Modern Interpretations Of Old Maori Life

We all have different ideas as to what it must have been like to live in past times, for our interpretation of the past, like our attitudes towards modern things, depends so much upon our own individual personalities.

But our understanding of the past also depends upon what we are taught about it, and what we are able to learn by reading books and looking at the other evidence that is available to us.

So though we all think of the old Maori life in different, individual ways, we do tend to share some common ideas about it, even though these assumptions may be unconscious ones. For instance, we cannot help but be influenced by the manner in which stories about old Maori life are told to us: the things which are included, and the things which are left out.

In his recent lecture in the Auckland University's winter series Dr J. E. Ritchie, of the psychology department of Victoria University, Wellington, comments as follows on modern beliefs about the old Maori life:—

‘My reading of what Maori society was like tells me that it was not a cooperative, idyllic civilization borne by a handsome, strong, virile and intelligent folk. Strong they may have been because the weak died. Their civilization rested on the enslavement of many. Their beauty like all beauty, lay in the eye of the beholder …

The living, vivid reality of the old Maori ways, its heat and fire in battle and love, the drenching ubiquity of its religious animism … have been made cosy and pale. We have taken the myths and the culture heroes and made them into bedtime tales for the immature. We have drawn the teeth of the ancient Maori way, washed it clean, cropped its hair, tidied it up and made it Christian-simple, palatable and nice.?

There are a number of points here which it would be interesting to discuss at length.

It is true, for instance, that Maori civilization ‘rested on the enslavement of many’, but it seems that this has been true of almost every civilization in history. Also, is it really true that all beauty is in the eye of the beholder? And what, exactly, does this expression mean anyway? Dr Ritchie is surely not applying it to Maori culture, for if one were to do so, and thus to imply that there are no objective criteria to be used in considering the aesthetic achievements of their society, it would hardly be meaningful to speak of Maori ‘civilization’.

It is certainly true, however, that Maori myths and historical legends have been greatly weakened and sentimentalized in their modern re-tellings; they have, indeed, largely been turned into ‘bedtime tales for the immature.’

It is, of course, inevitable that these myths and stories should not have the same meaning now as they had in the days when they formed an integral part of Maori religion—and when this religion encompassed the whole of Maori life. (In the same way, Greek myths and literature do not have the same meaning for modern readers, whether or not these readers are Greek, as they did for their original owners). But it is not inevitable that modern interpretations of Maori culture, in particular of the history, literature and art, should so often have made it appear so ‘cosy and pale,’ to use Dr Ritchie's expressive words.

This has probably happened because New Zealand is now a rather cosy and pale sort of country, but it shouldn't happen; instead of abusing our Maori inheritance in this way, we should be using it to enrich our imaginations and our culture. It is in the interests of all of us, whether Maori or Pakeha, to see that this is what takes place. If this is not what is meant by two-way integration, what is?

If we wish to learn about the true nature of the old Maori life, one of the best ways of doing this is to go back to the original sources as much as we can. Though they were usually published by Pakehas, the oldest versions of Maori myths and stories were told—and often written down—by Maoris, and by Maoris who still belonged to ‘the living, vivid reality of the old Maori way’.

Continuing ‘Te Ao Hou's’ policy of making available some of the best of those early stories which are now out of print, in this issue we begin the serialization of the long story ‘Ponga and Puhihuia’. This is one of the best of the old Maori stories, and so far as we know it has not been re-printed since it first appeared in 1889 in John White's six-volume treasure-house, ‘Ancient History of the Maori.’

Victory

Friend,
Lord, I now beseech of you—
If you should wish to end
That which is between us,
To turn away your thoughts,
Your face from me:
Do not choose the unmanly way
Of vengeful ones,
The slow extinguishing of life
In my shamed body, writhing, bound,
The heated stones pressed in
My every orifice.
No!
Rather grant to me
The death given
By chief to chief
At close of just combat.
The temple thrust
From the far-famed weapon
Of your just ancestor,
A death swift, clean, and due to me by right!
This honour I would ask
And take your blow in resignation,
Proud to know, …
Through woman, …
That release, …
Was given so, …
By man, …
To man, …
Of old.

This is the second of two articles in which Alan Armstrong discusses the teaching and presentation of action songs and haka.

The Compere

This is a most important person. He (or she) is the link between performers and audience, having the duty of explaining and interpreting the items to non-Maori speaking members of the audience, even though they may be in a minority. He must be a person with a good, clearly audible voice, fluent expression and a good stage presence. Often it is an advantage if the compere is not a performing member of the group, but this is not essential. The compere is there to do a job and he should get on with it. The compere who tells “funny” jokes (usually about “Hories”) and who tries to be a star in his own right can ruin a whole performance.

Each item should be introduced with a concise description of the type of item, its significance and some idea of what the words mean. It is best if the compere can do without a public address system, but if there is any danger that ONE person in the audience will be unable to hear then it is essential that some means of amplification be used. One warning: do not touch the microphone or the stand while speaking.

Getting on and off the Stage

If there is a curtain the problem is simplified for everyone can be arranged on the stage beforehand. When the curtain is open the performers must stand still. When it is fully opened there should be a slight pause to allow the audience to “drink in” what is on the stage. Avoid over-use of the curtain, however, for constant opening and reopening makes the whole thing very scrappy. If there is no curtain some sort of musical entrance must be used. All concert parties should know some of these. Nothing gives a worse first impression than a group which shambles on to the stage and then proceeds to talk and wave to friends in the audience.

The exit from the stage must be just as carefully rehearsed and performers must not be permitted to disintegrate into a mob, all making for the side line. As a general rule the curtain should not close or the players turn to leave, until the applause has almost subsided. If a curtain is used, the performers should stand still as it closes and not move until they are completely hidden from view.

Starting the Item

Even the elementary point as to which member of the group should start the item is occasionally neglected. While the compere is introducing the item everyone must stand quite still. The moment the compere has finished the leader begins the item without hesitation. On ‘hope’ or ‘kia rite’ all hands flash to the hip together. Everyone must start the

item together and not chime in as the item progresses.

Soloists

When soloists are performing, the audience will concentrate on them. If other performers are to remain, they should withdraw to the rear of the stage or marae and sit down and not talk amongst themselves. Soloists must stand where they can be clearly seen by all sections of the audience and to this end they should stand as near the front of the stage as possible and to the centre.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive discourse on stage technique. I will finish with a list of dos and don'ts which highlight some of the most common faults seen in recent performances of Maori items.

Some ‘Don'ts’

DON'T peek at your audience around the curtain before the show begins. This looks very amateurish.

DON'T talk to one another and make private jokes whilst the compere or a soloist is the centre of attraction.

DON'T keep looking off-stage and talking or gesticulating to people out of sight of the audience. It is irritating and distracting.

DON'T look at the ceiling or the floor. Follow the actions with the eyes during action songs, otherwise look at the audience. You are singing for them.

DON'T be afraid to smile at the audience. Look as if you enjoy entertaining them, BUT

DON'T grin during hakas—look fierce and proud.

DON'T put greasepaint tattoo on the performers’ faces. It is rarely done properly, it always looks artificial, and as the Maoris are a handsome race, it spoils the attractiveness of the individual features.

DON'T (men only) wear multi-coloured shorts or bathing trunks underneath your piupiu. Shorts should be as brief as possible and all the one colour. Good costuming is often spoiled by neglect of this point.

DON'T wear European ornaments with traditional costume.

DON'T have children wandering around the stage with parents (seen far too often).

DON'T intermix Maori and European items.

Some ‘Dos’

DO start your concert on time. There is NO such thing as ‘Maori time’ when the audience is waiting. Maori concert groups are ambassadors to their race. The audience are their guests. It is bad manners to keep guests waiting.

DO ensure that everyone knows the item properly before performing it, otherwise delete it from the programme.

DO remember that the success of any concert is in direct proportion to the amount of preparation and care put into its rehearsal.

An intelligently explained well-executed concert promotes interest in, and appreciation of, things Maori and therefore is yet another way of engendering better relations and understanding between Maori and Pakeha in New Zealand.

Happy birthdays are mounting up for one of the oldest citizens of Auckland, Mrs Rawhina Tai Timu, of 31 Watene Cresent, Orakei, who is believed to be 113.

Her family and friends sent her birthday greetings last month, but Mrs Timu, who lives with a foster-daughter, will not have a birthday party because she refuses to eat European food. Kumaras and Maori bread are the mainstay of her diet, and she does not take sugar or salt, though recently she has begun to put a little butter on her home-made bread.

Mrs Timu was born in the Waiuku district and lived in Helensville for many years before coming to Auckland.

Theo Schoon Photo

For many months a team of carvers at Temple View, near Hamilton, have been making the carvings for a Maori village which is to be erected as part of the Polynesian cultural centre which the Mormon Church is building at Hawaii.

They have been working under the supervision of the well-known carver John Taiapa, M.B.E. (above), who over the last 30-odd years has carved, and supervised the carving, in an incredibly large number of new meeting-houses.

A Maori Mormon choir of 120 people will visit Hawaii this October for the opening of the cultural centre, later going on to the United States.

I nga ra o nehe noa atu, i te wa e nui ana taua iwi nei, a Ngati-Kahukoka, i te akau atu ano o te puaha o Manukau, a, tae noa ki te wahapu o te awa o Waikato, i taua wa, he iwi nui, a he iwi toa a Ngati Kahukoka. I aua wa, he nui o ratou pa, he pa noho i te pukepuke etahi, a, ko etahi he mea noho-a-kaupapa i roto i te repo i nga roto ano hoki; ko etahi o aua pa i nohoia nei, he mea hanga i roto i nga roto i te ara haere atu i Waiuku ki Te Maioro, a, ko te tino pa tupu o taua iwi i tu ki te puke i Puketapu, i Titi; he pa noho tuawhenua aua pa nei; ko nga pa noho hi mataitai, i tu era ki Awhitu, a, ki Tipitai i te wahapu o Manukau.

Ko etahi hapu o taua iwi nei i noho i nga pa i te pito ki uta ki Waiuku ahu atu ki Te Whakaupoko, ki Titi, ki Te Awaroa. He pa ano no ratou i te wahapu o Te Awaroa, i te taha ki te awa o Waikato; he pukepuke nei taua wahi i roto i te uru koroi i te repo i te taha katau, ana anga mai te waka i te awa o Waikato, a, ahu mai ki roto ki Te Awaroa, ko taua pa nei, he pa noho mo te hunga hi tuna, a, i enei ra, kua waiho taua wahi hei urupa mo nga tupapuku, a, e kiia ana kei reira a Pouate, a Papaka, a Te Niho ma e nehu ana.

Heoi ra, he korero tenei mo te hapu i noho i Awhitu, a, i Tipitai.

I aua ra o mua, he whawhai tonu te mahi a te iwi ano o Tainui i noho i Maungawhau ki era ano o Tainui i noho i Awhitu; te take i nui ai taua whaiwhai nei, he whakatete ki nga tauranga ika, me nga tauranga mango i waho ake o Puponga. Ko Ngati-Kahukoka e mea ana na ratou taua wahi moana, a, ko Ngaiwi, ara, ko te hapu e noho ana i Maungawhau e mea ana na ratou taua moana; a, ka haere te ope hi a Nga-iwi, ka huakina e nga waka o Ngati-Kahukoka, ka haere nga waka o

In the ancient days the Ngati-Kahukoka were a brave and numerous tribe who occupied the district from the entrance of the Manukau to the entrance of the Waikato River. They occupied many pas, some of which were on the tops of hills; others were built on platforms erected in the lakes and swamps between Waiuku and Maioro. But their main home was on the inland hills Puketapu and Titi, and the pas occupied by those who caught fish for the tribe were at Awhitu and Tipitai, near the entrance of the Manukau.

Some of this tribe occupied pas inland of Waiuku, at Te Whakaupoko, Titi, and Te Awaroa. At Te Awaroa the pa was situated on a hill in the middle of a koroi forest in a swamp, to the east as you go from the Waikato River up the Awaroa Creek to Waiuku. This was usually occupied by those who caught eels for the tribe, but now it is used as a burial-place for the illustrious dead, where it is said Pouate, Papaka, and Teniho, progenitors of the Ngati-teata tribe, are buried.

This story concerns the tribes which lived at Awhitu and Tipitai.

In ancient times the tribes which were descended from those who came over in the canoe Tainui, and which occupied Maungawhau, Mount Eden and Awhitu, were continually fighting with each other. These battles had their origin in disputes about fishing grounds in the Manukau Harbour, and fishing-grounds for shark off Puponga. The Ngati-Kahukoka tribe claimed these fishing-grounds, and the Nga-iwi tribe, who occupied Mount Eden, also claimed them, because of their position as the senior family of the tribe. When the Mount Eden people went fishing they were attacked by the Awhitu people, and the Awhitu people were attacked by those of Mount Eden whenever they went fishing; in those fights many on both sides were killed, so that each tribe continued to feel a hatred towards the other.

Sometimes they would listen to their old

Ngati-Khukoka ki te hi i aua wahi, ka huakina e nga waka o Nga-iwi, ara, o te hunga e noho ana i Maungawhau. He penei tonu ta ratou mahi, a, he tini nga tupapaku a tetahi a tetahi i mate i aua huaki. Koia i mau tonu ai te mauahara a aua hapu nei ki a raua.

He wahi ano ka puta te whakaaro pai a nga tino kaumatua o aua hapu nei, ara, ka kaha te kupu mo te noho pai a nga tino rangatira o aua hapu, ka houhia ki te rongo, a, ka hi ngatahi aua hapu i aua tauranga ika, otira he wahi ano ka iti te ika a tetahi o aua hapu nei, ara ka he te mango ki nga tauranga i hiia e taua hapu, a, ka hae ki te hua o te mango o tera hapu, a, ka kiia e te taitamariki he mea mahi ki te makutu i kore ai he ika ma tenei e hi kau nei, e kore nei e kai ake te mango. He mea hoki, i te wa e houhia ai ki te rongo, ka roherohea taua moana e ratou, a, ka rahuitia enei tauranga ika ma Ngati-Kahukoka, a, ko enei taunga ka rahuitia ma te hapu o Nga-iwi, a, na te kore ika i tetahi koia te whakapae na te makutu a tera e hua ra te ika ki a ia i kore ai he ika ma tenei e hi kau nei.

A, tetahi take a aua taitamariki nei i kino ai, he mea na Nga-iwi ko ratou te uri o te tuakana; na aua kupu nei i kawe te hikaka a te hunga taitamariki ra, a, ahakoa te rongo kua mau, na ratou i kawe te patu, a, ka he ano te noho pai a aua iwi nei.

A, i tetahi o aua wa i mau nei te rongo, ka hokihoki aua iwi nei, ara, aua hapu tahi nei ano o Tainui, kia kitekite i a raua, a, ka mahia nga mahi o mua, ara, te haka, te kanikani, te niti, te poroteteke, te mamau, te ta kaihoteka, te tu matia (tao) me nga tini mahi katoa o nehe. Ehara aua mea nei i te mea he mahi i aua ra e aua iwi nei na nga koroheke, kao, na nga taitamariki, na nga taitamahine o aua hapu nei aua teretere haere kia kitekite i a raua, te mea hoki, mehemea he ope na te kaumatua, he haere kia kite i nga huanga, me nga whanaunga o etahi iwi, ka takaia te takai kakahu, te topuni, te kaitaka, te pounamu, me nga taonga nui o mua, hei mau ma ratou ki te ringa, hei oha ma o ratou whanaunga, ana tae atu ki te pa; ko tenei, he tira haere na te tamariki o aua hapu nei, na reira i kore ai e maharatia aua taonga nui o mua, a, te mea ano hoki, kahore kau aua tu taonga nei i whakawhiawhia ki te taitamariki i aua ra, ma nga tino koroheke, me nga kaumatua rangatira anake aua taonga e kitea ai.

A, i aua ra i mau ai te rongo a aua hapu nei ki a ratou, ka hokihoki te tira haere a tetahi a tetahi ka haere mai o Awhitu ki Maungawhau, a, ka haere o Maungawhau ki

chiefs, who counselled peace, and then both tribes would fish on the disputed grounds together. But sometimes, when they were fishing at Puponga for shark, some of the canoes of one of the tribes did not catch any shark, and were jealous when they saw how much shark had been caught in the canoes of the other tribe. The younger members of the unsuccessful party accused the successful ones of witchcraft, saying that this was why their fishing had been unsuccessful. When they had all agreed to make peace the various fishing-grounds had been shared out between the two tribes, so that if one tribe failed to catch fish on their fishing-grounds they blamed the other tribe for having bewitched the fish in the part where they were fishing.

Another thing which angered the young people of Awhitu was that the Mount Eden tribe claimed to be decended from a senior family among those who came over in the canoe Tainui, and thus to be of superior birth to the people of Awhitu; this made the young people of Awhitu act in a more aggressive way towards those of Mount Eden. Sometimes this ended in blows, and war was again declared between them.

But in one interval of peace the young people of these tribes exchanged visits, taking part in the ancient games of haka, kanikani, niti (a game of throwing a fern-stalk along the ground), poroteteke (stand on the head, with the legs straight up in the air), mamau (wrestling), takaihoteka (whipping-top), and tumatia (the art of fencing and defence with the spear), and many other games of those days of old. The old people did not join in these games, but only the young men and women, who could go to see each other without the usual presents taken by the old people on such occasions. If the visits had been by the old people of the tribe, each member of the party would have taken presents to be given to his or her near relative; these would have consisted of dogskin mats, bordered mats, greenstone, and all that was considered valuable in those days; each of them would have carried these things in his or her hands, to be presented as soon as they entered the pa of their hosts. But during these visits by the young people the custom of taking presents was dispensed with, as they could plead the excuse that their youth prevented them from possessing such things; it was only when men and women were of a considerable age that they were honoured by their chiefs and relatives

Awhitu. Haere ake i aua ope nei he tamariki kau, otira ehara i te tamariki nonohi nei, kao, he tangata kua mau i te moko, otira ko nga taitamariki kaumatua o aua iwi, ko ratou ko te hunga e whakapakari ake ana ki te wa e puta kupu ai ratou ki te iwi. A, i aua ra nei ka kitekite ratou aua taitamariki nei i a ratou, ka kite atu nga tane o tenei i nga wahine o tera, a ka kite mai nga tane o tera i nga wahine o tenei, nei koe, ko te tamahine o te tino tangata i Maungawhau, he kotiro pai, he wahine ataahua, kiano i moe noa i te tane, ahakoa aruaru te tane i a ia kihai a ia i pai atu ki era, a, i aua ra nei e taka kau ana ano a ia. Ka hui te hui ki Awhitu, ka haere atu te tira o Maungawhau ki reira, a, ka kite o reira taitamariki rangatira i taua kotiro nei, i a Puhihuia, a, ka mea puku aua tamariki rangatira o Ngati-Kahukoka, ma ratou taua wahine ra, ara, ka mea a ia, a ia, a ia o ratou, mana, mana, mana, otira he mea ki puku taua ki nei i roto ano i a ratou; kihai i whakina ta tenei, ta tenei hiahia, kia rangona e ana hoa, a, ka riro pea a Puhihuia i te tangata ke ano o ratou.

Nei koe, he tini nga tangata taitamariki rangatira o Ngati-Kahukoka, otira ko nga tino tangata o ratou, ehara i te mea he tini ratou tokotoru nei, tokowha nei ano nga tino taitama ariki, a he maha nga rangatira taitamariki teina; ko Ponga, tetahi tangata rangatira o ratou otira ehara a ia i te tino rangatira ariki, he uri teina a ia koia tana tupu i heke ai i te tupu me te mana o etahi o ana hoa.

Ka noho taua tini tamariki nei i Awhitu, a ka tae ki taua ra, ka mea tetahi o aua taitamariki ariki kia haere ratou ki te tira haere ki Maungawhau, ka korerotia ki te hapu katoa, a, ka whakaae nga taitamariki wahine, tane, o nga mea ano ia kua ahua pakeke te tupu, kia haere ratou kia kite i era whanaunga o ratou i taua pa nui nei i Maungawhau.

He hotoke te wa i kiia ai taua ki nei, a, ka mea taua tini taitamariki nei me mahi e ratou ki nga mea kakara o mua, hei taonga ma ratou ki o ratou ringa mau ai, hei koha ma ratou ki nga kaumatua o Maungawhau. E takurua ana, nawai a, ka tata te puta o Matariki, ka pumahau te tau, ka pua te kowhai, ka pua te hutukawa, katahi aua tini tamariki ra, te tane, te wahine, ka kohi i te hua o te miro, hei hinu whakakakara, ka kohi i te moki, i te akerautangi, i te karetu, me nga tini pu kohu kakara a nehe, a, ka tutua ki te hinu miro, ki te tangeo, ki te hinu kohia, a, ka mahia aua mea nei, a, ka oti a te tini; nei koa, he tautahi a Ponga, kaore ana tuahine, kahore ana teina, ko ia anake, a, he mea ui e ia ki

with gifts of such treasures.

Now, in the days of peace between these tribes a party of young people at Awhitu decided to visit those at Mount Eden. They were young, but were of the age when young men were tattooed, and had the right to speak in any council of the tribe. On this occasion the young men and young women of the two tribes saw each other. The daughter of the head chief of the Mount Eden Pa was a noble-looking young woman, and had not taken a husband. The young people of Awhitu held a council, and determined to visit Mount Eden; and on this visit they saw the daughter of the head of Mount Eden, who was called Puhihuia, and each of the Awhitu young men secretly said to himself, ‘she shall be my wife’.

In the visiting party from Awhitu to Mount Eden there were many young chiefs, but only three of supreme rank. Ponga was one of the party, but was of junior rank, and did not hold high rank as a chief among his companions.

Again, a time came when all these young people from Awhitu wished to pay another visit to Mount Eden. They told all their tribe of their wish, and it was agreed to by those of mature years. This proposal was made in the winter; and, as they had time to prepare those things which young people can acquire through their own labour, each obtained the bark of trees, and grasses, and moss for scenting oil or dog's fat, to make gifts for the old people of the Mount Eden tribe. Winter was nearly over, Matariki (the Pleiades) would soon appear, and the earth would be warm. The kowhai would bloom, and later the pohutukawa would also be in flower. Then, when the time came, these young people collected the berry of the miro, and from them they extracted scented oils. They collected the moki, akerautangi, karetu, and all the other grasses and mosses used to scent oil or fat in ancient days, and these they used to scent the oil of the miro, and tangeo, and kohia.

Ponga was a tautahi, the only child of his parents; he inquired of his mother how to use the bark of trees, and grass, and moss to scent the oil. He was a man of noble conduct, and not fond of much speaking, and very industrious, and displayed the mind of an industrious man in regard to the produce of his crops, giving much of this to who had need of it. When his mother heard her son's question,

tana whaea te mahi e mahia ai aua tu mea nei. He tangata pai koa a Ponga, he tangata kupu iti, he tangata ahu-whenua, he tangata rangatira a ia ki ana taonga, ara, ki ana kai e nga kia ai e tona ringa, he ngahora noa atu ma ana hoa. Ano ka rongo tana whaea i tana ui ki te hinu rautangi, ka mea atu taua whaea ona ra ki tetahi wahine hoahoa ano ona kia mahia e raua he rautangi ma Ponga.

Ka hua te rata, ka titaha a Matariki ki te uru, ka tae ki te ngahuru, kua poki te rua kumara, ara, kua tae katoa te kumara ki te rua. Ka kiia kia hoe te tini tamariki nei ki Maungawhau. Ko era, ko nga tini rangatira taitamariki ariki, kua whiwhi i nga mea pai katoa, he mea hoki, he uri ariki; rongo noa te ware ki a ratou whakahau, ka kohi nei aua ariki taitamariki nei i a ratou taha hinu, me nga tatua karetu, me nga piki toroa, me nga remu huia, me nga hou kotuku. Ka mau a Ponga i ana mea i mahia ra e tana whaea raua ko tana hoahoa, a, ka eke taua tini nei i te waka. Ko Awhitu te pa i noho ai aua tini whakapiwari nei. I nga ra i mahia ai aua tini hinu kakara nei, ka puta te kupu whakahi a etahi o

she asked her friend, the other wife of her husband, to assist her in making scented oil for Ponga.

When the rata was in full bloom, and Matariki had passed the height of the sky, and autumn was near, and when the kumara crop had been taken up and placed in the store-houses, the young people of Awhitu decided to pay their visit to Mount Eden.

All the other young chiefs of the party had a supply of presents for their friends. As they were of superior rank, they had only to give their order for the lower classes to gather scented oil for them, or to perform any other small matter; these therefore gathered together their calabashes of scented oil, scented belts made of the karetu grass, plumes of albatross feathers, and the tail feathers of the huia. But Ponga had only those trifles which his mother and her friend had made for him. He took them in his hand and embarked in the canoe, and with the others of the party launched forth and paddled up the Manukau waters towards Onehunga.

While these eager ambitious companions of Ponga were collecting the scented oil and other trifles, some of them boasted of how they would gain the love of Puhihuia. One young man, while he was going one evening to the whare matoro (the house where games were played, and where the young people of the tribe slept), was heard to say, ‘O friend! how amusing it is to see the way so-and-so (mentioning the name of one of the girls), is behaving, and what a number of presents she is taking with her, as though her bold manner and her presents will find a husband for her at Mount Eden!’

The young woman mentioned by the young man answered him, back, ‘Then why are you taking the albatross feathers which adorned the head of your ancestor who died at Kawhia, and decorating your head with them? Do you think, as you are going to Mount Eden, that those albatross feathers will make you more beautiful as you turn your head about—that Puhihuia will admire you, and you will be able to gain her love?’ They joked one with the other in this way until sleep that night silenced them all. But in all this time, Ponga did not utter one word. The one calabash of scented oil which he carried in his hand was taken to oil his hair when he should join in the haka.

There were seventy young people who went on the visit to Mount Eden, including some slaves as attendants; and the puhi (the young

taua tini tangata nei, ara, o te hunga kua aroha puku nei ki a Puhihuia, a, ka pakiwaha noa iho ratou ki a ratou ka tawai etahi ki etahi, ka mea tetahi ki te nuinga o ratou i te wa i hoki ai ratou ki te whare matoro, ‘E hoa ma, hei nati te mahi a mea i te hinu mana, he mea pea kia tahuri mai ai he tane mana o Nga-iwi’.

Ka mea te kotiro nana te ingoa kua kiia nei e tenei e tawai nei, ‘Oti, he aha te take i mahia ai e koe nga piki toroa o to tupuna i mate ki Kawhia hei whakangahau mo to mahunga, hua noa koe i a koe ka haere nei ki Maungawhau, ma o toroa ka pai ai te whiu o to pane, e tahuri mai ai a Puhihuia ki a koe?’ He penei te ahua o te tawai a aua tini tamariki nei ki a ratou, Ko Ponga ia, kahore kau he kupu kotahi mana, ko tana ipu hinu e mau ra, he mau kau noa iho ano hei whakawahi mo tona mahunga ano, ana tu i te kapa haka.

Haere ake te ope nei hokowhitu, haere ake ano ko nga tangata o Ngati-Kahukoka, me a ratou ropa ano. Haere ake hoki ko te tane me te wahine, ko te wahine puhi haere ake ano ana hoa noho i a ia; ka eke nei taua tini nei i to ratou waka, a, ka whakawhiti mai i te taha tonga o Manuka, ka whiti mai ki Puponga, ka hoe mai whaka te tauranga waka i Onehunga.

A, i aua ra, he pa nui a Maungawhau. He mano ona tangata, he hapu nui te hapu nana i noho taua pa. He nui te whare o taua pa, me ona pa tauawhi i te pa nui. He nui nga rua kumara o taua pa, me ona ingoa o aua rua kai, he nui noa atu te marae o te pa matua, ko taua marae i te tino toitoi o te pa matua, a he whare matoro i tetahi pito, ki te pito ki te marangai o taua marae, ko te whare manuwhiri i te pito ki te hauauru o taua marae. He nui nga maioro o taua pa, me nga pekerangi, a, he whare katoa i te taha ki roto o nga maioro, puta katoa, tawhi noa te pa. Ko te wai o taua pa he puna kei te taha ki te hauraro, kei te ara e haere atu ai i taua pa ka anga te haere ki Te To; e kore taua puna e mimiti i te raki o te raumati.

Tena a Ponga ma te hoe mai ra, a, ka kitea atu e te tini wahine kohi pipi i Onehunga, ka powhiria, a, ka u, ka haere mai, a, ka kitea e te pa nei, e Maungawhau, ka pa te powhiri me te karanga, ‘Haere mai ra e te manuwhiri tuarangi’. Haere tonu atu te iwi tamariki nei, a, ka tae atu ki te pa, a, haere tonu, me te piki tonu, a, tae noa ki te tino marae o te pa, ka noho, a, ka whaiwhai korero, ka mutu, e tahu ana te kai a te pa, ka tao, a kua maoa,

women of high birth who were betrothed) had their own young women attendants. They crossed from the south side of the Manukau to Puponga, and paddled up to Onehunga.

In those days, Mount Eden was a large pa with thousands of warriors, with a great many houses inside it, and outposts all around. Many and large were the kumara-pits in that pa: and each pit or storehouse for the kumara had its own name. In the most important part of the pa there was a large marae, situated on top of the hill on which the pa stood: and on the east end of this stood the whare matora, the houses where games were played by the young people. The whare manuwhiri, the reception house for visitors, stood on the west side of the marae. The ditches and ramparts of that pa were tall and wide, and the outer fences of the stockade were high and strong, with houses close up to the earthworks all round the pa. The spring of water which supplied the pa was to the north, down on the flat, on the road leading from Mount Eden towards the fishermen's pa on the beach; this spring was never known to be dry, even in the hottest summer.

The canoe in which the young people were travelling came near to Onehunga, and was seen by some of the Mount Eden people who were gathering pipi there; these waved their garments, and with loud voices welcomed the strangers to the shore. They landed, and guided by the collectors of pipi they proceeded to Mount Eden. When they were seen by those in the great pa, they were welcomed by the waving of garments and the old chant, ‘Come, O stranger from the horizon’. They went on over the hard scoria flat on the east of the pa, and ascended the hill by a path that led from the Tikopuke pa (Mount St John), and sat down on the marae of the pa, where speeches of welcome were uttered by the chiefs and answered by some of the young men among the guests. Food was cooked, and a feast given to the visitors, which the senior in rank of the young people apportioned out amongst themselves. Because of the games in which they were to take part in the evening, all of them ate with feigned appetites only, pretending (as was the custom) that the food was most delicious, but eating little, lest they should feel drowsy and too full of food, and not have the agility they needed in games that evening, when they were to perform before the people of Mount Eden; for these would expect to see those taking part so agile that they could move their bodies as though the waist of each were

ka whiua te kai ra ki te tahua, a, ka tahuri te manuwhiri ra ki te tohatoha i tana kai, ka mutu te tohatoha e kai ana, otira ko nga kai a te manuwhiri ra, he mea kai whakangaio, e kai ana e whakaaro ana kia iti te kai, kaua e whakanuia rawatia kia angiangi ai te poho o te tangata, mo te turanga i te aro-a-kapa o te haka, kia tirohia atu ai te hope o te tangata, ana na, me te mea kua motu; e noho ana te manuhiri ra me te maharahara me te mea, ‘A whea ano ra ka po?’ a me te tangata whenua e pena ana ano hoki. He mea i pera ai, he kite i te tira nei he taitamariki kau, he haka te mahi ma ratou, me te pa ano hoki, te ai he kaumatua o te tini o Ngati-Kahuhoka nei hei riri i te mea he haka te mahi ma ratou, a, ao noa te ra. Na te tamariki hoki taua kai nei te haka, me te kanikani, a, he titiro kau atu ta te koroheke, a, i nga wa e mahia ai aua mahi ki te whare matoro ranei, ki te whare manuhiri ranei, e kore nga koreheke e riri ana roa te mahinga i te whare matoro, te mea hoki, na nga taitamariki taua whare; tena, ko te whare manuwhiri, he whare e moea ana e nga koroheke i nga wa e nohoia ana taua whare e te pahi manuwhiri, a ka roa te haka a te tamariki, te ai he wahi e korerorero ai te kaumatua ki taua manuwhiri, ka atiati te kamatua i taua mahi kia rongo korero ai ratou i nga tauhou.

A, ahiahi kau iho ano, e whiu ana te tangata whenua, a, te mea ano, ka rupeke (poto) noa ratou ki waenga o te marae e nohoia ra e te manuwhiri, katahi ka turia te haka e ratou, ka tika he kapa, ka tika he kapa, nawai a, ka rite noa ano nga kapa haka, a, katahi ra ano ka takahia, a, e takahia ra nga kapa haka, katahi ra ano a Puhihuia ka whakaaro, te kotiro o te rangatira o te pa nei o Maungawhau, ki te wa hei putanga mona ki mua o te haka nei pukana ai, no te mea hoki ki tana whakaaro, e kore a ia e pai kia rere kau ki mua o te aro-a-kapa o te haka, engari ano kia rite te takahi, me te papaki, me te horu o aua kapa katoa, ko reira a ia te pai ai, te rawe ai, te rere ai ki mua o aua kapa ra pukana ai, nga-hau ai. Katahi ka takahi te iwi ra, a te mea noa ano, ka haratau marire ki te whakaaro a te wahine ra, tana tino putanga ki mua o aua kapa ra, o nga kapa o te haka, katahi ra ka pehia ki tetahi taha, ki tetahi taha, ae, ta te tuawahine pai hoki, whakamau noa atu ki nga kanohi o taua kotiro ra, ana me te maure ka puta ake i te pae, ka titiro te tini tane taitamariki rangatira o te tira o Awhitu ki te kotiro ra, a, mate noa ake ratou ki te pai o te pukana o te tamahine nei, a, ko Ponga te mea i mihi puku ki a ia, me te tino mate ano o tana ma-

cut in two. After the feast they sat wondering when evening would come; the people of the pa felt the same question pass through their minds also, for they saw that all their guests were young men and women, who would be able to perform well in the haka and kanikani games. Such games were always held at night, when the old people of the pa might not join, so that the young folk could continue their games till dawn of day. It was usual for the young people only to take part in these games, whilst the old people were the audience. When the games took place in the whare matoro the old people could not take offence if they were kept up till day dawned, as this house was used only by the young people; but if the games were played in the strangers' house (whare manuwhiri), which in many instances was occupied by the old people and in which they slept, and as the aged often pass their time at night in talking, the games might be interrupted by a request from the old people that the young people should with-draw.

Evening came at last, and all the inhabitants of the pa collected on the marae, where some of them arranged themselves in lines and performed hakas; however Puhihuia did not join the group at once, but waited for the time when she could move to the front of the haka party, and show most effectively her art in making grimaces. She decided not to join in the haka until they reached the part when they would all shake their hands, bow their heads, and sing in a perfect chorus; then she would join, and show her agility in the dance. The haka went on; all the dancers were moving in perfect time and singing in perfect harmony. She joined them. Turning her head from side to side, she made the most perfect grimaces, her eyes shining like a full moon. She was seen by the young men of Awhitu, and they were lost in admiration and love for her. Ponga watched her silently, admiring her agility and noble contortions of body, and feeling a most inconceivable love for her; but not one word did he utter to his most trusted friend. But the other young men of the party talked of the beauty of Puhihuia, praising it, and praising her agility in dancing the haka: all were lost in love, and each dared to say that he would obtain her as his wife.

The Mount Eden people had given their haka, and now the Awhitu visitors had in return to give a haka to their hosts. All of them joined in this; even the slaves who had accom-

nawa ki te aroha ki taua kotiro: otiro kihai a ia i kuihi kupu ki ana hoa, ko ana hoa ia, i wairangi noa iho ki te kotete ki te hameme i a ratou nei whakaaro mo taua wahine nei; mate noa ake ratou katoa i te aroha ki taua kotiro, heoti ano te kupu a ratou katoa he mea mana, mana, mana o ratou taua wahine humarie nei.

E haka ana te iwi whenua ra i te haka, a, ka mutu noa ano, kei runga ko te ope tamariki nei, ka whakanohoia he kapa, he kapa, a uru katoa atu ana ano hoki a ratou ropa ki taua haka, he mea hoki koa i pera ai, kia nui ai nga kapa kia wheoro ai te kihi a te ngutu o te hokowhitu taitamariki nei, kia haruru ai te tioro o te taringa i te haka. Ka tu nei nga kapa, a, ka rite noa ano, te tino pakinga o nga ringa i pakia ai, e papaki ana tera kapa nei, e whakataretare ana a Ponga kia puta ai a ia ki mua o taua kapa ngangahu ai, tera hoki koa te iwi whenua katoa o te pa nei kua mene (poto) mai ki te marae titiro ai i te haka o te ope tamariki nei. Te tino putanga o Ponga ki mua o te kapa, a, ka pehia ki tetahi taha tana upoko, ka pehia ki tetahi taha, ana ta te tama pai hoki, ka titiro te iwi ra ki te pai o te haka a Ponga, mate noa ake i te mihi ki te rangatira o tana tu haka. Ana koa ko Puhi-

pained their female masters were allowed to join in the dance along with the chiefs of high rank, so that they would increase the number of the dancers and make the songs and chants sound louder.

The dancers were arranged in lines, the dance began, all slapped their hands in unison, but Ponga kept back until he had the opportunity of moving to the front line of the dancers. All the people in the Mount Eden pa were watching. Ponga jumped forward nimbly and took a place in the front line of dancers, and, turning his head first to one side, then to the other, moved his hands and body in perfect unison with the other dancers, but in a more polished and noble manner than they, so that the audience applauded his fine performance.

Now Puhihuia was sitting with the crowd of onlookers, and as she watched Ponga's noble performance her heart was quite bewildered with love for him. She determined that he should be her husband, and wished only to get as near to him as possible. But how could she do this? If she went near to him her tribe might say she had forgotten her dignity, and had lowered herself to the level of the common people, by deigning to sit near the offspring of a younger branch of the family; and that by acting thus she had brought discredit upon herself as the daughter of the head chief of the Ngaiwi tribe.

When the twilight deepened into night the young people of Awhitu took the gifts to their relatives. Those of the Awhitu people who were higher in rank than Ponga, being the descendants of an ancestor senior to the ancestor of Ponga, gave huia feathers, albatross feathers, and calabashs of oil scented with the taramea to the head chief of the pa, the father of Puhihuia; and these young chiefs were invited by him to sleep in the house occupied by his family. Ponga and the remainder of their party slept in the house in which strangers were entertained.

The Mount Eden people and the guests slept soundly, but Ponga was restless, tormented with the problem of how to get himself into the presence of Puhihuia.

He thought for a long time, but could think of no way in which he could come near to Puhihuia, and through being in her presence, assuage a little the burning of his love for her. For a long time he lay still and silent, hoping to fall asleep, but he could not do so, and he rose and went out and sat on the marae. By chance, his slave rose and left the house at

huia te noho mai ra i roto i taua iwi te titiro mai ra ki a Ponga e mahi nei i te mahi, a, wairangi noa ai te ngakau o te wahine ra, heoti ano ko te ngakau o te kotiro ra kua mate noa ake ana mahara, kua whakaarorangi noa ake te ngakau ki a Ponga, heoti ano rapea, ka kowhana i roto i te wahine ra te ngakau mate ki a Ponga hei tane mana, ka tingia a ia e te hinengaro kakapa, ka whana ake kia tata a ia ki a Ponga, me pehea i te wehi kei kitea a ia e te iwi, kei kiia kua tutua te tamahine o te tangata nui o Nga-iwi.

Ka mutu te haka, ka haere noa atu te iwi whenua ki o ratou kainga, otira ko Ponga kua tino hiahia rawa atu ki te kotiro ra.

Ahiahi po kau ano, ka tae te ope ra ki a ratou mea i mahia mai ra i Awhitu, e tuku ana tenei ki tana whanaunga, e tuku ana tenei ki tana whanaunga, a, ko aua uri ariki ra ko nga mea i taua ope nei i tuakana nga tupuna ki o Ponga tupuna, ka tukua a ratou nei hinu kakara, me nga remu huia, me nga hou toroa, me nga ipu taramea ki te tino rangatira o taua pa nei, o Maungawhau, he mea koa, i tonoa taua tira ariki nei e te tangata whenua kia moe i te whare o te matua o Puhihuia, ko Ponga ma ia, i moe i te whare mo te manuwhiri.

Ka moe nei te iwi whenua, me te hokowhitu o te tira tamariki nei, ko te moe ia o Ponga he moe whakatorouka kau tana, he wawata hoki nana, e pehea ai e tata atu ai a ia ki a Puhihuia.

Ka mahi nei a Ponga, ka rapu tikanga mana e na ai te mate o tana ngakau aroha ki te kotiro ra, a, te kitea e ia te whakaaro, te mea hoki koa i takoto a ia kia moe, a, takoto nei, takoto nei, te moe kau ake, ka ara a ia, ka puta ki waho ki te marae noho ai, he aranga nona, he whakatikanga ano hoki to tana mokai, a, ka puta a ia ki waho, ka noho, me te haere atu ano tana ropa i muri i a ia; noho ana, a, noho ana, ka ki atu a Ponga, ara koa he pouri te po, ‘Ko wai tenei?’

Ka ki atu te ropa ra, ‘Ko au, ko to kaitonotono’.

Ka ki atu a Ponga, ‘Hei nati te kore o te hiamoe i a au i te whare ra’.

Ka mea atu te mokai ra, ‘He hahaka nou, he ruhi nou i te pukanatanga. E moe te mata hi aua, e ara te mata hi tuna’.

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Ae ra, ko te kore koa o te mahara ki nga mea o Awhitu’.

Ka mea atu te ropa, ‘Ki te aha ianei?’

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Ki nga mea o mua, kei te noho tupato au i a au, he mea hoki ko nga mate o te pa nei kiano i ea’.

the same time, and seeing Ponga (whom at first he did not recognise) sitting in the courtyard, he went towards him and sat down near to him. Ponga asked, ‘Who is this?’

The slave answered, ‘It is I, your slave, whom you have at your command’.

Ponga said, ‘How strange that I am not able to sleep in that house!’

The attendant said, ‘You have over-tired yourself in the haka, and in making grimaces: but, as the proverb says, ‘He who fishes for the sprat can sleep, but the eel-fisher must keep awake!’

Ponga said, ‘Yes; but it is also strange that I have lost all thought of Awhitu matters.’

‘But,’ said the attendant, ‘to what do you refer?’

Ponga said, ‘Remembering the deeds of past times, I feel that I must be cautious in my conduct. The evils which in days gone by came on the people of this pa through the actions of our tribe have not been avenged.’

‘Yes,’ said the slave, ‘that is true; but we came here as guests, and we are all quite young. What can rats do?’

Ponga said, ‘That is true; but the old proverb says, “Though the mokoroa grub be a little thing, it can cause the great koroi tree to fall”.’

The slave said, ‘Yes; but we came here for amusement and are relatives of our hosts, and we count on the fact that peace is made between the two tribes.’

‘Yes,’ said Ponga, ‘provided that all of us keep our hands away from the things which do not belong to us. If we did not do this the consequences would be bad for all of us.’

The slave said, ‘Yes, that is so, but only you, the chiefs of high birth, dare to touch the sacred things in this pa. Men such as I am would not venture to act in such a way.’

Ponga asked, ‘Do you mean, to touch and take away—to steal property?’

‘Not quite that’, the slave said, ‘Property is property; but there is also such a thing as sacredness in property that has life.’

Ponga asked, ‘Do you refer to Puhihuia?’

He answered, ‘Can it be hidden that the eyes of you, the noble of birth, glistened and flashed when looking at that young woman, especially when she made grimaces in the dance?’

Ponga said, ‘Friend, you speak the truth; I have become quite bewildered. Let us return to our home, lest evil befall me. I can see that those of our party who are my seniors in rank

Continued on page 37

Remarkable Understanding

It is especially remarkable that he should have shown so sophisticated a comprehension of Maori sculpture, for in 1844 there were practically no Europeans who had any understanding of art of this kind. At the time of his visit there were still some carved and painted houses and monuments of the same quality as those which were the principal glory of pre-European Maori culture. Angas' lucid and lovingly detailed drawings recorded the splendour of these buildings just before they finally vanished.

Writing of the Maori, Angas said that their character was ‘a strange mixture of pride, vanity … covetousness and generosity, passion and gentleness …’ It is their pride which is most apparent in his drawings: pride, and the kind of innocence which is possible only for a people who may have defeated each other, but who have never been defeated by outsiders.

Peace and Plenty

They were a people: they walked and spoke with the dignity and whole-heartedness befitting the possessors of a rich land and a rich culture. The white men were a disturbing presence, but there were still only a few of them. They had at least brought peace to the country, and many new things which the Maori liked: pigs and blankets, axes and wheat. In these early days the peach, cherry, plum and quince trees flourished greatly; there was a space of time before the pests and blight followed the trees to their new home.

In 1844 there was a kind of stillness in the land. It was the stillness before the storm: but seen from this distance, and especially as seen in the drawings of George French Angas, it seems to have been a happy time; almost, in a way, a kind of Golden Age.

—M.O.

Haka were often performed on peaceful occasions, but Angas also wrote a vivid description of the haka which was performed as a war-dance before and after a battle, when ‘the warriors dance naked, being daubed with red ochre, uttering the most fearful yells and imprecations over their enemies … until they gradually work themselves up to the highest pitch of excitement.’

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The Cook Islanders are to have a museum and library. A suitable site in Rarotonga has been donated by Makea Nui Ariki, C.B.E., and already a quarter of the target of £12,000 has been collected.

In the past many people, including Princess Te Puea, have been interested in the idea of a library and museum in Rarotonga. Further information about the project can be obtained from Mr Gordon F. Russell, 40 Remewan Street, Linden, Wellington.

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Mr J. K. Hunn has recently vacated the post of Secretary for Maori Affairs to take up the position of Secretary of Defence. Commenting on this, the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Hanan, said that the Maori people would be indebted to Mr Hunn forever.

Mr Hunn had revolutionised Maori Affairs thinking, to the very great advantage of the Maori people and New Zealand, said Mr Hanan. He made particular reference to the inspiration for the Maori Education Foundation, which had first come from Mr Hunn, and said that in Mr Hunn's time the government had achieved a ‘break-through’ in Maori affairs in four crucial areas. These were education, housing, trade training and land title reform. The New Zealand Maori Council, which among other things was a valuable two-way channel of communication between the Minister of Maori Affairs and the Maori people, had also been set up in this period.

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the Maori Community Centre which is being built by voluntary workers at Kawerau is now nearing completion.

Under the supervision of Mr Paul Delamere, the President of the Ringatu Church and a retired builder, work has been going on at the site since January.

Memorial Service at Putiki

Last April at Putiki, near Wanganui, a service was held in memory of the late Mr Tenga Takarangi. Mr Takarangi, who belonged to Te Atihau (Whanganui) and Ngati Whiti Tama (a sub-tribe of Tuwharetoa), was one of the most widely known and respected Maoris in Wanganui, and took a leading part in a great many public activities.

During the ceremony, which was attended by a large number of people, a memorial stone (see photo on left) was unveiled by the Bishop of Wellington, the Rt Rev. H. W. Baines.

Photography by Ans Westra

Welcoming the Bishop of Wellington, the Rt Rev. H. W. Baines, to the Putiki marae are Mr Pei te Hurunui Jones of Taumarunui, Mrs Maraenui Iwikau of Tokorangi, Halcombe, Mrs Rangitaamo Takarangi (the widow of the late Mr Tenga Takarangi), and Mr Henare Tuwhangai of Ohaupo.

Ka ki atu te ropa, ‘He tika iana, otira i haere tira tamariki mai tatou, he aha ta te kiore tana huanga’.

Ka mea a Ponga, ‘Koia koa, otira he iti mokoroa e hinga te koroi’.

Ka mea te ropa, ‘He tika koa, he ngahau noa iho ta tatou i haere mai ai, a he whanaunga e noho ana i te ra o te rongo taketake’.

Ka ki a Ponga, ‘Ae ra, kei rarahu te ringa o tetahi o tatou ki te aha ki te aha, hei mate mo tatou’.

Ka mea atu te ropa, ‘Ae, otira ma koutou, ma nga mea nunui e rahu te tapu o te pa nei, e kore tena e mahia e te penei me au nei’.

Ka ki atu ano a Ponga, ‘He rarahu rapea tau e ki na, he ringa mau ki te taonga?’

Ka ki atu te ropa, ‘Kao, he taonga te taonga, a he mana tapu ano hoki o te taonga kori’.

Ka ki atu a Ponga, ‘Mo Puhihuia rapea to kupu?’

Ka ki te ropa, ‘Oti, e ngaro hoki te mea kua piata, kua rarapa te kanohi o koutou, o nga mea nui o to tatou haere ki te kotiro ra i te wa ona e pukana ra?’

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘E hoa, he tika to kupu, ko au kua mate noa ake: me hoki tatou ki te kainga, kei he au, he mea hoki kua mate ano a tatou ariki ki taua tamahine ra, a ki te mea ka riro i a au, hei take ngaki mate moku’.

Ka mea atu te ropa, ‘E ki ana au, he tapu te tapu, otira e kore te tapu e kiia he tapu i te wa o te aruaru wahine’.

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Ae i te kainga tupu’.

Ka mea atu te ropa, ‘He kainga tapu koia te kainga o te tohunga o ia iwi o ia iwi, e tikina mai ra tatau wahine e aruarumia ra e nga tangata o Aotea. Haere mai ra hoki ratou i te kainga mamao, a, tae noa mai nei ki Manuka. He uri rangatira koe; e kore koe e akona ki te riri, waihoki e kore koe e akona ki te ngaki kai ma tama kapakapa’.

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Kei te porahu (raruraru) kau noa iho aku whakaaro, e kore au e mohio ki te aha ki te aha’.

Ka noho nei a Ponga raua ko tana mokai, a, roa noa, ka maharahara te ropa ra ki te mate whakamomori o tana ariki, a, na taua pononga a ia, a Ponga, i whakamohio ki te tikanga mahi mana, ka mea atu te mokai ra ki a Ponga, ‘E koro, tenei te whakaaro kua kitea e au; whakarongo mai iana, a, mau e pai, e pai ana, a mau e kino, e pai ana, tenei koa kia korerotia atu ki a koe, me hoki taua

have fallen deeply in love with Puhihuia, and if I should gain her as my wife, my death would follow.’

The slave answered, ‘I must acknowledge that sacred things are ever held sacred, but in the time of courting the restrictions of tapu do not apply to those who follow their beloved.’

Ponga replied, ‘It is true that in our own home such liberty may be allowed to us, but not here where we are guests.’

The slave said, ‘I would ask, were even the houses of our priests sacred when the people of other tribes came from Aotea to pay court to the young women of our tribe? Those I speak of came from a distance, even to Manukau. You are descended from the great men of ancient days, and cannot be taught how a warrior should act, nor can you be schooled into the art of how to satisfy the palpitating one.’

Ponga answered, ‘I am completely dazed. I have no power to think about anything at all.’

Thus these two sat in the dark on the marae, and for some time each was silent; but, as the slave feared that his master might be led to commit suicide, he spoke again, and said, ‘O friend, I have a thought; listen to my words; and if you agree to what I suggest it will be good; and if you object to what I suggest, you have the right to reject it. Let me speak. Let us return to the house; and if you can sleep, well and good, and if you cannot sleep, well and good; but be brave. Let your spirit live in you; food is food—eat it. Talk and laugh, and smother your sorrow by the strength of your determination; let it be kept hidden from the knowledge of others. Tomorrow, in the evening, pretend to be thirsty, and call for me; however I shall not be near you, but in some house far away from yours', so that I shall not hear your commands. Call loudly, and order me to go and fetch some water for you; but I shall not hear, and it will appear as if I were defying you. Your call may be heard by the mother of Puhihuia, and, as you are her guest, and of high rank also, she may perhaps ask the daughter to fetch some water for you, which would not be degrading to her because of your rank. The mother may say to her daughter, “O daughter, how can you sit still and hear our guest, Ponga, calling in vain to his slave to bring water for him? Can you

ki te whare nana koe ka moe, ae, nana koe ka kore, ae, otira kia manawanui. Kia mau to mauri ora i a koe, he kai te kai, me kai, me kata, me korero, ko te pouri ou e pouri na me whakakoromaki ki roto i a koe, a hei te ahiahi ka maminga e koe he mate wai tou, a ka karanga e koe ki a au, otira ko au kia mamao noa atu i a koe, hei te whare ke noa atu au noho mai ai, a me whakatuturi e au, kia nui ai to karanga i a au, ki te wai mau kia kawea e au, a, te rongo noa ake koa au.

‘Ma reira pea te matua o te kotiro ra ka rongo ai ki to reo, ki to tono wai mau e whakatuturitia nei e au, ma reira pea a ia ka tono ai i tana kotiro ki te kawe wai mau, ma reira pea taua matua ona te mea atu ai ki tana kotiro, “E ko, he aha i waiho ai te manuwhiri ra a Ponga kia karanga noa ana ki tana ropa ki te kawe wai mana, te kawea atu ai he wai mana e koe”. A, ka rongo pea te kotiro ra, ka haere ki te kawe wai mau, a ki te haere a ia ki te kawe wai, hei reira koe ka whai (aru) atu ai i muri, a kia tae ki te puna ra, hei reira korua noho ai, whai korero ai, a, e kite koe ka whakatika te kotiro ra ki te tiki wai mau, ka whakatika a ia, ka haere, hei muri tata koe ka whakatika ai ano hoki, ka haere ki waho, otira ka whakatika koe, me penei na e koe he kupu mau, “Kei whea ra te pononga hoi (turi) nei? Tukua atu au ki te kimi (rapu) i a ia, a tae te whakatuturi o te taurekareka nei, kia penei rawa ake te angaanga (upoko), wahia ana i kona”.’

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga, a, ka whakatika raua, ka haere ki te whare; moe nei, moe nei te whare ra, ano ka rikoriko te ata, ka kakarauri, a, ka oho te tini i roto i te whare manuwhiri, ka ka te kai, ka maoa, e kai ana me te toe tonu a Ponga. Na tana ropa i whakanoi (whakairi) he kai mana, a, oho rawa ake a ia, kua tikaka noa ake te ra, ka kai te tangata nei i nga o i tiakina ra e tana ropa mana, a, ka haere a ia ki te whare matoro. Roa rawa i reira, kua tu-a-to te ra, ka whakatika a ia, ka haere ki te whare o te matua o Puhihuia, ka noho i reira ka titiro atu ki te kotiro ra, e korerorero ana ratou ko nga kaumatua o te pa nei, a, kihai i roa ka heke te ra ki te rua, a ka po, kei te takaro te iwi ra i te whare matoro, kei te kanikani ano te iwi ra i te whare manuwhiri, otira kihai a Ponga i ahu ki aua whare; i noho tu-a-mokemoke ano i te whare i te kotiro ra; ko te kotiro ra koa, i noho tonu ano hoki i te whare, ratou ko tana papa, me tana whaea, me nga tino tangata o te iwi nei, o Nga-iwi.

not go and get some for him?” And if the young woman obeys her mother, and goes for water, you can follow as she goes to the spring, and will be able to talk to her. But if she goes for water for you, and you follow, as you leave the house let those within hear you say, “I wonder where that deaf slave is. I will go to find him. How disobedient that slave of mine is! It will not be long before I crack his skull”.'

Ponga listened in silence to all his slave had said, then they rose and entered the house. All of them slept; the light of the coming day glimmered faintly, and day shone forth. When they arose the morning meal was cooked and all but Ponga ate, but his slave kept some food on one side for him, hanging it up on a stage, and when he awoke it was past midday. He ate the food, then he went to the whare matoro. He stayed there until it was nearly sunset, then entered the house of the mother of Puhihuia. He sat and admired her while he listened to the conversation of the old people, who were talking about ancient history and deeds of battle. The sun had set; games were being played in the whare matoro and a kanikani was being performed in the house for the reception of strangers. Ponga did not go to either of these houses but sat moodily in the house with Puhihuia, with her father and mother, and with many of the old people of the pa.

These old people were amusing themselves by repeating the history of the tribe from the days of their coming from Hawaiki in the canoe Tainui; this recital was given in honour of Ponga, to acquaint him with that part of their history. It was stated that he belonged to a junior family of those who were descended from Hotunui. The old people told of the acts of their ancestor which took place after the landing at Aotea, with the wars which were waged from the time of Hoturoa to the days when he came into the Hauraki district; the travels and deeds of Tama-tea-pokaiwhenua; and the acts of the Ngatiawa tribe when they were in occupation of the Hokianga district; with those of kauri, and his migration to the districts of Tauranga and Taranaki. The old men continued to talk of this until some of the audience left and went to their own houses, and those who were left in the house went to sleep. Ponga did not return to the whare manuwhiri but remained in the seat he had occupied all day, and slept there. He awoke and felt thirsty, and called for his slave

Nga korero o te hanga nei he korero i nga tataku korero whakapapa o mua, he tataku i nga tupuna mai ano i Hawaiki, he ako hoki i a Ponga; te take i korerotia ai aua korero nei e ratou ki a Ponga, he uri teina a ia no nga ariki, i puta mai hoki a ia i a Hotunui ma.

E tataku ana tera i nga kauhau o nehe, me te korero i nga mahi a nga tupuna i mahia i tenei taha, ara, i Aotearoa nei. Haere ake ano te whakapapa tupuna me te whakatu i nga pakanga o mua, i nga ra o Hotunui i haere mai ai ki Hauraki nei. Me nga mahi a Tamatea-pokai-whenua, me nga mahi a Ngati-awa i raro i Hokianga-o-Kupe, me nga mahi a Kauri i heke ai ki runga ki nga kainga i Tauranga, me Taranaki, nawai i korero, a, korero, a, ka taki hokihoki etahi o aua koroheke nei ki o ratou whare moe ai, a, ka haere ano hoki ka moe nga tangata o te whare nei, noho tonu a Ponga i taua whare, kihai i hoki ki te whare manuwhiri moe ai. Ka moe te whare nei, a, roa rawa ka mate a Ponga i te hiainu, ka pa tona waha ka karanga ki tana ropa ki te wai ki a ia, ka mea, ‘E ta, kawea atu he wai ki a au’. He mea koa, ko te whare a te mokai ra i moe ai he wahi ke noa atu o te pa nei, a te rongo kau noa ake.

Ko te whare a Puhihuia ma i noho ai i te tekoteko o te pa nei i te taha tua-a-tonga ki te marangai o Maungawhau, i raro tata ake ano i te wahi papa maro te whare kauta o nga ropa a Puhihuia ma i moe ai, hua noa te hunga e moe i te whare nei kei reira te ropa a Ponga e moe ana, a he hoi marire (turi) ano nona, a, he kainga tauhau, he wehi tetahi ona ki te tiki wai i raro i te papa koraha o te pa nei, koia raka te take o tana hoi, a, tetahi u ana, he po pouri, he te kitea te ara ki te puna wai. Karanga tonu a Ponga i tana kupu ki tana ropa, a he te rongo mai, ka hoha a ia, ka mea ‘Ka hei tau, kia penei rawa ake koe apopo, hei kai koe ma te rango’. Ka takoto ano a Ponga ki te moe, me te ngunguru puku ki a ia, ano ka rongo te whaea o Puhihuia ki te tangata ra e karanga nei, ka oho ake a ia, ko te kuia koa o te kotiro nei te mea kua oho ake, ka oho te kupu a te kuia ra ki tana kotiro, ka mea, ‘E ko, he tuturi ano hoki tetahi ou, te rongo koe ki te manuwhiri e karanga kau nei ki tana ropa, ka tingia nei a ia e te hiainu, e kore koe e aroha atu u ana ki tana mate, a, ka haere koe ka kawe wai mana’.

Ka mea atu te kotiro ra ki tana whea, ‘Ua atu e ui koe he atua te taru o te ara e wehi kau ai au; ko Kuo te po, he kano kahurangi’.

Ka whakatika te kotiro ra, ka mau ki te

to bring water for him, saying, ‘O my slave! bring some water for me’. As the slave was some distance away, he did not hear the command.

The house in which Puhihuia lived with her parents was on the top of the hill on which the pa stood. On the south rim of the crater and on a little flat below this to the north of the house, there were the cookhouses of Puhihuia's family, where their attendants slept; it was supposed the attendant of Ponga was there, and that it was fear at being in a strange place, and terror at having to go in the dark far down to the flat on the north at the main entrance of the pa, that caused the slave of Ponga to disobey his master's call. It was a dark night, and the road to the spring could be followed only by those who knew it. Ponga repeated his command to his slave, saying, ‘Evil will befall you, and tomorrow will not have gone before blow-flies will gather on you’. Then Ponga lay down, but uttered certain words in a low mournful tone to himself. The mother of Puhihuia heard him call to his slave, and rose and spoke to her daughter and said, ‘O daughter, you are also deaf; you appear not to hear one of our guests calling in vain for his slave in his thirst. Can you not feel some sympathy for him in his need, and go and fetch some water for him?’

She answered her mother and said, ‘Rather you might ask, “Are not the weeds on the road gods, that I should not feel fear?” Kuo is god of darkness and descendant of spirits.’

Puhihuia rose and took a calabash and left the house. She and her parents slept at the opposite end of the house of that at which Ponga slept. There was a door at each end of the house. As she left the house with a lighted torch in her hand, Ponga rose and said, ‘I will go to find my deaf slave, who does not pity my raging thirst, whose soul will soon go along the road to Paerau (the road to the world of spirits)’. These words of his were pure pretence, and only said to mislead those who heard them, and to prevent their knowing of his desire to follow Puhihuia. He had no intention of finding his slave and killing him.

He left the house, and followed the path the young woman had taken. He had no knowledge of the road that led to the spring but followed as best he could the light of the torch and the voice of Puhihuia; for as she went along she sang a song to keep her heart brave, to amuse her ears with the sound of her own voice, and prevent the spirits from touching

kiaka (taha), ka puta ki waho; nei koa i tetahi pito o te whare a ia e moe tahi ana ratou ko ana matua, a he kuaha ano to taua pito o te whare, a ko Ponga e moe ana i tetahi pito ano o taua whare, a, he kuaha ano to tera pito; puta kau ano te kotiro ra me te rama kapara i te ringa, ka whakatika atu ano hoki a Ponga ki runga, ka mea ki ana hoa, ‘Tukua atu au ki taku mokai e hoi nei ki a au, nawai ko te mate wai, a, ka hemo au i te hiainu, penei rawa ake koe i a au, ka takahi to wairua i te ara ki Paerau’. Ka puta a Ponga ki waho ko aua kupu koa ana ra, he parau (teka) kau nana, he whakangaro marire ano nana i tana tikinga whai atu i te kotiro ra, kahore kau ana mea kia haere a ia ki te tiki i tana parau (ropa) kia patua e ia, ko aua kupu ana, he mea ki e ia kia rongo ai ana hoa moe, kia kiia ai e ratou, e haere pono ana a ia ki te patu i tana ora (pononga).

Puta kau atu ano a ia, ehara kua tika te ara o te tangata ra ki te haere, otira kihai a ia i ata mohio ki te ara ki te puna wai, engari i whai atu a ia i te ahi kapara, me te reo o te wahine ra, e haere ana hoki koa te wahine ra me te waiata oreore haere kia ngahau ai raua ko ana taringa ki tana reo kei pokea a ia e te wairua, a ka whai atu a Ponga i taua ahi me te reo o te wahine ra. E tae ana te kotiro ra ki te puna wai, ehara, e tu tahi atu ana a Ponga i tana tuara i te puna ra ano, e utu ana e wahine ra i te wai, ara, ka tae tana ringa ka pehi i te taha ra ki roto i te wai, a ka ki noa ano te kiaka (taha) na, tahuri noa ake te kotiro ra ki te hiki ake i tana ipu wai, ara he tangata e te ana i tana taha, i muri i a ia, ko Ponga koa e tu atu ra, me te kite mai ano te kotiro ra i a ia, i te marama atu o tana rama kapara. Tu kau ake ano te wahine ra me tana ipu wai, tu tonu, te kuihi te waha te aha, taro (roa kau iho) rawa, katahi ka ki atu te wahine ra, ka mea atu ki a Ponga, ‘He aha tau i haere mai ai koe?’

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘I haere mai au ki te inu’. Ka mea atu a Puhihuia, ‘Ha, i haere mai nei hoki ahau ki te kawe wai mau, he aha koe te noho atu ai i te kainga, a, maku e kawe atu he wai mau’.

Katahi ka ki atu te tangata ra, ka mea, ‘He tika ano taku kupu mate wai, na te ngakau ke tenei hiainu, na roto i kawe ake tana mate ki a koe’.

Ka rongo te kotiro ra i aua kupu, ka mahara a ia, a, kua hiahia te tangata nei ki a au, a, ka noho raua, ka korerorero, ahuareka noa iho a raua korero ki a raua, ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘He kainga mataitai toku kainga a Awhitu,

her. Ponga followed behind her until she arrived at the spring. She was dipping the calabash into the water to fill it, when Ponga came up and stood at her side. When the calabash was full she lifted it from the spring and saw a man standing near to her, and recognized him by the glare of her torch; but she did not utter a word, and stood there without moving for a short time. Then she said, ‘Why did you come?’

Ponga said, ‘I came to obtain a drink’.

She answered, ‘I came for water for you. Then why did you not stay in the pa? I would have taken it to you.’

He answered, ‘What I say about thirst is true; but my thirst is that of the heart, and it is from within that I feel a longing for you.’

She heard his words, and thought, ‘Why, he loves me!’ They sat down and talked. Ponga said, ‘My home at Awhitu is famous for its fish and shellfish; but your home has only fern-root.’

She said, ‘We have fish in our pa, caught on the west coast, and on the east also—that coast of which the proverb says, ‘The coast so calm that a woman may paddle a canoe there’. And our pa has fish sent to it from many beaches.’

He said, ‘Yes, you may have much food in your pa, and peace may reign there; but what food is there for the heart?’

She said, ‘That is so; perhaps at your home the young high-born chiefs delight themselves in sports.’

He said, ‘Yes, that is true. Then return there with me, that you may see the games and delight, and take part in them.’

She said, ‘What is there left for me to see? I have seen you.’

He said, ‘If you can think as I do, you can go back with me when our party returns.’

She said, ‘The matter rests with you; but on the night before the day of your return, command your friends to go to Onehunga and cut all the fastenings which hold the top-sides on our canoes, and keep your canoe well out and afloat, so that when I leave with you there will be no canoes available for our people to use in pursuing us.’

They agreed as to the day when he would return home, and she took the calabash of water and went up the hill to the pa; but she said, ‘Go in front of me; go quickly, and arrive first at the pa.’

He went into the house and asked, ‘Has any water been brought for me?’

He was told, ‘None’, and said, ‘I have not

haere atu ki te wahapu o Manuka tena, ko tou kainga, he aruhe tona kai’.

Ka mea te kotiro ra, ‘He ika ano ra te ika o tenei pa, he ika no te tai tu-a-uru, a, he ika no te tai hoenga taitama wahine, e kite ana tenei pa i te tini o te mataitai o hea, o hea’.

Ano ko Ponga, ‘He tika te kai, he pai te noho o tou pa, ko te kore mau mo te hinengaro’.

Ano ko Puhihuia, ‘Ae, kei tou kainga pea te ngahau na te tini o te uri ariki’.

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘He tika. Hoake taua, ka hoki ki reira koe titiro ai’.

Ka mea atu te kotiro ra, ‘Titiro hoki ki hea? Kua kite nei au i a koe’.

Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Ki te rite tau ki taku, me hoki koe i a au, ana hoki to matou pahi’.

Ka mea atu a Puhihuia, ‘Kei a koe te whakaaro, otira, a te ra e hoe ai koutou, mau e unga i o hoa kia haere ki o matou waka i Onehunga, kia kotikotia nga herehere o nga rauawa, a ka tuku ai i to koutou waka ki waho manu mai ai mo taku tika atu, ka riro tatou, te ai he waka hei whai (aru) mai i a taua’.

A korero ana raua mo te ra e haere ai raua, e hoki ai ki Awhitu, a ka hoki te wahine ra ki te pa me te taha wai ano ki te ringa mau atu ai.

Ka ki atu a Puhihuia ki a Ponga, ‘Hohoro te haere; ko koe o taua kia tae wawe ki te whare’.

Ka tae a Ponga ki te whare, ka ui ki ana hoa, ‘Kaore ano te wai nei?’

Ka kiia mai, ‘Kao’.

Ka mea a Ponga, ‘Taku mokai te kitea, kei whea ranei, he ngaro nona i ora ai tana upoko te pakaru ai i a au’. E korero ana a Ponga, ka puta a Puhihuia me te wai, ka tapoko mai ano a ia i te kuwaha ano ona i puta atu ai, me Ponga i hoki mai ano ma te tatau ona i puta atu ai. Ka tae mai te kotiro ra me te wai, ka mea atu te whaea, ‘Te roa ou!’

Ka ki atu a Puhihuia, ‘He ara tata koia? A, he ra e whiti ana, i mihi ai koe ki taku roa, i kiia atu ra e au, “Ko Kuo te po”.’

Ka ki atu te whaea, ‘Kawea to wai ma to teina, ma Ponga, ka mate i te taringa atu ki a koe’.

Ka mau ano te kotiro ra i te ipu, ka mau ki a Ponga, he uri rangatira koa, a, e kore e inu i te ipu, ka whakatutua e ia ki ana ringa, a, ka ringitia e Puhi ki a ia, ka inu, a, ka makona.

Ka noho nei te pa nei, me te tira tamariki nei, a, ka hoha te noho, me te tu i nga haka me nga tini takaro, a, ka tae ki te ra e hoki ai te tira ra ki to ratou kainga, a, ka rite i te

been able to find my slave, so he has saved his skull from being cracked’.

He was still talking when Puhihuia entered at the door at the other end of the house with water in a calabash. Her mother said to her, ‘How long you have been!’

Puhihuia replied, ‘Is the road so short? and is the sun shining, that you should wonder at the time I have taken? I told you that Kuo was god of the night.’

The mother said, ‘Take the water you have brought to your junior relative Ponga, who has suffered from his thirst so long while he waited for your return’.

She took the water, and as he was a chief of rank he could not drink directly out of the calabash, but placed his hands together to form a cup-like shape; she poured the water into them, and thus he drank, and was satisfied.

The young people of Awhitu stayed at Mount Eden until they had played all the games known in those days, and decided to leave the pa and return home on a certain day.

The night before the day on which they were to leave, Ponga said to his slave, ‘Go to your companions and tell them that I command you to go this night to Onehunga, and near dawn cook food, and wait for us; but also go and cut all the lashings that hold the topsides of the canoes of the Mount Eden people—do not leave one canoe uncut, and take our canoe out so that she may be afloat, and keep her so. Now, this is what you shall say to your companions: I, Ponga, have heard what the old people of the Mount Eden pa have said, which was spoken in the house in which I slept, when they were giving the history of Kupe, Hotonui, and Tamateapokaiwhenua, and also that in which all the wars of Waikato are given, and the history of the battles between the descendants of those who came here in Tainui. Now, when you get to our canoe let her be kept afloat, and let those of our party who shall arrive at Onehunga embark at once in the canoe, and let each take his or her paddle and sit in readiness to use it, as we shall start for our home as soon as I come to you; but wait for me, as I shall be the last to leave the Mount Eden pa, so that I may discover what intentions the old people of the pa have towards us. Wait, be cautious, and keep your suspicions alive, so that we may start immediately, and may reach our home in

tokomaha te whakaae te ra hei hokinga mo ratou. I te po o te ra ao ake ko te ra e hoki ai, ka mea atu a Ponga ki tana ropa, ‘Haere mai, haere ki o hoa, ka mea atu i taku kupu, hei te po nei ka whakatika, ka haere ki Onehunga, ka noho, ka tahu kai, ka tatari mai i a matou; kia ao ake ana te ra apopo, e tae ki nga waka o te iwi nei, ka tapatapahi i nga herehere o nga rauawa, kaua te waka kotahi e mahue; a ko to tatou waka me kawe ki waho manu mai ai. Nei te take hei kianga atu mau ki to tatou nuinga, he kupu i rongo ai au, he korero na te tini o nga koroheke o te iwi nei i te whare i noho ai au, i te whare o te matua o Puhihuia, he tataku na ratou i nga mea o mua, puta ki a Kupe, puta ki a Hotunui, puta ki a Tama-tea-pokai-whenua, a puta katoa ki nga he a Waikato ki a ia ano, ara, a nga mahi a nga hapu i puta mai i a Tainui. E tae ki to tatou waka, kia manu i waho, a, ko ratou o to tatou tira kua tae wawe atu, hohoro te eke ki te waka, ka mau ai ki nga hoe, me te noho tatari mai ki a au, tena au kei muri, kei te titiro i te whakaaro o te iwi nei ki a tatou. Noho tupato mai kia tatanga ai to tatou puta ki waho ki Awhitu, he mea hoki i tapatapahia ai nga herehero o o ratou waka, kei ai he waka whai mai i a tatou’.

Ka tae te ropa ra ki ana hoa, ka rongo ratou, heoi ano rongo kau ano, ka oho te mauri o era, ka whakataka, ka haere i te po, ao kau ano te ra, kei te mahi i nga waka, a, rite rawa te kupu ako ata a Ponga ki tana ropa, a ka rewa to ratou waka, ka noho mai, ka tatari i a Ponga ma. Ka noho nei a Ponga i te pa nei, i Maungawhau, a, ka rite noa ki te wai i munaia atu ra ki tona mokai, a, ka rite. I mea atu hoki a ia, ‘Kia moiri kau ano te ra, kia ka te kai, a, ka mutu, tena rawa matou te haere atu na’.

Oti kau ano te kai o te ata o te pa ra, ka mea atu a Ponga ki ana hoa, ‘Ka hoe tatou; he roa te wa moana, kia whiti ao ai tatou i Manuka. Ko wai i tohu ai e kore tatou e raru i te taniwha i te wa o te po’. He taniwha hoki to te wahapu o Manuka, ko Kaiwhare te ingoa, a, e pau ana te waka i a ia te horo; koia te kupu a Ponga i whakaaetia ai e ana hoa.

Ka whakatika te ope tamariki nei, ka tatua i a ratou mo te haere, ka hui atu te tangata whenua ki te poroporoaki i a ratou, a, ka rupeke (poto) mai te iwi o te pa nei, ka whakatika te rangatira o te pa, ka mau ki tana mere pounamu, ka hoatu ki te tamaiti ariki o taua ope nei, a, ka hoatu hoki te mere a taua tamaiti ra ki te rangatira o te pa, he mea koa

safety. This is why I have told you to cut the lashings of the topsides of their canoes, in order to prevent their pursuing us.’

The attendant went to his companions and gave them the commands of Ponga. On learning the nature of his orders, they were struck with fear, and rose at once, and that night in the dark went to Onehunga; and at dawn of day they took action and carried out the command of Ponga to its full extent. When their own canoe was afloat they embarked and waited for Ponga and his companions.

Ponga and his friends waited till the time came which he had mentioned to his slave, for he had said, ‘When the sun rises let food be cooked, and we shall be with you.’

When they had eaten the morning meal in the Mount Eden pa, Ponga said to his companions, ‘Let us depart, for the distance by sea is great; let us leave at once, so that we may cross the Manukau by daylight. How can we be sure that we shall not be attacked by a sea monster if we have to cross in the dark?’

It was said that there was a sea monster at the Manukau Heads called Kaiwhare, who sometimes attacked and destroyed canoes. Because of this his companions agreed to ponga's words.

The young people of Awhitu rose, and girded their belts ready to start. The people of Mount Eden assembled to chant farewell to them; and the head chief of the pa rose, and took his greenstone mere and gave it to the young chief of supreme rank of the Awhitu guests, who in return gave his greenstone mere to the old chief. These two meres were heirlooms, and it was in accordance with ancient custom to exchange such weapons between men of supreme rank. These two were in the direct line of descent from Hotunui. Heirloom weapons were kept by members of one head family for a time, then they were handed to those of senior rank in another branch of the same tribe. This exchange of weapons was a ratification of any terms of peace which might have been agreed upon by the tribes, and also a final pledge of the complete and genuine feeling of friendship felt by the young guests from Awhitu toward the Mount Eden people. Thus each held possession of the other's mere.

When the ceremony was completed the Awhitu young people rose and departed, but some of the Mount Eden people accompanied them a short distance. The road the Awhitu party took was down the slope of Mount Eden, on the south side towards the Tatua (Three

aua mere nei, he manatunga, a he tika ki nga ritenga o mua kia hokohokoa aua tu mere nei e aua tangata, no te mea ko raua nga uri toitu e takoto haere ai aua mere, a, he mea hoki ko taua tu mea nei ko te manatunga patu, he wa ano ka mau i nga uri o tetahi hapu o te iwi, a roa noa, ka kawea e aua tangata i a ia taua manatunga nei e mau ana, ka kawea ka tukua ki etahi ano o nga uri o te tupuna nana taua patu i te timatatanga, koia nei te tu hokohoko o aua mere nei. A, tetahi tikanga, he whakapumau i te rongo taketake kua takoto i nga koroheke o aua hapu nei, ara, o Nga-iwi, a, o Ngati-Kahukoka, a hei mutunga ano hoki mo nga korero o taua ope taitamariki ariki nei ki nga rangatira o Maungawhau, hei maunga hoki mo ta ratou rongo, ka mau nei hoki tetahi i ta tetahi patu, a tetahi i ta tetahi patu.

Mutu kau ano aua mahi nei, ka whakatika te ope tira tamariki nei, ka haere, a, ka whakatika nei ratou ka haere, ka haere tahi atu ano i a ratou etahi o te tangata whenua, ko te ara koa i haere iho ai ratou i taua pa nei, i heke iho i te toitoi o te pa i te marae tonu o te pa, ka ahu iho ki te hauauru, ka heke iho whaka Te Tatua, a, ka haere i te ara i runga i te rangitoto, ka ahu ki Onehunga. Ka heke nei taua tira nei, ka haere mai te nuinga o te pa ki nga kuaha o te pa karanga ai, ‘Haere, haere, haere ki to kainga’. E haere ana te tira ra, me te powhiri te tangata whenua, ka whakatika atu etahi o nga tamariki me nga kotiro, me nga tamahine o te tangata whenua, ki te powhiri i waho o te pa, a, ka haere te ara konihi a Puhihuia ratou ko ana hoa, a, e haere ana rapea te tamariki tamahine e whakatakohe haere ana, e wawata haere ana, me te kata haere, nawai a, nawai, ka mamao atu ki waho o te pa nei. A, ka titiro atu te matua tane o Puhihuia ka hoi (tawhiti) noa atu ki tawhiti o te pa, ka pa tana karanga ki tana kotiro, ka mea, ‘E ko, hoki mai, hoki mai, na te wairangi tena tu haere ki tawhiti, ka kiia koe e te tira ra he tutua’. I rongo ano pea te kotiro ra i te reo o tana matua, a, me aha hoki, kua takoto ra hoki tana hiahia, a, kua maro tana i whakatakoto ai. Kihai a ia i hoki mai, ko ana hoa ia i hoki atu i te kupu o te tangata i karanga atu ra, tena, ko tuawahine, i pai te haere, i pai te haere, ara, i ata oma i te timatanga, tena e mamao, ko tenei kua tawhiti, kau tatu ki raro, kua papa tonu te ara i te raorao, ka torere tonu a ia ki te haere, ka rere-a-manu ra

Kings), then on over the scoria flat to One-hunga. As the guests left, the Mount Eden people came to the gates of the Mount Eden pa and called the farewell—‘Depart, depart, go to your home’, and as they went on their way the people of the pa waved their garments as a farewell. At the same time some of the young people of the pa, including boys and girls, together with the daughter of the head chief of Mount Eden, stood outside the pa and waved their garments. But then Puhihuia went secretly to another place with some young friends, laughing and in high glee, knowing she would not be discovered by the people, and stood and waved her garment, and, walking on, followed the young people of Awhitu.

When she had gone some distance from the pa her father saw her, and calling her, said, ‘O daughter, come back. It is only the insane who go so far as you do now, when guests depart from their hosts. You will be called a girl of low birth.’ She may have heard the voice of her father, but she did not listen to his command, for she had determined on a certain course of action, and would not relinquish that on which her heart was set. Her female friends came back at once, in obedience to the command given by her father; but she went on, slowly at first. Then she hurried, and when she had gained the scoria flat she ran, going as fast over the ground as a flying bird. Driven by the power of her love and the great longing in her heart, she flew to him with whom her heart was. On she went, and when she came to a great block of scoria which hid her from the sight of her people at Mount Eden, she hurried faster, never looking behind. Ponga saw her following now, and his friends noticed that Puhihuia was following them in a hurried way as if she were frightened. Ponga said, ‘What can be wrong? Let us go more slowly. Perhaps some unhappy

hoki, he kawenga no tana ngakau ki te whai i te whakahia-ngongo o tana ngakau. Te tino omanga koa o te wahine nei, kua tata ki te taha o te toka rangitoto e tu ana i te ara, ehara, te tino omanga i oma ai, ana na, ta te kohine pai i raro tonu te upoko, heoti ano hoki rapea, ka kite mai a Ponga i a ia, ratou ko nga hoa o Ponga, he kite mai i te haere o te kotiro nei he takakino te haere, ara, he oma mai, he whai mai i a ratou. Ka mea atu a Ponga ki ana hoa, ‘E, he aha tenei? Kia tatanga tahi ta tatou haere; he aitua pea, ina hoki te tino o te kakapounamu o te pa nei e whai mai nei i a tatou’. Ano ka tata atu te wahine ra ki a ratou, he mea koa i kitea e ratou e takakino atu ana te whai a te kotiro ra i a ratou, ka whakangawaritia e ratou ta ratou haere kia tae atu ai te wahine nei ki a ratou. Ka tae noa te wahine ra ki a Ponga ma, haere tonu atu te kotiro ra, tu ana i te taha o Ponga me te manu e kakapa ana te manawa o te kohine ra i te whainga mai i a ia. Ka ki atu te wahine ra, ‘Kia ngawari te haere, ma te uaua ano ona ora e tae wawe atu ai tatou ki te waka’. Te tino haerenga o ratou, ‘Koia ano me te huruhuru manu e rere ana i te hau,’ ano koa, ‘Me te weka ka motu i te mahanga’. Ka haere te tini nei, ahakoa tane, ahakoa wahine, kahore te mea kotahi i ruhi, ‘Me te pingao i te tuauru e rere ana i te one’. Te haere nei te tira nei, me te titiro iho te pa ra, a, ka kite iho ratou i a Puhihuia ka riro i te tira ra, katahi te mano o te pa nei ka oho, ka oma a ia, a ia ki tana patu, ki tana patu, a, warea ki reira, e haere marire ana a Ponga ma, a, hoki rawa mai te pa ra ki te whai (aru) i to ratou kotiro, ka motumotu rapea te whenua e haerea nei e Ponga ma, ka takiwa noa mai te iwi o te pa nei, ka takiwa noa atu a Ponga ma, kua tatu ratou ki te tauranga waka i Onehunga, i Manuka.

Ka puta te iwi ra i te pa, ka haere papahoro noa iho i te pa. Kahore kau he kaiwhakahau i te ope nei, marara noa atu, marara noa mai. Haere te tane, haere te wahine, haere te tamariki, na te ururua koa o te ara, a, na te tini o ratou, hinga noa iho etahi i etahi i te kawenga o tenei kia puta ki mua o tera, a, tae rawa atu a mua o taua whai nei, ka titiro iho ki te one i Onehunga, kua eke a Ponga ma ki to ratou waka. Ka titiro ake te tira tamariki nei ki te kaiwhai i a ratou, te tino maunga ki te hoe, a, ka rite noa ano, te tino pounga ki te wai i poua ai, ana me te pere e rere ana, whakarongo ake ki nga papa o te waka ra, kongangi kau ana.

Ka kite te iwi ra, te kaiwhai i a Ponga ma,

thing has taken place in the pa after we left; or how can it be that the most noble of all in Mount Eden is following us?’

The Awhitu people waited for her. She came up to them and went at once to the side of Ponga, while her heart throbbed like the flapping wings of a bird. She said, ‘Let us go swiftly; our life depends on our strength to run, for through this we shall reach the canoe.’ They all ran on, ‘like the feather of a bird, driven by the wind’, or ‘like the weka which has escaped from the trap’, or ‘like the pingao of the sea-coast, driven by the wind along the sandy beach’. All ran on; men, women, all ran onward; nor did any feel fatigued. From their pa the Mount Eden people saw Puhihuia join the departing guests of Awhitu, and each member of the tribe hurried to snatch up his weapon of war. Because of this there was sufficient time for Ponga and his loved one to pass farther beyond their reach and gain the landing-place at Onehunga on the Manukau.

The Mount Eden warriors each grasped his weapon, but as they were not in the command of any leader, they ran in a confused mob down the steep hill on which the pa stood, each tumbling against the other in the hurry to follow the fleeing girl. Men, women, and children followed in pursuit, but the path was partly grown over with shrubs and grass and they stumbled and fell in their eagerness to capture her. But when those who had run ahead of their companions reached the hill overlooking the landing-place at Onehunga, Ponga and his friends had embarked in their canoe. When Ponga and his companions saw that a party was following them they used their paddles furiously, making the canoe dart out on the stream like an arrow from a bow, so that its sides trembled.

When the pursuers saw that their beloved lady had gone with the Awhitu guests, they rushed at once to drag some of their own canoes into the water. As was the custom, a line of men and women collected along each side of the canoe which was to be pulled to the water, and so that all might pull together a chief gave the word of command, repeating these words—

‘Move it, move it;’ to which the people dragging the canoe gave the response, all together—

‘Slide on, slide on;’ and each pulled with all his strength. But the lashings on each side of the canoe had been cut; the side-boards came away without moving the body of the canoe; the people and the

ka riro ta ratou puhi, katahi ka rere ki o ratou waka, ka to ki te wai, rarahu kau atu ano ratou, ka to i aua waka, ehara, to kau ana ko nga rauawa anake, takoto humuhumu ana ko nga tiwai i te takotoranga. He mea koa i te wa i toia ai aua waka nei e ratou, ka pa te waha o e kaitautapa he ohorere koa no te mauri o te iwi nei, a, he kawenga ano hoki no te whakatakariri tetahi, ka to hikaka te to, ara ka whakaputaina katoatia te uaua a te tane, a te wahine, tena e pa te karanga a te kaitautapa, ‘Turuki, turuki,’ a ka oho te kaito, ka mea, ‘Paneke, paneke.’ A, te tino kumenga a te kaito, nei ra kua motu nga herehere o nga rauawa, tena e kumea, te tino maunutanga mai o nga rauawa, mahua tonu ake, te tino kokiritanga o aua rauawa ki mua o nga kaito, te tino papahorotanga o te iwi e to ra, puranga ana i te whenua, he tangata i takoto wharoro ka pehia iho a runga ona e tetahi. Ko te tamariki ka taia ki tawhiti noa atu, ko te wahine ra tena poroteteke haere ana, ko te nuinga i pehia e nga rauawa, ko te upoko i whara, ko te ringa i pehia, ko te puku i kope noa iho i te rahunga kinotanga i te rauawa, takoto tangi ana etahi, maranga rakuraku ai etahi i nga upoko. Ko etahi ia, kihai i whara, ko enei i tu maro tonu, a, ka kite nei a ia i tana hihi, ka pa ka karanga atu ki te iwi o te waka e hoe ra, ka mea, ‘Haere, haere, tena au te whai (aru) atu na, he ra ka whiti, he ra ka to, tena rawa au’. Heoti ano, ka pahure te iwi ra, ka riro, ka hoki ora atu ki tona kainga, me tana taonga nui e haere tahi atu ana i a ia, ka hari te ngakau a te ropa a Ponga, ka riro nei hoki i tana ariki te wahine rangatira o te iwi nei, o Nga-iwi.

side-boards fell together in a heap, some of them falling flat on the ground and others on top of them. The young men were thrown some distance; some fell head over heels, while others were pinned down by the weight of the side-boards; these ones had their arms and legs bruised. Some of them got up rubbing their heads, arms, and legs; but some escaped without bruises and without having been knocked down. These, seeing that they were helpless, shouted to the departing Awhitu guests, ‘Go, go! But we will follow you. The sun will shine, and the sun will set, but we will be with you!’

The guests paddled towards home full of glee, and proud of the young woman of high rank who was accompanying them. Ponga's slave felt highly gratified, as his lord had gained the daughter of the supreme chief of Mount Eden.

The next instalment of ‘Ponga and Puhihuia’, in the December issue of ‘Te Ao Hou’, tells of their arrival at Awhitu.

A Piece of Land

by Noel Hilliard Whitcombe and Tombs, 12/6d

This collection of short stories is by the author of the novel ‘Maori Girl’. Many of the stories are concerned with Maori characters, and they present a good-humoured and convincing picture of Maori life in both the cities and the country.

These people are real; one has met them. The circumstances in which they find themselves are equally true to life; sometimes painfully so—as, for example, in the story of the two brothers who, unknown to each other, answer the same accommodation advertisement in Wellington. The first brother to reach the house doesn't get the room, but later the landlady lets the second brother have it.

That's right, how did you guess. Though they are full brothers, the first brother was obviously Maori—while with the second one, his Maori blood was not noticeable. These things are true, and it is good to have someone writing about them, if only to make more pakehas aware of them.

But I don't want to give you the idea that this is a gloomy book. It's thoroughly enjoyable.

Ruapehu: Tribute to a Mountain

by J. C. Graham A. H. & A. W. Reed, 22/6d

When Te Heu Heu Tukino entrusted his sacred mountain to the New Zealand nation, we gained a rich heritage. This book is an account of the recent history of Tongariro National Park, and has some excellent illustrations. It is a fine guide-book to the district, and of particular value to people interested in winter sports.

The Maori history of the area is dismissed in a couple of pages. It seems rather a pity that in such an ambitious book more space could not have been devoted to this, for it would surely have been of interest to many readers.

Coal Flat

by Bill Pearson Pauls Book Arcade, 21/-

Coal Flat, the fictitious community which is the subject of this novel, is a mining township on the West Coast of the South Island. Paul Rogers, the novel's hero, is a young, somewhat vaguely idealistic school-teacher who comes to work there. It is just after the last war; Paul, who is from the Coast himself, has just come back from the army, and before that he had been at university. His attempts to bring to Coal Flat some of the knowledge and experience he has gained in his years away from the town bring him into conflict with the people who live there, and the relation between Paul and the community to which he belongs is the central theme of the story.

This is a long novel, in which a great many characters and activities are explored with depth and subtlety. It is a complete portrait of a community, described with sober realism and with an exceptionally sensitive ear for dialogue.

The book's length may not be entirely justified. But as well as being one of the most ambitious novels ever to be published in New Zealand, ‘Coal Flat’ is certainly one of the most successful.

Games and Dances of the Maori: A Guide Book for Teachers Government Printer, 5/-x

This book is published by the Physical Education Branch of the Education Department, and is based on a careful editing of the cyclostyled notes distributed by the Branch over a period of many years. It is intended as a guide for teachers wishing to teach Maori games, action songs and haka to their classes.

The difficulties involved in teaching and learning action songs and hakas from books are notorious, but provided that teachers already have some knowledge of Maori culture, they should find this publication most useful. It will also be of considerable value to many leaders of Maori clubs.

Men Came Voyaging

by Colleen M. Sheffield Helensville Borough Council, 20/-

‘Men Came Voyaging’ is a full history of the town of Helensville and its immediate district. It was written by the late Colleen M. Sheffield, the talented Maori writer who was among those who were killed in the tragic accident on Brynderwyn Hill last February.

Written in celebration of Helensville's centennial year, the book is the product of intensive research. It covers the entire history of the district—the formation of the earliest forests and sandhills, the complicated Maori history, the changes brought by the Pakehas—with breadth of imagination and a painstaking respect for detail. —M.O.

The Great Songs of Ana Hato and Deane
Waretini
Parlophone PMCM 6021 12in. 33 1/3 LP.

Prized amongst my collection of Maori records are several scratched and battered 78 r.p.m. shellac discs. They feature songs of Deane Waretini and the late Ana Hato and are probably the first recordings released for commercial distribution of Maoris singing Maori music. They were recorded in 1926 and appeared on the market shortly after. (Do readers know of any commercial Maori records which pre-date them?) Now Parlophone has taken a selection of some of the best-known items of these two artists and issued them as a dignified LP under the title ‘The Great Songs of Ana Hato and Deane Waretini’.

Ana Hato and Deane Waretini were first cousins and belonged to the Arawa Confederation of tribes of the Rotorua district. Both were brought up in an atmosphere of tourism where public performances of singing and dancing (and even penny diving, as the record cover notes!) were commonplace. Ana made her debut in concert parties in her early teens and soon gained a wide reputation as a singer. Deane Waretini's rise to prominence was by comparison much slower.

The Hato-Waretini association began in 1926. In that year, the Duke of York (later to become King George VI) was visiting New Zealand. Maoris from all over the country gathered at Rotorua to welcome the Royal visitors. During the celebrations, advantage was taken of the opportunity to gather together a group of Maori singers including Ana Hato and Deane Waretini, for recording purposes. Of his first recording venture with Ana, Waretini said: ‘ … in a small and totally inadequate room our first records were made. These were later followed by other records made in Australia.’

From then on, the partnership went from strength to strength and the popularity of the two cousins spread far and wide. Many readers will particularly remember their fund-raising concerts during the Second World War. Unfortunately Ana Hato was never robust and during the last eight years of her life, she spent much of her time in hospital. She died in December 1953 at the age of 47. Deane Waretini still lives in Rotorua. In a poignant note on the record he says: ‘Today I am an ageing old man. Ana has been dead many years. It is my sincere prayer that the ability to introduce into their singing variations of tone which makes Maori singing unique, is never lost to our race. The introduction of the European element into Maori singing is, I think, something to be deplored.’

Parlophone are to be congratulated on releasing this record which has considerable historic value. Having heard Hato and Waretini previously on scratched 78s, it is now a pleasure to listen to them on microgroove for the reproduction is remarkably good and on the average radiogram no surface noise is discernible. The selection of songs is varied although it is a pity that five of them are wholly or partly in English. I was also disappointed that only four of the twelve tracks were of the

Ana Hato in her heyday. Very many people will welcome this re-issue of some of the most famous of the songs and duets of Ana Hato and Deane Waretini.

duets which most people associate with these singers. In particular ‘E Pari Ra’ is one of their best loved and is not on this recording.

Ana Hato's flexibility was such that she was almost as much an alto as she was a soprano. Her cousin never tried to dominate the partnership and their duets are a fine example of natural vocal teamwork. Their voices were of course untrained and the sophisticate will toss his or her head disdainfully and say ‘obviously’. Such a reaction is the result of judging these singers by the wrong standards. Mr Waretini's comment above has much truth in it. Ana Hato and Deane Waretini admittedly sang in a modern idiom to a modern accompaniment but they sang as Maoris, not Pakehas. Their voices and harmonies have all the richness, the robustness and the feeling which is so much a part of their race. There is nothing subtle about their singing and not a trace of artificiality or striving for effect.

A word finally about the cover. Fashioned in booklet form, the front features a magnificent full-colour reproduction of a C. F. Goldie painting of a Maori woman (unfortunately unnamed). Containing no lettering or other distraction, this could be detached and framed if desired. It is indeed a bonus to a very interesting and worthwhile recording.

Rotorua Maori Choir Series 1, 2 and 3
Columbia 33-MS-6001, 33-MS-6003, 33-MS-6004
10in. 33 1/3 LP.

As with the recording reviewed above, these are another famous first—the first full scale recording of a Maori choral group. They are a re-issue in LP form of items originally recorded on 78 r.p.m. shellac discs from copper masters taken in 1930 by the Columbia Gramophone Company at Rotorua. The choir has long since been disbanded but through these records it is still enjoying public recognition over a quarter of a century after its heyday. The reproduction is good and the various items are sung with care and precision. The full story of these records and their making is contained in my article in issue No. 36 of ‘Te Ao Hou’, entitled ‘Still Popular after Thirty Years’.

Good Calf-Rearing

by D. Wright

Many articles have been written on calf-rearing but despite the information available, the numbers of poorly reared young stock, including calves, yearlings and incalf heifers, are still high.

Here is one short example of the importance of good rearing. The difference in production between Jersey heifers calving down at 700–740 lbs live-weight, and poorly grown heifers calving down at 600–650 lbs live-weight, is at least 30 lbs of butterfat in the first year and 20 lbs of butterfat in the second year. These figures speak for themselves.

This article deals with the three stages in the rearing of young stock—

At the calf stage the aim should be to have calves weighing 120 lbs at eight weeks and 220 lbs at 18 weeks. At eight weeks the chest girth should measure 33 ½ inches and at 18 weeks it should be 40 inches. Colostrum should be fed for at least two days after birth and whole milk for three weeks. Then there should be a gradual changeover to separated milk or its equivalent during the next three weeks, followed by separated milk alone or the equivalent. It is important to avoid over-feeding and at 10–12 weeks they should be getting a maximum of two gallons per day, in two feeds. This amount should not be exceeded, and is arrived at gradually after starting in the first weeks at six pints of whole milk per day.

Starting from two weeks of age calves must have access at all times to good quality leafy grass and clover pasture. This is essential. Top quality pasture, as far as calf-rearing is concerned, is a grass and clover mixture still in the leafy stage and not longer than four to six inches. This means, in actual fact, pasture of high milk qualities. If this type of pasture is assured calves can be weaned after whole milk feeding at eight weeks. This particularly applies on whole milk supplies. Feeding involves a ration of seven pints per day in two feeds. However, early weaning should not be attempted unless management and pastures are top class.

Rotational Grazing of Calves

It is hard to understand why farmers will not carry out management which has been proved correct, widely publicised and fully explained. Still we see the same old practice of using a set calf paddock right through the bucket feeding stage, and then, after weaning, the set stocking of calves in one paddock. This paddock more often than not contains the incalf heifers as well. The result of this method is a high build-up of internal parasites (worms), unthrifty, miserable calves, and deaths. This type of management reflects laziness and ignorance.

The important points in rotational grazing of calves are:—

Yearling Stage

Provided calves have been well reared and there is adequate hay or silage available, no trouble should be encountered. It is wise, however, to get calves used to hay before the onset

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The Rev. Tureia Puha

A Church of England Minister, the Rev. Tureia Puha, died recently at Lower Hutt.

The Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt. Rev. W. N. Panapa and the Rev. K. M. Ihaka conducted the funeral service at Wellington, where the deceased is buried.

The Rev. Puha, aged 72, was a member of Ngati Porou, coming from Te Araroa. He gained his Licentiate in Theology at the old Te Rau Theological College, Gisborne, being one of the very few Maoris to do so.

His last parish was at Tokomaru Bay. He retired 10 years ago because of ill health and has been living in Gisborne. In his younger days he was a noted rugby footballer and athlete.

His wife pre-deceased him.

Mr J. R. Bell

One of Southland's most colourful Rugby characters, Mr J. R. ‘Wampy’ Bell died suddenly last May. He was 64.

Mr Bell was a Maori All Black in 1922-23-26-30-31, an All Black in 1923, and one of the Invercargill Star Club's most notable players, being a member of its senior team from 1916 until 1931.

He was captain of teams which won the Ranfurly Shield, the Galbraith Shield (Invercargill senior competition), the Te Mori Rose Bowl, and the Prince of Wales Cup, a feat never since equalled. He was also the captain of the Southland team when it won the Ranfurly Shield from Wairarapa in 1929 in one of the greatest upsets in Shield history.

Mr Bell was patron and a life member of the Star Club and also a life member of the Southland Rugby Referees' Association.

Mrs Molly Povey

Mrs Molly Povey, aged 52, the daughter of Mr E. E. P. Uruamo, lost her life together with her father and relatives and friends in the tragic bus accident near Brynderwyn.

She was born at Woodhill, Kaipara, but lived with her grand-aunt the late Mrs Hiki Brown at Orakei Bay, Auckland, during most of her childhood.

She was educated at Woodhill Public School and the Helensville District High School, which was then newly opened.

Mrs Povey had a wide circle of friends and was well known for her many acts of kindness to all especially the young people.

She was a member of the Reweti Ratana Church and Youth Committees and also the Maori Woman's Welfare League. She won the 1962 Maori Woman's Welfare League prize which was presented by the Mayoress of Auckland, Mrs D. M. Robinson, for the best ‘Home Budgeting’.

Mrs Povey is survived by her husband, four daughters and three sons.

Mr Eriapa Eddie Porter Uruamo

Mr Eriapa Eddie Porter Uruamo with his daughter Mrs Molly Povey and thirteen others lost their lives in the tragic bus accident near Brynderwyn.

Mr Uruamo was educated at the Woodhill Public School, Kaipara and Te Aute College. He served as clerk of New Zealand Railways at Wellington and Foxton, and when the Main Trunk Line was being constructed he moved to Taumarunui and then to Auckland. As he was the sole Maori telegraphist he was often sent to assist in the translation and pronunciation of Maori place names in the outbacks.

Paramount chief of the Ngatiwhatua tribe Kaipara District, Mr Uruamo was well known for his knowledge of Maori genealogy. At one time in earlier years he recited Macbeth for the Drama Society of Helensville.

Dairy farming became a main interest until his retirement. He was instrumental in the incorporating of the last pieces of lands owned by the Ngatiwhatua Tribe and he was a member of the Management Committee until his demise.

Mr Uruamo was aged 78 and is survived by his two daughters, four sons, 28 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Mrs Okeroa Te Turi

Mrs Okeroa Te Turi, thought to be 100 years old and possibly the oldest woman in the King Country, died at Taumarunui Hospital recently.

Mrs Te Turi was born at Kakariki, near Marton, and went to Taumarunui with her parents and a sister when she was 12 or 13 years old. They walked from Kakariki viá Wanganui, at times using the river canoes, to reach Taumarunui.

She is survived by her husband and a grown-up adopted family.

Mrs M. Romana

Mrs Miriana Romana of Ohinemutu died on 2 March, aged 84. Mrs Romana was a woman of high standing in her sub-tribe of Ngati Whakaue and was well known throughout the Arawa and Matatua canoe areas.

For many years she lived on Matakana Island, where her husband was a farmer. After his death, she returned to her ancestral home at Ohinemutu where she was an authority on Maori lore and waiata Maori.

She was a leader and teacher of all aspects of Maoritanga. The tangi was held at Tunohopu meeting house, Ohinemutu.

GOOD CALF-REARING—

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of winter. The aim should be to have continued growth without feeding them so heavily that they become fat. When yearlings become fat there is difficulty in getting heifers in calf.

In-calf Heifer

One of the most common faults is the wintering of in-calf heifers with the mature dairy herd, particularly when available feed is limited, and having the heifers competing with the cows for the feed. Well grown heifers often slip back badly in condition under this management and it is wise to draft out springers and winter them separately.

To summarise, I would emphasise the importance of good rearing from an early age, combining cleanliness and correct bucket feeding with rotational grazing. Calves must have the pick of the pastures, not be confined for weeks in a dirty worm-ridden calf paddock from which so many ills, deaths and pitiful looking calves originate. Far too little attention is given to calves and it is felt that it is more good luck than good management that calves on many farms ever reach the producing age.