HINETA WHIRIRANGI'S SONG

Translated by R. T. Kohere

Oh, my lov'd ones! weave into
The main strand—let it be secure,
Before pursuing Karika's band
Once trouble was afar, now it's upon me,
I minded not but Pawa neglected,
Hence Maroheia's bracing Ihutoto.
Oh, my lov'd ones! You've consumed my life!
Hasten on, while the tide's on the turn,
Off Ihiwa, amidst Tangaroa's fertile field,
Aboard the fishing canoes of your fathers,
Quickly, my son, take thy stand at the stern,
Leave me here to greet fleeting clouds,
That speed o'er Totara ridge,
For ’neath are my lov'd ones.
I dreamt of a night asleep was I,
With a little spirit child.
I'm an orphan, my lov'd ones, to be cleansed,
It is not a sneeze that can be repeated.

This is a well-known song of the Ngati-Porou tribe, composed by Hinetawhirirangi whose descendants are to be found at Te Araroa, which was called Kawakawa. The song is a lament over the tragic death of Hamaiwaho. After the fall of Whetumatarau pa in 1800, many of the Ngati-Porou were taken prisoners by the Ngapuhi under Pomare. Amongst the prisoners were the chieftainess Rangipaia and the chief Hamaiwaho. Near the Rurima islands north of Whale Island, Himaiwaho endeavoured to escape by jumping into the sea and swimming for one of the islets. He was drowned and his body washed up on one of the islets. Pawa mentioned in the song is the commander of the Horouta canoe which the Ngati-Porou claim to be the historical canoe in which their ancestors came to New Zealand. Pawa left his mark on the East Coast in Tawhiti-a-Pawa hill

 

 

between Tokomaru Bay and Waipiro and in Whai-a-Pawa or Pawa's stingaree which today is known as Matakaoa Point. On a calm day Pawa's stingaree, in the form of a grey rock, can be seen at the bottom of the sea.

Pawa was trying to capture the long-legged Rongokako. He set a trap on Tawhiti hill but the giant, with his tremendous strides, eluded it.

In his pursuit of the giant, Pawa left behind him his little daughter, Maroheia, at Matakaoa, and on his return he found her petrified and embracing Ihutoto rock. The spot is known today as Maroheia.

The Maori poetess draws a parallel between Maroheia and Hamaiwaho. One was found stranded on a rock, the other turned into the rock she hugs today.

The poetess blames Pawa for neglecting Maroheia and herself, for not minding her relative, Hamaiwhao, as she puts it,

‘I minded not and Pawa neglected,

Hence Maroheia's ‘bracing Ihutoto.”

Karika's band, band of death.

Tangaroa's field, the sea. Tangaroa is the Maori Neptune.

Ihiwa, a rock at East Cape.

Totara ridge, near Te Aroroa.

 

To be cleansed, anybody touching a dead person needs to be cleansed. To be an orphan is to love a dead parent, and so in a way the child is polluted.