length, and the blade is six inches wide. It is one inch thick. The edge is two and a half inches long, to give it a sharpness such as that which the Pakeha puts on edges.

O friends, and all the tribes of these islands, this is the sacred relic of our ancestor Ruatitipua. He sought it amongst the Hosts of the Void (‘kahuikore’); when it came, it was the stone of Ngahue, that is Te Awhiorangi, employed by Ngahue. It was employed by Tane at the time when Rangi the Sky Father and Papa the Earth Mother were still embraced; with it, Tane cut the sinews binding Rangi and Papa.

Rangi stood apart; Papa stood apart: from that time, Tane was known as Tane Tokorangi (‘Tane who propped up the Heavens’), and Te Awhiorangi became the representative and spiritual source (‘mana’) of all the axes in the world. The head of Te Awhiorangi is named Te Rangi Whakakapua, the cord is named Kaawekairangi, the handle is named Mataaheihei; Whakawhana-i-te-Rangi (the rainbow), hence Te Aheihei, standing in the heavens from which Te Awhiorangi in so noble a fashion descended.

From Tane Tokorangi it went to Kakaumaui, and so to Turi. It came to Aotearoa, crossing over to this land. It was given by Turi to his eldest son, Te Hiku-o-te-rangi, and was handed down as an heirloom by the aristocracy until the time of Rangitaupea, who placed it on his sacred mountains, on Tieke at Moerangi, according to a song about Te Awhiorangi. Here it is; but I will begin in the middle:

(A translation of the song has not been attempted here.)

Friends, we have this axe in our possession, we the Nga Rauru have it now, we who reside at Waitotara. Friends, greetings! May the Lord watch over us all. From your friend,

Wiremu Kauika

Kaipo, Waitotara, Titiriki, Takiwa o Taranaki, January 6, 1888.