence of Atua be spoken of in clear light. Let the men who have seen and who know the darkness of strife be those who shall speak to us. My word to you, O old men, is to let me send for the old men of the different pa, and let them only come here and listen to what has been said. Then they shall say if Atua, or those who contradicted him, are right. I will not say any more."

A whisper was heard amongst the old men, and then with one voice they said, "Yes, O child of Mihi, your word is the word of life to our people. Let messengers be sent by you to ask the very old chiefs of the various pa to come here. Let none but the very old men come, and we will be here to speak. Tata can be the upoko 7 of the pukorero."

"Yes," said one of the oldest of them, "let them arrive, let not anyone powhiri 8 to them. Let not any page 158Black and white fascimile page image food be cooked in this pa on the day we hold our runanga 9 ; and let those who come, and let those who are here, not eat till we have settled the question mooted by Tata."

The next evening, at midnight, one solitary person could have been seen standing in the middle of the marae. It was the grandson of Mihi Rangi. He called with a loud, deep voice, the voice of old age, hollow, yet deep and full. "We weep for those who die, we sorrow for those who are not here, yet we love those who are with us. How can man live unless he eat? We have sat in silence all this day. Even our children have forgotten their games. How can we say that we are brave if our children starve? We are only great in that degree to which we can see our marae filled with children. Birds are only beautiful by reason of the fine feathers they have; trees are only good by reason of the fruit they yield; and we are only great when our tribe is increasing in number. If we meet our enemies in battle, how are we to stem the tide of Tu10 if our children are but a poor skeleton of puny men? Rise, I say, O you who cook food for the tribe, and let us eat. The full stomach has more to do with the power of a man's arm for war, and offers more light to the heart when in grief than all the tears and weeping, and all the cutting with tuhua 11 that a whole tribe can do. Rise, I say, as our mother Mihi Rangi would have commanded if she were here, and cook food for the young and for the aged. If any of our people like to whakatiki, 12 let them do so, but as no tapu has yet been put on our storehouses, open the doors and let us act. We shall hear page 159Black and white fascimile page image and see enough when the sun shines again to make us sorrowful. Rise, I say, and cook the food."

"Yes, O people," Tata replied, "cook that which will keep us alive, but let the women and girls keep still. Let the men cook what we are to eat. We know not what has become of Atua; it may be evil, it may be good. Let the men cook the food that the gods may not contend against us. Man is of the line of elder brothers—he is of the gods, but woman is not.13 Let the men cook the food, as all food is of the offspring of the younger brother of the god of man."14

The young men, together with a few of the older ones, came out of their houses, and the hangi were lit, but only fish and nani were cooked in them. Not a kumara was seen in all the kauta 15 of the pa. As soon as the hangi containing the fish and nani were poki, 16 other fires were lit and the young men sat round in a ring, each with a bundle of roi 17 at his side. This roi had been dipped into water a little while before, so that when it had been roasted, the subsequent pounding would cause the mealy part to fly away. The roi was placed in the fire and turned over and over to cook it properly, and when it was cooked, it was laid on a round stone and pounded with the paoi. 18 When five or six pieces of roi had thus been cooked and beaten, they were put together and beaten into one, which made a cake about the size of a man's fist. As the fish and nani took page 160Black and white fascimile page image some time to cook, and as there were ten or more fires at which the roi was being roasted with about forty young men to cook and pound it, the old men made flax baskets, in which the roi cakes were collected. As soon as the fish was done, sufficient roi had been cooked to afford a cake for everyone in the pa.

They assembled on the marae, and in silence received their portions of roi from the old men who, basket in hand, went round and laid before each one a cake. The fish and nani were placed here and there on the marae, so that four or more sat down before one basket to partake of the midnight repast. When the meal was over, the young men collected the paro and threw them on the tuahu.

Day was beginning to dawn when the grandson of Mihi Rangi lifted up his voice. He was the first to break the silence. "Come, O sun, and shine on all our people. You are kind to us all, we are warmed by you. Let me speak to our people while you are still below the pae, 19 so that when you look at us, our people may have your light to do their work. O our young men of swift feet, go to our pa and say, 'The old chief of this pa, Maunga-whau, asks the head chief only of each pa to come here to-day. We wish them to hear our words which will be spoken on the night when the sun of this day has gone to the west. Go, O young men, go!"

In a little while a young man came out and, putting his hands to his lips, gave a shrill whistle which sounded the words, "Kopere, kopere taua!" 20 The shrill sound of the notes had not died away before the young men, dressed in various kinds of mats, came out from the houses facing the marae. No one had more than one mat on his shoulders. As soon as the young man page 161Black and white fascimile page image who had given the signal saw that there was a messenger for each of the pa to which, on a former occasion, Tata had sent a message, he turned and went out of the gate which leads towards the north and Came down to the spring of water on the level ground. Here he stood and repeated to his companions the names of the pa they were to visit. As he named each pa, one of the young men would leave, until at last they had all departed.

None of the messengers held anything in his hand, and, save the mat thrown over his shoulder, carried no ornament of any description. On arrival at the various pa, they went at once to the middle of the marae, and called, "I come, I come. The word is from an old man of Maunga-whau. O old chief of this pa, you and you alone are to come this day to our pa. This night your word is to be heard in our pa." Each of the runners proclaimed the same message in the same words. As soon as he had spoken he left the pa without another word and came back to Maunga-whau, where he put off his mat, reclothed himself in his ordinary garments, and associated with the people.

The house where the old people amused themselves in the evenings was cleared out by the young men, new fern spread over the floor and mats laid over the fern at the upper or west end of the house. All the doors of the whare matoro, the stranger's house, and the principal houses of the pa faced the east, and were built thus so that the verandahs could be used by those who came out at dawn to feel the warmth of the morning sun.

In the evening the young men made kapara 21 for the house where the old people were to assemble. Soon the old chiefs began to enter the pa. Some of them were page 162Black and white fascimile page image very old men. They entered the whare ariki and, sitting on the mats placed there for them, they leaned their staffs against the side of the house, near where they were sitting. As they were the head chiefs and had come to the age when man needs a help on the road, nearly every one had a staff. It was the medium through which they consulted their gods. They placed them close to where they were resting as an indication of their presence and tapu, which none of the common people dared approach. These staffs were not made of the wood from which the ordinary weapons of war were fashioned, but of rimu, 22 koroi, 23 or even in some cases of matai, 24 and each had a knob at the top. Nor were they made straight like the tao 25 but were cut so as to form a zigzag or serpentine form. As these were staffs of peace, the form was different to the straight tao of war, as also was the timber of which they were made.

Each chief sat in the whare ariki, and by dusk they had all arrived. Two of the kapara were lit, and Tata and the old chiefs of Mount Eden entered the house. The torches were stuck up in the spaces between the two parties.

Mihi's grandson rose and said, "O fathers, welcome! You have come to talk over our darkness. Welcome!" He sat down, and silence reigned for some time. Again he rose and said, "O our old men, are all the chiefs here who were here on the night Atua left us?"

An old chief said, "Yes, we are all here."

"Then mine are the words to which the old men shall listen. Men have two ears and two eyes, yet only page 163Black and white fascimile page image one heart. Let your ears and eyes hear and see what we shall hear and see this night; then say what you shall say. Hearken, O my fathers I Not many nights since, we were in this house talking, some about one part of our history and some about another. As we talked together in groups we could hear the voice of Atua rising above all the others. At last one of the chiefs said, 'Aheiha? 26 At the same time four other chiefs who were in a group with him and Atua burst into a loud laugh. We all looked round, as Atua said loudly, This is my word. Tainui did not cross this portage.'

" Then,' said one of the others, 'why do our older chiefs say that the karaka which now grow at Awhitu are the paddles of some of the crew of Tainui ?'

"Atua replied, 'How could Tainui pass over this portage at Otahuhu, seeing Manuka is a lake? Do you not see, and have you not seen in days gone by, the island which extends from Paratutau far out to sea, where our old men set the kumara? Where is the road for a canoe to pass out?"

" 'Yes,' said another, 'true, if a canoe had not legs lent to it. If a canoe had to walk of its own accord! But our people who came over in Tainui dragged her over the sandbank at the island you speak about.'

"Atua again asked, Then what do our people say about Tohora-nui, the heap of stones on the coast beyond Tokenau, not far from Whangaroa, which were placed there by the sailors of Tainui? Those stones were put there so as to form a figure like to a tohora. 27 If Tainui had come over the portage at Otahuhu, how could she have been at the mouth near to Manga-nui?'

" 'In the same way,' said another chief, 'in which a canoe can go along the coast and then come back.'

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" 'Yes,' said all the other chiefs, 'you are right and Atua is wrong.'

"Atua rose and said, 'We shall see when we talk to the old men in the Reinga.' Having said this, he went out of the house. We have not seen him in this pa since, O our fathers. We have sent our messengers to ask if Atua was at any one of the pa you occupy, but he has not been seen. That is all I have to say."

One of the old chiefs asked, "Is that all you wish to say? If you tell us all, then we can tell you what our words are."

For some time no one answered. Then Tata was seen to move to and fro, and finally he lay down full-length on the ground. One of the nearby chiefs said, "If Tata wishes to speak, let us hear what his words are." Tata did not reply, so the last chief to speak said, "I was one of those who disputed the words of Atua. Why should I believe what Atua said? We all know that Tainui left her anchor near the mouth of the Piako in the Thames. As that anchor was brought from Hawaiki, would the people dare to go along the west coast without her sacred anchor? All things which come from Hawaiki are sacred, and having come from the land of the gods, that anchor would be better able to hold Tainui than any stone which might have been obtained in this land. Let my words cease here."

Another old man of the same party said, "I also laughed at the words of Atua. Atua was no older than I. I can remember when he was a boy. I was a young man then and sat in the whare ariki while he was still a boy. I had been there to knock the ashes off the kapara, as the two young men are doing here to-night. It was then I heard the history of our coming to this land, and I say, why should Atua turn sulky when we, who are older than he, dispute the knowledge of the page 165Black and white fascimile page image past ? I ask you, O old chiefs, did one of our ancestors who lived at Kawhia steal the kumara from the rua of his neighbour, and did the blame fall on the thief? Who does not know that ,Hotu-nui was blamed, and that he left Kawhia and came to the Thames? Did anyone call a meeting so that the thief might be known and punished? No, our ancestor was blamed though he was not the thief. He was so ashamed at the theft being blamed on him, that he left his wife and young child that was yet to be born and came to Hauraki. Who knows for certain to this day who stole the kumara for which Hotu-nui was blamed ? Some chiefs tell this part of our history and say that our ancestor was the thief, others state that he was falsely blamed. Then why should we be silent in regard to where Tai-nui had sailed if we heard a different account from Atua's? But I say we did wrong to laugh at Atua, because he is our priest. Our laughing at his words was the evil of our conduct." The old man sat down.

Another chief rose and said, "I am as old as any of you. I am not a boy. The wrong version of our history did appear childish to me when Atua spoke about Tainui as he did. Yes, I forgot myself, and I did laugh. That was the harm we did Atua. But why should we be silent when we hear our history rehearsed incorrectly ? Are we the first of the old men who have disputed about it?

"I ask you, where did Paikea land when he first came to this country? Some say on the island of Ahu-ahu near Aotea island, others say he landed at the west coast near Arapaoa. Again it is said that there were two men of the name of Paikea. Which is true? I say, let each chief believe what his grandfathers taught him. So ends my word."

Another chief said, "I will not speak many words.

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I will but say yes, we did wrong when we contradicted Atua. I ask you, O old men, what is the name of the land where Tura remained when he left the canoe he was in when he was passing swiftly along the shore? Answer me."

The old chief of the Maunga-kiekie pa said, "We cannot tell."

"Then I will ask you one other question. As you chiefs have come here to judge us, I will ask my question. Answer me as lies in your power. Was the Tura I have spoken of, and the Tura who landed on the South Island, the same man?"

"Some say he was, others say he was not"

"Then I will ask you one other question. Where was the battle of Te Rato-rua fought ?"

"Some say in Hawaiki, others say on an island some distance from Hawaiki."

"Then I will speak. If we are not certain of all these little matters connected with our history, why should Atua think he is so great that he cannot brook our disputing what he says ? We all know that Tainui did come here, and that we are the Tainui people. We all know that there was such a man as Paikea, and also Tura, but there are many accounts of them. This is but natural, for our fathers lived in many places, and there was no opportunity for them to compare their versions. I say, let us not be boys again, or be sulky because the words which we learned from our forefathers are disputed by the grandchildren of others' ancestors. Let us be men, not sulky boys. Let all my words end here."

Mihi's grandson said, "If Tata does not speak, then these are all the words we have to give you, O old men."

Tata rolled over as he lay on the mat, but did not page 167Black and white fascimile page image speak. The old chief of Maunga-kiekie rose and said, 'The evil you have done to Atua is in laughing at his words. As I am the oldest man here, I will say what we all think. O our fathers, these are our words to you. You live together in your own pa and see each other eVery day. All of you are tapu and the young people respect the tapu and do not come near you, but you have become so familiar with each other that you have forgotten you are the kaupapa 28 of the gods; we say that Atua has through his nasty temper gone from this pa, and the gods may perhaps cause him in his evil temper to lose his power of correct thought, and he may die. For fear of this evil coming over many of you, for fear of this people becoming porangi, 29 you must appease the gods.

"We also say that Atua was a child of great men. If he has allowed himself to be so enraged that he has caused the gods to cloud his mind, he and the gods alone must do that work. If he does not come back, he and the gods will know the cause. Live in peace, O children. Let no action be taken for Atua. Let all you do be done to appease the gods, and not to arouse the revenge of the heart of man. That is all we say to you, O our children."

He remained standing when he had spoken these words and said to the other chiefs who had come to Mount Eden, "Ka haere taua." They all rose to their feet and followed him out of the house and down the hill until they arrived at the spring. Here they all sat in a line in front of the spring, and in the dark, as best he could, he broke off a branch of the karamu shrub and dipped it into the stream at a little distance from the spring. Then he repeated a karakia over them, and page 168Black and white fascimile page image while saying the words of the karakia, he held the sprig of karamu over the head of each chief as he sat with his head bowed on his knees. Having ended this, they all rose and walked into the fern and slept till dawn of day. The sun had not shone over the face of the country before the chiefs dispersed to their own pa.

That morning two decrepit old women with matted and dishevelled hair, covered with old mats, came out of the hut near the old chief's council house. Walking with the aid of a toko 30 they descended from the highest point of the pa and took a northerly direction until they came to the knoll where the tapu rua kai for visitors was. There they waited for a short time as if looking for something. Then one of them gave a whistle, while the other called "Moi-moi!" A number of dogs collected round the two aged beings. With her left hand one of them pointed to a dog and called it to her. Then with a flax leaf she dexterously tied a knot round the neck of the dog. The other woman walked down the path leading to the wahi tapu on the flat on the north-east side of the pa, where on former occasions the rites of tapu were performed. The one leading and the other following with the dog, they arrived at the tuahu. Here they tied the legs of the dog, and lifting it on to the flat stone there, they placed it on its back. Taking a piece of wood of about the length of a man's extended arms, they placed it across the dog's throat and pressed it down firmly. The old creatures held on to the stick until the dog was dead. Then they lifted the dog down on to the ground and watched for some time to see if the gods had accepted the sacrifice. As blood had not issued from the dog's nostrils, the gift had been accepted by the gods. The one who had lead the way to the tuahu took page 169Black and white fascimile page image a piece of black tuhua from her girdle, and holding the dog on its back, she cut a hole in the left side at the end of the ribs. She put her hand into the cut and drew out the dog's heart. Holding it up and looking to the east, she said:

There is now held up the Hau,31
The food for the gods.
There is the Hau, the Hau held up
From these Priests, from these Kaupapa,
The Hau, the Hau for the gods.
Let the evil omens cease,
Let the angry Heavens cease in their rage,
Let all the thousands above be appeased,
Let all the thousands below look on.
Let Tu, and Rongo and Tawhaki be appeased.
There, that is the Hau for the gods.

She laid the reeking heart of the dog down on the tuahu and stood looking at her companion. The other old woman produced a kauati 32 and hika 33 from her girdle and placing these before her, she knelt down, and rubbing the hika briskly on the kauati, a slight puff of smoke soon came from the dark brown powder-like dust on the kauati. When it was smouldering, she wrapped it in a bundle of dried kiekie 34 leaves which the other woman had collected whilst the hika 35 was being performed. She swung the little bundle round and round in her left hand as fast as she could till it burst page 170Black and white fascimile page image into flame. While she as doing this, the other woman collected some sticks and placed them at the foot of the tuahu. When the flame was seen, it was placed on the tuahu and the sticks put on it so that the fire soon blazed up. The dog's heart was put on it and the wood replenished till the heart was consumed. Taking a hara. 36 many of which were in the wahi tapu, they stuck it up so that it leaned against one of the scoria rocks near the tuahu. They placed the body of the dog on top of the hara, and without a word turned away from the tuahu, and went back towards the pa. Near the spring at the north of the pa, they were met by another old woman who had a calabash of water in her hand. As they met, the woman with the calabash asked,

"Is the Hau given?"

In concert they replied,

"The Hau is upraised."
Question: "Did the gods receive?"
Answer: "The omens are true."
Question: "Did the thousands above
And the many below
Accept the Hau ?"
Answer: "All are appeased."
Reply: "Return, return and rest in peace."

The two old women bowed their heads, and the woman with the water passed by them on their left and proceeded on the road towards the tuahu. Having arrived there, she stood and said to the others who had followed her,

Come, O my children, come,
Come that I may wash with you,
Come that the tapu of your hands
May not remain to defile our tribes.

The two old ladies stretched out their hands above page 171Black and white fascimile page image the ashes of the fire where the dog's heart had been burnt, while the other woman poured water on them. After they had been washed clean they shook off the water to dry them. The ipu 37 was then dashed on the left side of the tuahu and she said, as the others remained with their hands outstretched,

There is your sacred food,
Food for you, 0 gods.
We have lifted up the Hau,
We have given you food,
O you of the world above,
And to the world below,
We have ceased to be sacred now.

Turning round on her left foot, she left the tuahu and the others followed her till they gained the principal marae. The calabash-carrier called in a loud voice:

The Heavens are clear,
The gods now sleep.
Man can act and wake,
Evil has departed.
The gods are propitious.
Awake, O people, to life,
The curse is removed
And we are alive.

As with trembling steps the three old folk sought their huts, a clamour of rejoicing could be heard all over the pa. The people came out of their whare and hastened to the kauta to light the hangi for the morning meal. Not one of them had eaten since the cake of roi and fish had been allowed, before the meeting of the old chiefs. And so there came animation and joy to them once more. There was talking and laughter, and the running about of children.

When the food had been cooked and placed on the marae, all had partaken of a substantial repast, and page 172Black and white fascimile page image the three old women had been fed by one of the women. They sat at the points of a triangle with the women who was feeding them in the centre. Each was squatted on her knees with her hands behind her back. Then with a tirau 38 the feeder took a piece of flesh, bird, kumara or whatever was cooked and placed in their mouths, and each in turn was fed in this way till all the food on the kono 39 was consumed.

The kono had been collected by those who cooked the food, and had been thrown on to the tuahu when the priest of each senior branch of his family arose with his toko in his hand, and calling to the people of his hapu, left the pa and led the way towards the kumara plantations of which he had charge. When the priests arrived at the part that was to be weeded that day, they stuck their toko on the line where their people were to work, and sat down. The old people sat amongst the kumara ahuahu and pulled up the weeds, placing them in baskets made for the purpose. When they were partly full they were taken away by the women and the girls and boys. The men who were superintending the gathering of the weeds placed them in heaps called moa on the borders of the plantation.

At sunset the people returned to the pa. Maro was there, sitting in the place where he had told the first part of the history to Puhi and Moho. The evening hangi had been poki and huke, 40 the food had been eaten, and Maro remained where he had eaten his food. Puhi saw him as she crossed the marae, and going up to where he was, she sat down and gave a slight cough. Maro looked round and said, "I know why you have come to see me."

page 173Black and white fascimile page image

"No," said Puhi, "you do not. I am not so tiresome as to ask you to tell the tale of your history now that the sun is set. I want to ask you why Tata is not so full of Hfe as he was when Atua was alive."

"How can you ask such a question?" asked Maro. "Did you not hear, and have you forgotten that part of the tale I told you about the mat which was bewitched and hidden under the stone? I told you that when Tohi took Tihe as his wife, Tata gave the bewitched mat to Tihe, who has kept it in her family ever since. You must have seen, by what I told you, that Tihe was in love with Popo, but as he could not love her, and as she was obliged to take Tohi as her husband, she wished to kill Popo by witchcraft. It was for this reason that the mat was taken as the medium to kill him. Tihe has kept the mat in her family ever since, and as Tata was the chief who asked for it from Popo, and gave it to Tihe, there is no doubt he was cursed by the gods. But the gods do not always kill those who have committed the sin. Atua was here with us and listened to our talk, and he heard all the history I have told you. Being a priest, he ought not to have partaken any food after he left us till he had performed the karakia whakanoa 41 over himself. He went at once from where we sat and ate food in a house. This is the repayment of the evil that was done when Tata gave Popo's mat to Tihe. Atua's own sin has led him away."

"Ah," said Puhi, "men may be gods, yet they die as we women do. It is not only women who make evil by their disputes. Men sometimes forget when truth is truth. Why do they hide part and tell part in their own interests? Tohi, the lover of Tihe, was a near relative of Tata and Atua and Tihe has many people page 174Black and white fascimile page image to set her crops. Tata and Atua could be her priests, and could command the workpeople of her family. Maybe this was the cause of the mat being given by Tata to Tihe."

"I do not know," said Maro. "I have my thoughts about that, but it is not well at all times to allow our thoughts to be born into the sound of the voice. Children sometimes do evil for which their parents are killed, but how much worse are the thoughts of the heart which, like evil children, become alive and are born as words into this world. I do not know. No. I do not know."

Puhi replied, "My friend Moho has gone over to the Taka-runga pa and will not be here again until all is quiet about Atua?"

"Why speak of Atua?" the old man asked. "I do not wish to remember him. Girls do not know, but I know why He is not here. When Moho comes back and you see me sitting here on this marae soon after the sun has come up in the east, I will continue the tale of the past and tell you all the history. I am not weary of talking to you. I know you will have a great chief as your husband, and if you have any children, you can tell them what I told you. Maybe they will cry and shed tears for me when I am no longer here.

"You asked me why I thought so much of my grandson, Ronaki. He and I are the only chiefs of our family alive. He has not taken a wife yet. and perhaps he may never do so, so that there will be no one to shed a tear for me when I am dead. Then perhaps your children will weep tears of sorrow for me. Ronaki is living with our relatives in the Thames, and I live here; the distance may kill his love for me. Even if he does have any children, his sons and daughters may love those of their mother's tribe, and not me. I only page 175Black and white fascimile page image know that I love Ronaki." The old man was visibly affected. "Come another day, and I will tell you our history."

Several days passed before Maro had an opportunity to speak to Puhi and her friend. But he watched his chance, for the old man wanted to unburden his heart. Then one day Moho returned. Puhi met her as she came through the gate.

"What is the news of your pa?" she asked.

"Nothing but the talk of Atua going away," Moho replied.

At that moment Maro came close to the two young women and joined in the conversation. "Yes," he said, "Atua is gone, and to none better than himself is the reason known.

"This much I will tell you. Mihi Rangi had a son and he took a wife of our people. She was of high rank, and Atua loved her, but she would not have him. It was Mihi Rangi's son whom she chose. These two young people lived together and loved each other a great deal. They had a daughter which lived until it could walk and speak. It could talk well as it was the child of an ariki and therefore had great knowledge. One day it was seen to play with a piece of tawa 42 wood. The bark had been cut, so that it looked as if it were carved all over. You know the tawa bark is black and the wood is white, and as this branch looked pretty, the child had picked it up and was playing with it. Some of the old people asked her where she had obtained the tawa branch, and she replied that she had picked it up on the marae.

"Her mother did not say anything, but she knew that wood carved in that manner was used by our priests in their sacred ceremonies, so she took the piece page 176Black and white fascimile page image of tawa and threw it away. The child cried, and some of our people made a fuss because the child of an ariki had been so treated. At that time Atua had gone to live with the people at Rarotonga, and did not see the child play with the piece of wood, but as the father of Atua was a great priest and had used such carved wood, Atua had learned the art from him.

"Days passed by and the little girl became ill. She ceased to eat but was ever talking; her little body was like a fire, and at last she became porangi. In her delirium she forever talked of the carved wood and of Atua. Then she died and we all wept. As Atua was one of the priests whose duty it was to carry the corpses to the cave at Te Tatua, he came back to our pa, but all the time he did not speak one word.

"Old Mihi Rangi was of the priest line by birth, and in order to learn who had killed the child, she went to the spring and there repeated the karakia. Soon she saw reflected in the water the face of Atua. When she told her son and his wife, they were so afraid of being dealt with by makutu by Atua, that they left our people and have not been seen since."

Maro rolled his eyes and glared at the girls from beneath his brows. "Why should I make much ado about his going away?" he cried. "He has gone the road he caused others to go before him. Sharp teeth do not always chew the soft flesh of their enemies; at times they are broken by unexpected bones; and sometimes even the very flesh over which they gloat in revenge has in it some disease which is not of immediate effect, but at last causes the same trouble to come on them as they brought on others. Enough! I could talk for days of such things, but what good would come to you if I were to tell you of the evil there is in the midst of our people? The great grief of my heart is that I page 177Black and white fascimile page image shall be taken to the cave unwept, and not a child or grand-child of mine will sit before my corpse and weep over me."

He turned to Moho. "What does my auwahine 43 say?"

"She is very old now," Moho replied. "She repeats the same words as you. She often sings songs of the olden times, and then she says, 'I am alone—all my children are dead—and there is but one grand-child of Maro to cry over Maro and me!' She told me what a beautiful girl Rehu-tai was, and that Atua was a man of evil, that it was he who caused the death of all her children, and many more of our tribe, so that the people could not weep for him nor send anyone to seek for lum."

"Yes," said Maro, "I know all that and more. But now I think that you two girls will ask me to continue my tale. You are like the sun on a stormy day. The clouds roll in great heaps before the sun and hide his rays for a time. But soon there comes a space between the dark clouds and the sun shines from that spot on to the earth, and looks to see if he can make the dark earth light up, and teach the grass and trees which are bowed down by the storm to rise up and look full of life. Yes, you girls are like that! When evil comes to us men, you women wait and watch and see if there is an opportunity to direct our thoughts from the darkness that beclouds our minds, and to speak some words which by the sunshine of life may again lift up our minds to light and action. Yes, you girls and women are like that! I, an old man, have been filling your ears with words of evil omen, and have told you our evil deeds. Do not heed my words, nor let them roll over your minds like black clouds over the face of the sun on a page 178Black and white fascimile page image stormy summer day. Let us now sit here and I will tell you of the days when I was young and full of bold love to my beautiful song-bird of day-dawn, Rehu-tai."

1 Food

2 Evening shadows.

3 An account of this legend will be found on page 199. Rona, it should be noted, is usually described as a woman. As she was caught up by the moon she grasped a ngaio tree in her hand, but it was dragged out of the ground. The Maori could see Rona and her calabash and the ngaio tree all in the moon.

4 Orators; well-informed.

5 The recitation of kamkia, etc., must be repeated correctly, and without hesitation, or it is an evil omen.

6 Wild bush man.

7 Head.

8 Wave, welcome.

9 Council, assembly.

10 The god of war.

11 Obsidian.

12 Fast, keep short of food.

13 The offspring of Rangi and Papa were all of the male sex, and when they wished to create mortal inhabitants for the earth, they had to seek the female element in the earth itself. The first woman was formed from the earth, but Tiki-te-po-mua, the first man, was created by the gods.

14 Rehua, who lived in Tiritiri-o-Matangi, the eleventh heaven, was the god of food. Tape, the great god of nature, is the god of man. It was he who made Hine-ahu-One, the Earth-formed Maid, whence came the children of men.

15 Cooking sheds.

16 Covered oven.

17 Fern root; the rhizome of Pteris aquilina.

18 Wooden beater.

19 Horizon.

20 Hasten, hasten all!

21 Torches made of resinous wood such as rimu, kahikatea, etc.

22 Dacrydium Cupressinum.

23 White pine. Podocarpus dacrydioides.

24 Podocarpus spicatus.

25 Spear.

26 Yes, truly it is so.

27 Right-whale.

28 Medium.

29 Mad.

30 Staff or walking stick.

31 Offering.

32 The piece of wood placed on the ground in fire-making.

33 Used in this sense, evidently the friction stick. See note 35 below.

34 A climbing plant. Trycinetia Banksii. "A few days ago when I was in the woods with some of the girls, they found a very handsome white flower, like a huge magnolia, which they call Kiekie. They told me to eat it, which I did, and found the flavour very agreeable. The leaves look like those of a short species of New Zealand flax, and grow in good-sized tufts on the trunks of forest trees, up which the parasite kiekie climbs. . . . The leaves of the kiekie are used to make the best kinds of floor mats and baskets." Further Maoriland Adventures of J. W. and E. Stack. Reed.

35 The action of kindling fire by friction.

36 A bent stick which indicated the place of death of a chief.

37 Calabash.

38 Hard wooden fork.

39 A small basket for cooked food.

40 Dug up.

41 A karakia used to make a thing ordinary or free from tapu. (A.G.S.)

42 Beilschmiedia tawa.

43 Sister-in-law.