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diff --git a/old/54610-0.txt b/old/54610-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 89c843b..0000000 --- a/old/54610-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4093 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Te Tohunga, by Wilhelm Dittmer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Te Tohunga - The ancient legends and traditions of the Maoris - -Author: Wilhelm Dittmer - -Illustrator: Wilhelm Dittmer - -Release Date: April 26, 2017 [EBook #54610] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TE TOHUNGA *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: Captions have been added to the full-page -illustrations. - - - - - - A - MEMORIAL - TO - THE RT. HON. R. J. SEDDON, P.C. - Premier of New Zealand, 1893-1906 - - - - -TE TOHUNGA - - - - -[Illustration: HUPENE, THE OLD TOHUNGA] - - - - - TE TOHUNGA - - THE ANCIENT LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS - OF THE MAORIS - - ORALLY COLLECTED AND PICTURED - BY - W. DITTMER - - [Illustration] - - LONDON - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED - NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. - 1907 - - - - - Nau i waka aua te kakahu, he taniko taku - - (You wove the garment, I have put the border to it) - - _Maori Proverb_ - - - - - TO - THE COUNTESS OF RANFURLY - - Who was a true friend to Artists and - their Art in New Zealand - - This Book is Dedicated - By the Author - - - - -LIST OF CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - INTRODUCTION. With 2 Illustrations 1 - - I. TIKI--THE ANCESTOR OF MANKIND. With 3 Illustrations 5 - - II. THE CREATION OF HAWAIKI. With 3 Illustrations 9 - - III. THE POI-DANCE. With 3 Illustrations 15 - - IV. THE CREATION OF THE STARS. With 5 Illustrations 20 - - V. THE CHANT OF RANGI-NUI. With 2 Illustrations 26 - - VI. TANE--THE CREATION OF NATURE. With 2 Illustrations 30 - - VII. THE FIGHT OF NIGHT AND DAY. With 2 Illustrations 34 - - VIII. MAUI--THE CREATION OF NEW ZEALAND. With 6 Illustrations 37 - - IX. MAHUIKA. With 2 Illustrations 52 - - X. MAUI AND MAHUIKA; MAUI’S FIGHT WITH THE SUN. With 3 - Illustrations 56 - - XI. THE DEATH OF MAUI. With 2 Illustrations 62 - - XII. TE AROHA O HINEMOA: a Legend. With 2 Illustrations 66 - - XIII. MAUI AND IRAWARU: a Tradition. With 1 Illustration 71 - - XIV. NGA PATU-PAIAREHE, THE CHILDREN OF THE MIST [by James - Cowan]. With 3 Illustrations 74 - - XV. TIHI-O-TE-RANGI. With 3 Illustrations 80 - - XVI. THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS. With 3 Illustrations 86 - - XVII. THE COMING OF THE MAORI [by James Cowan]. With 3 - Illustrations 93 - - XVIII. TRADITION--TAMA-TE-KAPUA. With 4 Illustrations 100 - - XIX. A TANGI. TE REINGA [by James Cowan]. With 3 Illustrations 107 - - XX. NGAWAI. THE BURIAL OF TE HEU-HEU ON TONGARIRO. With 4 - Illustrations 114 - - - - -LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - - 1. HUPENE, THE OLD TOHUNGA _Frontispiece_ - - 2. MATAPO, A BLIND TOHUNGA 9 - - 3. TANE, THE GOD OF TREES 11 - - 4. THE BIRTH OF MAUI AT MAHIKU-RANGI 17 - - 5. TANE SEARCHING FOR THE DWELLING OF THE EVENING STAR AND THE - MORNING STAR 21 - - 6. NGAWAI, A MAORI CHIEFTAINESS 27 - - 7. TANE AND THE TREES 31 - - 8. MAUI ENTERS HINE-NUI-TE-PO’S PATAKA 35 - - 9. MAUI 37 - - 10. A TOHUNGA 41 - - 11. MAUI CHANTING INCANTATIONS 45 - - 12. MAUI FISHING NEW ZEALAND OUT OF THE OCEAN 49 - - 13. TARANGA, THE NIGHT-SUN, AND MAUI 53 - - 14. MAUI’S FIGHT WITH THE SUN 57 - - 15. HINE-NUI-TE-PO KILLING MAUI 63 - - 16. HINEMOA 67 - - 17. MAUI AND IRAWARU 71 - - 18. THE MAORIS AND THE FAIRY PEOPLE 77 - - 19. A TANGI 83 - - 20. A GIANT 87 - - 21. THE BATTLE 91 - - 22. HAWAIKI 95 - - 23. THE JOURNEY 97 - - 24. THE FIRST OFFERING TO THE GODS 101 - - 25. THE BREAKING OPEN OF THE GATES OF HEAVEN 105 - - 26. TE HEU-HEU 107 - - 27. TE REINGA 111 - - 28. THE BURIAL 117 - - - - -GLOSSARY - - -The pronunciation of the vowels in Maori are: - - a has the sound of a in rather. - e ” ” e in dedication. - i ” ” ee in sheep. - o ” ” o in bold. - u ” ” oo in cook. - -Ariki: a high chief, a leader, a master, lord. - -Aroha: affection, love. - -Atua: a supernatural being, a god. - -Atua-toko: a small carved stick, the symbol of the god whom it -represents. It was stuck in the ground whilst holding incantations to its -presiding god. - -Haere-mai: come here, welcome. - -Haere-ra: good-bye, go, farewell. - -Haere-mai-ra, me o tatou mate: come here, that I may sorrow with you. - -Karakia: invocation, ceremony, prayer. - -Kehua: spirit, ghost. - -Kia-ora: welcome, good luck. A greeting. - -Kura: red. The sacred colour of the Maori. - -Mana: power, authority, prestige, influence, sanctity, luck. - -Mere-pounamu: a native weapon made of a rare green stone. - -Mua: an old-time Polynesian god. - -Piu-piu: short mat made out of flax leaves and neatly decorated. - -Po: gloom, darkness, the lower world. - -Rangatira: chief, warrior, gentlemen. - -Reinga: the spirit land, the home of the dead. - -Taiaha: a weapon made of wood. - -Tangi: funeral, dirge. Assembly to cry over the dead. - -Taniwha: sea monster, water spirit. - -Tapu: sacred, supernatural possession of power. Under restriction. - -Taua: war party. - -Tiki: first man created, a figure carved of wood, or other representation -of man. - -Tohunga: a priest, a possessor of supernatural powers. - -Tohu-mate: omen of death. - -Tupuna: ancestor. - -Wairua: spirit, soul. - -Whare: hut made of fern stems tied together with flax and vines, and -roofed in with raupo (reeds). - -Whare-puni: large, and often beautifully carved and decorated house. A -meeting house. - -Whare-kura: the ancient sacred building of the Maoris at Hawaiki. Those -who once met there in council are now regarded as their highest gods. -Whare-kura is the name of the sacred history of the Maoris. - -Whaka-papa: the genealogical history of the Maori, or a tribe, or a -family. - - - - -PREFACE - - -With the drawings it began. - -An expired world tried to come to life again in the fragments which some -old Maori narrated. Nature all around favoured admiration only, and her -loneliness was alive with longing. - -Of Maori art I had never heard, and, when that art was first offered to -me, I had none other to choose. At first it disgusted me. But I had to -make use of my time. The evergreen nature was beautiful, and entrancing -was her invitation to waste my life in her midst, as she herself was -wasting hers. - -To protect myself against her allurements, I began the first sketches of -old carvings. Then I made more. - -Sitting beside me, and looking at my work, an old Maori related the deeds -of his ancestor, upon whose carved image I was at work. - -And they were mighty deeds! - -In the evenings later, at the camp-fire, those deeds lived again in -my thoughts, and the imagination busied herself, awkwardly enough, to -express new ideas with the help of new forms. - -That was the beginning of the first drawing. - -Out of books I could learn the old legends, but from the fragmentary -narratives of my old friends they sprang into life: so the number of -drawings grew--aimless, purposeless. - -By that which first had disgusted me I was now greatly attracted; the -forest was dreaming while I worked, the river murmured, and a strange -people awoke interest and friendship. - -Then, one day, came a traveller from Europe. He saw the drawings and -spoke the words: “Make a book”, and the magic words: “I’ll get it -published!” Then he went his way back to Europe again. It was four years -ago. - -Because these words were spoken in a far-away country, this book came to -life--otherwise the destiny of those first few drawings would doubtless -have been the destiny of everything else in the great nature: to wither, -to fall to dust. Perhaps it would have been a pity. - -As to the text of the book: ’twere better that another had written -it. More serious treatises have been published by those with greater -opportunities to hear and more art to reproduce the legends from the -mouths of the old folk now dead and gone, and I owe a good deal to them, -especially to Sir George Grey’s _Polynesian Mythology_ and Rev. R. -Taylor’s _Te ika a Maui_, as well as to Mr John White, Mr E. Schirren, -and Hamilton’s _Maori Art_. But it was to my old friends that I chiefly -listened, seeking to look into the past through their eyes, to stir my -imagination through their memories; yet, even though my pencil may not -have done its work amiss, I have grave doubts of the work of my pen. - -A part only of the legends is contained in this book: it will suffice to -keep alive what I have received from my tattooed friends during the long, -long days of a peculiarly strange life. The little that is new in my book -does not pretend to be scientific: I have written it to help my drawings -along their way. - -And, after all, the book would possibly never have been completed without -the friends which the drawings made in New Zealand, above all Augustus -Hamilton, Director of the Colonial Museum. The encouragement and help -I received from him, the benefit of his wide knowledge and love of art -and of all things Maori, and his true friendship, gave confidence to my -wavering hopes of representing graphically the imaginings of a people so -alien to and so distant from the European mind. - -At last everything was done: the parting hour came--from the new home -back to the old. And now my thoughts are wandering back, often and often, -to that distant time when everything was at its beginning: when the tent -was pitched under the willow on the river, and from the Maori village -on the other shore issued the sounds of happy life; when morning after -morning the sun rose golden over the hills, and every night the river -reflected the silvery stars; when the willow grew slowly yellow, and the -falling leaves gilded the tent; when the smoke of the camp-fire rose blue -into the skies--and the first drawing was finished. - - W. DITTMER. - - _London: 1907._ - - - - -Introduction - - -[Illustration: Maori-mask and God-stick] - -A small fire had been kindled, and over it hummed the billy, boiling for -the last time in Maoriland. - -Through the misty atmosphere the sun was sinking, powerless and glowing -red: and night came. - -A grand night! - -Beautifully illuminated, grand clouds of smoke ascended from the burning -primeval forest--a first mighty sign of the work of man, and the will of -man, for the fire has to finish the work of the axe, and to consume the -forest. - -Stars in silvery brilliance bespatter the East; the West is all aglow -with crimson, gold, and creamy white; but to-morrow work and care will -follow the great destruction, for endless is the beauty of this ever -green country, but its liberty and its fruitfulness are labour. - -He who wishes for liberty must till the soil, and the fruit of liberty -shall be art, for art is not an image, but a fruit. - -A strange fruit is once gathered by the Maori children of Nature, a fruit -grown out of the darknesses of the ocean-encircled forests--an art, -hopeless and sad. A fruit without seed. - -Was not Darkness the mother of All? Does not the everlasting ocean -encircle all? And in the end must not Darkness again swallow all? -This art followed the ways of untiring Nature: unseeming tools, -unmeasured time, and endless labour, shaped to perfection the hardest -stone into the “mere pounamu,” the beautifully formed and polished -greenstone-weapon--the giant of the forest into the wonderful war-canoe. - -Sharp-edged stones and shells have to shape the tree into the centre-post -of the house, into the mighty figure of the god and ancestor; and such -labour stands in grim need of incantations to the atuas (gods) who dwell -in the darknesses of the Lower World and who dwell in the spaces of light -above the earth, that they may strengthen and enliven the unseeming tools -with their god-power. - -The sages and dreamers of many generations had spent their lives bending -over the smoke of their little fires, and forming into wisdom what -their eyes perceived of the wonders of the world; and their wisdom has -resulted in incantations and Karakias[1] powerful enough to overcome the -gods. - -These incantations and Karakias are tapu, that is, sacred. The possessor -of them is a Tohunga; a Tohunga is sacred. The tapu of the Tohunga is -descended from the gods, and so is his wisdom. The gods are all descended -from the Great Mother Darkness, the goddess Hine-nui-te-po; and they are -the ancestors of mankind, which with every generation moves farther and -farther away from the gods. - -Once a great inspiration must have fallen upon the Maori world; but since -then generation followed generation, framing incantations, speculating, -shaping--never renewing, never widening, this inspiration, but working -out form and expression to perfection. - -The life of man became like the life of ever-renewing Nature, producing -and again destroying, giving birth, and again killing, to enable -life to be sustained: the souls of man grew into the rigid wisdom of -incantations; the food of man became man. - -He who wishes for art must till the soil, but he who tills the soil must -have faith; for art, though a fruit of Nature, is a child of god. - -With the rising Sun came the old friend, and placed fresh wood on the -camp-fire, a work of love; for he is a Rangatira-Tohunga (chief priest) -of great mana in his tribe, and his tapu forbids menial labour. With -Sorrow in his face, he sat down, quietly laying a parting present at our -feet. - -On the water of the river sways the reflected canoe loaded for the -journey, and the sun plays among the leaves of the trees, the children of -the God Tane-Mahuta. - -“Take with you the wisdom of the old people, my wanderer, the wisdom -which will be soon forgotten among my children, who follow now the ways -of the pakeha (the new friends) who came to us bringing the truth of -their God; and we are now all children of the great Queen over the seas, -who promised to be our mother. Go in peace, my friend!” - -Deeply thinking, he looked in the glowing embers. Each followed his own -thoughts. - -Far away at Hawaiki was the world created, and there is the home of the -Maoris. It is the birthplace of their race; it was the dwelling-place of -their ancestors, who are gods now, and live in the heavens; it is their -Spirit Land. - -Their ancestors built the whare-kura, the sacred Temple, at Hawaiki, -and it stood facing the East, at the place of Mua. In the whare-kura -assembled the highest chiefs and the Tohungas of all the tribes to -communicate with the spirits of the gods, and to repeat and rehearse -the names and heroic deeds of their ancestors, that they might take -deep root in the hearts of the living, and that they might never forget -their descent from the most ancient gods, who dwelled in the Darkness, -the Nothing, and the Beginning of All Things! They assembled to acquire -and repeat the sacred wisdom of the incantations, the ceremonies, and -the traditions, from Te-Kore, the Nothing, to Te-Po, the Lower World, -to Te-Ao, the Light, to Rangi-nui, the Great Heaven, and to Papa-nui, -the Great Earth; the incantations and Karakias to the Gods of War and of -Witchcraft, and the food; and all those to the multitude of spirits who -govern, help, or hinder, the living. - -From Hawaiki the heroes and their tribes wandered over the seas, and -the Tohungas took with them the wisdom of the whare-kura, guarding it -sacredly, and repeating it only to the ears of their descendants or to -those of high rank and ambition; and nothing of the sacred knowledge was -lost from the days of Te-Kore to the present time; but now it is dying -with the last Tohungas. - -Little only is known of the sacred wisdom of the Maoris. The dread of the -old gods is still living in the hearts of the Maoris, but the last hour -has come for them as they now bend their tattoed heads over the fire and -murmur regretfully of the great Past. - -Thoughtfully looked the old friend at me, and I spoke: - -“Farewell, friend. Wide you opened your heart, and far away will I take -your love with me; far away into the Great Distance, to my Hawaiki; and -always will I think of the Tohunga of the Maoris, the Rangatira, my -friend. - -Small was my little knowledge, and bad were my tools to form it into -pictures; and I was in need of the incantations to the atuas, who have -the art in their keeping: the gods who have the happiness and hope, the -comprehension and confidence in their keeping. In the whare-puni of my -friends, the Maoris, I found these atuas, and more, a friendship which -made the loneliness fly away like a dark feather before the morning wind. -Farewell!” - -“Haere, e tama taku--farewell, my son. This song out of ancient time I -give you, for your eyes can look back into the past; but my eyes are dim -like my wisdom. - -Look often at the sign which I have put to it, that you may remember me. -Farewell, - - Kia-ora.---- - Kia-ora.” - - -HIS SONG - - O, thou sun, advancing high, - Beaming red, and blazing forth! - O, thou moon, now moving onward, - Sending here thy lesser beams! - The host of heaven-- - The gods now there-- - Can see and gaze on you. - - Come forth thou hidden - Cause of blindness in mine eyes, - Thou blood-red blight - Of waters sweeping o’er my sight. - Come forth, that I - May live, and see again, - And gaze as I was wont. - -[Illustration] - -[1] Religious rites and ceremonies. - - - - -I - -TIKI--THE ANCESTOR OF MANKIND - -[Illustration: Marikoriko, the first woman, and Tiki, her Creator.] - - -Hupene, the old Tohunga, squats muttering on the floor beside his carved -ancestor Tiki. - -Tiki is a god who in the dim long ago helped to build the world, and -whose carved image is now supporting the middle pillar of the house. His -eyes of pawa-shell, which once commanded in the ten Heavens and were full -of fire and wisdom, glisten out of the silent twilight; they stare far, -far into the darkness, which Hine-nui-te-po is slowly spreading over the -world, Hine-nui-te-po, the Great Mother of Night, who at one time was -young and beautiful, and gave life to Nature. - -“Haere-mai, e te manuhire, Haere-mai” (“Welcome, stranger, welcome”), -so speaks the old Tohunga; then, drawing his flax mat around him, he -mutters: “Haere-mai”, and, after a long silence again, as if murmuring -to himself, “Haere-mai”--but soon his eyes follow those of his ancestor -again, gazing into the silence of the slowly descending night, the -ancient goddess Hine-nui-te-po, the Great Mother of Rest. Wisdom dwells -with the aged, and their muttering is the sign that their wisdom is ripe. -Flying from the mouth of the old it becomes mother now and wife to the -listening ear. - -“Listen, my guest: - -When man dies, he returns no more to the place which once knew him. -Unlike the Daughter of Heaven, Te marama, the moon, which ever ascends to -new life from the Spring of Living Water, man must die: he is devoured by -Hine-nui-te-po, the Great Mother of Nature, the first among the gods; and -man is her food. - -Ha, hear now the story of Tiki, our Father, the Father of man! - -When Rangi-nui, the great Heaven, and Papa-tu-a-nuku, the far-stretching -earth, were separated from each other, then, my listener, the light shone -over Papa-tu-a-nuku, the mother of Tiki, and he was the first man. - -Ah, great was his longing for the power to spread himself out over Papa: -father of mankind he wanted to be! Far, and far, and far he wandered over -Hawaiki, searching and asking, and again and again he wandered forth over -all Hawaiki, his heart full of longing. - -Ah, my listener, full of longing was his heart. - -At last he came to the river at Hawaiki known by the name of -Wai-matu-hirangi, and from the depth of his desire he cried aloud: ‘Oh, -daughter of Hawaiki, child of the murmuring water, tell me how I may -become the father of mankind. Tell me where may I obtain the power and -from whom?’ - -And the river Wai-matu-hirangi answered him and said: ‘Ha, Tiki, son of -Heaven and Earth, go and search for the incantations and the powerful -Karakias to the gods who have the desires of man in their keeping, and -when you have obtained them return to me here, for it is here that the -child of man shall be born: out of the murmuring waters at Hawaiki. Go, -and search!’ - -O, listen to Tiki, our father, the father of man. - -Ha!--see how he set out on his search. First he journeyed to the gods of -Te Po, the Lower World, and then he made his toilsome way through the -ten heavens, searching for the sacred incantations and the Karakias, the -object of his mighty quest, and at last, high, high in the uppermost -heaven, he found them--ah, my listener! - -Joy made his journey light and the distance easy, and it was with a -gladsome heart that he stood once more by the river in Hawaiki and cried -aloud: - -‘Oh, Daughter of the Many Faces, I bring with me the Karakias to the -powerful gods, the great incantations which will give power and ecstasy -to Tiki. See, I bring the incantations for which I went in search.’ - -Then he knelt down, and, as the gods had commanded him, mixed the sacred -red colour with the soft sands of the shore, and formed a figure like -unto himself, as he saw his own image reflected in the water. Full of -joy, he shaped the body and the limbs, the head and the eyes; and then he -commenced to chant the sacred incantation, the first lines of which are -as follows: - - ‘From the children at Hawaiki, - Shake in ecstasies - Oh, shake in ecstasies - Oh, Tiki, the Father, - Tiki, the Seeker, - Ha, shake in ecstasies....’ - -And so, with the help of the Shimmering Heat and the Echo, the power of -multiplying, he gave life to the first woman. - -Marikoriko, or Twilight, was the first woman! - -Marikoriko, my listener, was not a child of the gods; she was created out -of the sands of the shore and the sacred Red; she takes her descent from -the Shimmering Heat and from the Echo, and she became the first wife of -Tiki, our father. - -Many children were born to Tiki and Marikoriko his wife. Their daughter -was Hine-kau-ata-ata, the Floating Shadow. And the children of -Hine-kau-ata-ata began their lives as clouds, wandering across the sky. -They were light, and flew far away till lost to sight in the distance, -or they were heavy and did not move and brooded overhead in rain. Then -it was that Papa-tu-a-nuku, the Earth, lay under the spell of the first -awakening day. - -Among the many children of Tiki and Marikoriko were the sons the Power -of Speech and the Power of Growth, who took their sisters to wife, and -Te-a-io-whaka-tangata, ‘He who became man’, was born, and he was the -father of many children--the Maori children of the world. - -This is the wisdom of Tiki, our father, and Marikoriko his wife, the -parents of man who peoples the earth. The wisdom of Tiki, our father. - -Welcome my guest from the far distance, welcome! - -You give pleasure to my eyes, and in your ears has sounded the wisdom of -Tiki.--Welcome, friends of my guest. - -Welcome all! - -Welcome!” - -[Illustration] - -Hine-nui-te-po has swallowed the world again and Rangi looks down upon -Papa out of his Eye of Night, the moon, and is slowly unfolding his -beautiful garment, which is adorned with the stars--the eyes of the -braves who fell in battle. - -Fiery looks Maru down upon the women who kindle the cooking-fire; Maru -was the god of war in Hawaiki, but he was an evil god, full of anger -and wrath, and from him are descended illness and murder. He had many -enemies, and at last they killed him, and devoured him; but his spirit -flew up to Rangi, there to become the fiery and flashing star. - -Rauriki, the oldest among the women who kindle the cooking-fire, murmurs, -for she is old, but she is a woman and murmurs no wisdom; she murmurs -incantations to the fire that it might listen to Maui, who once brought -the fire into the world--to be bright and warm and to cook the food for -the hungry and for the guest. - -Silent and peaceful is the night. The Great Mother of Nature swallows -silently a few old songs and the low-toned voices that sound out of the -huts and the whare-puni. - -Ngawai, Rauriki’s granddaughter now takes the embers to the whare-puni, -and puts them to the feet of Tiki, to warm and light the house, and -outside Night is working her grand and lonely wonders, while the old men, -squatting around the fire and staring into the flames, narrate of the -terrors of Hine-nui-te-po. - -Musing and wondering thoughts light up the glow of the fire in the faces, -fire flashes out of the pawa-shell eyes of the old ancestor, and patches -of light flicker over the group that surrounds the fire, now lighting up -the artistic lines of the tattoo in the faces, now again the phantastic -carvings on the walls, or suddenly brightening a painted ornament, and -covering the rest with impenetrable blackness. - -Every line the light reveals, every colour it displays, gives knowledge: -each carved image is a part of the history of the people. It is the -family history of the group around the fire, their history painted by the -god of the fire upon the black garment of night--and with the fire it -will die, swallowed by Hine-nui-te-po. And so in the end all will die, -the words, and the speaker, and the listener: they all will at last be -devoured by Hine-nui-te-po, who has brought forth Rangi and Papa, who has -brought forth Tiki, who made Marikoriko his wife. - -Out of the womb of Hine-nui-te-po came the world, and to her all must go -back--as the fire to the ashes. - -[Illustration] - - - - -II - -THE CREATION OF HAWAIKI - - -“Here friend”--so speaks Ngawai--“sit beside the old man of my people, -and listen to the song of the gods, which is living in the mouth of the -blind Matapo, and know that Truth is dwelling upon his lips. Listen to -his words!” - -[Illustration: MATAPO, A BLIND TOHUNGA] - -Ah, these are my words to you, my wanderer, the words of the old Matapo, -the oldest of his people, and his eyes are closed and they cannot see -you; but they are opened again towards his heart, and what they see your -eyes cannot perceive, for upon those who dwell in the womb of night rest -his eyes. Listen. - -The beginning was J-o, the great atua, the god-power, and the world was -filled by Te-po-nui, the Great Darkness--ah!--Te-po-nui filled all the -space, from the first space to the hundredth, to the thousandth space. - -Ha, my listener, then was it that the Atua commenced his great song of -creation, and out of the Darkness sprang forth Life! - -And out of the Darkness sprang forth Hine-nui-te-po! - -And out of the Darkness sprang forth Te Ao, the Light! - -Ha, my listener, Te-Ao--ha!--Te-Ao gave birth to Rangi! Rangi-nui, the -great Heaven. - -And again sang the atua his great song of creation, and out of Te-po-nui -sprang forth Tangaroa, the God of the Oceans! - -And out of Te-po-nui sprang forth Papa-tu-a-nuku, the far-stretching -Earth.-- - -Ha, the Earth was created! The Earth, and Rangi, the Heaven. - -Ah, Rangi-nui, the great Heaven! - -Rangi took Hine-nui-te-po for his wife, and their son was Ha-nui-o-rangi, -the Great Breath of Heaven. And Ha-nui-o-rangi commenced his great -movement, and forth sprang Tawhiri-matea, the father of the winds. And -again Ha-nui-o-rangi commenced his great movement, and Te-ata-tuhi sprang -forth, the First Glimmer of Light. - -Te-ata-tuhi was a woman, and Rangi took her to wife. Her daughter was Te -marama, the Moon, and Rangi spoke full of joy: - -“O, woman, Te-ata-tuhi, look upon the beauty of Rangi’s daughter; ha, she -is his daughter for which he was longing”; and he made her his eye, his -Eye of Night. - -Lightening his path, he went in search of his son. He found the woman Te -wera-wera, the heat, and his heart went out to her, so that he took her -to wife, and Te-Ra was born, Te-Ra, the Sun! Then cried Rangi full of -joy: “O, woman, Wera-wera, look upon the beauty of Rangi’s son--ha, he is -his great son for which he was longing”; and he made him his other eye, -his Eye of the Day. - -Ha, my listener, great now was Rangi’s power, Rangi, the Creator! His -eyes beheld with admiration Papa-tu-a-nuku, the far-stretching earth, -shine forth out of the Darkness, and she was of great beauty. - -Ah, she was of great beauty, and Rangi made her his wife that together -they might create Hawaiki, and their first son was Rehua. With him were -born the rays of light, and he flew high up into the highest heaven, -which he made his dwelling-place. He became the god of the highest -mountain-peak and of the Locks of Heaven, the Sun-rays, when he stands -highest on the heaven; and he became the ancestor and the ariki (Lord) -over all the spirits and gods in the heavens. - -Then Tane was born, and he was the god-power of the masculine sex, and -the father of trees and birds. He and his brothers took Papa-tu-a-nuku -for their dwelling-place. - -The next son of Rangi and Papa--ha, listen my wanderer--was Tiki, our -Father, who created Marikoriko, his wife, and became the father of man! -Ah!-- - -Rangi and Papa!--Ah! Rangi looked upon the Far-stretching Earth out of -his Eye of Night and admired her beauty; and he looked upon her out of -his Eye of Day and his heart was full of joy, so that he spoke: - -“O, woman, Papa, nevermore will I be parted from you; together we will be -the world; the parents, Rangi and Papa!” - -Then their fourth son was born, Rongo: he was the God-power of Good, and -the atua of the Tapu and the sacred incantations; he was the creator of -the food for man and the wisdom of cooking and the incantations over the -food. - -Their fifth son was Tu, the atua of all evil and the god of war.--Ah!---- - -[Illustration: TANE, THE GOD OF TREES] - -As you have opened your ears to the song of the old man, who is your -friend, my listener, so open now your eyes, that they may show you how -night presses upon earth, and darkness has swallowed all, for, know, such -was the night and the darkness which reigned between heaven and earth, -everlasting, from the first time to the hundredth time, to the thousandth -time--Ah, know, my friend, when the world was still dwelling in Te-po-nui -then was it Tangaroa, the God of the Oceans, who had taken Papa-tu-a-nuku -to wife, and their sons were Tinirau, The Many Hundreds, who founded -the Family of the waves which encircle the earth. When Tangaroa had -perceived Te-ata-tuhi, the First Glimmer of Light, he wandered forth to -find the Gate of Day. Ah, far he wandered, far into the last darknesses, -and farther and farther, to the very end of Te-po-nui; but when he came -back, then, ha, my listener, then did he find Rangi the ariki over -Papa-tu-a-nuku. - -Ah, the Heaven was the ariki over the earth! - -Full of rage, Tangaroa fell upon Rangi, and wounded him terribly, so that -he could not stand and fell upon Papa, and never could lift himself any -more, and no space and no light could come to his sons from this time. -Ah, the sons, whose dwelling-place was upon the earth, they had to live -in darkness and night--ah!--ha!; but the sons!, ha, but the sons! Their -hearts filled with the longing for the light, that happiness might grow -again; and their hearts filled with the longing for space, that the -power, living in them, might be born. - -Ha, the longing in the hearts of the children of Rangi and Papa became -the mother of the great incantations which gave them the power to create -space again between heaven and earth so that the light could come to them -like a wife to all. - -And the voice of Tu spoke out of the darkness: - -“Listen, all my brothers, together let us overcome Rangi, and let us kill -him, for he gives us no room and covers us with blackness! Let us kill -Rangi!” - -But, my listener, the voice of Tane spoke out of the darkness, and this -is what he said: - -“Listen, all my brothers, how can we kill Rangi? Is he not our Father? -Listen, all my brothers, and this is Tane’s word: No, do not let us kill -him, but let us search for the incantation to compel our brother Rehua -and the host of spirits who dwell outside to help us in our great work, -that we may lift our Father upon the highest mountains. Let us hold the -Karakia that we may become sacred for our work to lift Rangi from Papa. -Let Rangi be far from us, and let us dwell with Papa, our mother.” - -Ha, these were the words of Tane!--and all the voices out of the darkness -spoke their consent, and all the voices together chanted the great -incantations to Rehua and the host of gods and spirits calling upon -them to come to their aid. Then, my listener, they commenced the sacred -Karakia which is held to become strong and unconquerable, all together -they chanted this powerful song: - - “The night, the night, - The day, the day, - The seeking, the adzing out, - From the seeking the nothing. - Their seeking thought also for their mother, - That man might arise. - Behold this is the word, - The largeness, the length, - The height of their thought, - To free their mother, - That man might live-- - This was their counsel.” - -Ha, Tu now took the sharp-edged stone, and cut the sinews and bands with -which Rangi pressed the earth to his breast, and frightful were the cries -of the heaven--ah! Then, calling on Rehua, the strength of the sons grew, -and grew, and grew--ah!, my listener, all their strength--but where was -the power that could separate the parents? ah--ah! Rangi the powerful -could not be separated from Papa; Tu could not find strength enough, and -where was the strength of Rongo? And the strength of Tiki? Then came -Tane! - -Ah, Tane! - -Open the eyes of your mind--as you have opened your ears and your eyes. -Open the eyes of your mind that they may perceive how Tane separated -Heaven and Earth. See how he presses the head of his god-power on the -breasts of Papa--See his hair grow and take root----ah,--See how his -body and his limbs begin to stretch:--high, high above, his feet grow -into branches and boughs--See how his power grows--oh, how he grows -all-powerful into the heaven----Ah, see how his power overcomes the -strength of Rangi! - ---Ha, he lifts him! - -He lifts the Heaven! - -Higher!---- - -Higher--! Ha, the heaven is high! - -Ah, Heaven and earth are separated--! - -Hawaiki is born! - -Oh, Tane----! - -Ah, my listener, Rangi and Papa are separated!---- - -From high above Rangi sent down many words of farewell, so that they -sounded all over the Far-stretching Earth, and many were his songs of -love to Papa. Ah, his tears still fall upon Papa--they are the dew of the -mornings. And Papa sang words of farewell, and her sighs flew up to Rangi -as white cloud-messengers of love. Ah--. - -Great was the love of the parents, my listener---- - -Great was the strength of the children!-- - -Your ear has received the wisdom of the creation of Hawaiki, the home of -my people, the Maoris. - -[Illustration] - - - - -III - -THE POI-DANCE - -[Illustration: HINE-TE-HAKA] - - -Out of the semi-darkness of the whare-puni a shrill voice is ringing, and -soon is accompanied by other voices and by clapping of hands, beating -time for a poi-dance. - -Discordantly the first voice pierces the bustle, and laughter there is, -and moving and shifting, to make room for the dancers, for the girls and -the young women. - -Graceful figures dressed in piu-pius come forward, coyly and laughing, -with whirling of pois[2], taking up their positions, and all is clamour -of getting ready for an amusement, highly enjoyed by spectators and -dancers. - -Like clock-work hands are clapping all the while; the shrill voice is -dominating the chorus, and all the old women and the men, squatting -around in a circle, settle down to an inexhaustible song. - -In two rows stand the dancers, light in their eyes, grace and laughter in -every movement. Ngawai is leader, Hine-te-haka, “the maiden of dance”. - -A sharp cry falls from her lips, and is answered by the dull thud of the -pois, caught in the open left hand after being whirled around the head. - -Four times whirl the pois through the air, and four times, perfect in -time, follows the dull thud, while the song is going on and the clapping -of hands. Now another sharp cry comes from Ngawai’s lips and rhythmically -the bodies of the dancers begin to move: slowly, into graceful positions, -while the dried flax-strings, which form the piu-pius, are clapping -against the naked limbs, and the play of the pois commences. An -uninterrupted whirling around the heads, around the shoulders, in the -out-stretched arms, now through the air, before the breasts or behind -the backs, beaten again and again with the dull thud upon hand, head, -shoulder, or floor under the rhythmical movements of the bodies, the soft -stamping of the bare feet, the slapping of the piu-pius and the clapping -of hands, ending again in the four times repeated thud in the open hands. - -Enjoyment is in the eyes of the spectators, and happiness seems to -enliven the monotonous song; the clapping of hands sounds joyful, and the -bosoms heave quicker. - -Like wonderful birds flutter and whirl the pois around the heads, musical -is the rolling movement of the arms, the bendings and turnings of the -figures, the crashing of the dry flax-strings of the piu-pius against the -bodies: precise are the movements, the thuds of the pois sound as if cast -by a single arm; the rolling, lifting, and stretching, of the arms, the -movements of the heads and shoulders, hips and legs, as if from a single -body. - -Quicker grows the clapping of hands, louder shrieks Ngawai, fiercer -become her movements. She stands opposite the dancers: she leads, and all -follow her movements. - -A short cry, a hiss, a head thrown back, a wild yell, call forth ever -new, ever graceful, ever circling, combinations, bendings, and turnings. -Whirling, circling, slapping, stamping, becomes the dance; rolling arms, -back-bending heads, moving hips, and heaving breasts--fiercer yet grow -Ngawai’s shrieks, swifter her movements, undistinguishable the mass of -the ever-whirling pois. Full of laughter and grace is every movement of -the vast living body of weaving, rolling, and bending, figures; joy is in -every face, light in the eyes of all. Like black waves floats the hair -around the heads, the bosoms heave quicker and quicker, and the breathing -mingles with the song of the spectators--: a vast, beautiful, ever-moving -body is the whole, with its ever-circling pois. - -A loud and joyful cry--and all is over, abrupt, with one thud. - -In the sudden silence the dancers flutter about, and settle on the ground -like a swarm of birds; loud is the applause, and Ngawai, with laughing -eyes and quick-heaving bosom, stands before us, and drops the little poi -at our feet. - - -TRADITION - -O, listen who will deny the truth of the old gods? Who can deny the truth -of the Sun-god, Maui? - -Everyone is asleep in the whare-puni, asleep, too, is Ngawai. - -Murmuringly had Matapo recited how the world was created; deep into the -night had he muttered the wisdom known only to himself and a few still -living Tohungas, the wisdom of generations of gods and ancestors and -heroes of Hawaiki. Then he, too, had dropped off to sleep, and everything -is loneliness and blackness, for Hine-nui-te-po has finished her great -repast, and has devoured the world once more. Only the fire splutters now -and again with flickering life, and answeringly a dim sparkle springs -forth from the eyes of the old ancestor. - -Once, ha, once the gods were living at Hawaiki; they were the ancestors -of mankind; they are human beings in the faith of the Maori people, -heroes, who were the authors of superhuman deeds. - -How is it possible for Maui to fish this great and beautiful land out -of the ocean? Maui, the hero? But, is not Maui the Sun himself? And is -it not the Sun who destroys the darkness of night so that the eyes of -man can see the land--: Te-ika-a-Maui, or Maui’s fish--swimming on the -endless ocean?-- - -[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF MAUI AT MAHIKU-RANGI] - -Ah, in the dark nights, whilst bending over the fire, was it in the -hearts of the sages and dreamers of generations where these heroes -were born; unshakable grew the faith in them, and with the growth of -generations upon generations it became the Truth.--And is it not Truth? -Is not yonder, with the dawn of the morning, the god commencing his -great daily work again? Is he not preparing to lift out of the ocean of -darkness this great and beautiful land again, his fish, Te-ika-a-Maui? - - O, who will deny the truth of the old gods? - Who can deny the truth of the Sun-god, Maui? - -Te Ra, the Sun, is the son of Rangi, but Maui is the Sun-god of human -creation; he is the binding link; through him alone is it possible for -man to understand the wonder of the golden Sun. - -Hine-nui-te-po, the goddess, once devoured Maui, as the Darkness nightly -devours the Sun, and now keeps enclosed the world. But even now the Sun -is wandering through the caves of the lower worlds--Te Po--to receive new -strength in its fires, and Hine-nui-te-po is lasting upon the earth, and -the hearts of the Maori-people are filled with fear and horror whilst the -Sun is still hidden by the east and Maui, the great hero, is not yet born -with him at Mahiku-Rangi. - -The last sparkle of the fire has died away and the pawa-shell eyes of the -old ancestor are swallowed by the Darkness. - - O, who will deny the truth of the old gods? - Who can deny the truth of the Sun-god, - - [Illustration: Maui] - -[2] A poi is a small egg-shaped object made of raupo (reed) and dried, -hanging on a little flax-string. - - - - -IV - -THE CREATION OF THE STARS - -[Illustration: Tane] - - -Te Ra, the day-eye of Rangi is closing, and sends a last glowing look -over the peacefully dreaming Moana-rarapa, the Lake of the Glittering -Water. - -Softly murmurs the lake and reflects the sacred Red with which Tane once -adorned the heaven, whilst over his floating colours black swans are -drifting like dream-thoughts over a beautiful face. Slowly dying away in -blue, deep blue and pure, is the last breath of day silently departing -into the heavens. - -A canoe is putting off the shore, and voices of children are heard -leading it light-hearted with mirth and laughter and splashing of water -over the lake, which looks clear and glittering green up to the stars. -Softly now breathes the air, and the mirror is gone--the day has departed. - -Muttering departs Hupene, our old friend, in dread of the darkness; with -his mat he is covering our shoulders and he murmurs these words: - -[Illustration: TANE SEARCHING FOR THE DWELLING OF THE EVENING STAR AND -THE MORNING STAR] - -“Remember, while you are watching the stars on the night-mat of Rangi, -and know, great is the power of the god Tane-Mahuta, and his are the -stars. - -Remember, his are the stars.”-- - -Bright shimmer the stars through the summer night, and the earth breathes -freshness and sleep, leading the heart to rest, and it yet filling with -longing; but from the heaven descends hope, promising the new day and the -future. - -[Illustration] - -Tane once commenced his great wandering to find adornment for his father, -the heaven, whom he beheld standing high over Papa, naked by day and -lonely and cold by night, and he spoke: - -“O, father Rangi, my heart is looking upon you in sorrow, for you are -lonely and cold, and I will go in quest for adornments which shall make -you beautiful to the eyes of Papa and her children.” Thereupon he went on -his way, and, whilst he was wandering through the ten heavens, he found -Te-Kura, the Red Colour, and that he took back with him upon the earth. -Here he rested for seven days and seven nights, and, when his strength -was growing again, he commenced his work, and covered the heaven with the -beautiful red colour. But behold, when he had finished this great work -and descended again to earth, he let his eyes wander over the red sky, -which was stretching now over Papa, and he found that this adornment was -not worthy of his great father, and full of sorrow he took it away again -leaving some of it only at Mahiku-rangi, the End of Heaven. He beheld -now, when Rangi was closing his great eye, sending it down into the Po, -or when he called for it again in the mornings so that it burst forth -out of the Gate of Day, that the beauty of his father at Mahiku-Rangi was -wonderful, but ever and ever it disappeared by day and by night. - -Seven days and seven nights he was watching the dying away and bursting -forth again of Rangi’s beauty, and then out of his sorrow he sang these -words up to his father: “Oh, Rangi, still you are cold and dark and -lonely from the first night, to the second night, to the tenth night, -when your daughter Te-marama ascends again out of the Source of Living -Water, so that you look down upon Papa silent and sorrowful. What -adornment can I find for you, that you may be happy and beautiful, and -gladden the heart of Papa, your loved one?” - -After he had spoken these words he wandered forth again upon his mighty -search, and all over the world he wandered, and farther and farther still -he wandered, till he came to Tawhiti-nui, the Great Distance; and farther -still, till at last he came to Te-Po, the Lower World. Here he found -Hine-a-te-ao, the Daughter of the Light; she is the guardian of the Gates -of the Lower World, and, tired from his long journey, he slept in her -house. - -In the darkness of night he beheld two beautiful stars shining forth; -they were the children of Ira, and their names were Lonely South, and -Shore of Heaven, the morning star, and his heart was glad over their -beauty, so that his eyes could not sleep, and could not but rest upon -them all the night. - -In the morning he called Hine-a-te-ao, and showed her the two beautiful -stars shimmering forth out of the darkness of the Po, and asked for them, -for nothing could be more beautiful he thought as an adornment for his -Father Rangi. Hine-a-te-ao answered: “Go, son, and take the stars!” And -again he pleaded: “Oh, Hine, Daughter of the Light, show me the road that -I may go and take the stars.” And Hine-a-te-ao answered: “O, son, far is -the way indeed! Go to the House of Tupu-renga-o-te-Po, the Growing Night: -he is the guardian over the two stars, and his house is standing at -Mahiku-rangi. There ask for the two stars, whose names are Toko-meha and -Te-pae-tai-o-te-rangi; go and take the stars for your father Rangi.” - -After Tane had rested, and for seven days and seven nights strengthened -himself through powerful incantations and many Karakias, he went on his -way to Mahiku-rangi, to the House of the Guardian of the Stars, Tupu. - -[Illustration: TE-ATUA-TOKO-TANE-MAHUTA.] - -When at last he had found Tupu, he pictured the sorrows and the nakedness -of his father, and asked him to give the beautiful stars to Rangi, and -Tupu answered: “Oh, Tane, son of Rangi and Papa, the stars which you -behold shimmering yonder are the sacred holders of the world; they are -Hira-utu, Fish by the Land, Hira-tai, Fish of the Sea; Parinuku, Cliff by -the Earth, and Pari-rangi, Cliff of the Heavens. Yes, it is my wish that -you may adorn Rangi with yonder stars.” And he gave him the Four Sacred -Holders of the World, the stars of the four points of the compass, -and then he gave him the five stars, Ao-tahi, Puaka and Tuku-rua, -Tama-re-reti and Te-waka-a-tama-rereti. - -All these stars Tane took away with him and fastened the four sacred -stars in the four corners of Rangi; with the other five he formed a cross -in the South. - -Many more stars brought Tupu, and Tane distributed them over Rangi from -the summit of the mountains whilst still the Sun was standing high in the -heavens. - -And again sorrow filled his heart when his eyes looked upon his work, for -again he found that the adornment was not worthy of his father Rangi. - -But at last he had finished his labour and that was about the time when -the Sun was again entering the Gate of Night. Resting upon Papa, he -watched the beautiful sacred red appear again at Mahiku-rangi, and, when -with the departing sun darkness again filled the world, his wandering -eyes perceived how star upon star commenced to live and shine forth, till -at last Rangi in wonderful beauty was stretching over Papa, and his heart -was full of joy and happiness, and he sang: “O, father Rangi, your beauty -is indescribable; in truth you are now the ariki of Papa, and all her -children will love you!” - -Thus had spoken the old friend on the shores of the glittering -Moana-rarapa. - -[Illustration] - - - - -V - -THE CHANT OF RANGI-NUI - -[Illustration] - - -A silent, shimmering ocean of stars encircles the Earth: Rangi in his -indescribable beauty. - -Ah, the silent night sends fear into the hearts of the children of Tiki, -and they murmur incantations, for Makutu, the terrible witchcraft, and -the host of evil spirits, are wandering upon earth beneath the glittering -beauty of Tane-Mahuta’s stars. - -Of half-forgotten wisdom the old friend had murmured into the listening -ear of the guest, while the people of his tribe had covered their heads -and closed their ears; for dangerous it is to listen unto the wisdom: - -“Ten are the heavens who are stretching over Papa, and they together are -Rangi”--so had spoken the old friend. - -The lowest heaven is Tawhiri-matea, the dwelling-place of the god of the -winds. It is the heaven of the Floating Air above the earth, and it is -the heaven which gives birth to the sacred red at Mahiku-rangi. - -Each heaven is divided from the next by a transparent roof, and so -divided from the first is the second heaven, which forms the path for the -Sun and the Moon, and which is the dwelling-place of the heat of the day. - -The third heaven is the place for the lakes and the waters. The God of -Winds is often rushing over them from one end of the heavens to the -other, and that makes the waters spray and splash, and causes them to -fall as rain down upon earth. Rehua once, in terrible wrath, stamped upon -the bottom of this heaven so that it broke, and all the waters rushed -down upon the earth as a Deluge. - -In these three heavens is Maru, the governing god; from here it is that -he inspires the children of earth with great deeds, that the spirits of -the slain braves may live here as stars on the heavens of Maru, the God -of War. - -The fourth heaven is Tawhaki, and from this heaven are the spirits of man -sent down upon Earth to enter there into the children, new-born to life. - -[Illustration: NGAWAI, A MAORI CHIEFTAINESS] - -The next heaven is the home of the lower and lesser gods, who are the -slaves of the gods who live in the highest heavens. - -The sixth heaven is the dwelling-place of Tawhaki, and it is from here -that he governs the host of inferior gods and atuas who work and shape, -and help and hinder, the destinies of Tiki’s children. To these three -heavens of Tawhaki are directed most incantations and songs and Karakias -of the people; high up into these three heavens also reaches the power of -the Tohungas of great Mana, and their incantations often compel the gods -to work good or evil according to the will of the Tohunga. - -Over the next heavens is Rehua the ariki. - -Rehua is the god of food; therefore is he the ariki over the gods, and -many were his victories over Maru, the God of War, for many were the -spirits of the slain heroes who were wandering up to the heavens of Maru, -there to become stars, and who changed their mind and followed the call -of the god Rehua, for Rehua is the God of Food. Truly, he is a powerful -god! - -It is in the seventh heaven that the spirits of men are created: here -they commence their lives, which they continue in the next heaven, their -wonderful dwelling-place, Aukumea, the paradise of the spirits before -they descend into the forms of men. - -In the next heaven live the host of the atuas, the working-power of the -great gods who are living in Tuwarea, the tenth heaven, and the sacred -edifice of the highest gods. - -Rehua is the commanding god in Tuwarea. - -All the heavens together are Rangi, a son of Te-Po-nui, the Great Night. -Thus had spoken the old friend. - -The endless beauty of the “shimmering vestment” is the birthplace of -the host of spirits, and the abode of the gods, and it is fearful for -man when their spirits follow their longing eyes toward the glittering -Grandness, trying to penetrate Hine-nui-te-po. - -Maui once entered Hine-nui-te-po, trying to penetrate her, so that she -might be killed and man may live for ever; but that was the death of -Maui. With the gods and spirits communicates the Tohunga, and his wisdom -renders him Tapu. Far may his thoughts wander when his eyes are closed -and opened again toward the wisdom, which has been handed down from the -whare-kura since the time of Te Kore--the Nothing; and all-powerful, -defeating the gods themselves may his incantations and Karakias be when -he, squatting at the sacred place, before his carved god-stick, murmurs -the great incantation Waka-rawhiti, the Mouth of the East. Ha, the power -of it grows like the Sun out of the darkness, and conquers all but -Hine-nui-te-po, who cannot be conquered--but night and loneliness are -dangerous to all. - -Golden dawns the east, and with the sacred red at Mahiku-rangi appears -Ngawai. - -She comes toward the shores of the lake with laughing eyes, and speaks: - -“Whereto wander the thoughts of my friend? His eyes are looking into the -distance, but they can see nothing, for the distance is hidden by the -morning-mist.” - -The eyes, Ngawai, follow the thoughts into the past of your people, and -she also is hidden to me, and my mind is pondering over the little wisdom -I received, wisdom out of the whare-kura. - -Ngawai smiles, for not always does the thought of the gods and -spirits inspire terror. Descent from the great ariki and from the -Rangatira-tohunga gives security to man; and out of Ngawai’s eyes it -flashes: man is powerful in spite of the gods. “Do not let your mind -dwell with the deeds of the gods and the heroes of my people, but open -your heart to the incantations which have soft power over the hearts of -men.” - -Tell me, Ngawai, of Tane, who adorned his father Rangi so beautifully; -tell me, my friend, of his love to Papa. - -“Come into the shadow of the trees, my friend, the shadow of -Tane-mahuta’s children, while I will tell you of his love to Papa. - -Come into the shadow of Tane-mahuta.” - - - - -VI - -TANE--THE CREATION OF NATURE - - -[Illustration] - -“The godpower of Tane lifted his father Rangi high above the -mountains--oh, high above the mountains, clad in snow he lifted him with -the help of the gods who dwelled above the earth. - -Ah, bare now was Rangi and naked--oh, he was beautiful and vast, but -lonely and bare, and Tane adorned him with the stars; oh, then was Rangi -very beautiful indeed! - -From his great work Tane was resting upon earth while his eyes were -wandering over his mother, and his heart grew sad again, for he beheld -that she lay naked under the eyes of Rangi and the gods. - -Ah, his love for his mother was great, and he pressed his head to her -bosom and spoke: “Oh, mother, I will not that you sorrow any more over -your nakedness for I will adorn you with great beauty; do not sorrow any -longer, oh mother, Papa.” - -Thereupon he went into the Great Distance, and became the father of the -lakes, the Water of the Many Faces; and many of these glittering faces he -distributed over Papa. Faces, smiling at Rangi by day, and blushing up to -him at every new morning--look my good friend, how the Moana-Rarapa is -reflecting the beauty of Mahiku-rangi whilst Rangi is laughing down upon -Papa out of his Eye of Day: ah, are they not lovers? - -But again Tane wandered into the Great Distance, till he found the -Gentle Noise of Air; and taking her to wife, he founded the family of -the Multitude of Trees. Their sons were the Totara-tree, the Manuka, -the Rimu, and the Kauri-tree: ah, look at the tree under which we are -resting; see the majestic beauty of the Kauri, the child of Tane! And -their daughters were the Kahiku, and the creeper and the vines. - -[Illustration: TANE AND THE TREES] - -Whilst the Multitude of Trees were growing up into maturity, Tane rested -not till he found the two sisters, the Wanderer in the Sky, and the -Wanderer in the Brook, and they gave him his children, the birds. - -There, friend, do you hear the sweet sounds? There?--there now; -everywhere--ah, it is the black Tui; and there, do you hear the gentle -noise and soft clapping of wings over our heads? It is the folk of the -Kererus, the wild-doves; ha, listen to their happiness! Come farther into -the green shade, my good friend, that your heart may be filled with the -beauty of Tane. - -Yes, my friend, when Tane had founded these families, then he took them -back to her who was still lying lonely and naked, and now he began his -great work. Ah, let us wander under the shade of Tane, that your eyes -may see how the Multitude of Trees are covering Papa like a beautiful -garment, spreading shades and giving happiness to the children of Tiki; -perceive in the wonderful garment the great god-power of Tane-mahuta. - -Close your eyes, my good friend, that Ngawai may show to your mind the -path upon which it may perceive how Tane distributed the multitude of his -children over the earth. Ah,--ha,--can you perceive how he puts their -feet into the ground? Ha, ha! They will not stand! They lift their heads -up to Rangi and cry, and will go whither it pleases them; ha, ha, my -friend, they are rebellious, and fight with each other, and run away, -for they do not like to stand and grow, and give garment and coolness to -Papa, ha, ha! - -Ah, can you perceive how Tane looks upon his work of the first day, and -sees the rebellion? Can you perceive his rage, the terrible rage of the -god?--ha, ha! - -Ah, he is wending his way back, tearing his children out of the ground -and throwing them down, tearing and throwing, and then, when the sacred -colour appeared again at Mahiku-rangi, he began his great work over -again! Ha, ha, my friend, ha, ha, can you perceive how he began his work? -Listen: he took his children and put them into the ground again, but, -ha, ha, oh, he put their heads now into the ground, so that they must -stand upright and stretch their feet up to Rangi; ha, ha, could they move -now?--and fight?--and run away? Ah--their hair commenced to grow into -the earth and took root, and their mouth drank the dew--the tears of -Rangi for Papa--and sent it up into the limbs and feet as strength and -life, and the feet grew long and branched off and covered themselves with -leaves. Ha, my good friend! - -Ah, my good friend, when Tane saw his children now, then came joy to his -heart, and all over Papa he planted his children, and they grew, and took -the earth to their mother. - -Oh, beautifully now was Papa dressed in her vast garment, and greater -still grew the love of Rangi, and he sent the rays of his Eye of Day down -upon her, and created the flowers. - -O, my friend, follow Ngawai into the darkness and the pleasures of -Tane-mahuta’s creation; look, all the life of the forests and all the -life in the air is his, ah, he is the great friend of man, he is the -god-power of Nature. - -Tane, the great son of Rangi. - -Tane, who loved Papa. - -Tane, the friend of man.” - -A soft murmuring was Ngawai’s voice, murmuring to the leaves of the -trees; murmuring of that what the birds had told her; murmuring to the -spirits of the forest, who all are children of Tane-mahuta. - - - - -VII - -THE FIGHT OF NIGHT AND DAY. - - -[Illustration: TRADITION.] - -Maui is the hero of the Maori people: he is the God of the Sun. He -is Maui-roto, the Night-sun, the hero of the Lower World; and he is -Maui-waho, the Day-sun, the hero of the light. - -Maui-roto, living in the Lower World, created the Earth, which has, -like the Sun, a body of granite; and Maui-waho then nourishes her with -his blood, which he streams down upon her as the red Evening-glow. This -Evening-glow, covering the earth, does not die away with the Sun, but -it cools and forms a new layer upon Earth, and thus, with layer upon -layer of Evening-glows, he nourishes his child. It is upon the mountain -Tongariro that this radiance lives most brilliant and long, and that is -the reason why Tongariro became the possessor of the highest Tapu, the -sacred mountain of the Maori people. - -Hine-nui-te-po is the Goddess of Night, and the whole world is her -pataka (storehouse). She has commanded her slaves that, when a man came, -crawling with his head forward, they should let him go into her pataka -and not kill him, for he would be an atua and of great tapu; but should -they perceive a man standing upright in his canoe, they should take him -and put him to death. - -Now a man came--it was Maui-potiki (Maui the infant), the Morning Sun; -and he came crawling into the world, the pataka of Hine-nui-te-po. Head -foremost he came, and, therefore, the slaves, seeing that he was an atua, -let him into the world unmolested. But Maui-potiki ascends and ascends -up to the very high, of the mid-day, and in his canoe he commences his -descent. Lower and lower he went, standing upright in his canoe, and was -at last seen by the slaves of Hine-nui-te-po. Out of Maui-potiki, the -Morning Sun, has grown Maui-mua, the Evening Sun, and he now is captured -by the slaves and pressed to death by Hine-nui-te-po. - -The night swallows the evening. - -But Maui-potiki, as Morning Sun takes revenge, for he steals off the -sacred fire of his ancestress Mahuika; he returns to the world and puts -fire to Hine-nui-te-po. - -The night is burnt to death by the dawn of the morning. - -[Illustration: MAUI ENTERS HINE-NUI-TE-PO’S PATAKA] - - - - -VIII - -MAUI--THE CREATION OF NEW ZEALAND - - -[Illustration: MAUI] - -Over the sky shoot the first golden rays of the Sun whilst our canoe is -gliding up-river and Honewaka is singing: - - “Who is paddling my canoe along the river? - It is Hine, who takes my heart away from me! - O Rangi, send down thy dark clouds of rain, - That my dear love may not depart from me!-- - O, I wish the water were heaped into waves - So my dear one will not go in haste from me.” - -Honewaka is leader; standing in the middle of the canoe, in his hand the -greenstone-mere, he is chanting mighty songs of encouragement to the -oarsmen, and these are repeated by them whilst paddling to the music, and -the canoe glides joyfully under chanting and merrymaking, between the -cliffs with the overhanging tree-ferns and ratas. - -Honewaka is a leader of great mana; he knows every ripple in the river, -and he knows men. He knows where the canoe glides onward whilst the -spirits of his men are not in the paddles, and he knows how to incite -their spirits by powerful songs so that, when the rapids are fighting -their strongest, the spirits of men uniting to their greatest strength in -the paddles will be victorious. - -There rushes a rapid. - -The eyes of the leader commence to roll; his weapon shakes; his breath is -short, as he sings: - -“Who is paddling my canoe along the river?”--and the crew, putting force -into the paddles, answer: “It is Hine, who takes my heart away from me!” - -The water rushes and foams around the canoe, and the singing, the chorus, -and the paddling, follow the quick time-beating mere: quicker and quicker. - -Honewaka, with rolling eye, makes a sudden bound, shouting: - -“O, she is beautiful--beautiful!”--and half the crew changes the paddle -with the strong and elastic tokos (punting-sticks)--one voice crying: -“O, Hone, tickle her!” The crew laughs, but with the jest seems to come -sudden life into the paddles, greatly assisted by the force of the -holding and bending tokos. - -Hone, excited now and with furious gestures, shouts: - -“O Rangi, send down thy dark clouds of rain,” Quicker and quicker, -excited by Hone’s singing, quicker and quicker pull the paddles, and -amidst the shouting chorus, under the force of the powerful shifting and -bending tokos, battles the canoe through the rapid. - -Now the point is reached where the strength of the rushing waters is -greatest, and the canoe will not move. Honewaka with greatest excitement -cries: - -“O, she is tall like the rata.” - -The crew, answering wildly: “It is Hine, who paddles my heart away with -her.” - -Hone: “O, she is lithe like the toe-toe.” - -Crew: “O, Rangi, send down thy dark clouds of rain.” - -The spirits of the men are roused, and the roaring rush of the rapid -becomes harmless under the steady living power of the paddles and the -mighty pulling of the bending and trembling tokos. Into the silent, -reflecting calmness of the higher water-reach the canoe suddenly shoots. - -Ngawai, sitting in the prow, folds her arms over her paddle, and looks -listlessly in the trembling and rushing waters, and smiles. Now the -beautiful calm of the silent reach is gained; and the voice of Honewaka -is low, mingling with the distant rolling of the rapid, as he narrates -the story of the Taniwha, who lives in the caves of the rapid, and who -has swallowed many a brave, when his song was not powerful enough or was -displeasing to the Taniwha (water-monster). Then she broke the canoes on -the large stones and took the strong men and beautiful women into her -dark cave for food. Disdainfully looks Ngawai back, for now the battle is -won, and women despise the conquered foe, be it man or spirit. - -Great is the power of the Spirits who live in the image of a beautiful -woman; greater is the power of the spirits awakened by incantations to -the gods; and the power of man lies in the incantations which capture the -gods into their weapon--but twice powerful is such a weapon when used in -the service of a beautiful woman. - -The distant rolling of the rapid now sounds like happy laughter of -beautiful women far away over the water. - -“Haere-mai, me o tatou mate” comes in the evening the wailing welcome -from the Maori pa on the cliffs. - -“Long is it, friend, since a man of your colour came to me, a great -Tohunga-pakeha (white priest), and he took great pains to teach me the -words of his Truth. - -The words of his god. - -I was young then, and Takakopiri, who was then so old that he could -remember Te Repo-repo, the large war-canoe, growing still as a tree in -the forest, had given to me the wisdom of the ancient. It was given to -him by his grandfather, the Tohunga, Te-puha-o-te Rangi, whose mana -was so great that people, saluting him, rubbed noses only against his -knee--he was a great Rangatira. - -Long and marked with many teeth was the waka-paparanga-rakau, the board, -recording the ancestors of Te-puha-o-te Rangi, leading back from ancestor -to ancestor to Maui, who came from Hawaiki and who is the father of this -land, which is called Te-ika-a-maui, or Maui’s fish; and leading still -further, up to the gods. - -The wisdom, my listener, is born at Hawaiki. - -Many a time died the moon, my friend, and was born again out of the -Living Fountain of Tane Mahuta, while I was asking the words of the book. - -Yes, beautiful is the Truth!-- - -But endless to count since then are the Floods who came down the river -when his great Father, the mountain Ruapehu, shook off his white garment -of snow, and my flesh has dried to the bones. Yes, friend, I loved the -Truth of the white Tohunga; but she was not like a woman to me: she gave -me no offspring. - -Ah, the multitude of voices of the past are in my heart, and my -hands can touch the spirits of my ancestors, as they can touch my -waka-paparanga-rakau; and they come and feed me with joy, like children -feed the aged, and my heart is glowing with the power of my ancestors--of -Maui the Strong. - -Ah! his great power attempted his greatest deed: to take the heart of -Hine-nui-te-po, that man may live for ever; but his incantations were -overcome by the Mother of All, and she swallowed him, as she swallows -all--Maui-i-tiki-tiki-a-taranga.” - -[Illustration: A TOHUNGA] - -[Illustration] - - -TE IKA A MAUI - -Listen: - -Taranga was his mother, but--ah, for Tama-nui-ki-te Rangi! ah, for -Tama-nui-ki-te Rangi, what would have become of Maui? But a prey of the -birds of the sea, ah! Tama found a bundle of jellyfish and sea-kelps -on the shore, and the sea-birds were collecting around it fighting and -screaming; so he went, and, stripping the fish and sea-kelps, he saw that -they were covering and enclosing a child--Maui-potiki. - -Ah, behold Maui-potiki, Maui, the infant, reared and fashioned by the -fish and the weeds and the waves, by storms and gales of the rolling -sea--ah, but for Tama-nui-ki-te Rangi, what would have become of Maui, -alone on the shore? What but a prey of the sea-birds? - -Maui-potiki! - -Ah, Listen: - -Before his time Maui was born, and Taranga, his mother, who gave birth -to him on the border of the sea, knew that he could not live; therefore -she cut her hair, and, wrapping it around him, she threw him into the -surf of the sea--ah. She sang many incantations which have power over the -evil spirits; for know, my listener, they are watching for the children -who are born to life, before their life is ripe. They try to enter the -body and fill the departing spirit of the child with hatred for man--for -the departing spirit will never know and receive the joys of man; and -therefore, friend, the dead-born children form the multitude of evil -spirits. - -Ah, great were Taranga’s incantations, but what would have become of -Maui but for the love of Tangaroa? Tangaroa, the god of the oceans! His -are the waves, and they rolled and rocked the child to sleep, and they -fashioned him and gave him strength; and they took possession of him -and gave him the power of the sea and the wisdom of the sea--their great -incantations which unite heaven and earth; and they gave him the terrible -witchcraft of the sea. - -Then, rolling him gently on the sand of the beach, the jellyfish robed -him, and the seaweeds--ah, my listener! - -Tama-nui-ki-te Rangi became his father, and he lived with him till he -grew into manhood. Many were his deeds, and great was his cunning: he -learned powerful incantations, and he learned how to take the shape of -the birds. - -At last a great longing for his parents and his brothers grew in his -heart, and he set out to seek them, for his heart was longing for them. -He wandered and wandered toward the Edge of the Ascending Sun, and many -days more he wandered, till he came to the great whare-puni; and all the -people were there, and full of enjoyment and happiness. - -He saw a woman who was counting her sons: - - “Maui-i-mua--my eldest; - Maui-i-roto--my second-born; - Maui-i-taha--my third son; and - Maui-i-pai--my other son;” - -and, perceiving Maui-potiki, she demanded: “Whom do I see among my -children?” - -Maui, assuming before her eyes the form of a pigeon, flew upon the -forehead of Rangi, whose carved image supported the house, and, sitting -there, he spoke: “If you are Taranga, my mother, then know, that I am -Maui-potiki, your youngest son.” - -Ha! great was the wisdom given him by Tangaroa, and great was his beauty -and strength, fashioned by the storms of the sea, so that, when he took -the form of man again, his mother saw his great beauty and she believed -in him, and knew that he was her son; and she spoke: - -“Do you come from the North?”; and Maui answered: “No.” - -And again she asked: “Do you come from the South?” Maui again answered: -“No.” - -And she asked again: “Do you come from the West?” Maui again answered: -“No.” - -And she spoke again: “Do you come from the East?”--and again Maui -answered: “No.” - -She said: “Do you come on the waves of the sea?”--and Maui spoke: “The -waves of the sea rolled me.” - -And she said: “Do you come on the waves of the wind?”--and Maui said -“Yes!” - -Then Taranga cried: “It is true! He is the youngest son to whom I gave -birth, and cast his body into the sea because his life was not ripe. He -is here again; he is alive; it is true, it is true, it is true! He is my -son; he is Maui-i-tiki-tiki-a-taranga!” - -Ah, listen, my friend to Maui; Maui, my ancestor! - -Three times he slept in the house of his mother, but every morning when -he awoke he found his mother had disappeared before day-break. - -The next night, when Taranga had come again to sleep with her sons, he -waited till all were asleep, and then he closed every hole and rent -through which light could come into the house, and put away Taranga’s -feather-garment and belt, that she might not be able to go away again. In -the darkness now Taranga slept till the Sun was standing high, and she -cried and searched for her garment and belt. Not finding them she covered -herself with an old mat, and ran to a tuft of reeds which grew near the -house, and disappeared beneath it. - -Maui followed her, and, lifting the tuft, he found that it covered the -entrance to a cave. - -[Illustration: MAUI CHANTING INCANTATIONS] - -Quickly now he changed himself into a pigeon, and, binding the white belt -of his mother around his neck and her black feather-garment before his -breast, he flew to the entrance of the cave, and, entering it, he flew -and flew and flew through the long and dark cave till he saw at last -the people of another world. Thither he flew, and rested upon a large -tree. Sitting there, he perceived that his mother and father were among -the people, and he threw down two berries, hitting both, his mother and -Makea-tu-tara his father. They thought the berries had fallen from the -tree, and took no heed; but Maui threw and hit them again, and then -again. At last all saw the pigeon, and they began to throw stones, to -kill it; but they could not hit Maui until at length he wanted them to, -and then he fluttered down to the feet of his father. The people now -sprang forward to kill the pigeon, but Maui quickly changed into a man -again, so that they were struck with fear, and looked frightened into his -staring red eyes: they were as red as if they were painted with kokowai. - -Ah, my listener, Taranga, seeing her son, chanted the great Song of -Welcome of the people of Hawaiki; and then, staring far into the -distance, she sang the incantations to the gods who record the past, -and with their help she narrated to the people all that had taken place -since Maui’s birth, and the people wondered, and believed that Maui was -Taranga’s son--Maui-i-tiki-tiki-a-taranga. - -And from that time, Maui lived with his people for time, and time, and -time. - -At last, Maui, full of knowledge and cunning, wished for a weapon, so -that he might perform great deeds that no other men could do. He wished -for a sacred weapon, and he held many Karakias to the gods whose abode is -the tools of the warrior. - -One day he asked the people who brought food every day to -Muri-Rangi-whenua, his grandfather, and said: “Give me the food that -I may take it to Muri-Rangi-whenua, for is he not a sacred man?” And -they gave it to him, and he carried it away; but did not give it to his -ancestor. Many were the days that passed since he took the food away; but -he did not give it to the old man, whose cries became louder and louder, -for he was very old and hungry. - -At last the spirit of his life took his abode in the jawbone, and, -departing from there to be swallowed by Hine-nui-te-po, he left the -jawbone--as his last resting-place, tapu (sacred)--behind him. - -Ah, behold now, my stranger, how, taking the sacred jawbone of -Muri-Rangi-whenua, he became the possessor of his powerful weapon. And -truly wonderful deeds did he perform with his sacred weapon. Is not all -this land its prey--this land, Te-ika-a-Maui? Look how he wanders till he -reaches a place on the river at Hawaiki--look how he does not touch any -food--look how he distributes the great tapu over the place, how he makes -it sacred to the most powerful gods only, and--look, ah, look how he -forms the jawbone of Muri-Rangi-whenua into a beautiful fish-hook; how he -adorns it with carvings, and how its eyes of pawa-shell, flash fire into -the world! Ha, look, my friend, how he, with great cunning, fashions the -teeth into barbs! Ah, see him giving to his weapon the great name of his -ancestor, Muri-Rangi-whenua. - -Ha, now he held the great Karakia over his fish-hook, making it sacred -as an abode for the mightiest gods; and, hiding it in his belt, he went -back to his brothers, and he watched them trying to catch fish; but could -never land them, for their hooks had no barbs. He said laughingly: “O, -brothers, let us together go upon the sea to find out who may catch the -largest fish.” - -But his brothers were afraid of Maui and his cunning and witchcraft: they -did not like him in the canoe, and therefore they left so early next -morning that Maui had to stay behind. - -When Maui awoke and found his brothers gone, he laughed, and changed -himself into the little bird, Ti-waka-waka, and flew out upon the sea. -When he had reached the canoe he set himself upon the prow, and began to -twitter and sing. - -Then his brothers knew him, and cried: “It is Maui, oh, it is Maui, who -has come!”--and Maui, flying around the canoe, twittered: “Yes, brothers, -it is Maui, it is Maui, who has come, Maui, Maui!” Then, throwing off all -his feathers one by one, he took the form of man again, and spoke: “Ha, -my brothers, now you shall see how Maui catches his large fish, and you -shall not know its name! But let us go further out upon the sea--there, -where the sea is deep, there is Maui’s fishing-ground.” His brothers now -paddled and paddled, till at last they said: “Truly Maui, this must be -your fishing-ground, for we can see Hawaiki no more.” But Maui answered: -“No, no,--let us go further out--where there is no more end to the sea.” - -At last they came to a place in the middle of the ocean, and Maui -spoke: “Eh-hu, my brothers, this is Maui’s fishing-ground, the great -battle-field for his fish-hook, Muri-Rangi-whenua.” - -Now he took his fish-hook with great care, so that his brothers might not -see the barbs, and asked them to give him some of their bait; but they -laughed, and cried: “No, no; mighty Maui, show us your big fish, the fish -we do not know--the fish you catch without bait!--ho, ho, the great fish -of Maui!” - -Ha, ha, my friend. - -But now, in great rage, Maui tore half his hair out, and, soaking it with -his blood, he baited his hook with it. Then he threw his line far, far -out into the sea, and began to chant this great incantation: - - “Blow gently from the wakarua, - Blow gently from the mawaki - My line, let it pull straight, - My line, let it pull strong; - It has caught, - It has come. - The land is gained. - The fish is in the hand-- - The fish long waited for, - The boast of Maui, - His great haul, - For which he went to sea, - His boast, it is caught!” - -Ha, see how his fish has swallowed the hook! Ha, see how his line -straightens; see how Maui pulls and pulls with all his mighty strength! -See, how his strength presses the canoe under water! Ha, listen how his -brothers cry and wail; ha, ha, listen! “Maui, Maui, let go; let your fish -go; oh, let go, let go, Maui!” Ha, ha, see how Maui pulls, and pulls, and -pulls; see him pulling for three moons! Ha, listen how he shouts to his -brothers: “What Maui has got in his hands he cannot let go again!” - -Hearken now to his incantations to the gods who make heavy things -light--ah, see him gathering together all his mighty strength, ah, see -him pull, see him pull! Ah, friend, the sea foams, the sea thunders, the -sea storms--ha, oh see, ah--ha, behold the fish of Maui, Maui’s fish -swimming upon the surface of the sea--Maui’s fish--Ha, friend, it is this -land! It is Te-ika-a-Maui.--Aotea-roa, this land.--Ah, behold the wisdom -of my ancestors: how Maui’s hook caught the house of the old Tonga-nui on -the top of Tongariro, and pulled all this beautiful land out of the sea, -Te-ika-a-Maui. - -“Open now your throats that are still hoarse and tired from crying, my -brothers, and tell me the name of my fish”: so spoke Maui boastingly; but -they could not give the name of the fish, and Maui said full of pride: -“It is Te-ika-a-Maui!” - -The canoe was now lying on the mountains at Hiku rangi, and Maui’s -brothers took their weapons and sprang forth, and wounded and killed the -fish, and, ah, my friend, from that time are the hills and the valleys -and the mountains: they are the foot-prints of the brothers who did not -follow Maui’s bidding that they should wait till he had made offering to -the gods that they might regard his catch with favour, and that his fish -might retain its beautiful smooth surface for ever. - -[Illustration: MAUI FISHING NEW ZEALAND OUT OF THE OCEAN] - -No, they did not follow Maui’s advice. Maui, our -ancestor----Ah----(_murmuring very low_): Maui-i-tiki-tiki-a-Taranga---- - -Ah,----(_and lower still_): Angi, angi ki te wakarua----Angi, angi -ki-te-ma-wa-ki----Tuku----aho----to---- - - Respect demands sleep. - Tapu is the sleep of the very aged. - -[Illustration] - - - - -IX - -MAHUIKA - -[Illustration: TRADITION] - - -The Gods and the heroes of the Maori people are personifications of -Nature and her elemental powers: through the forms and doings of these -gods and heroes alone could they understand Nature--night and light, -cloud and lightning, sun and ocean. - -The personalities and deeds of these heroes were human translations of -the unfathomable workings of Nature and the character of the elements: -the winter became the mother of the summer, but the winter has to devour -his child again; the night kills the evening, but the morning kills the -night through its fire. The moon is slowly eaten by her enemies, and must -descend to the dead that she may be born anew out of the world of death; -the gods of the lower world devour the dead that they may be cleaned -and come to life again in the Reinga. The sun alone is wandering daily -through the heavens, and nightly through the world of darkness, with -never diminished brilliancy; and this phantasy gave birth to the Sun-god -Maui, the great hero of the Maori people. - -Taranga, the goddess of the Night-sun, is his mother, but -Tama-nui-ki-te-Rangi, Great Son of Heaven, lifts him as a child, -Maui-potiki, out of the ocean upon which he is swimming, and rears him -into manhood. With him Maui learns to use his great wisdom, given to him -by the sea--his Sun-wisdom. He learns how to assume the form of birds, to -throw spears, to cast fishing lines, for birds, spears, fishing-lines, -are the wisdom of the sun-rays. - -Grown into manhood, and in full possession of his Sun-wisdom, he wanders -forth to find his brothers, the heroes of the Ascending Sun, the Sun at -midday, the evening Sun, and his mother, the Night-Sun. - -[Illustration: TARANGA, THE NIGHT-SUN, AND MAUI] - -His mother recognises him as her son whom she had given birth, and had -thrown into the sea, and she takes him into her house; through cunning he -follows his mother--who only lives with her children during the night--as -pigeon; bird--sunrays, through the caves of the lower world to Hawaiki. -Here he throws his berries (sunrays) upon his father and the people and -is again recognised by his mother and received with songs of welcome by -her and with incantations by his father to make him all-powerful, in the -world into which he has now entered as the first Sun-rise. - -But after a time he extinguishes all the fires of the world, and enters -the Lower World to steal new fire from his ancestress Mahuika. - -Mahuika is the mother of the fire, and her children, living in her -fingers are the first rays of light which shoot over the sky in the -mornings. In order to ask for one of her fingers he visits Mahuika, but -he deceives her, and she, to punish him, sets fire to the world. Out -of this fire--the second Sunrise--emerges the flying Maui, flying as -sun-eagle over the heavens, and hurling himself at last into the ocean. - -That was the first sunset. - - - - -X - -MAUI AND MAHUIKA - - -[Illustration: MAHUIKA] - -“Listen, friend. - -Maui extinguished all fires in Hawaiki, and no fire was burning anywhere, -and all was cold and dark. Then he called out: ‘Where are the lazy -slaves? Maui is hungry; where are the slaves to cook his food?’ And all -people were awakened by his noise, and they found all fires extinguished -at Hawaiki. - -Ah.-- - -The ancestress of Maui, my listener, Mahuika, was now alone in all the -world in the possession of fire, for she is the mother of fire, which is -living in her finger. She was to be found at her great dwelling-place in -the Lower World, but it was terrible to go near her; and fear entered -into the hearts of the people of Hawaiki, for who could go near her in -her terrible beauty? Ha! Maui alone, the great hero--ah, Maui, my tupuna! -(ancestor).--Oh listen, my wanderer--Maui alone had the courage to go -to Mahuika to ask her for one of her fingers! He wandered through the -caves of the Lower World, and nearer and nearer he approached Mahuika, -his heart full of courage and cunning; but, ha, when his eyes beheld his -ancestress, he began to tremble so that he could not speak--ah, friend, -Mahuika was beautiful to look upon in her dark cave surrounded by her -children, who shone forth out of the darkness. At last Maui overcame his -fear and he spoke: “Oh, old woman, Mahuika, will you give me some of your -fire?” - -[Illustration: MAUI’S FIGHT WITH THE SUN] - -Mahuika, surrounded by fire, was terrible to behold--ah, my listener, -terrible. She cried: “Au-eh, who is there in the light of my -children?”--and Maui answered: “It is Maui, your grandson.” Mahuika now -asked him the four sacred questions, and he answered them as he had -answered Taranga, when Mahuika knew that her grandchild was standing -before her in the light of her fire, and she spoke: “Yes, my son, I will -that you receive the fire you have asked for”--and she took one of her -fingers and gave it to Maui. - -With the fire he now wandered back, but, when he had travelled part of -his way, his old cunning overmastered him, and he resolved to take all -the fire of Mahuika. Ha, ha! - -He killed the finger Mahuika had given him in a great water, and went -back to his ancestress to ask for another finger, telling her that he had -lost the first one. - -And Mahuika gave him another finger--ha, ha. - -He killed the second finger, too, in the great water, and came back to -ask for more; and his ancestress gave him another finger--ha, ha--ah! -Maui came again and again, and Mahuika gave him all her fingers till she -had only one left--ha, ha! Maui killed them all in the great water; but, -when he again came back and asked for the last finger, then Mahuika knew -that he wished to deceive her and kill her, and a frightful anger took -hold upon her! Ha, she took her last child, her last finger, and threw it -upon the world, and the world filled with fire--ha! - -Ah, then Maui began to run! - -The flames grew larger and larger, and followed him; he ran into the -forests, and the forests caught fire--ah, Maui, my ancestor--ah, he ran -into the river, but the river began to boil--ah! He took the form of an -eagle, but the flames pursued him high into the air. Ha!--he sang great -incantations to Tawhiri-matea and the gods, and they sent clouds of rain. -The clouds wandered forth from the end of heaven and burst into rain, and -long rain fell upon the fire, and heavy rain, and lasting rain. Through -the rain flew Maui, and threw himself into the sea, to save himself from -the terrible wrath of his ancestress Mahuika--ah! - -Ah, my listener, Maui had almost perished through the terrible fire that -filled the world, but Mahuika, ah, Mahuika, she had to perish in the -endless floods which fell down upon the world. She knew that she had -to die, and she filled the world with terrible cries. With her great -swiftness--for is she not the mother of the fire?--she ran and ran to -save her child, the flame; and she ran and ran but the flood of the rain -always followed her. At last, knowing that she must die, she took her -last child, her last finger, and hid it in the Kai-Komaki tree--and then, -my listener, the rain has slain the mother of the fire--ah! - -But the Kai-Komaki tree has sheltered up to this day the child of the -fire, so that men take its dry wood and rub it together till the flame -which once lived in the finger of Mahuika bursts forth to new life again. - -You have heard how Maui cheated his ancestress Mahuika, and nearly -perished in the flames. Listen now to the song of his great strength and -braveness, that you may know how he once fought and conquered Te Ra, the -Sun, himself. - -These are my words: - -They were the days when our ancestors were still living at Tawhiti-nui, -the Great Distance. - -The days were short, and Te Ra, the Sun, wandered through the heavens and -through the Lower World; but the days became shorter and shorter, and -faster and faster wandered the Sun through the heavens. - -Ah, the nights grew longer and longer, and in the long nights grew the -longing for longer days in the heart of Maui, and out of the longing was -born his great cunning plan to fight the Sun and to compel him to create -longer days. - -Ah, listen how he persuades his brothers in Tawhiti-nui to aid him in his -work! Frightened were his brothers at first, but, when he showed them his -art of making sacred ropes out of the long hair of women, and of forming -the ropes into nooses, then the hearts of the brothers lost their fear, -and they began to burn with eagerness for the fight. - -Yes, Maui taught his brothers the art of making ropes, and from him -descended his wisdom to my people. - -At last, my listener, all ropes and nooses were ready, and the brothers -burdened themselves with them, and they together started on their distant -journey. - -Maui took his sacred fish-hook, Muri-Rangi-whenua, the End of Heaven and -Land, and showed his brothers the way. They wandered by night, and, as -soon as the sacred red broke forth at Mahiku-rangi, they hid themselves -under the rocks, that Te Ra might not see them. And again they wandered -forth by night till they had wandered many, many nights; and they at -last reached the cliffs of the caves out of which Te Ra ascended in the -mornings. - -Ha, here they looked for shelter, and Maui warned his brothers not to -expose themselves to the arrows of the Sun, that they might not be killed -in the battle. - -[Illustration] - -Ah, Maui, the hero, he spoke to his brothers till all fear had left their -hearts, and the desire filled them to fall upon their enemy; and then -Maui showed them how they could catch Te Ra in their ropes; and he showed -them how to hold the ropes--tight, tight, and tight, so that the Sun -would be powerless and he could kill him with his sacred weapon. - -Ha, let the eyes of your mind perceive how Te Ra ascends out of the -Lower World--see how he slowly appears in the precipice; see, oh see, -how he entangles himself in the strong ropes--how the brothers throw the -nooses--Look, ah, the Sun is caught! - -Ha, the brothers hold; they hold tight. Oh, see Maui!--Maui springs -forward with his sacred weapon--Te Ra cries!--Ah, Maui beats him; look, -he bleeds!--ha, again he beats the Sun; again--again--Te Ra cries -wildly!--ah, ah--Maui has broken his wing--O Maui, the hero!--Ha, that -is a terrible battle! Oh, see the eyes on Maui’s fish-hook flashing -light--see the carvings; ha, see the adornment of sacred dog’s-hair--Ah, -his weapon is superbly beautiful! Ha, did you see the arrows of the Sun? -Do you see the flashing of his arrows?--Ha, Maui, the brave!--Now, the -Sun cries!--friend, she trembles!--she tears--she pulls!--Her blood is -covering the whole East of the heaven!--Ha, Maui--Maui----my ancestor! -Ha, oh--ha, Te Ra has torn himself free! Ha, beaten by his enemies, -bleeding from terrible wounds, with broken wings, with cries of pain he -goes his way--slowly--slowly----Oh, Maui!-- - -Can you hear Te Ra wailing? Ah, he cries!--What is he crying? Ah, he -cries: “Ah, why has man wounded me so terribly?--ah man, do you know that -you have wounded Tama-nui-ki-te-Ra? Why would you kill Tama-nui-ki-te-Ra?” - -Ah, my listener-- - -That was the first time that the great name of the Sun was made known in -Hawaiki--Tama-nui-ki-te Ra!-- - -When Maui heard that great name, his heart glowed in pride, for he knew -then that he had fought the greatest battle a hero can fight, that he had -conquered the Great Son of the Heaven. - -From that time the Sun went slowly over the heavens, so that the days -became long again and full of happiness for the people at Hawaiki. - -Go, my friend, and remember the words of the old man who is your friend!” - - - - -XI - -[Illustration] - -THE DEATH OF MAUI - - -Many descendants had Maui; and many of them were living at Hawaiki, and -many were living in this land, in Aotea-roa. When he had created this -land; when through his great deed he had compelled Tama-nui-ki-te-ra to -prolong the days that the hearts of his descendants may be gladdened; and -when at last he had cheated Mahuika out of her flames which were living -now in the Kamaki-tree to give fire and warmth to his children, then the -life at Hawaiki became finer and finer; and finer and finer became the -life at Aotea-roa. That was the time when the great wish grew in the -heart of Maui, the wish to conquer his powerful enemy Hine-nui-te-po, -that Night might die and man may live for ever: ake, ake, ake!--yes, it -was his great wish. - -At length he wandered to the tree at Hawaiki, and here he found his -parents, and told them of his great desire. But his parents were still -angry with him about the evil trick he had played on Mahuika, the trick -which had nearly cost him his life; but he laughed, and spoke boastingly: -“Ho, old people, have I not done greater deeds than this one? Who caught -the big fish, Te ika-a-Maui? Who?--Maui! Who captured Tama-nui-ki-te-Ra? -Who?--Maui! Truly, old people, Maui will continue on his way for ever and -ever! Ha, he will go and kill Hine-nui-te-po! Hine-nui-te-po!--so that -the life of man may be for ever and ever: ake, ake, ake! Who is stronger -than Maui?” - -And his father answered: “Hine-nui-te-po, whom you may behold yonder -flashing on the horizon, is stronger than Maui!” - -Thereupon laughed Maui, and spoke: “When Hine-nui-te-po can take my life, -then you can tell me how her looks are, ha, ha!” But his father spoke -warningly: “Ah, my son, her eyes, which you see flashing yonder, are dark -as greenstone; her teeth are sharp as obsidian; her mouth is like the -mouth of the Baracuta, and the hair of her head is the sea-weed; her body -alone has human form!” - -But Maui only laughed, and asked: “Is Hine-nui-te-po as strong as -Tama-nui-ki-te-Ra? Is her strength as the strength of the sea, which I -have conquered and filled with land? Is her power as great as the power -of the fire--Ha, ha?” And his father had to answer: “It is well, my -youngest son; go brave there where you find your ancestress flashing with -fire on the horizon, and conquer her. Go, son of mine!”-- - -[Illustration: HINE-NUI-TE-PO KILLING MAUI] - -Maui now took the shape of a beautiful coloured bird, and flew high up -in the sacred tree at Hawaiki, and sang and twittered till all the birds -of the forest collected around him: the Tui and the Huia and the Kaka, -the little Fantail and the Robin--all the birds followed the sweet call -of Maui, and great singing and life and happiness were in the tree at -Hawaiki. - -When night came Maui and all the birds flew toward the west where -Hine-nui-te-po lived, and there they descended and found the old goddess -asleep. - -Maui now took the form of man again, and prayed the birds to be very -careful, and very quiet, and not to laugh, for he was going to undertake -his greatest deed: to enter into Hine-nui-te-po and to steal her heart, -so that she must die and man might live for ever and ever--ake--ake--ake! - -When the little birds heard Maui speaking thus, they fluttered about and -chirruped and were full of fear, and they twittered: “Maui, do not do it, -do not do it, Maui; no, Maui; no, no; Maui, do not do it!” - -But Maui only laughed, and threw off his mat, so that all birds could see -his beautiful tattoo, the work of the god of the Rainbow, and, taking -his enchanted weapon, he entered the old goddess Hine-nui-te-po. All the -while the little birds were flying and fluttering hither and thither and -were full of fear for Maui. They fluttered noiselessly through the bushes -and higher then up the trees and, looking out of curiously glittering -eyes upon Maui, they were happy, beholding the wonderful spectacle of -Maui entering Hine-nui-te-po. - -Ah, then was it that the little bird Tiwakawaka could not longer be -silent, but burst out into a heartfelt twittering laughter. Ah, the sweet -noise awoke the old goddess, and opening her greenstone eyes, she saw -Maui and his doings. Wrath overcame her, and quickly she snapped her jaws -together, biting through Maui and killing him with her sharp teeth of -obsidian. Then she took him down into the everlasting darkness. - -That was the death of Maui! - - - - -XII - -TE AROHA O THE LOVE OF HINEMOA - -[Illustration: TE AROHA O - -THE LOVE OF HINEMOA - -Tutanekai] - -High above the sandhills Rangi the mighty spreads his Garment of Day. It -is adorned with a border of snow-white clouds, which is resting on the -distant hills of Papa, Papa, the happy. - -Ah, she is sending white cloud-messengers of her love up to Rangi, to -Rangi, the smiling, the beloved of Papa. - -His golden Eye of Day caresses Papa, and looks down upon her with -tenderness, and her blood mounts blushing into her cheeks of -snow-white cliffs, and higher into the crimson glory of the flowering -Pohutukawa-trees which crown the cliffs. The crimson flowers flutter down -on the beach, of which Tangaroa, the unresting, takes possession again -with long-rolling lines of froth borne on transparent waves and thrown -ashore with majestic laughter and thundering songs to Papa, the beautiful -mother. - -“See, how Rangi’s Eye of Day looks down, my good friend, filling the -heart with longing. Ah, longing for happiness enters the heart of man, -and Hine-nui-te-po is forgotten.” - -“Tell me, Ngawai, my good friend, what you have heard of the people who -have wandered before us on the path to the Mother of Rest. Tell me what -you have heard listening by the fires of the whare.” - -“Listen then, while we wander along the border of the sea to the love -that has been, the love of both, the two, of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.” - -“The clear waters of the Waitemata never gave back such a beautiful -image, nor did the flowing water of the Waikato nor the bottomless -depth of Taupo-moana, as did the lake Rotorua on the evenings when the -world was calm and Hinemoa looked down into the depths and was full of -gladness.” - -Ngawai commences her narrative while the sun paints a blue halo in the -black hair around her head. The light plays in the sunburnt face, the -lips quiver, and the large eyes, full of light, see in the distance what -the lips utter. - -“Oh, Hinemoa was full of gladness and was smiling at her image for joy, -for over the sea sweetly sounds the music of the flute and the horn -played by Tutanekai and his friend Tiki, far off in the middle of the -lake on the island of Mokoia, Tutanekai’s home.” - -[Illustration: HINEMOA] - -And she sat and listened murmuring to the water: “Oh, Tutanekai, how -sweet is thy music to my heart! On many a calm night has Hinemoa -listened, and her joy grew always greater, and her heart happier within -her. Sometimes there were great gatherings of the people on the mainland, -in the pa (village) of Amukaria, Hinemoa’s father, and Tutanekai came -over, but he felt sorrowful amidst the feasting and frolic. He stole -quick glances at the beautiful maiden, but his hand was trembling -and he was ashamed; and he glanced over where Hinemoa was sitting -like a beautiful white heron among a flock of Kiwi, and his heart was -frightened. He was frightened and ill, and was full of wrath over it, as -over a lizard that ate away his heart. Therefore he longed for powerful -enemies, to fight away his trembling, and thus to forget his fear. - -So he collected his war-friends and went away like a dark cloud to the -tribe of his enemies, challenging them to battle; and great was the -fighting, and many were slain, but Tutanekai was victorious, so that he -took many slaves and made great offerings to the God of War. - -The great battle and the many offerings to the War God gladdened his -heart again, and he was frightened no more. - -But again, when he was home with his friend Tiki, his music wandered over -the water, and took his heart away to Hinemoa, and it brought back her -image, as she listened on the shore, and sorrow again grew within him. So -he sent Tiki, his friend, to Hinemoa, to tell her of his great sorrow in -being away from her, and to ask her to come to him and to his heart, that -it might lose its fright and be full of gladness. - -Watchful was Amukaria, but Tiki gave his message, and full of gladness -answered Hinemoa: “Eh-hu, is then each of us growing in the heart of the -other?”--and she promised to come to Tutanekai in a canoe, late on a -black night, when he would play his sweetest music to call for her and to -guide her in the darkness. - -Amukaria, a great Ariki, was only willing to give Hinemoa as wife to a -Rangatira of a very high mana, for her beauty was like the Morning Sun -over the lake, and he, knowing the power and danger of such beauty, gave -order that all the canoes should be taken off the lake. Thus, when the -sweet music of Tutanekai called for Hinemoa, she wandered boatless on -the shore, her heart full of tears, for she could not answer Tutanekai’s -calling.” - -Her eyes full of tears, Ngawai wandered along the rolling waves, telling -herself in low tones, in Maori, of all the sorrows of Hinemoa, her -ancestress. Ngawai accompanies her mutterings with movements which -express despair; presses her hands against her heart; stretches her arms -longingly over the ocean and presses them again to her bosom; then she -speaks with a different voice and rapidly: - -“One evening Hinemoa sat listening upon the rock Iri-iri-kapua, and -suddenly the longing to go shook her as an earthquake. The trembling of -love overtook her, and the courage of love overflowed her heart. - -She went to the store-house, and took six dry and empty gourds, and tied -them together with flax for floats, and she went to the edge of the -water, called Wai-rere-wai, threw off her mat of kiwi feathers, and cast -herself to swim the long, long way with the help of the floating gourds. -Oh, my friend, behold Hinemoa like a beautiful flying star casting -herself into the water! - -Oh, Hinemoa, the brave!” - -Silent is Ngawai: her lips are murmuring incantations to Tangaroa; her -hands tremble; her eyes are fixed far away in the distance. - -“Ah, there, behold, she is there where the stump of the sunken tree -stands in the lake---- - -Oh, Hinemoa! - -Her arms are weary and her bosom is panting as she holds on to the -branches of the tree. - -Ah, now has darkness swallowed her!--oh her heart is brave!---- - -On she goes, on, on, weary her limbs, her breast panting, darkness -around; but nearer and nearer comes the sweet music, nearer, nearer, -and at last, with all her strength gone, her hands reach the rocks of -Mokoia, where the hot spring is in the cave Wai-ki-miha. In this cave she -took shelter, for she was cold, and trembling like a dead leaf. Trembling -were her hands, but her heart was full of joy! Weary were her limbs, but -her love was great and happy!” - -Ngawai is striding with quick steps forward, heaving is her bosom, but in -her eyes is fire and she is murmuring to herself. Her heart and thoughts -are far away among the waves of the lake Rotorua, battling there with the -water, as Hinemoa did, her ancestress. - -“Long, long was the way over the water--oh, great was the love of -Hinemoa!-- - -Whilst she was warming herself in the cave, there appeared at the narrow -edge a slave, sent by Tutanekai, to fetch some water; and when he had -filled his calabash Hinemoa called out to him: ‘Slave, for whom is that -water?’--and the frightened slave answered: ‘For Tutanekai, my ariki.’ -Hinemoa spoke: ‘If it is for Tutanekai, then give it to me,’--and the -frightened slave reached her the calabash, and she drank and broke it -on the rocks. The slave called out: ‘Why did you break Tutanekai’s -calabash?’ But Hinemoa never answered. - -Again did Tutanekai send the slave, and again spoke Hinemoa: ‘Give me -Tutanekai’s calabash’--and again the frightened slave reached it to her -into the darkness, and she drank and broke it again. - -When Tutanekai heard the words of the slave, he reached full of wrath for -his war-weapon of whalebone, calling, so that it sounded all over the -island: ‘Woe be to the man, woe be to the bad spirit, woe be to him who -broke my calabashes! I will make a calabash out of his skull!’” - -Harsh come the words from Ngawai’s lips, but full of laughter are her -eyes, and she wanders a while, smiling to herself. - -“Tutanekai, in the dark cave, his powerful weapon lifted for a deadly -blow cried fiercely: ‘Who is that enemy, that I may give his name to my -cup which I will make out of his skull?’ - -A voice answered softly out the darkness: ‘It is I’--and the beautiful -Rangatira, dressed in her flowing hair, stretched longingly her arms -towards Tutanekai: ‘O, Tutanekai, my ariki, kill me, kill Hinemoa.’ - -Ha! the powerful weapon fell to the ground like a useless stick; -forgotten was the God of War; forgotten the lizards: sorrow and fear and -full of love sounds the voice out of the cave: ‘Hinemoa!’ - -And from the rocks it echoed over the lake: ‘Hinemoa!’” - -Long is Ngawai staring in her hands, squatting down on the beach, then -form her lips one word: “Hinemoa.” - - - - -XIII - -MAUI AND IRAWARU: A TRADITION - - -[Illustration: MAUI AND IRAWARU] - -The Sun is setting, and our canoe is gliding, slowly, with the tide, -up the river. Hupene, sitting in the prow, is staring to the west, and -mutters lowly to himself; Ngawai plays lazily with the paddle, and is -listening to what the old man is muttering, while the sandhills slowly -pass by. - -Hupene is staring into the broad reflexion of the Sun over the sea, but -he has to close his eyes; and, bending his head, he commences a low-toned -chant. Of Maui he sings, yes, of Maui, the hero of his people. - -He sings how Maui and Irawaru once went together out to catch fish, and -how Maui could not catch any, and Irawaru caught many. - -Lower sinks the Sun whilst Hupene is murmuring, and the mighty spectacle -of the sunset illustrates his chant. There is the Sun God Maui ready to -steer his Sun-canoe into the Lower Worlds again, singing his song of -farewell to his sister Hinauri, the earth. - -Irawaru, the husband of Hinauri, had followed Maui in the morning upon -the sea, to catch fish--Irawaru is the reflexion of the sun over the sea, -wandering forth with the sun in the mornings to catch fish--what else -could a man do on the sea? - -Maui’s fish-lines are the rays, shining through and between the clouds, -and his sharp-pointed fish-lines may enter deep into the sea among the -fish, but, having no barbs, they are not able to hold and land the fish -in his canoe. But Irawaru’s fishing-lines have many barbs, which you may -see in the ripple of the water, and you may see too, the fish caught, and -playing among Irawaru’s fish-lines. - -“Ah” (sings Hupene) “Irawaru caught many fish, a great many, and -therefore Maui, who had not caught a single one became very angry, and in -his wrath he entangled the fish-lines! Irawaru’s line had caught a fish, -and Maui, feeling it tear and try to free itself, hauled up the lines -with all his might. Ha, when he lifts the fish now out of the water, he -sees that it is caught by Irawaru, but he also sees the secret of the -barbs on Irawaru’s fish-hook.” - -The Sun is nearly touching the sea; Hupene is smiling cunningly to -himself, and the canoe is gliding noiseless in the broad Reflexion of the -Sun. - -“Yes, Maui wanted to kill Irawaru, because he had deceived him with his -barbs. His face becomes red with rage, and he asks Irawaru to help him -land his Sun-canoe upon the shores of the Lower World, for he had reached -Mahiku-rangi, the End of Heaven. Maui is cunning, and Irawaru, not -knowing Maui’s wrath, crawls under the Sun-canoe to help him lift it upon -the shores of the Lower World, when Maui, with all his mighty strength, -began to jump in the canoe, pressing it down, and nearly killing Irawaru. -Then, springing out of his canoe, he jumped and danced upon Irawaru till -his body grew longer and longer and took the form of a tail; and then -with incantations Maui changed Irawaru into a dog.” - -So sings Hupene. The blood-red Sun seems to tremble and dance, before he -sinks below the sea: he changes Irawaru into a dog which is now running -as the last shade of light upon the mountains, whilst the Sun is entering -the Lower World. - -Our canoe is putting ashore to leave Hupene behind; but his sing-song -is not ended yet, and he is standing on the shore before the golden -evening-sky, and finishes his song, which Ngawai in the noiselessly -on-gliding canoe is listening to and translating: - -“Hinauri asked the parting Maui what he had done to her husband, for she -did not see him coming back with him, and Maui answered that Irawaru had -crawled among the bushes on the mountain; that she must go and call out -to him: mo-i-mo-i, Irawaru, mo-i-mo-i. Hinauri did as she was told, and -called and called, till at last a dog came running towards her, and she -knew it was Irawaru, her husband, whom Maui had so cruelly changed into a -dog. She broke out in a great lament, and at last she cast herself into -the sea.” - -The earth follows the parting sun into the darkness. - - - - -XIV - -THE PATU-PAIAREHE: THE FAIRY PEOPLE OF THE MOUNTAINS - - -[Illustration: TAMA-TE-KAPUA - -NGA PATU-PAIAREHE] - - -The Children of the Mist - -By James Cowan. - -Far up in the misty mountains dwell the Patu-paiarehe, the fairies of -Maori Land. They are seldom seen; and, indeed, most mortals who have no -gift of imagination and no mana-tapu cannot expect to behold the good -people; and many who know no better deny their existence. - -It is supposed by some that they were really tribes of aborigines whom -the Maoris found dwelling in this wild new land when they arrived here -from the isles of Polynesia. But the old Maoris say that they still -inhabit certain of the lofty forest-clad mountains of Aotearoa--a -numerous people, some of them tiny gnomes and elves and pixies, some -of them in the presentment of men and women of this world but smaller -and exquisitely-shaped and with fair hair and fair skins just like -Europeans. They are known to the Maoris by several names: Turehu, -Tahurangi, Maero, and Patu-paiarehe; but their common designation is -Patu-paiarehe. They are a bright, cheerful race, and take great pleasure -in music. They are skilled in charms and the art of enchantment, and many -a strange adventure has happened to the Maori who has had the temerity to -venture into their haunts. - -Like the elves of other countries, these fairies of Maori Land dread -daylight, and appear only by night. Sometimes, on dark and gloomy days, -when the thick mists descend and envelop the bare crags and deep ravines -of the mountains of the South, the fairy people will be heard chanting -songs in a thin sweet cadence, and then too will be heard the doleful -sound of the fairy trumpet, and the faint and plaintive music of the -Koauau, or nose-flute, and the voices of the fairy children laughing and -singing above the clouds. But most of all they love the thickly-wooded -mountains of the North, the Fish of Maui, where they live in their little -pas, palisaded like those of the Maoris, and adorned with quaint little -carvings and diminutive figures of fairy ancestors. Few mortals can -discover those pas. They are hidden far away in the shadiest recesses -of the bush, where the mist-maidens hover all day long, and where the -Goddess of the Clouds descends nightly and covers her fairy children -with her loving mantle. A Tohunga alone can perceive those stockades and -houses of the Patu-paiarehe. To ordinary folk who penetrate the fairy -country, those works of the little people are to all appearance mere -trees and rocks and beds of ferns. But, if you have the wise eye and the -Tohunga’s understanding, you will see that the great rimu pine, with its -drooping waterfall of golden foliage, and the lance-like kahikatea, tall -and stately, the knotted and gnarled rata, the graceful nikau palm, and -the lovely tree-fern, swishing gently its broad feather-fronds, are all -part and portion of the Patu-paiarehe dwellings. For the fairies are ever -of the forests: with the forest-trees they live, and with the passing of -the forests they, too, pass away. - -Many are the stories told of the fairy people and their encounters with -mortals. One story says that it was from a party of fairies who were -fishing by night for mackerel (tawatawa) in a bay in the far North, where -they were joined by adventurous Maoris, and who, being surprised by -daylight, fled, leaving their nets on the beach, that the Maori people -first learned the pattern and hitch used in making the large seine -fishing-nets. - -Harmless as the Patu-paiarehe ordinarily were, they yet could worry -mortals considerably on occasion. Some hapus of fairies, for instance, -were in the habit of making periodical nocturnal expeditions to the homes -of the Maoris and carrying off their wives. The korako, or albinos, -sometimes seen amongst the Maoris are said to be the offspring of these -unions; though in the far North they are spoken of as the children of -kehua (ghostly visitants) and the women of this world. One of these -stories of wife-abduction by the fairies relates to Mt Pirongia. - -This beautiful mountain, with its dense woody ridges and valleys, its -cascading brooks and its rocky fastnesses, is in Maori eyes the abode of -hosts of Patu-paiarehe. In the dark moonless nights the lone eel-fisher -out on the Waipa banks would start in affright when on his imaginative -ear broke the sound of the fairies singing in their pas, and he would -promptly fortify himself against their magic wiles by reciting potent -karakia or incantations, and would chant a high quavering waiata to scare -away the goblins of the night. - -One day long ago Te Puhi and I were out pigeon-shooting far up the wooded -slopes of Mt Pirongia. Evening had come upon us while we were intent -upon bagging the “wing-flapping children of Tane”, and, as we had a -long and toilsome journey down the bush ridges and across rapid creeks -to make before we reached the old frontier township of Alexandra, my -Maori companion and I decided upon spending the night in the forest. So, -selecting a comfortable nook beneath the spreading branches of a fine old -rata tree, we were soon enjoying a savoury meal of fat pigeons roasted -over the camping fire, with the turnip-like pith of the nikau palm in -lieu of bread. Tama-nui-te-Ra sank down beyond the westernmost peak into -his ocean cave. The evening mists crept up from the murmuring streams -and the gloomy gullies, and stole noiselessly along the dark forest -ranges; and the Hau-ma-ringiringi, the soft fog-born dews, descended on -the earth. And there was something uncanny in the long dancing gleams -of light which shot through the forest from our bivouac fire. The black -shadows of the woodland swayed like ghosts with the flickering of the -flames; and, Puhi, squatting close by the fire, gazed half fearfully down -the gloomy forest aisles. And presently, in subdued tones, as if he were -chary of arousing the genii of the bush by too loud a tongue, he told the -story of the fairies. - -“O friend of mine, listen! This is the belief of our people. This peak -of Pirongia is an enchanted mountain; and it is well that you, a pakeha, -are with me, else would I perchance be visited by the fairy tribe who -dwell upon these heights. Pirongia is a Maunga-hikonga-uira, that is -a ‘lightning-flashing peak’. Sometimes, when it is fine weather below -on the plains, thunder will be heard rolling along the summit, and the -lightning will be seen darting downwards upon its topmost peak. That is -a tohu maté, an omen of death or misfortune to the Maoris: some chief of -our tribe will die, or some untoward event will overtake the people. And -high up around the top of the mountain live the Patu-paiarehe. - -A great many years ago, many generations before the pakeha came to -these shores and when the plains below us here were covered with the -fires of the Maoris, there lived at the foot of this mountain, near the -Waipa River, a chief named Ruarangi of the tribe to which I too belong. -His wife was named Tawhaiatu, and she was a woman of fine appearance, -a beautiful woman in the eyes of the Maori. And the fairies of the -mountain also considered her a fine wahine, for one morning when Ruarangi -returned to his house in the early dawn, after having been out all night -eel-fishing, he found that his wife had disappeared. He searched long -for her, and called her name aloud, but to no avail. When full daylight -came, Ruarangi, greatly sorrowing, took his spear in his hand and placed -his stone weapon in his belt and went along the track in the direction -of the mountain where the fairies dwelt, for he knew that his wife had -been carried off by a Patu-paiarehe. And, as he paused awhile on his way, -he stretched forth his spear towards the fairy-mountain and wept, and -chanted his song of lamentation for his vanished wife: - - ‘My message of love blows afar, - Borne on the Eastern breeze, - A token of sorrow from the - Beloved one of your dreams, - Here stand I, in whose fond arms - You oft reposed. Oh, loved one of my - Heart! Return! - My head is bowed with grief. - Return! Incline to me your face; - Like rushing fountains see my tears down fall.’ - -And lying in wait for two days near the forest pa, Ruarangi performed -the ceremonies and repeated the incantations to recover his ravished -wife. By stratagem he gained the place where she had been taken to by -the fairy--the Patu-paiarehe did not perceive him, else had he been a -dead man; and in haste he took her, before her fairy husband could follow -in pursuit, and they reached their village on the banks of the Waipa in -safety. - -But Ruarangi and his wife knew that, though they were back in their -home, the fairy chief or his followers would come by night and endeavour -to regain possession of her. Their hearts sank as they communed long -with one another in the shelter of their raupo house and planned how to -prevent the fairies from again carrying Tawhaiatu away. And at night -there came the spirit of one of their priestly ancestors, and it sat on -the ridge-pole of their house and the thin whistling voice of the wairua -spoke down to them as they sat by the fire in the centre of the whare: - -[Illustration: THE MAORIS AND THE FAIRY PEOPLE] - -‘Oh, friends, I greet you! Hearken to my words. Smear the sacred paint -of kokowai all over your bodies, and paint the inside of your house and -the door-posts and the door and threshold also with the kokowai, for the -Patu-paiarehe fear the kokowai as they do the fire of man. And, when the -fairies come and see that you have covered everything over with kokowai, -they will be afraid to enter into your house at night to steal the woman.’ - -So in the morning Ruarangi and his wife went forth and gathered kokowai -earth (the sacred red ochre of the Maoris), and, mixing it, painted the -whole of the inside of the house and the lintel-posts and the door, and -also painted their bodies with it, and as evening came on they lit a fire -in the house and awaited the coming of the fairy. - -And at night, in the black darkness, there came to the house of Ruarangi -the fairy chief from the misty mountain-top. He stood in the marae -outside the door, and, as he looked into the house and saw the red -kokowai on the posts and walls and on the bodies of the man and woman -who sat by the fire repeating incantations, he grew afraid, and remained -outside in the courtyard. He raised his voice in a song of lamentation, -for he loved Tawhaiatu, but he could not prevail against the sacred -kokowai and the powerful spells of Ruarangi. And then the fairy returned -sorrowing to his dwelling on lofty Pirongia.” - -“And,” said the pakeha, “Ruarangi and his wife lived happily together for -the rest of their days.” - -“Ae ra” (“Yes,”) gravely returned the Maori. “And who should know if not -I? For Ruarangi and Tawhaiatu were my own ancestors. And perhaps I am -half a Patu-paiarehe myself. Who can tell?” - -[Illustration] - - - - -XV - -TIHI-O-TE-RANGI - - -[Illustration] - -“The Path of the Spirits”--the mind of the young Maoris runs far now from -battle and bloodshed, and but few bear the blood of the warriors in their -veins, that blood which suddenly boils into powerful deeds. - -Few carry the blood of the Rangatiras, who were masters over the -bloodthirsty savages, or of the women, who were slaves, but who were -sometimes Tohungas and powerful masters over the savage passions. - -Out on the sea is the tribe, enjoying life and fishing under the -summer sky; the pa (village) is lifeless, and the semi-darkness of the -whare-puni broods lonelily over the past. The past, full of history for -Ngawai--Hine-aroha, the friend: it is the whare-puni of her ancestors. -Carved is there Tama-te-Kapua, the great Chief--Tohunga, her ancestor, -who came from Hawaiki. - -Silent is the whare-puni; silent are the carved ancestors; and silent -is Ngawai, watching the mist covering the snow-clad mountains in the -distance. - -It is the hour of the fairies and the spells; the hour when the sun -hides; and Tawhiri-matea, the God of the Winds, is resting--the happy -hour when man forgets his wishes, and the path of his mind is guided by -the spirits of his destination: it is the hour when the woman-Rangatira -knows that she is a woman, and will be a slave. - -Ngawai’s ancestors live in her veins, and her spirit wanders along the -path of the past. She stretches out her arms commanding the spirits; her -mind perceives; and speaks: - -“Look, friend: many men and many women of my people lived and died, -yes, a great many, since Tu-poho came, the great chief of the Nga-puhi -tribe--ah, great was the number of his warriors--they came in the -darkness of night, and their hearts were full of rage. Ah, a very great -many were the slain of my people, and many were offered to the God of War -by Tu-poho. - -Day upon day lasted the feasting, for great was the hate of the Nga-puhi -toward my people, and they ate them, and scattered the bones of my -ancestors; ah, my friend!--The joy of the Nga-puhi was great, when they -found Matike the beautiful sister of Tihi-o-te-Rangi; and they made her a -slave. - -Tihi-o-te-Rangi, the warrior and ariki, ah, he was in the mountains -whilst this battle happened, and he was hunting for kiwis and pigeons -whilst the women of the Nga-puhi tribe, day after day, were preparing the -food for their warriors off the slain of his people, killing the women -and children to feast the enemy. - -Ah, terror would have been Tu-poho’s! Tihi would have offered his blood -to the War God; he would have swallowed his eyes; he would have eaten him -and scattered his bones!--ah, Tihi was in the mountains; Tihi was in the -mountains.--Ah, my friend. - -At last a message came to him. Two women of his tribe came to him; they -came naked and torn, the white flower of the clematis in their hair. By -night they came and brought the head of their husband; they lit a fire -before Tihi’s house, and commenced their frightful tale of woe. They were -cutting their faces and breasts with sharp stones, so that blood covered -them all over, and terrible was their weeping and wailing. - -Fearful to behold were the blood-covered women, calling for help and -revenge, filling with fire of rage the heart of Tihi-o-te-Rangi. - -He killed the little bird Ma-tata, and offered his blood to the War God -Maru, that the war-tapu might come over him, and then he went his way to -find Tu-poho. - -Matike, the sister of Tihi-o-te-Rangi, was given to Te-marama, Tuwhare’s -daughter, as her slave, and great was the beauty of the two maidens. -Matike, with her long flowing hair and tall figure, was the flower of the -mountains; but the great eyes and soft swaying movements of Te-marama was -the beauty of the flowers of the Pohutukawa, swaying on the shores on the -North. - -Crossing the rivers and walking along the shores of the sea was the tribe -of the Nga-puhi, when they were followed by Tihi-o-te-Rangi. - -He had held the Tangi over his burned pa and the bones of his tribe, and -then he went and followed his enemies to free his sister. When he found -the great party, he mingled with the slaves and carried baskets of food, -and did the work of the slaves--ah, my friend, Tiki, the chief of great -mana, carrying food like a slave! - -One evening he met Te-marama, the daughter of Tu-poho, and she looked -at him disdainfully and spoke: ‘Truly, of all the warriors you are the -strongest, and beautiful is the tattoo on your face and your body, and -you do the dirty work of slaves! Ha, you have the face of the War God; -but, truly you have the heart of a pigeon!’ And he answered: ‘You speak -truth: I am a slave till I free my sister Matike; but soon I will show -your warriors that they are women, for they fought women!’ And Te-marama -spoke: ‘If you are Tihi-o-te-Rangi, truly then you are the best of all -warriors, for you lower yourself to a slave to free a woman; but listen, -Tihi: Matike is a slave no longer--for her beauty she is taken by the -chief Takerangi to share his resting-place and his mana.’ When Tihi heard -Te-marama speaking thus, joy entered in his heart and he said: ‘Sweet -is it for the eyes to rest upon the Flower of the North, and her words -give gladness to my heart! Listen! When Tihi-o-te-Rangi shall carry the -powerful war-weapon of his tribe before his wrathful warriors into the -land of Tu-poho, to kill and revenge my people, to eat and destroy the -Nga-puhi, then shall revenge live in the one half of his heart, but -it will carry peace in the other half, and joy and sweetness to the -whare-puni of the Flower of the North!’ - -In the blackness of night he left the tribe, and went back to his -destroyed pa again. There he sent messengers to all the tribes in the -mountains calling them to revenge themselves upon Tu-poho. Warhapu after -Warhapu followed his call, and all came burning for revenge--ah, a great -many warriors all along the river were preparing for a great slaughter -and a feasting on their enemy Tu-poho and his tribe, but the time for -travelling was not yet come. - -The greatest rage was in the heart of Tihi, and he built high palisades -around his pa, the strongest and highest in all the land;--but in the -shade of the evenings his mind kept ever forming the image of the -beautiful maiden Te-marama: then his heart began to tremble, and the -War God was hidden by clouds. And he sat lonely, and made presents to -the Tohungas that they may hold incantations to the gods who govern the -heart and desires of women. Ah, it was at that time that far in Nga-puhi -Te-marama sat, listless and lonely, on the shores of the sea; ah, many -days and many nights did she sit there, listless and lonely. - -One morning, while the sun was rising out of the sea, she could bear it -no longer: she called her slave to put some food into a basket, and bade -her follow her. - -Ah, my friend, that was the beginning of Te-marama’s great wandering over -the pathless land, through the dark forests, and along the endless shores. - -Ah, she followed the gods whose help the incantations of Tihi had gained, -followed them, on and on, living on the wild berries of the forest and -on the food that the shores of the sea offered her; sleeping under the -rocks and upon the branches of the trees, always living in fear of the -multitude of bad spirits--ah, the incantations of Tihi sent courage in -her heart and the longing to overcome all fear. - -At last she came to the pa Kau-ara-paua, and there she asked for -Tihi-o-te-Rangi. But Tihi was living in his pa Tuke-a-maui; so she went -up the river in a canoe, and the people of the pas on the shores were -good to her, and gave her food, and marvelled at her beauty. - -Many questions she asked as to where she might find Tihi-o-te-Rangi, -and one evening, while resting in the whare of Rongo-mai, she related -the story of her long wandering, and told that she was Te-marama, the -daughter of Tu-poho--ah, my friend! - -The face of Rongo-mai grew black! Ah, all his relatives were killed by -Tu-poho! Up he jumped, and walking up and down before the assembled -people he swung his Taiaha (war-weapon), and with rolling eyes and -frightful jumps and movements he chanted terrible words to the spirits of -his relations, who were still crying in the forest, for their bones were -scattered over the world and their flesh was eaten, and their death never -revenged. His rage was terrible, and, suddenly jumping forward, he killed -Te-marama with one powerful blow of his weapon! - -Ah, his frightful words had filled the hearts of the people with rage -and revenge, and terrible cries of wrath and spite filled the whare! -They took the heart of Te-marama, and offered a part of it to the -crying spirits of their relatives; then they cooked the remaining part -for Rongo-mai, who ate it in spiteful insult to Tuwhare. Then they -cooked the body of the girl, who came to give gladness to the heart of -Tihi-o-te-Rangi, their most powerful chief, and feasted upon it! - -Ah, my friend, Tihi was near, but the joy of his heart and the sweetness -of his mind was killed; the heart, beating for Tihi, was offered to the -gods of revenge--ah, my friend! - -The slave escaped, and her tears were floods, and frightful her cries, -and terrible her words of insult when she met Tihi: ‘O, Tihi, look at -Te-marama, who was truly your slave, look upon her, look; look upon her -bones in the mouths of your people of dogs; go and look for the eyes of -your girl in the stomach of the dog Rongo-mai; go, that the dogs of your -people may devour you, you rangatira of a tribe of dogs!’ - -[Illustration: A TANGI] - -Up flamed the blood of Tihi, his eyes burned, his hands trembled; with -one blow of his mere he killed the slave that he might not hear more. -He cut his hair, and offered it to the gods who have the rage of man in -their keeping, and then he went to revenge Te-marama! He killed Rongo-mai -and all his family and his relatives and friends and all who took part -in the feasting and all who were related to them; and he invited all his -tribes to feast upon the slain, to shout insult and spite over the dead -and their bones far into the world, and to curse their bones, to break -them, and scatter them all over the world!-- - -Ah, ah, my friend--but Tihi! Ah, from that time he sat alone at the fire -in his whare-puni, brooding and sorrowing and crying; and happiness -never again entered his heart--Tihi-o-te-Rangi! But then, my friend, he -collected his warriors against the enemy Tu-poho, and from that time the -frightful war was waged between the two insulted chiefs of which the -people of both tribes know numberless doleful songs.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -XVI - -THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS - - -Calmness reigned over the world, and Ngawai’s murmurings died away in the -silent night. - -Incantations. - -Yes, Ngawai, your story was beautiful, your story of Te-marama and Tihi, -the warrior; but many hours has the night, and my mind wandered out -to the Little Ones, the Patu-paiarehe, and they told me the spirit of -Te-marama was not dead, but still wandered along the path that leads to -gladden the heart of man; and her name was Ngawai. - -But, Ngawai, look, the fire has burnt lower and lower, and no fresh wood -has been put on the embers----but look, there, yonder! Look how the snow -of the mountain is hailing joyfully the Morning Sun. - -“Ah, too young is still the morning, my good friend, for the wanderings -of man, rest and listen----” - -Beautiful crimson and golden, and blue and silver-white, with hushing -shades and flashing lights rises the mountain-world into the new-born -day. Like God’s own messenger of peace towers the snow-clad giant over -the world, breathing his grandness into the universe. - -How small is man, wandering over the endless base of the giant, over -the dead and burnt stone-wilderness! No green, no grass--the friend of -man--enlivens the vastness out of which the eternal silence is growing -into the lonely magnificence. - -This is Ngawai’s story: - - -THE GIANTS - -Once the volcanoes Taranaki, Ruapehu, and Tongariro dwelled together. -That was the time when Tongariro in her wonderful beauty had captured -the fiery hearts of the two giants, so that their joy filled the heavens -with majestic outbursts and covered the earth with their dark-glowing -heart-blood of fiery lava and molten stones. - -Softly then answered the gently ascending Steam-column of Tongariro, -smiling and swaying, gold-bordered by the setting sun; smiling at both -her suitors. - -Ah, Tongariro was a woman! - -Both, the straight and simple Taranaki and the rugged and strong Ruapehu, -their cloud-piercing heads covered with spotless snow, or adorned in -their passion-glowing lava-streams, were beloved by Tongariro; but the -snows of the winter and the suns of the summer came and went from the -first time, to the hundredth time, to the thousandth time, and still -Tongariro was undecided whom she would prefer for a husband. - -She became the sacred mountain of the Maori people; her beauty captured -the hearts of all, so that she became the possessor of the highest tapu, -and no foot dared walk upon her, and only the eyes of the new-born were -directed towards her; and the eyes of the departing rested full love upon -her beauty, whilst they wandered to the Reinga. - -[Illustration: A GIANT] - -The eyes of generations upon generations of man. - -Beautiful to behold from all the lands was the great love of the giants; -now all covered with glittering snow, now hiding in the clouds and -bursting forth, covered with strange and wonderful beauty; now girdling -their bodies with clouds and lifting their endless heads into the golden -heavens; and now again breaking forth into terrible passions, covering -the earth with blackness. - -Ah, Tongariro roused the passions of the giants: she made the volcanoes -tremble! Their blood of fire and boiling stones shook them, the -thundering of their voices, roaring insults at each other, made the earth -tremble. Streams of lightning pierced the nights, and black smoke of -deadly hate darkened the days, and the ears of man were filled with the -roaring hate of the giants, and their wondering eyes beheld the beauty of -Tongariro, smiling at both! - -At last the two rivals decided to fight for Tongariro! - -Now followed days of silence. The giants stood there grim and silent to -the world, but they were gathering strength, and were melting stones in -their insides, and lit terrible fires, their powerful weapons. So they -stood silent and grim; the sun gilding their beautiful garments of snow, -and Tongariro smiled at them with her graceful swaying column of steam; -and the Maori people looked wonderingly upon the peaceful landscape. - -Then a rolling grew into the nights, and rolling filled the days; louder -and louder, night after night, day after day--a terrible groaning, damp -and deep. Suddenly a crashing thunder shook the earth, and bursting forth -from the mouth of Ruapehu a fiery mass of molten stones and black hate -and fury fell upon Taranaki, covering him with a terrible coat of fire, -whilst the flying winds howled and the melted snow-waters fled thundering -down into the valleys. - -A beautiful straight form gave the mass of fire and ashes to -Taranaki--but he shook in terrible rage! He tore himself out of the -ground, shaking the earth and breaking the lands asunder; he tried to -fly at Ruapehu, to kill him with his weight. But Ruapehu made the water -of his lake, high up in the snows, boil, and, hurling it down, it filled -all the rends Taranaki had made in the earth, and burned all the inside -of the earth and of Taranaki himself. He now, tearing the air with his -roaring cries of pain and thundering howling of rage, threw a tremendous -mass of stones at his enemy, and broke the highest cone, the loftiest -peak of Ruapehu, so that his looks were not so majestic, and his reach -not so far into the skies. - -Ruapehu now, in deadly hate, swallowed his broken cone and melted it; he -lit terrible fires in his inside, which spread to the lake Roto-aira, so -that it rose and boiled, the steam covering all the world and blinding -Taranaki. Then Ruapehu filled himself with the boiling water, and, -throwing it out of his mouth down upon Taranaki, it filled all the -crevices, and it lifted him, for he himself had loosened his bonds with -the earth; and now, darkening day into night, he sent the molten mass -of his swallowed cone against his enemy, so that he was compelled to -retreat: blinded by steam, burned in his inside by the boiling water, and -covered with the molten mass of the cone of Ruapehu he himself had broken. - -He groaned, and rose, and tumbled, and shook himself; and he felt for a -way to the sea to cool his burning pain; howling in unbearable pain he -had to run, in order to get out of reach of Ruapehu, deeply hollowing his -path through the lands. But his conqueror, Ruapehu, melting all his ice -and snow, sent it as boiling water into this deep path, that his enemy -might not come back again, for his strength also was exhausted. - -On to the sea went Taranaki, and, when his pain had left him a little, -he looked back at his conqueror, and saw how his three peaks were again -covered with fresh snow, and how he was now the supreme lord over all the -lands and the husband of Tongariro. They two were now the arikis over -all the land; but it was waste now, and dead, for the terrible fight had -killed all the people and the living beings all around. Once more a burst -of black anger broke forth from Taranaki, and again it was answered by -a wonderful swaying and smiling steam-column from Tongariro; and then -he went and wandered along the coast till he had found a place for his -sorrow. There he stands now, brooding on revenge. - -“And my people know that one day he will come back in a straight line, to -fight Ruapehu again; and none of my people will ever live or be buried -in that lime; for one day he will come back to fight for Tongariro--who -knows?” - -But the path of Taranaki to the sea is now the Wanganui River. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE] - - - - -XVII - -THE COMING OF THE MAORI. - - -[Illustration] - -A long double sailing-canoe, with a connecting platform and a thatched -deck-house amidships, put off one day long ago into the Great Ocean of -Kiwa from the palm-clad shores of Tahiti the Golden, in the far South -Seas. A multitude of brown people stood on the shining beach, with loud -cries bidding farewell to the brave band of kinsmen who were adventuring -into the vast unknown places in search of a new and wider land. In their -midst, leaning on his staff, was the patriarchal chief Hou-mai-tawhiti. -Bent by the weight of years was the ancient man, and his long white -beard swept his breast. And as the canoe-paddles took the water and she -gathered way, a voice of Hou’ was heard crying his poroporoaki, his -farewell to the crew. “Go! Go! Depart to your new land. Leave war and -strife behind you. Follow not after the God of War; hold to the deeds of -Rongo the Peaceful. Haere! Haere! Haere atu ra!” - -And then the sails of the great canoe were hoisted, the foresail, the -main and the mizzen, for she had three masts--lofty triangular mat-sails -with the apex downwards. Like a huge sea-bird she swept across the -blue lagoon to the reef-opening; then she bravely mounted up on the -great ocean-rollers, te-whare-hukahuka-a-Tangaroa (“the sea-god’s foamy -dwelling”). The brisk trade-wind filled her sails, and away she bounded -into the south-west, growing smaller and smaller--a mere speck upon the -great waters, until she faded from the vision of the keenest watcher on -the shore. - -This was the Arawa, most famous of all the historic fleet of canoes -that voyaged thousands of miles across the Pacific to this new land -Ao-tea-roa, the Great White World. Her commander was Tama-te-Kapua (Son -of the Clouds), the son of the venerable Hou-mai-Tawhiti. And of Tama’s -doings and the perils that befell the Maori Mayflower I shall briefly -tell. - -Tama-te-Kapua was a bold and cunning man. He invited the high-priest -Ngatoro-i-Rangi on board the Arawa to perform the sacred rites -appropriate on the occasion of putting to sea, and then refused to allow -him on shore again. He carried him off across the ocean to be the Arawa’s -priest, knowing that Ngatoro’ was under the protection of the atuas and -ancestral spirits of the race, and that he was indeed almost a god in -himself. - -While crossing the ocean in search of the new land Ao-tea-roa, -Tama-te-Kapua clandestinely gained the affections of the lady Kearoa, the -wife of Ngatoro-i-Rangi, who had accompanied her husband. When Ngatoro’ -discovered this, he resolved to destroy the canoe and all that were on -board. So to this end he directed the bow of the Arawa straight towards -the Waha-o-te-Parata, the Mouth of the Sea-monster, a terrible whirlpool, -or maelstrom, in mid-ocean, which had sucked down many a vessel to -destruction. The sea-battered craft entered the outer circle of the -maelstrom, swiftly approached the fatal spot where the Ocean God drew -down the waters with an awful, roaring noise. The people in their terror -cried to Ngatoro-i-Rangi to save them, but he heeded not. Then stood up -Ika, one of the chiefs on board, and recited a karakia to Rangi, the Sky -God, praying him to save the canoe, te-kaokao-o-Tane, the ribs of Tane -the Tree God, and beat down the angry waves of Tangaroa. - -But the ears of the gods were closed, and downwards surged the Arawa. The -roaring of the Waha-o-Parata grew more terrifying, and the men and women -and children on board cried again to Ngatoro-i-Rangi to save them. And -the high-priest rose, and in a wild chant he invoked Tangaroa the Ocean -God, and called upon many a deified ancestral spirit. Loud pealed his -awa-moana, his rhythmic storm-assuaging incantation (beginning “Unuhia, -unuhia te pou tapu, ko te pou mua, ko te pou roto”). He besought the gods -to draw out the canoe from the dread tumult of water, the sacred canoe -that once grew as a tree (pou-tapu) in the enchanted Forests of Tane--to -save from the throat of the Ogre of the Depths the ship of Ngatoro’. He -called upon the spirits of Ruarangi, of Maui-tiki-tiki-o-Taranga, to -descend by the path of Tawhaki the God-man from the heavens, and “clear -from perils all the ocean track of Ngatoro’.” - - “O Ngahue! - Here am I in Parata’s Mouth. - Rise, O Tangaroa, rise! - Rise, O canoe and glide along! - We gather way; - ’Tis a propitious tide; - The danger’s o’er! - (Eké, eké, Tangaroa! - Eké, panuké! - Hui-é! - Taiki-é!)” - -[Illustration: HAWAIKI] - -[Illustration: THE JOURNEY] - -And the mana tapu, the supernatural influence of that awa-moana, and of -the Tohunga, was such that the terrific lashing of the sea was calmed, -the gaping whirlpool closed again; the great billows ceased to tumble, -the heavens grew light, and the canoe sailed on once more in safety over -the long heaving swell of the Ocean of Kiwa. Magical indeed was that -ringing sea-chant of Ngatoro’, as potent in its peace-compelling numbers -as that mermaid’s song of which Oberon discoursed to Puck in _A Midsummer -Night’s Dream_:-- - - “Thou rememberest since once I sat upon a promontory, - And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back - Utter such dulcet and harmonious breath - That the rude sea grew civil at her song, - And certain stars shot madly from their spheres - To hear the sea-maid’s music.” - -It was midsummer when the sea-worn pilgrims at last made landfall on -the far-extending coast of the Long White World. As they drew close in -to the shores, near the East Cape of the North Island, they saw that -the cliffs, shining like chalk in the sun, were fringed with beautiful -trees, the pohutukawa. Groves of these trees, too, grew right down to -the tide-edge, and the rich crimson flowers which covered them were -reflected in glowing red (ura) in the calm and glassy waters. Several of -the people in the canoe wore red ornaments, relics of Hawaiki, in their -hair. On seeing the beautiful red flowers they impulsively threw their -own head-ornaments into the sea, and, when they leaped ashore they ran to -gather the blossoms of the pohutukawa to deck their hair, only to find to -their disappointment that they fell to pieces at a touch. - -The first place where they landed was Whanga-paraoa (Whale Harbour), -so called because they found a great sperm-whale stranded there. Here -were performed the ceremonies of thanksgiving for safe arrival, the -offering of seaweed--the spoils of Tangaroa--and of the earth of the new -country to the gods. The sacred fire was kindled and the sacred kumara -roasted, in burnt sacrifice to the spirits of this vast strange land. -They coasted along, and finally hauled the canoe ashore at Maketu, whence -they travelled inland, exploring and making homes for themselves. It is -their descendants who now people the Geyserland district of Ao-tea-roa, -extending from the Bay of Plenty southwards to the great central lake of -Taupo. Ngatoro-i-Rangi the high-priest and his wife took up their abode -on the island of Motiti. From Ngatoro’ sprang a line of powerful priests -of Ariki rank, and one of his direct descendants is Te Heuheu Tukino, the -present head chief of Taupo. - -Tama-te-Kapua wandered wide and far over the face of the Long White -World, and at last made his home on the bold mountainous headland which -the pakeha calls Cape Colville, guarding the Hauraki Gulf and its cloud -of islands. Here Tama’ died, and here his sons buried him, on the -forested ridge of Moehau. On the lofty mountain-top was the chieftain -laid to rest, and his sons as they performed the last rites said: - -“Let him slumber here, where his spirit can gaze far over the ocean and -over the land of Ao-tea-roa. And the winds that sweep across the Great -Ocean of Kiwa, they shall ever sing his oriori, his wild lullaby.” - -And to this day the mountain-cape where the Captain of the Arawa was -buried is called by the Maoris Te-Moe-hau-o-Tama-te-Kapua (Tama’s Windy -Sleeping-Place). - - - - -XVIII - -TRADITION--TAMA-TE-KAPUA - - -[Illustration] - -Along a narrow path through the flowering manuka-shrub led Ngawai; round -groaning, rolling, bursting, and steaming mud-craters wound the path, -and steam hissed everywhere from out the ground--now on to the larger -crater-basins full of boiling water, green, blue, white, and always -wonderfully transparent. Out of the middle of the basins rose vast -boiling columns out of the unmeasurable depth to the surface, there to -burst, bubbling and boiling. A beautiful but terror-inspiring spectacle -are these crater-pools: silent, heartless, death-bringing, boiling from -all beginning--from the time that Ngatoro-i-Rangi had called them from -Hawaiki by his incantations: boiling, boiling, boiling; crowned with a -thin cloud of steam, framed by the dripping, overhanging manuka-bushes. - -Pitiless, eternal water-graves are these dark-green boiling seas, and -the everlasting gargling of the water is like a death-song of lost souls -hovering over them. - -Dizzily narrow now led the path between two craters. Silently steamed the -large basin to the right, its neighbour gargled and bubbled. Suddenly, -as if by enchantment, the gargling water disappeared, and a moment -afterwards shot a majestic column of water from out of the funnel, the -air filling with vast clouds of steam. The whole column then broke in -itself together, roaring and splashing; the boiling water overflowed the -Geyser-crater and filled the large steaming basin, which is only by a -thin wall separated from the Geyser, with a fresh supply of hot water in -which the Maoris and their white friends enjoy their bath, their chat, -and their smoke, especially when the winds blow down from the snow-fields -of the mountains. - -During the night the geysers groaned and burst and splashed all around: -the noises accompanied the stories of the old friend--sometimes -interrupting his murmurings, and sometimes lending power and truth to his -words. - -[Illustration: THE FIRST OFFERING TO THE GODS] - -[Illustration: Ngatoro-i-Rangi e Tama-te-Kapua] - - -TRADITION. - -Ngatoro-i-Rangi is the Sun. - -Tama-te-Kapua, the cloud invites the Sun to travel in his canoe, and -Ngatoro-i-Rangi, coming from the east, follows the invitation and brings -his wife, the Earth; for with the rising of the Sun out of darkness rises -also the Earth. - -During the journey Ngatoro climbs up to the Height of the Midday, tying -the earth to him by his sun-rays; but Tama-te-Kapua unties the sun-rays -which bind the earth to the Sun--the cloud flies over the earth--and -takes her to his wife. - -When Ngatoro now suddenly descends from on high, and bursts through the -clouds, then is it too late: his rays are too feeble to tie them quickly -again to the Earth. - -Wrathful over the insult Tama-te-Kapua had done to him, Ngatoro now -steers the canoe into the western precipice: the Sun is setting, and -night swallows the canoe; and in vain does Tama-te-Kapua call for help -from Ngatoro: everything is swallowed in darkness. But at last Ngatoro -takes pity and saves the canoe: the Sun ascends again in the East, and -steers the canoe against the West, to Ao-tea-roa. Far from Hawaiki now -they landed. - -Ngatoro takes possession of the land. - -Wherever he ascends a hill, he stamps water out of the ground, and he -puts the fairies, the Patu-paiarehe, upon the hills. - -At last he ascends Tongariro, but his companions, whom he had left -behind, saw that he became paler and paler as he reached the summit of -Tongariro: the sun was frozen in the ice-cold atmosphere of the sacred -mountain. At last, nearly dead, Ngatoro offers incantations to the gods -at Hawaiki, and they send the fire to him. - -It came through the paths of the Lower World and it burst through the -earth on many places: at Roto-ehu, Roto-rua, Tarawera, and at many more -places; but at last it ascended Tongariro, and created a volcano, and the -fire and heat of the volcano saved Ngatoro-i-Rangi from a frightful death. - -“Ngatoro-i-Rangi, my listener is the ancestor of the tribe of the -Ngati-tu-wharetoa; we all are the descendants of Ngatoro-i-Rangi, and the -sacred Tongariro is the guardian of my people.” - -Out of a wonderful spectacle of colours springs the new day into life. - -The rising sun condenses the steam which is hanging, a large white cloud, -over the landscape. Like granades are the geysers shooting into the mass -of steam, and from everywhere is steam ascending thickening the silvery -mass, which hangs swaying and broadening, and bordered with a golden rim, -over our heads. Under the cloud glitters on the near hilltops the fresh -fallen snow. - -Now the heart of our old friend feels also joy and happiness. - -On the edge of the warm crater basin he squats, covered in his mat, and -looking far into the beautiful day, he commenced his last narrative-- - -“The bursting open of the gates of heaven”--so finished the old Tohunga -his last song of creation--“was the work of Tamatea. - -Dim was the light at first, but faster and more powerful became the -blows of Tamatea upon the hangi (oven) in which all that was left of -Tu-taka-hina-hina, a mighty ancestor of the Maori people, was roasting; -and at last his blows burst the gate that closed in the days. And day -came, and the full and long day came. The people of the world, now freed -from darkness, looked around, and they could see how many had died during -the everlasting darkness; and they could see how very few survived. - -At last they saw with wonder how Tamatea, instead of Tangaroa, now took -the Dawn of Morning in his keeping, and they knew that the time of the -Many Days had come, and they cried full of joy and gladness: ‘Truly, -Tamatea, this is the Dawn of our days!’” - -Then the old friend pointed with a bony finger towards the Sun and spoke -no more. - -[Illustration: THE BREAKING OPEN OF THE GATES OF HEAVEN] - - - - -XIX - -A TANGI - - -[Illustration: TE HEU-HEU] - -Like a filled sponge is the air lying over the pa, heavy and -sorrowful--filled with desolate cries. Dismal wails issue from the groups -which surround the dead chief, men and women howling, dancing, and -distorting their faces. - -The wailing lies like a cloud upon the earth, and hangs like fog around -the groups. A sharp shriek pierces the air, or a shouted sentence in -honour of the dead chief cuts the fog; and again everything unites into a -monotonous, heart-breaking lament. - -The dead chief was a Rangatira-Tohunga, and deep is the sorrow of his -people from the mountains and his people from the lake. The women of his -next relatives cut their breasts with sharp-edged shells, bleeding, and -howling in their pain and sorrow. - -Tribe upon tribe nears with dismal lament: all are received by the old -women with the long-drawn, piercing cry of welcome to the Tangi. The -women march in front; they have flowers wound around their heads, and -wave flowers and twigs and leaves in their outstretched arms up and down, -up and down--a sign of sorrow. Crying and sobbing follow the men, whose -heads are bent and whose gestures betoken the deepest grief--warlike -figures, with tattoed faces bestrewn with tears. - -In long lines they approach. Canoe after canoe brings ever new hapus -(parties), and each approaches in a long line loudly howling: louder and -louder grow the howls till the hapu stands before the dead chief, who is -covered with the red feather-mat of his rank; and there the whole mass of -people is uniting in terrible dirge, dancing and distorting their faces, -in which each new arrival joins. All nature seems to lament: the wide -lake, the hills, the forests upon the hills and the cloud-covered heads -of the mountains--all is united in grief. - -Slowly night descends and covers the dirge in darkness. - -Great was the mana of the dead Rangatira; terrible was his death; and -great sorrow fills the hearts of his people. - -The star-lit night is wonderfully clear, and looks down upon the dead -chief in his red garment of the Rangatira, surrounded by the treasures of -his people; in his hand the beautiful greenstone weapon, the famous mere -Pahi-kaure. - -Slowly the moon ascends over the murmuring waves of the lake, and streams -peacefully her soft light down upon the thousands who are sleeping around -her dead Rangatira. - -[Illustration] - - -TE REINGA, THE MAORI SPIRIT-LAND - - The empty forms of men inhabit there; - Impassive semblances, images of air.--_The Odyssey._ - -In the extreme north of the North Island of New Zealand is the -Muri-whenua, the Land’s End, where the never-resting surges thunder -at the feet of the bare rocky capes, and the giant sea-kelp swirls in -long snaky masses round the fabled gateway to the Maori spirit-land. -For here is Te Reinga, otherwise called Te Rerenga-Wairua, or the Place -where the Spirits take their Flight. Te Reinga is a long craggy ridge -that dips down to the ocean, ending in a rocky point whence the ghosts -of the departed take their final plunge into the realms of darkness and -oblivion. The souls (wairua) of the dead, the moment they are released -from their earthly tenements, travel northwards until they arrive at the -Land’s End of Ao-tea-roa. As they near the Reinga, crossing sand-dune and -stony cliff, treading with viewless feet the wild precipices whose bases -are ever licked ravenously by the wilder ocean, the spirits bethink them -of their old homes. And they pause awhile on the wind-swept heights, and -gaze backwards over the long and dreary way by which they came; and they -wail aloud, and lacerate themselves after the fashion of the mourners -of this world, with sharp splinters of volcanic glass (mata-tuhua), and -in proof thereof these mata are to be seen there to this day by living -man. They deck their heads with paréparé, or mourning chaplets of green -leaves, and their weird, ghostly wails for the Land of Light they are -leaving mingle with the melancholy voice of the ocean winds. The long -flax leaves which spring from the rocky soil on these heights above the -Reinga are often found knotted and twisted together in a peculiar manner. -The pakeha says this is the work of the ever restless winds and eddying -gales which sweep the Land’s End. But to the Maori those knotted leaves -are the work of the sad spirits of their departed, tied by the ghosts -as they pass along to the gates of Po, to show their sorrowing friends -the way they took in leaving this world of day. And the waterfalls cease -their sound as the ghosts flit by; - - Trembling the spectres glide, and plaintive vent - Thin hollow screams, along the steep descent. - -Down along the narrow ridge to the tideway they move, until they reach -the ghostly leaping-place, tapu to the _manes_ of the innumerable -multitude of dead. Here grew a venerable pohutukawa tree, gnarled and -knotty, with great ropy roots trailing to the tide. By these roots the -spirits dropped to the sea, loosing their last grip of Ao-tea-roa to -the dirge of the screaming sea-birds and the moaning waves. Below, the -tossing sea-kelp opens a moment to receive the wairua, and then the dark -waters close over them for ever. This is the Tatau-o-te-Po, the Door of -Death, which is the entrance to the gloomy Kingdom of Miru, the Goddess -of Eternal Night. - -Many an Ossianic concept, many a weird and poetic fancy, is woven by the -Maoris round this haunted spot. This is a fragment of an ancient lament -for the dead, sung to this day at Maori tangis: - -[Illustration: TE REINGA] - - “E tomo, e Pa - Ki Murimuri-te-Po, - Te Tatau-o-te-Po. - Ko te whare tena - O Rua-Kumea, - O Rua-toia, - O Miru ra-e! - O tuhouropunga, - O kaiponu-kino. - Nana koe i maka - Ki te kopae o te whare i!” - - (“Enter, oh sire, - The gates of that last land, - So dread and dark; - The Gates of the Endless Night. - For that is the dwelling - Of Rua-kumea, - Of Rua-toia, - Of the grim goddess Miru, - The ever-greedy one. - ’Tis she who hurleth thee - To the deep shadows of her gloomy house.”) - -And, again, the tribal bards, lamenting over their dead, chant this -centuries-old poem: - - “Now like an angry gale, - The cold death-wind pierceth me through. - O chiefs of old, - Ye have vanished from us like the moa-bird, - That ne’er is seen of man. - O lordly totara-tree! - Thou’rt fallen to the earth, - And naught but worthless shrubs remain. - I hear the waves’ loud tangi - On the strand of Spirit Land, - Where souls, borne from this world of light, - Cast one last look behind. - The rolling seas surge in at Taumaha - Singing their wave-song for the dead - Who have forever vanished from our eyes.” - - - - -XX - -NGAWAI. - - -[Illustration] - -Dreamily is Ngawai staring into the embers, whilst the pale new morning -is crawling through the spaces between the fern-stems which form the -walls of the mountain-whare (hut). - -Cold and pale at first appear the long stripes painted over the floor, -till they change slowly into warmer and more glowing colours, lighting -up the calabashes, the nets, the paddles, and the mats, which hang on -the walls smoke-blackened under the raupo roof. The stripes of daylight -are able, too, to light up Ngawai’s eyes, which stare into the nearly -burnt-out embers. More fiery glow the stripes, and suddenly they flood -the whare with wonderful golden light: it is pure gold, through which, -like music, the blue smoke ascends to the roof. Now the Sunshine pours -in at the door, and with it the wonderful picture of the mountain-lake, -reflecting the mountain giants, to the astonished eye. And in all the -beautiful world life commences again with laughter and happiness--the -laughter and happiness of the parting day. - -Slowly is the sun wandering his way in the skies; up to the height of -midday he wanders; the shades grow longer, and Rangi-o-mohio, a very old -woman, the daughter of the famous Rangatira Te Heu-heu, is still relating: - -“Listen: A great procession is ascending with much noise and shouting and -frolic the barren wilderness around the stone-body of Tongariro--a great -procession of Tohungas, warriors, women, and children. - -Ah, Iwikau the Rangatira is leader, and they carry the bones of Te -Heu-heu, my father.--Ah, Te Heu-heu, he was my father! Ah, with his bones -we wander and crawl and climb over the lonely wilderness. Ah, he was the -Rangatira over the lands--but, my son, look upon the greatest Rangatira -of all the lands: look upon the Tongariro-tapu!” - -Ngawai listens to the narrative of the old Rangi-o-mohio whilst her eyes -are gazing upon the sacred Tongariro. The moon has risen over the lake, -and a fine silvery gleam is glittering upon the snow of the mountain, -which is sending its beautiful column of silver high up into the skies. -Then once more Ngawai looks sorrowfully back, and goes on her way to her -people in the distant pa. - -[Illustration] - - -THE BURIAL OF TE HEU-HEU ON TONGARIRO - -This is Rangi-a-mohio’s story: - -Iwikau, the brother of the dead Rangatira Te Heu-heu, and chief now over -the tribe of the Ngati-tu-wharetoa, is the leader of a large procession -of sorrowing, weeping people of the tribe. The four greatest warriors of -the tribe carried the carved box which contained the bones of Te Heu-heu; -it was painted red, and adorned with white albatross-feathers. - -The whole tribe had decided to give their dead Rangatira the mightiest -burial-ground in all Ao-tea-roa--the crater of Tongariro-tapu! - -Truly, the mountain Tongariro shall swallow the bones of the Rangatira, -that they never may fall in the hands of man--perhaps enemies. - -The sharp-edged coke-rocks cut the feet of the bearers, and the sulphur -in the air is the deadliest foe to frolic--and what can be properly done -without frolic in Maoriland? The feet of the bearers begin to bleed, the -incantations of the Tohungas grow weaker; less overbearing, too, become -the songs of defiance which Iwikau is shouting to the gods: silence and -ghostly fright fall upon the multitude. - -Deeper now are the precipices, steeper the rocks, and hellish the -sulphurous fumes; but high above still towers the crater, the summit of -Tongariro, the mighty grave of the Rangatira! The sacred mountain shall -swallow the bones of the sacred chief--as the base of the mountain, in a -frightful landslip, has swallowed his life! - -Great is the conception, and bravely they try to carry it into effect -beneath the mighty column of steam and sulphur which Tongariro is -streaming out and which the heaven is pressing down again upon the -people, in wrathful defiance of its sanctity. - -Distant thunder rolls, shaking the ground, and the sulphur-fumes press -fiercely beneath the broadening steam-column. Hard and heavy breathe the -bearers; terror at the temerity of the undertaking, which violates the -sacredness of the mountain, grows in the heart of their leader. - -The vast world stretches all around, and the people who surround the dead -Rangatira seem tiny and powerless as the mountain defends his sacred -crater with mighty bursts of steam and smoke and rolling thunder and -suffocating fumes. Overawed by terror the strength of the bearers fails: -they let fall their burden upon a rock; the hearts of the bravest are -trembling. - -The sanctity of Tongariro-tapu cannot be violated; no, not even by the -sacred bones of the Rangatira; and fear grows overpowering beneath the -still high-towering, angry crater-summit. - -None dares touch the remains of Te Heu-heu again; one and all let them be -where they are, upon the rock, overtowered and defended by the majestic -summit, with its rolling, thundering, steaming crater--and down they -tumble, down, down, helter skelter, in wild and fearful fright they run, -a shouting, shrieking body of men, possessed by overpowering terror of -the sacred giant. Down, down. - -But high up in the sacred regions of Tongariro lie bleaching the bones of -the greatest Rangatira of the mountain people---- - -Maui Pomare, M.D., the grandson of a famous chief, gave me, at parting, -this lament composed by the wife of his ancestor: - - “Behold! far off, the bright evening star - Rises--our guardian in the dark, - A gleam of light across my lonely way. - Belov’d, wer’t thou the Evening Star, - Thou wouldst not, fixed, so far from me remain. - Let once again thy spirit wander back, - To soothe my slumbers on my restless couch, - And whisper in my dreams sweet words of love. - Oh! cruel Death, to damp that beauteous brow - With Night’s cold softly falling dews. - Rau-i-ru, Keeper of Celestial Gates,[3] - There comes to thee a lovely bride - Borne from me on Death’s swollen tide. - Belov’d, thy wandering spirit now hath passed - By pendant roots of clinging vine - To Spirit Land, where never foot of man - Hath trod--whence none can e’er return-- - Paths to the Gods which I not yet have seen. - Belov’d, if any of that host of Heaven - Dare ask of thee thy birth or rank, - Say thou art of that great tribe - Who, sacred, sprang from loins of Gods. - As stands lone Kapiti, a sea-girt isle, - And Tararua’s solitary range, - So I to-day stand lonely midst my grief. - My bird with sacred wings hath flown away - Far from my ken, to Spirit Land. - I would I were a Kawau, resolute - To dive into the inmost depths of time, - To reappear at my beloved’s side - Amidst the throng upon the further shore. - Belov’d, I soon will join thee there! - I come! Await me at the gates! - My spirit frets; how slow is time.” - -[3] The god who receives the spirits. - -[Illustration: THE BURIAL] - -THE END - -[Illustration] - - Printed at - The Edinburgh Press - 9 and 11 Young Street - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Te Tohunga, by Wilhelm Dittmer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TE TOHUNGA *** - -***** This file should be named 54610-0.txt or 54610-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/6/1/54610/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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